Open Access Publications

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Open access publications by faculty, postdocs, and graduate students in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences

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Health-related quality of life after major extremity trauma: qualitative research with military service members and clinicians to inform measurement of patient-reported outcomes
(Quality of Life Research, 2025-02-20) Tyner, Callie E.; Kisala, Pamela A.; Slotkin, Jerry; Cohen, Matthew L.; Cancio, Jill M.; Pruziner, Alison L.; Dearth, Christopher L.; Tulsky, David S.
Purpose The purpose of this study was to understand health-related quality of life (HRQOL) factors for adults who experience major extremity trauma, including limb preservation and amputation, to guide the selection and creation of patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures. Methods A thematic content qualitative analysis was used to study service members (SMs) with a history of major extremity trauma and clinical providers with expertise in limb trauma, limb loss, and limb preservation/reconstruction. Focus groups were conducted at three Military Treatment Facilities and one Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Results Fifty-six SMs and 34 clinicians participated. Thirty-six percent of focus group comments were coded under Physical Health, 31% Emotional Health, and 28% Social Participation. These results were largely consistent across clinicians and SMs, and clinical subgroups, with a few exceptions such as the relevance of fine motor tasks and prosthetic devices for SMs with upper extremity injury/limb loss, and orthotic devices for SMs with limb preservation/reconstruction. Conclusion Many HRQOL topics identified are shared with existing general PRO measures—including pain, physical function, anxiety, depression, anger, positive affect and well-being, fatigue, social participation, and loneliness—as well as rehabilitation-focused PRO measures—such as resilience, grief/loss, stigma, self-esteem, mobility, fine motor functioning, self-care, and independence. This qualitative research can be used to inform domains of HRQOL in need of new PRO measures for this population, including satisfaction with orthosis/prosthesis, satisfaction with physical abilities/athleticism, body image, future outlook, and vocational impact.
Identifying Predictors of Long-Term Treatment Outcomes Using Narratives From Written Exposure Therapy and Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD
(Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 2024-12-12) Shayani, Danielle R.; Alpert, Elizabeth; Barnes, J. Ben; Sloan, Denise M.; Hayes, Adele M.
Objective: Cognitive processing therapy (CPT), a 12-session, gold-standard treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and written exposure therapy (WET), a brief, five-session treatment, have similar treatment efficacy. The aim of the present study was to identify predictors of long-term treatment outcomes of WET and CPT using clients’ written narratives. Method: Narratives from both treatments were coded with the Change and Growth Experiences Scale coding system to identify predictors of long-term PTSD symptom outcomes. Participants were 113 adults with PTSD randomly assigned to receive WET (n = 60) or CPT (n = 53). Results: In WET, higher average levels of accommodated (balanced, healthy) beliefs predicted lower PTSD symptoms at the 60-week endpoint, as well as a decrease in symptoms over the follow-up symptom slope. In CPT, higher average negative emotions and positive view of self predicted better 60-week PTSD symptom outcomes, as did lower hopelessness, which also predicted a decrease in PTSD symptoms over the follow-up period. Conclusions: Even without direct cognitive change techniques, adaptive processing of traumatic experiences occurred in WET and predicted PTSD long-term symptom improvement. Both emotional engagement and cognitive change might help to sustain treatment gains in CPT. Clinical Impact Statement This study advances the idea that fostering healthy beliefs and adaptive processing (accommodation) are important contributors to better long-term posttraumatic stress disorder symptom outcomes in written exposure therapy. Additionally, it highlights the importance of emotional engagement in cognitive processing therapy and identifies specific cognitive variables that might help sustain treatment gains. These findings suggest that integrating and addressing these cognitive and emotional factors during therapy sessions might enhance the efficacy of written exposure therapy and cognitive processing therapy, potentially reducing the likelihood of relapse.
Interpersonal violence moderates sustained-transient threat co-activation in the vmPFC and amygdala in a community sample of youth
(Development and Psychopathology, 2024-11-26) Bounoua, Nadia; Joseph, Jane E.; Adams, Zachary W.; Crum, Kathleen I.; Sege, Christopher T.; McTeague, Lisa M.; Hajcak, Greg; Halliday, Colleen A.; Danielson, Carla Kmett
The increased risk for psychopathology associated with interpersonal violence exposure (IPV, e.g., physical abuse, sexual assault) is partially mediated by neurobiological alterations in threat-related processes. Evidence supports parsing neural circuitry related to transient and sustained threat, as they appear to be separable processes with distinct neurobiological underpinnings. Although childhood is a sensitive period for neurodevelopment, most prior work has been conducted in adult samples. Further, it is unknown how IPV exposure may impact transient-sustained threat neural interactions. The current study tested the moderating role of IPV exposure on sustained vmPFC-transient amygdala co-activation during an fMRI task during which threat and neutral cues were predictably or unpredictably presented. Analyses were conducted in a sample of 212 community-recruited youth (M/SDage = 11.77/2.44 years old; 51.9% male; 56.1% White/Caucasian). IPV-exposed youth evidenced a positive sustained vmPFC-transient amygdala co-activation, while youth with no IPV exposure did not show this association. Consistent with theoretical models, effects were specific to unpredictable, negative trials and to exposure to IPV (i.e., unrelated to non-IPV traumatic experiences). Although preliminary, these findings provide novel insight into how childhood IPV exposure may alter neural circuity involved in specific facets of threat processing.
Disturbance of information in superior parietal lobe during dual-task interference in a simulated driving task
(Cortex, 2023-08-12) Abbaszadeh, Mojtaba; Hossein-Zadeh, Gholam-Ali; Seyed-Allaei, Shima; Vaziri-Pashkam, Maryam
Performing a secondary task while driving causes a decline in driving performance. This phenomenon, called dual-task interference, can have lethal consequences. Previous fMRI studies have looked at the changes in the average brain activity to uncover the neural correlates of dual-task interference. From these results, it is unclear whether the overall modulations in brain activity result from general effects such as task difficulty, attentional modulations, and mental effort or whether it is caused by a change in the responses specific to each condition due to dual-task interference. To overcome this limitation, here, we used multi-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA) to interrogate the change in the information content in multiple brain regions during dual-task interference in simulated driving. Participants performed a lane-change task in a simulated driving environment, along with a tone discrimination task with either short or long onset time difference (Stimulus Onset Asynchrony, SOA) between the two tasks. Behavioral results indicated a robust dual-task effect on lane-change reaction time (RT). MVPA revealed regions that carry information about the driving lane-change direction (shift right/shift left), including the superior parietal lobe (SPL), visual, and motor regions. Comparison of decoding accuracies across SOA conditions in the SPL region revealed lower accuracy in the short compared to the long SOA condition. This change in accuracy was not observed in the visual and motor regions. These findings suggest that the dual-task interference in driving may be related to the disturbance of information processing in the SPL region.
Graspable foods and tools elicit similar responses in visual cortex
(Cerebral Cortex, 2024-09-25) Ritchie, John Brendan; Andrews, Spencer T.; Vaziri-Pashkam, Maryam; Baker, Chris I.
The extrastriatal visual cortex is known to exhibit distinct response profiles to complex stimuli of varying ecological importance (e.g. faces, scenes, and tools). Although food is primarily distinguished from other objects by its edibility, not its appearance, recent evidence suggests that there is also food selectivity in human visual cortex. Food is also associated with a common behavior, eating, and food consumption typically also involves the manipulation of food, often with hands. In this context, food items share many properties with tools: they are graspable objects that we manipulate in self-directed and stereotyped forms of action. Thus, food items may be preferentially represented in extrastriatal visual cortex in part because of these shared affordance properties, rather than because they reflect a wholly distinct kind of category. We conducted functional MRI and behavioral experiments to test this hypothesis. We found that graspable food items and tools were judged to be similar in their action-related properties and that the location, magnitude, and patterns of neural responses for images of graspable food items were similar in profile to the responses for tool stimuli. Our findings suggest that food selectivity may reflect the behavioral affordances of food items rather than a distinct form of category selectivity.
The normalization model predicts responses in the human visual cortex during object-based attention
(eLife, 2023-04-26) Doostani, Narges; Hossein-Zadeh, Gholam-Ali; Vaziri-Pashkam, Maryam
Divisive normalization of the neural responses by the activity of the neighboring neurons has been proposed as a fundamental operation in the nervous system based on its success in predicting neural responses recorded in primate electrophysiology studies. Nevertheless, experimental evidence for the existence of this operation in the human brain is still scant. Here, using functional MRI, we examined the role of normalization across the visual hierarchy in the human visual cortex. Using stimuli form the two categories of human bodies and houses, we presented objects in isolation or in clutter and asked participants to attend or ignore the stimuli. Focusing on the primary visual area V1, the object-selective regions LO and pFs, the body-selective region EBA, and the scene-selective region PPA, we first modeled single-voxel responses using a weighted sum, a weighted average, and a normalization model and demonstrated that although the weighted sum and weighted average models also made acceptable predictions in some conditions, the response to multiple stimuli could generally be better described by a model that takes normalization into account. We then determined the observed effects of attention on cortical responses and demonstrated that these effects were predicted by the normalization model, but not by the weighted sum or the weighted average models. Our results thus provide evidence that the normalization model can predict responses to objects across shifts of visual attention, suggesting the role of normalization as a fundamental operation in the human brain.
Using DNNs to understand the primate vision: A shortcut or a distraction?
(Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 2023-12-06) Xu, Yaoda; Vaziri-Pashkam, Maryam
Bowers et al. bring forward critical issues in the current use of deep neural networks (DNNs) to model primate vision. Our own research further reveals fundamentally different algorithms utilized by DNNs for visual processing compared to the brain. It is time to reemphasize the value of basic vision research and put more resources and effort on understanding the primate brain itself.
Attention modulates human visual responses to objects by tuning sharpening
(eLife, 2024-12-16) Doostani, Narges; Hossein-Zadeh, Gholam-Ali; Cichy, Radoslaw M.; Vaziri-Pashkam, Maryam
Visual stimuli compete with each other for cortical processing and attention biases this competition in favor of the attended stimulus. How does the relationship between the stimuli affect the strength of this attentional bias? Here, we used functional MRI to explore the effect of target-distractor similarity in neural representation on attentional modulation in the human visual cortex using univariate and multivariate pattern analyses. Using stimuli from four object categories (human bodies, cats, cars, and houses), we investigated attentional effects in the primary visual area V1, the object-selective regions LO and pFs, the body-selective region EBA, and the scene-selective region PPA. We demonstrated that the strength of the attentional bias toward the target is not fixed but decreases with increasing target-distractor similarity. Simulations provided evidence that this result pattern is explained by tuning sharpening rather than an increase in gain. Our findings provide a mechanistic explanation for the behavioral effects of target-distractor similarity on attentional biases and suggest tuning sharpening as the underlying mechanism in object-based attention.
Two “What” Networks in the Human Brain
(Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 2024-12-01) Vaziri-Pashkam, Maryam
Ungerleider and Mishkin, in their influential work that relied on detailed anatomical and ablation studies, suggested that visual information is processed along two distinct pathways: the dorsal “where” pathway, primarily responsible for spatial vision, and the ventral “what” pathway, dedicated to object vision. This strict division of labor has faced challenges in light of compelling evidence revealing robust shape and object selectivity within the putative “where” pathway. This article reviews evidence that supports the presence of shape selectivity in the dorsal pathway. A comparative examination of dorsal and ventral object representations in terms of invariance, task dependency, and representational content reveals similarities and differences between the two pathways. Both exhibit some level of tolerance to image transformations and are influenced by tasks, but responses in the dorsal pathway show weaker tolerance and stronger task modulations than those in the ventral pathway. Furthermore, an examination of their representational content highlights a divergence between the responses in the two pathways, suggesting that they are sensitive to distinct features of objects. Collectively, these findings suggest that two networks exist in the human brain for processing object shapes, one in the dorsal and another in the ventral visual cortex. These studies lay the foundation for future research aimed at revealing the precise roles the two “what” networks play in our ability to understand and interact with objects.
Mechanical Properties of the Cortex in Older Adults and Relationships With Personality Traits
(Human Brain Mapping, 2025-02-06) Twohy, Kyra E.; Kramer, Mary K.; Diano, Alexa M.; Bailey, Olivia M.; Delgorio, Peyton L.; McIlvain, Grace; McGarry, Matthew D. J.; Martens, Christopher R.; Schwarb, Hillary; Hiscox, Lucy V.; Johnson, Curtis L.
Aging and neurodegeneration impact structural brain integrity and can result in changes to behavior and cognition. Personality, a relatively stable trait in adults as compared to behavior, in part relies on normative individual differences in cellular organization of the cerebral cortex, but links between brain structure and personality expression have been mixed. One key finding is that personality has been shown to be a risk factor in the development of Alzheimer's disease, highlighting a structure–trait relationship. Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) has been used to noninvasively study age-related changes in tissue mechanical properties because of its high sensitivity to both the microstructural health and the structure–function relationship of the tissue. Recent advancements in MRE methodology have allowed for reliable property recovery of cortical subregions, which had previously presented challenges due to the complex geometry and overall thin structure. This study aimed to quantify age-related changes in cortical mechanical properties and the relationship of these properties to measures of personality in an older adult population (N = 57; age 60–85 years) for the first time. Mechanical properties including shear stiffness and damping ratio were calculated for 30 bilateral regions of the cortex across all four lobes, and the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI) was used to measure neuroticism and conscientiousness in all participants. Shear stiffness and damping ratio were found to vary widely across regions of the cortex, upward of 1 kPa in stiffness and by 0.3 in damping ratio. Shear stiffness changed regionally with age, with some regions experiencing accelerated degradation compared to neighboring regions. Greater neuroticism (i.e., the tendency to experience negative emotions and vulnerability to stress) was associated with high damping ratio, indicative of poorer tissue integrity, in the rostral middle frontal cortex and the precentral gyrus. This study provides evidence of structure–trait correlates between physical mechanical properties and measures of personality in older adults and adds to the supporting literature that neurotic traits may impact brain health in cognitively normal aging.
Heterogeneity in category recognition across the visual field
(eNeuro, 2025-01-09) Shakerian, Farideh; Kushki, Roxna; Vaziri Pashkam, Maryam; Dehaqani, Mohammad-Reza A.; Esteky, Hossein
Visual information emerging from the extrafoveal locations is important for visual search, saccadic eye movement control, and spatial attention allocation. Our everyday sensory experience with visual object categories varies across different parts of the visual field which may result in location-contingent variations in visual object recognition. We used a body, animal body, and chair two-forced choice object category recognition task to investigate this possibility. Animal body and chair images with various levels of visual ambiguity were presented at the fovea and different extrafoveal locations across the vertical and horizontal meridians. We found heterogeneous body and chair category recognition across the visual field. Specifically, while the recognition performance of the body and chair presented at the fovea were similar, it varied across different extrafoveal locations. The largest difference was observed when the body and chair images were presented at the lower-left and upper-right visual fields, respectively. The lower/upper visual field bias of the body/chair recognition was particularly observed in low/high stimulus visual signals. Finally, when subjects’ performances were adjusted for a potential location-contingent decision bias in category recognition by subtracting the category detection in full noise condition, location-dependent category recognition was observed only for the body category. These results suggest heterogeneous body recognition bias across the visual field potentially due to more frequent exposure of the lower visual field to body stimuli. Significance Statement Our study reveals that visual object recognition exhibits notable variations across different visual field regions, with a pronounced bias in recognizing body images in the lower visual field. This heterogeneity in recognition performance suggests that the frequent exposure of certain visual field areas to specific object categories, such as bodies, influences our visual processing abilities. These findings highlight the importance of considering spatial attention and saccadic eye movements in understanding visual object recognition and have potential implications for designing more effective visual information displays and interfaces.
Negative Urgency and Lack of Perseverance Predict Suicidal Ideation and Attempts Among Young Adolescents
(Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 2024-11-21) Scheve, Ben; Xianga, Zhuoran; Lam, Brendan; Sadeh, Naomi; Baskin-Sommers, Arielle
Objective Impulsivity has been recognized as an important factor in suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs). However, previous research linking impulsivity to STBs has largely relied on cross-sectional designs, considered only a subset of impulsivity measures, and typically focused on middle-to-older adolescents. Here, we explored multiple measures of impulsivity and assessed their predictive relation to suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Method In a sample of 10,286 adolescents (ages 9–12; 47.4% female, 76.4% White, 19.4% Black, 6.4% Asian, 3.5% American Indian/Alaskan Native, 0.6% Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, 6.4% Other, 19.4% Hispanic, 12.1% Mixed/Multiple Race) from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development℠ Study (ABCD Study®), we assessed impulsivity when youth were 9–10 years old, and suicidal ideation and attempts when youth were 11–12 years old. We measured impulsivity in three ways: a trait-like measure (UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale), a behavioral measure (delay discounting task), and a neural measure (Cortical Delay Discounting [C-DD]). Suicidal ideation and attempts were assessed using the Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorder and Schizophrenia (KSADS) suicide module. Results Negative urgency and lack of perseverance (at ages 9–10) significantly predicted a higher likelihood of suicidal ideation (Negative Urgency: Odds Ratio [OR] = 1.254, p < .001; Lack of Perseverance: OR = 1.152, p = .035) and suicide attempts (Negative Urgency: OR = 1.328, p = .009; Lack of Perseverance: OR = 1.270, p = .009) when youth were 11–12 years old. Conclusions Negative urgency and lack of perseverance are robust predictors of future suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in young adolescents. These findings highlight the importance of assessing for and targeting these dimensions of impulsivity in clinical settings.
Deciphering the Neural Effects of Emotional, Motivational, and Cognitive Challenges on Inhibitory Control Processes
(Human Brain Mapping, 2025-01-24) Bounoua, Nadia; Stumps, Anna; Church, Leah; Spielberg, Jeffrey M.; Sadeh, Naomi
Converging lines of research indicate that inhibitory control is likely to be compromised in contexts that place competing demands on emotional, motivational, and cognitive systems, potentially leading to damaging impulsive behavior. The objective of this study was to identify the neural impact of three challenging contexts that typically compromise self-regulation and weaken impulse control. Participants included 66 healthy adults (M/SDage = 29.82/10.21 years old, 63.6% female) who were free of psychiatric disorders and psychotropic medication use. Participants completed a set of novel Go/NoGo (GNG) paradigms in the scanner, which manipulated contextual factors to induce (i) aversive emotions, (ii) appetitive drive, or (iii) concurrent working memory load. Voxelwise analysis of neural activation during each of these tasks was compared to that of a neutral GNG task. Findings revealed differential inhibition-related activation in the aversive emotions and appetitive drive GNG tasks relative to the neutral task in frontal, parietal and temporal cortices, suggesting emotional and motivational contexts may suppress activation of these cortical regions during inhibitory control. In contrast, the GNG task with a concurrent working memory load showed widespread increased activation across the cortex compared to the neutral task, indicative of enhanced recruitment of executive control regions. Results suggest the neural circuitry recruited for inhibitory control varies depending on the concomitant emotional, motivational, and cognitive demands of a given context. This battery of GNG tasks can be used by researchers interested in studying unique patterns of neural activation associated with inhibitory control across three clinically relevant contexts that challenge self-regulation and confer risk for impulsive behavior. Summary - Examining the impact of context on the neural mechanisms supporting inhibitory control is critical for furthering the field's understanding of self-regulation. - This study assessed the utility of three new fMRI Go/NoGo tasks for examining how emotional, motivational, and cognitive contexts influence the neural circuits involved in inhibitory control. - Results revealed differential recruitment of inhibitory control-related brain regions depending on contextual demands, underscoring the utility of examining inhibitory control across challenging contexts using these novel Go/NoGo fMRI tasks.
Gene Expression After Exercise Is Disrupted by Early-Life Stress
(Developmental Psychobiology, 2025-01-08) Campbell, Taylor S.; Donoghue, Katelyn; Roth, Tania L.
Exercise can be leveraged as an important tool to improve neural and psychological health, either on its own or to bolster the efficacy of evidence-based treatment modalities. Research in both humans and animal models shows that positive experiences, such as exercise, promote neuroprotection while, in contrast, aversive experiences, particularly those in early development, are often neurologically and psychologically disruptive. In the current study, we employed a preclinical model to investigate the therapeutic benefits of exercise on gene expression in the brains of adult rats. Long Evans rats were exposed to maltreatment stress or nurturing care during infancy, with some rats later given voluntary running wheels as an aerobic exercise intervention from Postnatal Days 70 to 90. Our results showed that irisin gene expression, which promotes neuroprotection, was differentially affected by exercise and early exposure to stress. We add to a rapidly growing area of research on the neuroprotective benefits of exercise and shed light on important molecular mechanisms that may affect the efficacy of exercise in different individuals.
Prey Cue Preferences Among Northern Cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus) Acclimated to Different Year-Long Diets: Genetics or Experienced-Based Plasticity?
(Integrative Organismal Biology, 2024-11-08) Lutterschmidt, William I.; Perelman, Zander E.; Roth, Eric D.; Weidler, J.M.
Chemoreception and recognition of specific prey are important sensory modalities for optimizing foraging success in snakes. Field observations suggest that cottonmouths are generalists, despite the specific epithet of the species (piscivorus) suggesting a fish prey preference. Because chemo-recognition of specific prey may reveal interesting evolutionary context for foraging strategy and if prey preference is either genetically or environmentally controlled, we investigated the prey cue preference of three experimental groups of Agkistrodon piscivorus (Northern Cottonmouths) with different diet histories. Two groups of captive snakes were acclimated to year-long diets of either fish (n = 11) or mice (n = 9) and a third group of recently wild-caught individuals served as a field diet group (n = 16). We investigated possible differences among diet history (fish, mouse, and field) and prey cue preference (control, fish, and mouse) and present results showing a significant difference among diet history with field snakes having significantly lower tongue-flick response. We also found a significant difference among prey cues, snakes within all diet histories showed a lower tongue-flick response to only the control scent cue. Both captive and field snakes showed no prey cue preference for either fish or mice. Because captive snakes did not show increased prey cue preference to their respective diet history, prey preference may be under genetic influence and not experience-based. Additionally, the lack of prey preference for fish or mice in the recently captured snakes in the field-diet group provides supporting evidence that A. piscivorus are generalists and opportunistic predators.
Fear of cancer recurrence and change in hair cortisol concentrations in partners of breast cancer survivors
(Journal of Cancer Survivorship, 2024-07-02) Fenech, Alyssa L.; Soriano, Emily C.; Asok, Arun; Siegel, Scott D.; Morreale, Michael; Brownlee, Hannah A.; Laurenceau, Jean-Philippe
Purpose Partners of breast cancer (BC) survivors report high rates of psychological distress including fear of cancer recurrence (FCR). Research suggests that partners may have poorer physical health outcomes than the general population, but little research has examined the physiological biomarkers by which distress may impact partner health outcomes. The current study examined the associations between FCR and changes in hair cortisol among BC partners. Methods Male partners (N = 73) of early-stage BC survivors provided hair samples during two visits, one after completion of survivors’ adjuvant treatment (T1) and again 6 months later (T2). Two subscales from the Fear of Cancer Recurrence Inventory and one subscale from the Concerns about Recurrence Scale comprised a latent FCR factor at T1. A latent change score model was used to examine change in cortisol as a function of FCR. Results Partners were on average 59.65 years of age (SD = 10.53) and non-Hispanic White (83%). Latent FCR at T1 was positively associated (b = 0.08, SE = 0.03, p = .004, standardized β = .45) with change in latent hair cortisol from T1 to T2. Conclusions Results indicated that greater FCR was associated with increases in hair cortisol in the months following adjuvant treatment. This is one of the first studies to examine the physiological correlates of FCR that may impact health outcomes in BC partners. Implications for Cancer Survivors. Findings highlight the need for further research into the relationship between FCR and its physiological consequences. Interventions to address partner FCR are needed and may aid in improving downstream physical health outcomes.
Using deep learning to classify developmental differences in reaching and placing movements in children with and without autism spectrum disorder
(Scientific Reports, 2024-12-05) Su, Wan-Chun; Mutersbaugh, John; Huang, Wei-Lun; Bhat, Anjana; Gandjbakhche, Amir
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is among the most prevalent neurodevelopmental disorders, yet the current diagnostic procedures rely on behavioral analyses and interviews, without objective screening methods to support the diagnostic process. This study seeks to address this gap by integrating upper limb kinematics and deep learning methods to identify potential biomarkers that could be validated in younger age groups in the future to enhance the identification of ASD. Forty-one school-age children, with and without an ASD diagnosis (mean age ± SE: TD group: 10.3 ± 0.8, 8 males and 7 females; ASD group: 10.3 ± 0.5, 21 males and 5 females), participated in the study. A single Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) was affixed to the child’s wrist as they engaged in a continuous reaching and placing task. Deep learning techniques were employed to classify children with and without ASD. Our findings suggest differential movement kinematics in school-age children compared to healthy adults. Compared to TD children, children with ASD exhibited poor feedforward/feedback control of arm movements as seen by greater number of movement units, more movement overshooting, and prolonged time to peak velocity/acceleration. Unique movement strategies such as greater velocity and acceleration were also seen in the ASD group. More importantly, using Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) model, we demonstrated an accuracy of ~ 78.1% in classifying children with and without ASD. These findings underscore the potential use of studying upper limb movement kinematics during goal-directed arm movements and deep learning methods as valuable tools for classifying and, consequently, aiding in the diagnosis and early identification of ASD upon further validation of their specificity among younger children.
Harnessing slow event-related fMRI to investigate trial-level brain-behavior relationships during object identification
(Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2024-11-11) Gotts, Stephen J.; Gilmore, Adrian W.; Martin, Alex
Understanding brain-behavior relationships is the core goal of cognitive neuroscience. However, these relationships—especially those related to complex cognitive and psychopathological behaviors—have recently been shown to suffer from very small effect sizes (0.1 or less), requiring potentially thousands of participants to yield robust findings. Here, we focus on a much more optimistic case utilizing task-based fMRI and a multi-echo acquisition with trial-level brain-behavior associations measured within participant. In a visual object identification task for which the behavioral measure is response time (RT), we show that while trial-level associations between BOLD and RT can similarly suffer from weak effect sizes, converting these associations to their corresponding group-level effects can yield robust peak effect sizes (Cohen’s d = 1.0 or larger). Multi-echo denoising (Multi-Echo ICA or ME-ICA) yields larger effects than optimally combined multi-echo with no denoising, which is in turn an improvement over standard single-echo acquisition. While estimating these brain-behavior relationships benefits from the inclusion of a large number of trials per participant, even a modest number of trials (20–30 or more) yields robust group-level effect sizes, with replicable effects obtainable with relatively standard sample sizes (N = 20–30 participants per sample).
The Importance of Including Maternal Immune Activation in Animal Models of Hypoxic–Ischemic Encephalopathy
(Biomedicines, 2024-11-08) Collins, Bailey; Lemanski, Elise A.; Wright-Jin, Elizabeth
Hypoxic–ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a perinatal brain injury that is the leading cause of cerebral palsy, developmental delay, and poor cognitive outcomes in children born at term, occurring in about 1.5 out of 1000 births. The only proven therapy for HIE is therapeutic hypothermia. However, despite this treatment, many children ultimately suffer disability, brain injury, and even death. Barriers to implementation including late diagnosis and lack of resources also lead to poorer outcomes. This demonstrates a critical need for additional treatments for HIE, and to facilitate this, we need translational models that accurately reflect risk factors and interactions present in HIE. Maternal or amniotic infection is a significant risk factor and possible cause of HIE in humans. Maternal immune activation (MIA) is a well-established model of maternal infection and inflammation that has significant developmental consequences largely characterized within the context of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia. MIA can also lead to long-lasting changes within the neuroimmune system, which lead to compounding negative outcomes following a second insult. This supports the importance of understanding the interaction of maternal inflammation and hypoxic–ischemic outcomes. Animal models have been invaluable to understanding the pathophysiology of this injury and to the development of therapeutic hypothermia. However, each model system has its own limitations. Large animal models such as pigs may more accurately represent the brain and organ development and complexity in humans, while rodent models are more cost-effective and offer more possible molecular techniques. Recent studies have utilized MIA or direct inflammation prior to HIE insult. Investigators should thoughtfully consider the risk factors they wish to include in their HIE animal models. In the incorporation of MIA, investigators should consider the type, timing, and dose of the inflammatory stimulus, as well as the timing, severity, and type of hypoxic insult. Using a variety of animal models that incorporate the maternal–placental–fetal system of inflammation will most likely lead to a more robust understanding of the mechanisms of this injury that can guide future clinical decisions and therapies.
Viewed touch influences tactile detection by altering decision criterion
(Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 2024-11-05) Nair, Anupama; Medina, Jared
Our tactile perception is shaped not only by somatosensory input but also by visual information. Prior research on the effect of viewing touch on tactile processing has found higher tactile detection rates when paired with viewed touch versus a control visual stimulus. Therefore, some have proposed a vicarious tactile system that activates somatosensory areas when viewing touch, resulting in enhanced tactile perception. However, we propose an alternative explanation: Viewing touch makes the observer more liberal in their decision to report a tactile stimulus relative to not viewing touch, also resulting in higher tactile detection rates. To disambiguate between the two explanations, we examined the effect of viewed touch on tactile sensitivity and decision criterion using signal detection theory. In three experiments, participants engaged in a tactile detection task while viewing a hand being touched or approached by a finger, a red dot, or no stimulus. We found that viewing touch led to a consistent, liberal criterion shift but inconsistent enhancement in tactile sensitivity relative to not viewing touch. Moreover, observing a finger approach the hand was sufficient to bias the criterion. These findings suggest that viewing touch influences tactile performance by altering tactile decision mechanisms rather than the tactile perceptual signal.

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