Categoría: Papers con abstracts

Recent advances in neuroscience have provided new insights into the understanding of heart-brain interaction and communication. Cardiac information to the brain relies on two pathways, terminating in the insular (IC) and anterior cingulate (ACC) cortices, along with the somatosensory cortex (S1-S2). Interoception relying on these neuroanatomical pathways has been shown to modulate social cognition. We report the case study of C.S., a patient with an «external heart » (an extracorporeal left-univentricular cardiac assist device, LVAD). The patient was assessed with neural/behavioral measures of cardiac interoception complemented by neuropsychological and social cognition measures. The patient’s performance on the interoception task (heartbeat detection) seemed to be guided by signals from the artificial LVAD, which provides a somatosensory beat, rather than by his endogenous heart. Cortical activity (heart-evoked potential, HEP) decreased in comparison to normal volunteers, particularly during interoceptive states. The patient accurately performed several cognitive tasks, expect for empathy, theory of mind and decision-making. This evidence suggests an imbalance in the patient’s cardiac interoceptive pathways that enhances sensation driven by the artificial pump over that from the cardiac vagal-ICC-ACC pathway. A patient with two hearts, one endogenous and one artificial, presents a unique opportunity to explore models of interoception and heart-brain interaction

The ability to reappraise the emotional impact of events is related to long-term mental health. Self-focused reappraisal (REAPPself), i.e., reducing the personal relevance of the negative events, has been previously associated with neural activity in regions near right medial prefrontal cortex, but rarely investigated among brain-damaged individuals. Thus, we aimed to examine the REAPPself ability of brain-damaged patients and healthy controls considering structural atrophies and gray matter intensities, respectively. Twenty patients with well-defined cortex lesions due to an acquired circumscribed tumor or cyst and 23 healthy controls performed a REAPPself task, in which they had to either observe negative stimuli or decrease emotional responding by REAPPself. Next, they rated the impact of negative arousal and valence. REAPPself ability scores were calculated by subtracting the negative picture ratings after applying REAPPself from the ratings of the observing condition. The scores of the patients were included in a voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping (VLSM) analysis to identify deficit related areas (ROI). Then, a ROI group-wise comparison was performed. Additionally, a whole-brain voxel-based-morphometry (VBM) analysis was run, in which healthy participant’s REAPPself ability scores were correlated with gray matter intensities. Results showed that (1) regions in the right superior frontal gyrus (SFG), comprising the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (BA9) and the right dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (BA32), were associated with patient’s impaired down-regulation of arousal, (2) a lesion in the depicted ROI occasioned significant REAPPself impairments, (3) REAPPself ability of controls was linked with increased gray matter intensities in the ROI regions. Our findings show for the first time that the neural integrity and the structural volume of right SFG regions (BA9/32) might be indispensable for REAPPself. Implications for neurofeedback research are discussed.

The present study examined neural responses associated with moral sensitivity in adolescents with a background of early social deprivation. Using high-density electroencephalography (hdEEG), brain activity was measured during an intentional inference task, which assesses rapid moral decision-making regarding intentional or unintentional harm to people and objects. We compared the responses to this task in a socially deprived group (DG) with that of a control group (CG). The event-related potentials (ERPs) results showed atypical early and late frontal cortical markers associated with attribution of intentionality during moral decision-making in DG (especially regarding intentional harm to people). The source space of the hdEEG showed reduced activity for DG compared with CG in the right prefrontal cortex, bilaterally in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), and right insula. Moreover, the reduced response in vmPFC for DG was predicted by higher rates of externalizing problems. These findings demonstrate the importance of the social environment in early moral development, supporting a prefrontal maturation model of social deprivation.

To study voluntary action a dissociation must be established between the somatic event (e.g., motor action) and what the agent voluntarily does (e.g., handing a tool to a friend). We propose that cognitive neuroscience studies of hypnotic suggestion can accomplish this dissociation between action and will (more specifically, between action and intention, or action and volition). Thus, hypnotic suggestion may afford an empirical testing ground to study voluntary action, distinguishing voluntariness from action.

Music Therapy and Disorders of Consciousness: Providing Clinical Data for Differential Diagnosis between Vegetative State and Minimally Conscious State from Music-Centered Music Therapy and Neuroscience Perspectives. Autores Lichtensztejn M., Macchi P, Lischinsky A. Año 2014 Journal  Lichtensztejn M., Macchi P, Lischinsky A. Volumen Abstract   Otra información    

Durante muchos años, el deterioro cognitivo se ha establecido como un síntoma bien conocido de la esclerosis múltiple. Además, sabemos que está presente incluso al principio de la enfermedad. En este estudio de casos y controles, decidimos evaluar si hay un deterioro de las funciones cognitivas, incluso antes de la aparición en aquellos pacientes que eventualmente sufren de esclerosis múltiple. Se evaluó el desempeño de la escuela en general, y en particular el rendimiento escolar en matemáticas y lenguaje en un grupo de pacientes que más tarde desarrollarían la enfermedad y comparamos nuestros resultados con un grupo control. Se encontró que el rendimiento escolar era más pobre en los sujetos que iban a sufrir esclerosis múltiple. Paralelamente, encontramos que cuanto más tardío fuera el comienzo del primer síntoma, mejor eran las calificaciones. La prueba de un déficit cognitivo premórbido por un método de evaluación indirecta validado nos permitió comprobar la existencia de un compromiso neurológico, incluso antes de un diagnóstico clínico o la realización de la primera resonancia magnética en pacientes que luego sufrirían de esclerosis múltiple.

The ´interpreter advantage hypothesis´ posits that task-specific cognitive skills developed by professional interpreters (PIs) generalize to more efficient linguistic and executive abilities in non-interpreting tasks. This paper reviews relevant studies in order to establish preliminary data patterns and outline new research questions. Though not entirely consistent, the evidence suggests that interpreting expertise enhances aspects of semantic processing, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. The data also gives rise to new related queries: Are linguistic and executive enhancements in PIs independent from each other? Are all the superior skills of PIs cumulatively enhanced by the double influence of bilingualism and interpreting experience? And how soon after the onset of formal training do these advantages appear? Tentative answers to these questions are also implied in the evidence considered.

In cognitive neuroscience, the reissue of the notion of emergence and downward causation has been used as an interlevel model of mind-brain interactions from different perspectives. Within this perspective, intentionality has been interpreted as global to local determination (downward causation) on the neurophysiological level. Consciousness would act as the large-scale, global activity of the system that governs or constrains local interactions of neurons. This argument seems to solve several difficulties with regard to descriptions of consciousness on a neurophysiological and mental level. Nevertheless, the inconsistencies of this argument are shown, and a contextual and pragmatic explanation of the downward causation of consciousness is given.

Acute loss of consciousness. Autores Bekinschtein T, Gleichgerrcht E, Manes F. Año 2015 Journal Bekinschtein T, Gleichgerrcht E, Manes F. Volumen 127:195-204. Abstract Otra información  

Disentangling interoception: insights from focal strokes affecting the perception of external and internal milieus. Autores Couto B, Adolfi F, Sedeño L, Salles A, Canales-Johnson A, Alvarez-Abut P, Garcia-Cordero I, Pietto M, Bekinschtein T, Sigman M, Manes F, Ibanez A. Año 2015 Journal  Couto B, Adolfi F, Sedeño L, Salles A, Canales-Johnson A, Alvarez-Abut P, Garcia-Cordero I, … Leer más