Prospective memory: the combined impact of cognitive load and task focality.

Prospective Memory (PM) entails a set of executive processes primarily associated with the activation of frontal and parietal regions. Both the number of PM-targets to be monitored (i.e. task load) and the relationship between the type of PM-targets and the ongoing (ONG) task (i.e. task focality) can impact executive monitoring and PM performance. In the present imaging study, we manipulated load and focality of an event-based PM task to test the hypothesis that common resources engage in situations requiring high levels of cognitive control: that is, in high-load (i.e. monitor multiple PM-targets) and non-focal conditions (i.e. monitor at the same time letters' identity and color). We investigated monitoring-related and detection-related processes by assessing behavior and brain activity separately for ONG trials (monitoring) and PM-targets (detection). At the behavioral level, we found a significant interaction between load and focality during detection, with slowest reaction times for focal, high-load PM-targets. The imaging analyses of the detection phase revealed the activation of the left intraparietal sulcus in the high-load conditions. Both in the monitoring and the detection phases, we found overlapping effects of non-focality and low-load in the fusiform gyrus. Our results suggest that under low-load conditions, cognitive control operates via early selection mechanisms in the ventral occipito-temporal cortex. By contrast, high-load conditions entail control at later processing stages within the dorsal parietal cortex. We conclude that load and focality operate via different mechanisms, with the level of task load largely determining how cognitive control selects the most relevant information.

Molecular Nanomagnets as Qubits with Embedded Quantum-Error Correction.

We show that molecular nanomagnets have a potential advantage in the crucial rush toward quantum computers. Indeed, the sizable number of accessible low-energy states of these systems can be exploited to define qubits with embedded quantum error correction. We derive the scheme to achieve this crucial objective and the corresponding sequence of microwave/radiofrequency pulses needed for the error correction procedure. The effectiveness of our approach is shown already with a minimal S = 3/2 unit corresponding to an existing molecule, and the scaling to larger spin systems is quantitatively analyzed.

An fMRI study on the neural correlates of social conformity to a sexual minority.

Social conformity refers to the tendency to align one's own behaviors, beliefs and values to those of others. Little is known about social influence coming from a minority group. To test whether social pressure from sexual minorities triggers avoidance-motivated behaviors, we explored how being influenced by the preferences of gay peers modifies the behavioral and neural reactivity of individuals defined as in- vs. out- groups on the basis of sexual orientation. To this aim, we combined fMRI with a social conformity paradigm in which heterosexual and gay/bisexual (hereafter non-exclusively heterosexual, NEH) individuals provided with male body attractiveness ratings by a fictitious group of gay students may or may not alter their previous rating and may or may not conform to the mean. Behaviorally, conformity to the minority preference was found in in-group NEH more than in out-group heterosexuals. Analysis of BOLD signal showed that social pressure brought about increased brain activity in frontal and parietal regions associated with the detection of social conflict. These results show that members of a sexual majority group display a smaller level of conformity when a sexual minority group exerts social influence. However, the neural correlates of this modulation are yet to be clarified.

Fusion Channels of Non-Abelian Anyons from Angular-Momentum and Density-Profile Measurements.

We present a method to characterize non-Abelian anyons that is based only on static measurements and that does not rely on any form of interference. For geometries where the anyonic statistics can be revealed by rigid rotations of the anyons, we link this property to the angular momentum of the initial state. We test our method on the paradigmatic example of the Moore-Read state that is known to support excitations with non-Abelian statistics of Ising type. As an example, we reveal the presence of different fusion channels for two such excitations, a defining feature of non-Abelian anyons. This is obtained by measuring density-profile properties, like the mean square radius of the system or the depletion generated by the anyons. Our study paves the way to novel methods for characterizing non-Abelian anyons, both in the experimental and theoretical domains.

Time-of-Flight Measurements as a Possible Method to Observe Anyonic Statistics.

We propose a standard time-of-flight experiment as a method for observing the anyonic statistics of quasiholes in a fractional quantum Hall state of ultracold atoms. The quasihole states can be stably prepared by pinning the quasiholes with localized potentials and a measurement of the mean square radius of the freely expanding cloud, which is related to the average total angular momentum of the initial state, offers direct signatures of the statistical phase. Our proposed method is validated by Monte Carlo calculations for ν=1/2 and 1/3 fractional quantum Hall liquids containing a realistic number of particles. Extensions to quantum Hall liquids of light and to non-Abelian anyons are briefly discussed.

The γ-parameter of anomalous diffusion quantified in human brain by MRI depends on local magnetic susceptibility differences.

Motivated by previous results obtained in vitro, we investigated the dependence of the anomalous diffusion (AD) MRI technique on local magnetic susceptibility differences (Δχ) driven by magnetic field inhomogeneity in human brains. The AD-imaging contrast investigated here is quantified by the stretched-exponential parameter γ, extracted from diffusion weighted (DW) data collected by varying diffusion gradient strengths. We performed T2* and DW experiments in eight healthy subjects at 3.0T. T2*-weighted images at different TEs=(10,20,35,55)ms and DW-EPI images with fourteen b-values from 0 to 5000s/mm2 were acquired. AD-metrics and Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) parameters were compared and correlated to R2* and to Δχ values taken from literature for the gray (GM) and the white (WM) matter. Pearson's correlation test and Analysis of Variance with Bonferroni post-hoc test were used. Significant strong linear correlations were found between AD γ-metrics and R2* in both GM and WM of the human brain, but not between DTI-metrics and R2*. Depending on Δχ driven magnetic field inhomogeneity, the new contrast provided by AD-γ imaging reflects Δχ due to differences in myelin orientation and iron content within selected regions in the WM and GM, respectively. This feature of the AD-γ imaging due to the fact that γ is quantified by using MRI, may be an alternative strategy to investigate, at high magnetic fields, microstructural changes in myelin, and alterations due to iron accumulation. Possible clinical applications might be in the field of neurodegenerative diseases.

Weighing the stigma of weight: An fMRI study of neural reactivity to the pain of obese individuals.

Explicit negative attitudes and blameful beliefs (e.g. poor diet, laziness) towards obese individuals are well documented and are pervasive even among health professionals. Here we sought to determine whether obesity stigma is reflected in a fundamental feature of intersubjectivity namely the automatic neural resonance with others' affective experiences. During fMRI, normal-weight female participants observed short clips depicting normal-weight (NW) and obese (Ob) models experiencing pain. Importantly, participants believed that half of the Ob were overweight due to a hormonal disorder (HormOb) and ignored the cause of obesity of the remaining models (Unknown obese models; UnkOb). Analyses of hemodynamic responses showed reduced activity to the pain of Ob compared to that of NW in areas associated with pain processing and early visual processing. The comparison between the two Ob conditions revealed a further decrease of activity to HormOb's pain compared to UnkOb's (and NW) pain in the right inferior frontal gyrus, an area associated with emotional resonance. Our study demonstrates that stigma for obese individuals can be observed at implicit levels, and that it is modulated by knowledge concerning the etiology of obesity, with the seemingly surprising result that obesity due to disease may result in greater stigmatization. Moreover, the perceived similarity with the models and the ambivalent emotion of pity may index biased brain responses to obese individuals' pain. The study highlights a possibly important neural link between resonance with the pain of others and obesity stigma.

Action anticipation beyond the action observation network: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study in expert basketball players.

The ability to predict the actions of others is quintessential for effective social interactions, particularly in competitive contexts (e.g. in sport) when knowledge about upcoming movements allows anticipating rather than reacting to opponents. Studies suggest that we predict what others are doing by using our own motor system as an internal forward model and that the fronto-parietal action observation network (AON) is fundamental for this ability. However, multiple-duty cells dealing with action perception and execution have been found in a variety of cortical regions. Here we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to explore, in expert basketball athletes and novices, whether the ability to make early predictions about the fate of sport-specific actions (i.e. free throws) is underpinned by neural regions beyond the classical AON. We found that, although involved in action prediction, the fronto-parietal AON was similarly activated in novices and experts. Importantly, athletes exhibited relatively greater activity in the extrastriate body area during the prediction task, probably due to their expert reading of the observed action kinematics. Moreover, experts exhibited higher activation in the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus and in the right anterior insular cortex when producing errors, suggesting that they might become aware of their own errors. Correct action prediction induced higher posterior insular cortex activity in experts and higher orbito-frontal activity in novices, suggesting that body awareness is important for performance monitoring in experts, whereas novices rely more on higher-order decision-making strategies. This functional reorganization highlights the tight relationship between action anticipation, error awareness and motor expertise leading to body-related processing and differences in decision-making processes.

Anisotropic anomalous diffusion assessed in the human brain by scalar invariant indices.

A new method to investigate anomalous diffusion in human brain, inspired by the stretched-exponential model proposed by Hall and Barrick, is proposed here, together with a discussion about its potential application to cerebral white matter characterization. Aim of the work was to show the ability of anomalous diffusion indices to characterize white matter structures, whose complexity is only partially accounted by diffusion tensor imaging indices. MR signal was expressed as a stretched-exponential only along the principal axes of diffusion; whereas, in a generic direction, it was modeled as a combination of three stretched-exponentials. Indices to quantify the tissue anomalous diffusion and its anisotropy, independently of the experiment reference frame, were derived. Experimental results, obtained on 10 healthy subjects at 3T, show that the new parameters are highly correlated to intrinsic local geometry when compared with Hall and Barrick indices. Moreover, they offer a different contrast in white matter regions when compared with diffusion tensor imaging. Specifically, the new indices show a higher capability to discriminate among areas of the corpus callosum associated to different distribution in axonal densities, thus offering a new potential tool to detect more specific patterns of brain abnormalities than diffusion tensor imaging in the presence of neurological and psychiatric disorders.

Single domain amnestic MCI: a multiple cognitive domains fMRI investigation.

Amnestic mild cognitive impairment (a-MCI) is associated with the highest annual incidence of conversion to Alzheimer's disease (AD) (10-15%). a-MCI patients may have only a memory deficit (single domain: sd-a-MCI) or additional dysfunctions affecting other cognitive domains (multiple domain: md-a-MCI). Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we investigated brain activation in 16 sd-a-MCI patients and 14 controls during four different tasks assessing language, memory, attention and empathy functions. We found greater activation in sd-a-MCI compared with controls in the left inferior temporal gyrus (language), the right superior temporal gyrus (memory) and the right dorsal precentral gyrus (attention). Moreover, patients' activation correlated significantly with neuropsychological scores obtained at tests exploring the corresponding function. These findings indicate that fMRI is sensitive to detect early changes occurring in AD pathology and that individuals with sd-a-MCI show increased activation in multiple task-related brain regions. We suggest that these functional changes relate to the development of early compensatory mechanisms that reduce cognitive deficits associated with the progressive accumulation of brain damage.

Right temporal-parietal junction engagement during spatial reorienting does not depend on strategic attention control.

Targets presented outside the focus of attention trigger stimulus-driven spatial reorienting and activation of the right temporal-parietal junction (rTPJ). However, event-related functional resonance imaging (fMRI) studies that used task-irrelevant non-predictive cues systematically failed to activate rTPJ, suggesting that this region controls reorienting only when attention is shifted between two task-relevant locations. Here we challenge this view showing that non-predictive peripheral cues can affect activity in rTPJ, but only when they share a feature with the target: i.e. when they are set-relevant. Trials including a set-relevant cue plus a target on the uncued/unattended side produced the slowest reaction times and selective activation of the rTPJ. These findings demonstrate that rTPJ is not involved only in reorienting between two task-relevant locations, but engages also when non-predictive cues are set-relevant, thereby, irrespective of voluntary attention and breaches of task-related expectations.

The representation of space near the body through touch and vision.

This review discusses how visual and the tactile signals are combined in the brain to ensure appropriate interactions with the space around the body. Visual and tactile signals converge in many regions of the brain (e.g. parietal and premotor cortices) where multisensory input can interact on the basis of specific spatial constraints. Crossmodal interactions can modulate also unisensory visual and somatosensory cortices, possibly via feed-back projections from fronto-parietal areas. These processes enable attentional selection of relevant locations in near body space, as demonstrated by studies of spatial attention in healthy volunteers and in neuropsychological patients with crossmodal extinction. These crossmodal spatial effects can be flexibly updated taking into account the position of the eyes and the limbs, thus reflecting the spatial alignment of visuo-tactile stimuli in external space. Further, studies that manipulated vision of body parts (alien, real or fake limbs) have demonstrated that passive viewing of the body can influence the perception of somatosensory stimuli, again involving areas in the premotor and parietal cortices. Finally, we discuss how tool-use can expand the region of visuo-tactile integration in near body space, emphasizing the flexibility of this system at the single-neuron level in the monkey's parietal cortex, with corresponding multisensory effects in normals and neuropsychological patients. We conclude that visuo-tactile crossmodal links dominate the representation of near body space and that this is implemented functionally in parietal and premotor brain regions. These integration processes mediate the orienting of spatial attention and generate an efficient and flexible representation the space around the body.

The brain network underlying serial visual search: comparing overt and covert spatial orienting, for activations and for effective connectivity.

We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the brain basis of overt and covert forms of attention during search, while employing stringent control of both eye movements and attentional shifts. A factorial design compared overt and covert forms of goal-directed serial search versus stimulus-driven tracking. To match ocular changes and the number and magnitude of attention shifts across cells in the design, stimulus-driven tracking involved trial-specific "replay" of previous goal-directed eye movements. We found that, in terms of cortical activations, engagement of the dorsal fronto-parietal network by goal-directed attention did not depend on oculomotor requirements, being found similarly for covert attention, in accord with other work. However, analyses of effective connectivity (or "functional coupling") revealed that information flow within this network changed significantly as a function of both the task (goal-directed or stimulus-driven) and the overt versus covert form of attention. Additionally, we observed a distinct set of subcortical regions (pulvinar and caudate nucleus) engaged primarily during the covert form of goal-directed search. We conclude that dynamics within the dorsal fronto-parietal attentional system flexibly reorganize to integrate task demands and oculomotor requirements.

Spatial attention can modulate audiovisual integration at multiple cortical and subcortical sites.

The role of attention in multisensory integration (MI) is presently uncertain, with some studies supporting an automatic, pre-attentive process and others suggesting possible modulation through selective attention. The goal of this functional magnetic resonance imaging study was to investigate the role of spatial attention on the processing of congruent audiovisual speech stimuli (here indexing MI). Subjects were presented with two simultaneous visual streams (speaking lips in the left and right visual hemifields) plus a single central audio stream (spoken words). In the selective attention conditions, the auditory stream was congruent with one of the two visual streams. Subjects attended to either the congruent or the incongruent visual stream, allowing the comparison of brain activity for attended vs. unattended MI while the amount of multisensory information in the environment and the overall attentional requirements were held constant. Meridian mapping and a lateralized 'speaking-lips' localizer were used to identify early visual areas and to localize regions responding to contralateral visual stimulations. Results showed that attention to the congruent audiovisual stimulus resulted in increased activation in the superior temporal sulcus, striate and extrastriate retinotopic visual cortex, and superior colliculus. These findings demonstrate that audiovisual integration and spatial attention jointly interact to influence activity in an extensive network of brain areas, including associative regions, early sensory-specific visual cortex and subcortical structures that together contribute to the perception of a fused audiovisual percept.

Single-epoch analysis of interleaved evoked potentials and fMRI responses during steady-state visual stimulation.

OBJECTIVE: Aim of the study was to record BOLD-fMRI interleaved with evoked potentials for single-epochs of visual stimulation and to investigate the possible relationship between these two measures. METHODS: Sparse recording of fMRI and EEG allowed us to measure BOLD responses and evoked potentials on an epoch-by-epoch basis. To obtain robust estimates of evoked potentials, we used blocks of contrast-reversing visual stimuli eliciting steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs). For each block we acquired one volume of fMRI data and we then tested for co-variations between SSVEPs and fMRI signals. Our analyses tested for frequency-specific co-variation between the two measurements that could not be explained by the mere presence/absence of the visual stimulation. RESULTS: Condition-specific single-epoch SSVEPs and fMRI responses were observed at occipital sites. Combined SSVEPs-fMRI analysis at the single-epoch level did not reveal any significant correlation between the two recordings. However, both signals contained stimulation-specific linear decreases that may relate to neuronal habituation. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate robust estimation of single-epoch evoked potentials and fMRI responses during interleaved recording, using visual steady-state stimulation. SIGNIFICANCE: Single-epochs analysis of evoked potentials and fMRI signals is feasible for interleaved SSVEPs-fMRI recordings.

Interaural temporal and coherence cues jointly contribute to successful sound movement perception and activation of parietal cortex.

The perception of movement in the auditory modality requires dynamic changes in the input that reaches the two ears (e.g. sequential changes of interaural time differences; dynamic ITDs). However, it is still unclear as to what extent these temporal cues interact with other interaural cues to determine successful movement perception, and which brain regions are involved in sound movement processing. Here, we presented trains of white-noise bursts containing either static or dynamic ITDs, and we varied parametrically the level of binaural coherence (BC) of both types of stimuli. Behaviorally, we found that movement discrimination sensitivity decreased with decreasing levels of BC. fMRI analyses highlighted a network of temporal, frontal and parietal regions where activity decreased with decreasing BC. Critically, in the intra-parietal sulcus and the supra-marginal gyrus brain activity decreased with decreasing BC, but only for dynamic-ITD sounds (BC by ITD interaction). Thus, these regions activated selectively when the sounds contained both dynamic ITDs and high levels of BC; i.e. when subjects perceived sound movement. We conclude that sound movement perception requires both dynamic changes of the auditory input and effective sound-source localization, and that parietal cortex utilizes interaural temporal and coherence cues for the successful perception of sound movement.

Neural basis of maternal communication and emotional expression processing during infant preverbal stage.

During the first year of life, exchanges and communication between a mother and her infant are exclusively preverbal and are based on the mother's ability to understand her infant's needs and feelings (i.e., empathy) and on imitation of the infant's facial expressions; this promotes a social dialog that influences the development of the infant self. Sixteen mothers underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while observing and imitating faces of their own child and those of someone else's child. We found that the mirror neuron system, the insula and amygdala were more active during emotional expressions, that this circuit is engaged to a greater extent when interacting with one's own child, and that it is correlated with maternal reflective function (a measure of empathy). We also found, by comparing single emotions with each other, that joy expressions evoked a response mainly in right limbic and paralimbic areas; by contrast, ambiguous expressions elicited a response in left high order cognitive and motor areas, which might reflect cognitive effort.

Putaminal activity is related to perceptual certainty.

We have investigated the neural basis of perceptual certainty using a simple discrimination paradigm. Psychophysical experiments have shown that a pair of identical electrical stimuli to the skin or a pair of auditory clicks to the ears are consistently perceived as two separate events in time when the inter-stimulus interval (ISIs) is long, and perceived as simultaneous events when the ISIs are very short. The perceptual certainty of having received one or two stimuli decreases when the ISI lies between these two extremes and this is reflected in inconsistent reporting of the percept across trials. In two fMRI experiments, 14 healthy subjects received either paired electrical pulses delivered to the forearm (ISIs=5-110 ms) or paired auditory clicks presented binaurally (ISIs=1-20 ms). For each subject and modality, we calculated a consistency index (CI) representing the level of perceptual certainty. The task activated pre-SMA and anterior cingulate cortex, plus the cerebellum and the basal ganglia. Critically, activity in the right putamen was linearly dependent on CI for both tactile and auditory discrimination, with topographically distinct effects in the two modalities. These results support a role for the human putamen in the "automatic" perception of temporal features of tactile and auditory stimuli.

Delay activity and sensory-motor translation during planned eye or hand movements to visual or tactile targets.

To perform eye or hand movements toward a relevant location, the brain must translate sensory input into motor output. Recent studies revealed segregation between circuits for translating visual information into saccadic or manual movements, but less is known about translation of tactile information into such movements. Using human functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in a delay paradigm, we factorially crossed sensory modality (vision or touch) and motor effector (eyes or hands) for lateralized movements (gaze shifts to left or right or pressing a left or right button with the corresponding left or right hand located there). We investigated activity in the delay-period between stimulation and response, asking whether the currently relevant side (left or right) during the delay was encoded according to sensory modality, upcoming motor response, or some interactive combination of these. Delay activity mainly reflected the motor response subsequently required. Irrespective of visual or tactile input, we found sustained activity in posterior partial cortex, frontal-eye field, and contralateral visual cortex when subjects would later make an eye movement. For delays prior to manual button-press response, activity increased in contralateral precentral regions, again regardless of stimulated modality. Posterior superior temporal sulcus showed sustained delay activity, irrespective of sensory modality, side, and response type. We conclude that the delay activations reflect translation of sensory signals into effector-specific motor circuits in parietal and frontal cortex (plus an impact on contralateral visual cortex for planned saccades), regardless of cue modality, whereas posterior STS provides a representation that generalizes across both sensory modality and motor effector.

Episodic memory impairment in patients with Alzheimer's disease is correlated with entorhinal cortex atrophy. A voxel-based morphometry study.

The aims of this study were to investigate the pattern of cortical atrophy and the relationships between memory performances and the brain regions in Alzheimer's Disease (AD). optimized voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was applied to the MRI brain images of 18 probable AD and 18 healthy subjects (HS). Patients performed verbal and visuo-spatial episodic and shortterm memory tests. Contrasting of AD group with HS, and anatomobehavioural correlations were carried out in order to identify regional atrophic changes and neuro-cognitive aspects in AD group. We found evidence of gray matter (GM) volume reduction in AD in the medial temporal, parietal and frontal areas bilaterally and in the left anterior thalamic nuclei. Performance on the episodic memory delayed recall tests co-varied with GM volume in the left entorhinal cortex. The pattern of cortical atrophy likely reflects the heterogeneous level of dementia severity in our AD group. The anatomical region affected in the left hemisphere indicates a sufferance at multiple levels of the Polysynaptic Hippocampal Pathway, which is involved in declarative memory. Findings on the entorhinal cortex and the delayed memory scores support the role of the entorhinal cortex in episodic memory. Damage to the entorhinal cortex, deafferenting the hippocampus from neocortical inputs, interferes with episodic memory consolidation in AD patients.