Search results for "Hemispheric asymmetry"

Structural hemispheric asymmetries underlie verbal Stroop performance

2017

Performance on tasks involving cognitive control such as the Stroop task is often associated with left lateralized brain activations. Based on this neuro-functional evidence, we tested whether leftward structural grey matter asymmetries would also predict inter-individual differences in combatting Stroop interference. To check for the specificity of the results, both a verbal Stroop task and a spatial one were administered to a total of 111 healthy young individuals, for whom T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images were also acquired. Surface thickness and area estimations were calculated using FreeSurfer. Participants' hemispheres were registered to a symmetric template and Lat…

Transcranial direct current stimulation over left and right DLPFC: Lateralized effects on planning performance and related eye movements.

2014

Left and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) were recently found to be differentially affected by unilateral continuous theta-burst stimulation, reflected in an oppositional alteration of initial thinking time (ITT) in the Tower of London planning task. Here, we further explored this finding using bilateral transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and simultaneous tracking of eye movements. Results revealed a decrease in ITT during concurrent cathodal tDCS of left dlPFC and anodal tDCS of right dlPFC. Eye-movement analyses showed that this facilitating tDCS effect was associated with the actual planning phase, thus reflecting a planning-specific impact of stimulation. For the…

Chronic social stress inhibits cell proliferation in the adult medial prefrontal cortex: hemispheric asymmetry and reversal by fluoxetine treatment.

2006

Profound neuroplastic changes have been demonstrated in various limbic structures after chronic stress exposure and antidepressant treatment in animal models of mood disorders. Here, we examined in rats the effect of chronic social stress and concomitant antidepressant treatment on cell proliferation in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). We also examined possible hemispheric differences. Animals were subjected to 5 weeks of daily social defeat by an aggressive conspecific and received concomitant, daily, oral fluoxetine (10 mg/kg) during the last 4 weeks. Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) labeling and quantitative stereological techniques were used to evaluate the treatment effects on proliferatio…

2015

The execution of unilateral hand contractions before performance has been reported to produce behavioral aftereffects in various tasks. These effects have been regularly attributed to an induced shift in activation asymmetry to the contralateral hemisphere produced by the contractions. An alternative explanation proposes a generalized state of reduced bilateral cortical activity following unilateral hand contractions. The current experiment contrasted the above explanation models and tested the state of cortical activity after the termination of unilateral hand contractions. Twenty right-handed participants performed hand contractions in two blocks, one for each hand. Using electroencephalo…

Detrimental noise effects on brain's speech functions.

2009

Background noise has become part of our everyday life in modern societies. Its presence affects both the ability to concentrate and communicate. Some individuals, like children, the elderly, and non-native speakers have pronounced problems in noisy environments. Here we review evidence suggesting that background noise has both transient and Sustained detrimental effects on central speech processing. Studies on the effects of noise on neural processes have demonstrated hemispheric reorganization in speech processing in adult individuals during background noise. During noise, the well-known left hemisphere dominance in speech discrimination became right hemisphere preponderant. Furthermore, l…