Search results for "cognitive neuroscience"

Studying brain visuo-tactile integration through cross-spectral analysis of human MEG recordings

2010

An important aim in cognitive neuroscience is to identify the networks connecting different brain areas and their role in executing complex tasks. In this study, visuo-tactile tasks were employed to assess the functional correlation underlying the cooperation process between visual and tactile regions. MEG data were recorded from eight healthy subjects while performing a visual, a tactile, and a visuo-tactile task. To define regions of interest (ROIs), event-related fields (ERFs) were estimated from MEG data related to visual and tactile areas. The ten channels with the highest increase in ERF variance, moving from rest to task, were selected. Cross-spectral analysis was then performed to a…

Musical structure modulates semantic priming in vocal music.

2004

It has been shown that harmonic structure may influence the processing of phonemes whatever the extent of participants' musical expertise [Bigand, E., Tillmann, B., Poulin, B., D'Adamo, D. A.,Madurell, F. (2001). The effect of harmonic context on phoneme monitoring in vocal music. Cognition, 81, B11-B20]. The present study goes a step further by investigating how musical harmony may potentially interfere with the processing of words in vocal music. Eight-chord sung sentences were presented, their last word being either semantically related (La girafe a un tres grand cou, The giraffe has a very long neck) or unrelated to the previous linguistic context (La girafe a un tres grand pied, The gi…

The effect of harmonic context on phoneme monitoring in vocal music

2001

The processing of a target chord depends on the previous musical context in which it has appeared. This harmonic priming effect occurs for fine syntactic-like changes in context and is observed irrespective of the extent of participants' musical expertise (Bigand & Pineau, Perception and Psychophysics, 59 (1997) 1098). The present study investigates how the harmonic context influences the processing of phonemes in vocal music. Eight-chord sequences were presented to participants. The four notes of each chord were played with synthetic phonemes and participants were required to quickly decide whether the last chord (the target) was sung on a syllable containing the phoneme /i/ or /u/. The mu…

Weight loss is associated with improvements in cognitive function among overweight and obese people: A systematic review and meta-analysis

2017

Whilst obesity is associated with a higher risk of cognitive impairment, the influence of weight loss on cognitive function in obese/overweight people is equivocal. We conducted a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and longitudinal studies evaluating the influence of voluntary weight loss on cognitive function in obese/overweight individuals. Articles were acquired from a systematic search of major databases from inception till 01/2016. A random effect meta-analysis of weight loss interventions (diet, physical activity, bariatric surgery) on different cognitive domains (memory, attention, executive functions, language and motor speed) was conducted. Twenty studies (13 long…

A case of normal word reading but impaired letter naming

2006

A case of a word/letter dissociation is described. The present patient has a quasi-normal word reading performance (both at the level of speed and accuracy) while he has major problems in nonword and letter reading. More specifically, he has strong difficulties in retrieving letter names but preserved abilities in letter identification. This study complements previous cases reporting a similar word/letter dissociation by focusing more specifically on word reading and letter naming latencies. The results provide new constraints for modeling the role of letter knowledge within reading processes and during reading acquisition or rehabilitation.

2021

Background: Normal aging is associated with working memory decline. A decrease in working memory performance is associated with age-related changes in functional activation patterns in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Cognitive training can improve cognitive performance in healthy older adults. We implemented a cognitive training study to assess determinants of generalization of training gains to untrained tasks, a key indicator for the effectiveness of cognitive training. We aimed to investigate the association of resting-state functional connectivity (FC) of DLPFC with working memory performance improvement and cognitive gains after the training.Method: A sample of 60 healthy o…

2020

Physical activity and exercise beneficially link to brain properties and cognitive functions in older adults, but the findings concerning adolescents remain tentative. During adolescence, the brain ...

Continuous Theta-Burst Stimulation Intensity Dependently Facilitates Motor-Evoked Potentials Following Focal Electrical Stimulation of the Rat Motor …

2020

Although theta-burst stimulation (TBS) is known to differentially modify motor cortical excitability according to stimulus conditions in humans, whether similar effects can be seen in animals, in particular rats, remains to be defined. Given the importance of experimental rat models for humans, this study explored this stimulation paradigm in rats. Specifically, this study aimed to explore corticospinal excitability after TBS in anesthetized animals to confirm its comparability with human results. Both inhibition-facilitation configurations using paired electrical stimulation protocols and the effects of the TBS paradigm on motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) in rat descending motor pathways wer…

Understanding Addiction Using Animal Models

2019

Drug addiction is a neuropsychiatric disorder with grave personal consequences that has an extraordinary global economic impact. Despite decades of research, the options available to treat addiction are often ineffective because our rudimentary understanding of drug-induced pathology in brain circuits and synaptic physiology inhibits the rational design of successful therapies. This understanding will arise first from animal models of addiction where experimentation at the level of circuits and molecular biology is possible. We will review the most common preclinical models of addictive behavior and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each. This includes non-contingent models in whi…

High frequency rTMS over the left parietal lobule increases non-word reading accuracy

2012

Increasing evidence in the literature supports the usefulness of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) in studying reading processes. Two brain regions are primarily involved in phonological decoding: the left superior temporal gyrus (STG), which is associated with the auditory representation of spoken words, and the left inferior parietal lobe (IPL), which operates in phonological computation. This study aimed to clarify the specific contribution of IPL and STG to reading aloud and to evaluate the possibility of modulating healthy participants' task performance using high frequency repetitive TMS (hf-rTMS). The main finding is that hf-rTMS over the left IPL improves non-word reading accu…