Experimental Brain Research最新文献

{"title":"Whole-body immobilization modulates visuotactile interaction.","authors":"Naoki Kuroda, Ryo Teraoka, Shinya Harada, Wataru Teramoto","doi":"10.1007/s00221-025-07129-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00221-025-07129-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Peripersonal space (PPS) is the space immediately around each body part. A previous study reported that hand-centered PPS shrank after hand immobilization; however, little is known about what happens in the PPS of other body parts. Here, we investigated the effect of whole-body immobilization on trunk-centered PPS by fixing the whole-body in a large box. Two experiments were conducted. Experiment 1 compared trunk-centered PPS with and without a large box. Experiment 2 manipulated the box size (large or small) to investigate the effects of box embodiment. Participants were tasked with responding as quickly as possible to a tactile stimulus on their chest while viewing a visual probe approaching from various distances. A visual facilitation effect in PPS was defined as the amount that the visual probe facilitated tactile detection in each distance condition. In addition, participants evaluated body immobilization under all conditions. The results showed that the visual facilitation effect on tactile detection was significantly greater in the with-box than in the without-box conditions in Experiment 1, and was significantly greater in the small box than in the large box conditions in Experiment 2. However, neither experiment clearly estimated PPS boundaries, although the visual probe located at farther distances had significantly less visual facilitation effect. Perceived body immobilization was stronger in the with-box than without-box conditions in Experiment 1 and was stronger in the small box than in the large box conditions in Experiment 2. These results suggest that body immobilization, rather than box embodiments, can induce stronger visuotactile interaction.</p>","PeriodicalId":12268,"journal":{"name":"Experimental Brain Research","volume":"243 8","pages":"186"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12255558/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144616858","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Oscillatory brain indexes of auditory-induced predictions about contingences during vocalizations.","authors":"Oleg Korzyukov, Valentina Gumenyuk, Charles R Larson","doi":"10.1007/s00221-025-07130-8","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-025-07130-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>During speech and voice production, our brain implicitly generates internal predictions about future events in auditory environment that empirically can affect voice production. Bioelectrical signatures of these prediction-related neuronal calculations can help us to understand normal and clinical aspects of predictive processing when motor system and audition are functionally integrated for phonation. Using time frequency-analyses of brain activity elicited by surprising shift in auditory feedback during human vocalizations, we identified changes in oscillatory brain activity that are associated with long-term brain predictions about future contingences in voice production. Furthermore, we found that when the auditory system detects an error in relatively long-term brain predictions, changes in oscillatory brain activity occur before the onset of involuntary compensatory vocal reactions in voice production. Interpreting our present results from predictive processing perspectives opens an avenue for further basic and clinical research of a relatively complex hierarchically organized predictions incorporating motor and perceptual functions.</p>","PeriodicalId":12268,"journal":{"name":"Experimental Brain Research","volume":"243 8","pages":"187"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-07-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144616857","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Intact reinforcement learning in healthy ageing.","authors":"Wei-Hsiang Lin, Karin S Pilz, Michael H Herzog, Marina Kunchulia","doi":"10.1007/s00221-025-07092-x","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00221-025-07092-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>What changes with age? Results in reinforcement learning (RL) are mixed. Some studies found deteriorated RL performance in older participants compared to younger controls whereas other studies did not. Daniel et al. (J Neurosci 40(5):1084-1096, 2020. 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0254-19.2019) suggested that task demand can explain these differences, with less demanding tasks showing no effect of age. Compared to classic, simple RL tasks, we used a navigation task to increase overall complexity. We found that older adults performed less efficiently initially; however, with sufficient trials, they performed as well as young adults. Our results support the idea that ageing does not universally impair performance and that even higher-level cognitive tasks remain largely intact.</p>","PeriodicalId":12268,"journal":{"name":"Experimental Brain Research","volume":"243 8","pages":"185"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12254157/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144607892","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparative analysis of muscle coordination patterns underlying different types of stepping movements.","authors":"Lotte Hagedoorn, Edwin van Asseldonk, Vivian Weerdesteyn","doi":"10.1007/s00221-025-07118-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00221-025-07118-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Reactive stepping is crucial for preventing falls after losing balance. While perturbation-based training improves reactive step quality, voluntary step training appears less effective. To gain insight into the neural underpinnings of such task-specific effects, we examined the muscle coordination patterns of voluntary and reactive stepping. As an additional step type, we introduced action observation with motor simulation of reactive steps, as it has shown promise for improving reactive step quality without requiring real balance perturbations. Electromyographic signals were recorded from eight leg and trunk muscles of healthy young subjects (n = 15) during three step types: (1) reactive stepping following support-surface translations, (2) voluntary stepping in response to a visual stimulus, and (3) action observation with motor simulation of reactive steps, as demonstrated by a human actor. Each condition involved stepping with the right leg in five directions (anterior/45°anterior/lateral/45°posterior/posterior). Muscle synergy analysis was employed to identify muscle weights with corresponding temporal activation profiles, which were compared across step types. Step characteristics and body configurations at foot down were also compared. Three muscle synergies were consistently recruited across participants and step types. In reactive stepping, a majority of participants exhibited a fourth muscle synergy involving rectus femoris and soleus. Temporal activation coefficients and body configurations varied with step type. While largely similar muscle weights were found for the three types of stepping movements, higher levels of activation in reactive stepping presumably reflect the greater biomechanical challenge involved. These findings may help explain differences in effects between different step training protocols.</p>","PeriodicalId":12268,"journal":{"name":"Experimental Brain Research","volume":"243 8","pages":"184"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12238075/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144583503","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The influence of advanced information on co-representation in a shared finger precuing task.","authors":"Melanie Y Lam, Daniel J Weeks, Romeo Chua","doi":"10.1007/s00221-025-07128-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00221-025-07128-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Effective joint action relies on co-representation, where individuals integrate each other's tasks to achieve a shared task goal. This study examined how advanced information influences co-representation in a shared 4-choice finger precuing task where participants made discrete keypress responses to visual stimuli appearing at preassigned spatial locations. The five precue types varied in the amount of information about the upcoming stimulus location. In Experiment 1, participants first shared the 4-choice finger precuing task while sitting face-to-face (Joint 4-Choice, J4C), then they completed the entire 4-choice task alone (Solo 4-Choice, S4C). As anticipated, the standard precuing effect (reaction times [RTs] decrease as the amount of advanced information provided by the precue increases) was observed in the S4C task. However, a joint precuing effect was not elicited in the J4C task, suggesting that co-representation did not transpire. In Experiment 2, participants completed a modified solo version of the 4-choice finger precuing task (Solo 2-Choice, S2C), responding to only two of the four stimuli (Go trials) and ignoring the other two (NoGo trials). After completing the S2C task, participants completed the S4C task. The S2C task did not exhibit the standard precuing effect observed in the S4C task. Further analysis revealed that RTs were primarily influenced by the number of stimulus-response alternatives and modulated by the Go/NoGo context. Lastly, in Experiment 3, participants were seated side-by-side to enhance social context and verify that the spatial arrangement in Experiment 1 (face-to-face) did not inadvertently disrupt the social context needed to elicit co-representation. Despite eliminating this potential confounding factor by increasing proximity, no joint precuing effect was elicited. These findings advance our understanding of co-representation by demonstrating that it is not an automatic outcome of shared tasks and requires specific conditions (e.g., simultaneous actions, group-level representations) to manifest.</p>","PeriodicalId":12268,"journal":{"name":"Experimental Brain Research","volume":"243 7","pages":"183"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144539666","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"\"Automatic\" online reach corrections are associated with individual differences in executive function.","authors":"Branden T Otte, Christopher L Striemer","doi":"10.1007/s00221-025-07126-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00221-025-07126-4","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Previous research has demonstrated that the dorsal visual stream is able to execute rapid online movement corrections to sudden changes in target position. This \"automatic pilot\" can operate in the absence of visual awareness, and even under circumstances where participants are instructed to not correct their movements. In the current study, we examined the extent to which these \"automatic\" corrections might be related to individual differences in executive function. To examine this, healthy adult participants (n = 80) completed two versions of the automatic pilot task on a touch screen: (1) a \"Correct\" condition in which participants were instructed to correct their movement to the new target location on jump trials, and (2) an \"Ignore\" condition in which participants were told to ignore any target jumps, and point to the initial target location. In addition to completing these two versions of the automatic pilot task, participants also completed the Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART), in which they were asked to respond when a number was presented, except for the number 3. Finally, participants completed self-report questionnaires indexing executive attention, impulsivity, and executive function including the Adult ADHD Self Report Scale (ASRS), the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ), and the Behavioural Rating Inventory of Executive Function for Adults (BRIEF-A).Our results indicated that, similar to previous research, participants made significantly more corrections to target jumps in the \"Correct\" condition, compared to the \"Ignore\" condition. Importantly, \"automatic\" unintended corrections in the \"Ignore\" condition were significantly correlated with poorer scores on the ASRS, the CFQ and the BRIEF-A. However, unintended corrections were not correlated with errors or reaction times on the SART. These results suggest that the automatic pilot task is sensitive to self-reported individual differences in executive function, and may be useful as a visuomotor measure of response inhibition and cognitive control in both healthy and clinical populations.</p>","PeriodicalId":12268,"journal":{"name":"Experimental Brain Research","volume":"243 7","pages":"182"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144539756","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"BMSCs-derived exosomal Egr2 inhibited OGD/R-induced neuronal cell injury through the RNF8/DAPK1 axis in ischemic stroke.","authors":"Rongjun Xiao, Qingsong Wang, Jun Peng, Xiqi Hu, Min Chen, Ying Xia","doi":"10.1007/s00221-025-07127-3","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00221-025-07127-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) can facilitate functional rehabilitation after ischemic stroke (IS) by secreting exosomes. This study aimed to elucidate the specific mechanism of action of BMSC-derived exosomal Egr2 in OGD/R-induced neuronal cell damage. Exosomes were isolated from BMSCs. OGD/R-treated N2a cells were used for in vitro experiments. CCK8 and flow cytometry analysis were applied to measure cell viability, apoptosis, and BMSCs surface markers. Protein levels were analyzed using western blotting. The binding sites of Egr2 on the RNF8 promoter were predicted using the JASPAR database and verified using ChIP and dual-luciferase reporter assays. Co-IP was used to validate the relationship between RNF8 and DAPK1. Cellular localization of RNF8 and DRPK1 was confirmed by immunofluorescence staining. Egr2 was enriched in BMSC-derived exosomes. Exosomal Egr2 isolated from BMSCs increased the viability and reduced the apoptosis of OGD/R-treated N2a cells. However, these effects were abrogated by Egr2 knockdown. Egr2 activated RNF8 by binding to its promoter. In addition, RNF8 negatively regulated DAPK1 by promoting DAPK1 ubiquitination to alleviate OGD/R-stimulated neuronal cell damage. RNF8 overexpression or DAPK1 knockdown reversed OGD/R and Egr2 knockdown in BMSC co-treated with neuronal cell injury. BMSCs-derived exosomal Egr2 relieved OGD/R-treated neuronal cell injury by regulating the RNF8/DAPK1 axis.</p>","PeriodicalId":12268,"journal":{"name":"Experimental Brain Research","volume":"243 7","pages":"181"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144505302","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Beta-band desynchronization in the human hippocampus during movement preparation in a delayed reach task.","authors":"Xiecheng Shao, Ryan S Chung, Shivani Sundaram, Roberto Martin Del Campo-Vera, Jonathon Cavaleri, Selena Zhang, Adith Swarup, Alexandra Kammen, Miguel Parra, Xenos Mason, Christi Heck, Charles Y Liu, Spencer S Kellis, Brian Lee","doi":"10.1007/s00221-025-07124-6","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00221-025-07124-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Though the hippocampus is known for its role in memory and navigation, growing evidence has suggested that it is involved in voluntary movement. By investigating whether the hippocampus is active during movement preparation, we can understand its role in motor control. In this study, we utilized a Delayed Reach task to measure beta-band (13-30 Hz) amplitude changes in the human hippocampus during movement preparation. We hypothesized to observe beta-band event-related desynchronization (ERD) during the movement preparation phases. Eleven patients diagnosed with drug-resistant epilepsy were implanted with stereoelectroencephalographic (SEEG) depth electrodes and SEEG signals were recorded. We pre-processed the raw neural signals using the zap-line noise removal technique and re-referenced the data using a novel weighted electrode shaft re-referencing technique. The beta-band Power Spectral Density (PSD) was calculated using multi-taper spectral analysis and trial averaged PSD between task phases was compared using a cluster-based permutation test. We then compared modulation between ipsilateral vs. contralateral contacts using the group-level Yate's z-test. 91% of participants and 46.8% of hippocampal gray matter contacts (n = 149) exhibited significant beta-band ERD during the Delay phase compared to baseline. During the Response phase, 100% of participants and 69.8% of hippocampal gray matter contacts exhibited significant beta-band decreases. We observed no significant difference between ipsilateral and contralateral contacts (p > 0.05). This study is the first to demonstrate hippocampal beta-band modulation during movement preparation, implying that the hippocampus may be involved during the movement processing.</p>","PeriodicalId":12268,"journal":{"name":"Experimental Brain Research","volume":"243 7","pages":"180"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-06-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12185599/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144474362","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Employing a single trial motor equivalent analysis for the assessment of motor learning.","authors":"Matthew Beerse, Kimberly E Bigelow, Joaquin A Barrios","doi":"10.1007/s00221-025-07123-7","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00221-025-07123-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The uncontrolled manifold analysis (UCM) is a useful technique for motor learning research enabling the classification of movement variability into solutions and errors. Less explored methodological considerations within the UCM framework are the selection of mean configurations outside of the current performance, as found in the Motor Equivalence Analysis, and a single trial approach. In this study, we demonstrated how calculating deviations away from varying mean configurations within the UCM influences the results and interpretations within motor learning experiments. Twelve young adult subjects (9F/3 M, 20.53 ± 1.25 years old) practiced the kettlebell swing over a one-week time period. We compared deviations from the mean configuration across all repetitions, to the mean of the first ten repetitions before practice and to the mean of their last ten repetitions after practice. Results suggested that subjects abandoned their initial mean performance within the first sets of kettlebell swings and reduced their errors and solutions towards what would become their mean performance after practice. They continued to refine their performance 1 week later. Subjects then completed a transfer task, testing their ability to adapt to a water-filled kettlebell. We evaluated deviations from their mean performance with the metal kettlebell and their mean performance with the water-filled kettlebell. Subjects did not reduce errors towards their mean metal kettlebell performance, but instead towards a new performance that matched the dynamics of the water-filled kettlebell. When performance is expected to change, i.e., motor learning, assessing how the variance structure changes with respect to different mean configurations can provide further insight when using a UCM approach.</p>","PeriodicalId":12268,"journal":{"name":"Experimental Brain Research","volume":"243 7","pages":"179"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12181205/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144332677","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Brain activation during vocal motor imagery: a pilot functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) study.","authors":"Narihiro Kodama, Ryo Hatazoe, Kohei Kotegawa","doi":"10.1007/s00221-025-07125-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s00221-025-07125-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>The purpose of this study was to clarify the differences in brain activation during actual vocalization and imagery, thereby deepening our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying motor imagery.</p><p><strong>Study design: </strong>Prospective study.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cross-sectional study was conducted on 23 healthy young adults (aged 21-22 years) who met strict voice and hearing criteria. Participants performed sustained phonation and vocal imagery tasks while listening to pre-recorded audio of the vowel /a:/ and humming /m:/. Brain activity in the right prefrontal cortex (rPFC), frontal pole (FP), and left prefrontal cortex (IPFC) was measured using a 16-channel functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) system. A block design with baseline correction was applied to calculate changes in oxyhemoglobin concentration. Motor imagery ability was assessed using imagined Timed Up and Go Test (iTUG), and delta times between normal and maximum walking speeds were calculated.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>No significant differences in activation values of the rPFC, FP, and IPFC were observed between the vocalization and imagery conditions. In addition, both conditions exhibited large variability across all regions, indicating substantial individual differences. Furthermore, while a significant correlation was found between the delta times of normal and maximum walking speeds, no significant correlations were observed between brain activation in the rPFC, FP, or IPFC and the delta times under the imagery condition.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>No significant differences were found in neural activation between vocalization and imagery, but high variability in both conditions suggests individual differences. This study highlights both the potential and limitations of using fNIRS to assess brain activity in these tasks.</p><p><strong>Level of evidence: 4: </strong></p>","PeriodicalId":12268,"journal":{"name":"Experimental Brain Research","volume":"243 7","pages":"177"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2025-06-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144332729","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}