Brain and CognitionPub Date : 2025-12-01Epub Date: 2025-10-30DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106374
Jing Qu , Junjun Fu , Xiaoyu Liu , Ming Chen , Tingting Yang , Zhimin Shen
{"title":"Episodic memory neural mechanisms: patterns, connectivity, and developmental dynamics","authors":"Jing Qu , Junjun Fu , Xiaoyu Liu , Ming Chen , Tingting Yang , Zhimin Shen","doi":"10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106374","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106374","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Episodic memory enables individuals to encode, store, and retrieve personally experienced events in their spatiotemporal contexts. This review synthesizes current cognitive neuroscience findings and proposes an integrative framework highlighting three key dimensions. First, distinct subregions of the medial temporal lobe (e.g., hippocampus, perirhinal cortex) and large-scale neocortical networks (e.g., ventral and dorsal frontoparietal networks, default mode network) play specialized roles in episodic memory processing. Second, episodic memory representations vary in both content and format, exhibiting stage-specific (e.g., encoding vs. retrieval) and region-specific (e.g., hippocampus vs. neocortex) neural patterns, as well as transformations during memory formation. Third, successful episodic memory relies on dynamic functional connectivity between the hippocampus and neocortex, supported by corresponding structural pathways. Furthermore, age and sex exert significant modulatory effects on hippocampus-neocortex connectivity and associated morphological structure. Future research should further clarify the specific roles of medial temporal and neocortical regions in episodic memory formation and examine developmental changes in inter-regional information flow, with particular attention to how age and sex shape hippocampal connectivity and subregional contributions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55331,"journal":{"name":"Brain and Cognition","volume":"191 ","pages":"Article 106374"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145423532","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Brain and CognitionPub Date : 2025-12-01Epub Date: 2025-11-01DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106364
Jiajia Zhou , Zhongqin Chen , Zheng Li , Dengchang Wu , Caihong Ji , Chunjie Wang , Benyan Luo , Kang Wang
{"title":"Altered brain activity during working memory in adult patients with anti-NMDAR encephalitis","authors":"Jiajia Zhou , Zhongqin Chen , Zheng Li , Dengchang Wu , Caihong Ji , Chunjie Wang , Benyan Luo , Kang Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106364","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106364","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Objective</h3><div>Working memory (WM) deficits persist as core sequelae in anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (anti-NMDAR) encephalitis despite clinical recovery. This study investigated whether dysregulated neural dynamics in the executive control (ECN) and default mode networks (DMN) underlie WM dysfunction in adult patients with post-acute anti-NMDAR encephalitis.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Twenty-six post-acute anti-NMDAR encephalitis patients and twenty-three healthy controls (HCs) completed a visuospatial n-back task assessing WM during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Behavioral metrics demonstrated compromised n-back task accuracy in the patient cohort. Compared to HCs, neuroimaging analyses revealed hyperactivation patterns within frontal, motor and parietal regions of the ECN in patients during the visuospatial n-back task. In addition, patients showed significantly greater deactivation in cingulate, temporal and paracentral regions of the DMN. Crucially, brain activation of the ECN was significantly and positively related to visuospatial WM performance in the patients. A mediation analysis showed that the group difference in visuospatial WM performance was buffered by task-related brain activation.</div></div><div><h3>Interpretation</h3><div>These results suggest that WM deficits reflect compensatory ECN hyperactivation and DMN deactivation in patients in the post-acute phase of anti-NMDAR encephalitis. These findings may provide neural biomarkers for NMDAR-mediated network dysfunction and advance mechanistic insight into cognitive dysfunction in anti-NMDAR encephalitis.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55331,"journal":{"name":"Brain and Cognition","volume":"191 ","pages":"Article 106364"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145425718","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Brain and CognitionPub Date : 2025-12-01Epub Date: 2025-10-27DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106373
Peter J. Chabot, Nicholas B. Dadario, Michael E. Sughrue
{"title":"Tourette’s Syndrome as a vehicle in the search for the neural correlates of consciousness","authors":"Peter J. Chabot, Nicholas B. Dadario, Michael E. Sughrue","doi":"10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106373","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106373","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The neurological underpinnings of Tourette’s Syndrome offer an avenue to identify the neural correlates of consciousness. Neuroimaging of Tourette’s Syndrome patients during the volitional control of premonitory urges highlight the involvement of the non-language dominant prefrontal portion of the frontal operculum of the inferior frontal gyrus and the anterior insular cortex in tic inhibition and decision-making processes. Further studies reveal these regions are crucial for intention, volitional control, self-awareness, perception of tangible reality, and attentional selectivity, suggesting their potential role in the neural correlates of consciousness.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55331,"journal":{"name":"Brain and Cognition","volume":"191 ","pages":"Article 106373"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145371311","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Brain and CognitionPub Date : 2025-12-01Epub Date: 2025-10-29DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106372
Atakan M. Akil , Greti Gaspar , Daniela C. Gonçalves-Bradley , Andras N. Zsido
{"title":"Event-Related potentials in visual attention to threatening and fearful Stimuli: A systematic review","authors":"Atakan M. Akil , Greti Gaspar , Daniela C. Gonçalves-Bradley , Andras N. Zsido","doi":"10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106372","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106372","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This systematic review aimed to synthesize event-related potential (ERP) findings relating to the processing of threat-related visual stimuli across different stimulus categories. We included peer-reviewed, empirical studies published between 2000 and 2024 which reported ERP data in response to visual, threat-related stimuli in adult human participants. We excluded studies using non-visual modalities or non-ERP outcomes. The systematic search of PubMed and Web of Science was conducted on 1 August 2024. Study selection was performed independently by two reviewers. We narratively synthesized ERP results by stimulus type and component. Twenty-four studies met the inclusion criteria, comprising samples of healthy participants. Most of the studies used facial expressions as stimuli, while others employed images of animals (e.g. snakes and spiders), modern threats (e.g. guns, knives), or environmental scenes. Early ERP components (e.g. P1, N1, and EPN) were modulated by biologically salient stimuli, which suggests rapid attentional capture. Later components (e.g. LPP) reflected sustained engagement and cognitive evaluation, with modulation patterns varying according to stimulus type, cognitive load and participant characteristics. The type of stimulus may affect ERP markers of threat processing. The findings emphasize the value of ERPs as precise indicators of emotional attention and suggest their potential as biomarkers in clinical research.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55331,"journal":{"name":"Brain and Cognition","volume":"191 ","pages":"Article 106372"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145410746","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Brain and CognitionPub Date : 2025-12-01Epub Date: 2025-10-31DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106375
Miro Grundei , Timo Torsten Schmidt , Paolo Barbieri , Felix Blankenburg
{"title":"Decoding tactile working memory content reveals performance relevance of parietal fMRI activity patterns","authors":"Miro Grundei , Timo Torsten Schmidt , Paolo Barbieri , Felix Blankenburg","doi":"10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106375","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106375","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Working memory (WM) supports a range of higher order cognitive functions by enabling the short-term maintenance and manipulation of information through dynamic, distributed neural processes. In parallel to findings from the visual modality, tactile WM engages both sensory and higher-order cortical regions, but the temporal dynamics and functional significance of these areas remain incompletely understood. In this fMRI study, we used multivoxel pattern analysis to investigate how spatial features of tactile stimuli are represented and maintained across a short WM delay period. Our results reveal a dynamic engagement of contralateral primary somatosensory cortex (S1) and anterior superior parietal lobe (SPL) during initial encoding, with a shift toward bilateral posterior SPL involvement during later maintenance. Critically, decoding accuracy in the ipsilateral SPL correlated with individual task performance, suggesting that distinctiveness of WM-related representations in this region supports successful memory retention. These findings shed light on the hierarchical organization and temporal evolution of tactile spatial WM, indicating a transformation from concrete sensory to more abstract, distributed representations across parietal regions, modulated by behavioral demands.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55331,"journal":{"name":"Brain and Cognition","volume":"191 ","pages":"Article 106375"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145425719","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Brain and CognitionPub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-10-15DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106363
Shiyi Peng, Ledan Han, Chengfang Wang, Huarong He, Wei Liang, Chengwen Liu, Pan Lin
{"title":"Reconfiguring Emotion-Regulation patterns in Multi-Frequency EEG networks during healthy aging","authors":"Shiyi Peng, Ledan Han, Chengfang Wang, Huarong He, Wei Liang, Chengwen Liu, Pan Lin","doi":"10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106363","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106363","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Previous research on aging-related emotional regulation from a whole-brain network perspective is limited, especially using EEG and graph-theoretical multi-frequency analyses. This study addresses this gap by examining 52 older adults (67.31 ± 5.00 years) and 108 younger adults (25.09 ± 3.00 years) from the Leipzig Study for MindBody-Emotion Interactions (LEMON) dataset. Functional brain networks were constructed across five frequency bands (delta, theta, alpha, beta, gamma) using amplitude envelope correlation (AEC), and global and local graph metrics were analyzed in relation to emotional regulation. Older adults showed greater use of suppression and less support coping. Network analyses revealed increased global efficiency in alpha and gamma bands in older adults, negatively correlating with evasive coping and adaptive cognitive emotional regulation. Hub nodes exhibited over-integration while peripheral connections degraded, suggesting compensatory reorganization that maintains basic function but reduces flexibility in emotional regulation, particularly in theta band and alpha band Default Mode Network and Salience/Ventral Attention networks. These findings highlight that high-frequency network compensation in aging may stabilize brain function but affect adaptive emotional regulation, and demonstrate the utility of EEG in capturing multi-frequency neural dynamics underlying emotional regulation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55331,"journal":{"name":"Brain and Cognition","volume":"190 ","pages":"Article 106363"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145310078","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Brain and CognitionPub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-09-27DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106360
E. Serra , M. Lumaca , E. Brattico , P. Vuust , M.L. Kringelbach , L. Bonetti
{"title":"Neurophysiological correlates of short-term recognition of sounds: Insights from magnetoencephalography","authors":"E. Serra , M. Lumaca , E. Brattico , P. Vuust , M.L. Kringelbach , L. Bonetti","doi":"10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106360","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106360","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study employed a same versus different auditory paradigm to investigate short-term auditory recognition within a predictive coding (PC) framework. Using magnetoencephalography (MEG), we captured the neurophysiological correlates associated with a single-sound, short-term memory task. Twenty-six healthy participants were tasked with recognizing presented sounds as same or different compared to strings of standards. A<!--> <!-->white noise interlude separated targets from standards. MEG sensor-level results revealed that recognition of same sounds elicited two significantly stronger negative components of the event-related field compared to different sounds. The first, N1m, peaking 100 ms post-sound onset, while the second corresponded to a slower negative component arising between 300 and 600 ms. This effect was observed in several significant clusters of MEG sensors, especially temporal and parietal regions. Conversely, different sounds produced scattered and smaller clusters of stronger activity than same sounds, peaking later than 600 ms after sound onset. Source reconstruction using beamforming algorithms revealed involvement of auditory cortices, hippocampus, and cingulate gyrus in both conditions. Overall, results are coherent with PC principles and previous results on the brain mechanisms underlying auditory recognition, highlighting the relevance of early and later negative brain responses for successful prediction of previously listened sounds in the context of conscious short-term memory.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55331,"journal":{"name":"Brain and Cognition","volume":"190 ","pages":"Article 106360"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145160180","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Brain and CognitionPub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-09-19DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106359
Sophie Hanke, Michael Niedeggen
{"title":"Distractor-induced deafness: ERP correlates of auditory distractor processing","authors":"Sophie Hanke, Michael Niedeggen","doi":"10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106359","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106359","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Distractor-induced deafness (DID) refers to the impaired detection of an auditory target when preceded by a rapid sequence of auditory distractors sharing the target’s features. We examined whether the neural signatures underlying DID resemble those found in visual distractor-induced blindness (DIB). Participants completed a rapid serial auditory presentation (RSAP) task in which distractor number and cue-target onset asynchrony were systematically manipulated. Behaviorally, target detection declined with increasing distractor number, closely replicating the behavioral DIB effect. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) evoked by the distractors, however, revealed modality-specific differences: In contrast to earlier DIB findings, the amplitude of a fronto-central negativity decreased with increasing distractor load in the auditory task. Whereas the ERP responses in the visual DIB setup supported the notion of a cumulative inhibitory mechanism triggered by distractors, the current DID findings are rather in line with temporal expectation accounts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55331,"journal":{"name":"Brain and Cognition","volume":"190 ","pages":"Article 106359"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145098874","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Brain and CognitionPub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-09-30DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106362
José Luis Ulloa , Roberta Vastano , Ole Jensen , Marcel Brass
{"title":"Motor beta oscillations contribute to the temporal binding effect","authors":"José Luis Ulloa , Roberta Vastano , Ole Jensen , Marcel Brass","doi":"10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106362","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106362","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Agency, the feeling of controlling one’s actions and their consequences, is closely linked to temporal binding, a phenomenon where the interval between a voluntary action and its outcome is subjectively compressed. While prior research has linked temporal binding to sensorimotor processes, the role of neural oscillations remains unclear. In this study, we combined electroencephalography with an automatic imitation task to examine how trial-by-trial variations in motor-related brain rhythms predict temporal binding. Twenty-eight participants performed lifting finger movements in response to visual imperative stimuli. Following each response, they estimated the interval between their action and a subsequent tone. Time-frequency analysis and linear mixed-effects modeling revealed that reduced beta desynchronization predicted stronger temporal binding, independent of action congruency. These results suggest that motor beta oscillations reflects the temporal experience of action-effect coupling, likely reflecting predictive motor processes involved in the construction of voluntary actions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55331,"journal":{"name":"Brain and Cognition","volume":"190 ","pages":"Article 106362"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145208574","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Brain and CognitionPub Date : 2025-11-01Epub Date: 2025-09-25DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106361
Zixiao Xiong , Hengyue Zhao , Ting Xu , Jicheng Huang , Chenxu Yang , Tingyong Feng , Pan Feng
{"title":"Resting-state functional connectivity insights: dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and superior parietal lobule in self-control and cognitive reappraisal","authors":"Zixiao Xiong , Hengyue Zhao , Ting Xu , Jicheng Huang , Chenxu Yang , Tingyong Feng , Pan Feng","doi":"10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106361","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.bandc.2025.106361","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Self-control denotes the capacity to regulate impulses, modulate behavior and cognition in the service of long-term goals, especially when facing motivational conflicts. Cognitive reappraisal involves adaptively modifying one’s appraisal of events through reinterpretation to reduce negative affect. Although both behavioral and neuroimaging studies support the association between self-control and cognitive reappraisal, the specific regulatory mechanisms of the prefrontal-parietal network in this relationship still require further investigation. To address this issue, this study systematically investigated the brain-behavior regulatory mechanisms between self-control and cognitive reappraisal by analyzing behavioral-neuroimaging data from 358 participants, combining resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) and mediation analysis. The behavioral results confirmed a positive correlation between the variables. Moreover, neuroimaging results revealed the functional connectivity between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and superior parietal lobule (SPL) was associated with self-control and played a mediating role in the association with cognitive reappraisal. Together, these findings suggest that dlPFC-SPL functional connectivity may serve as the neural basis for the association between self-control and cognitive reappraisal, providing novel insights into the association between self-control and cognitive reappraisal and offering a new neurobehavioral perspective on their interaction.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":55331,"journal":{"name":"Brain and Cognition","volume":"190 ","pages":"Article 106361"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2025-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145160179","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}