{"title":"Neural dynamics underlying the cue validity effect in target conflict resolution.","authors":"Keyi Duan, Songyun Xie, Xinzhou Xie, Klaus Obermayer, Dalu Zheng, Ying Zhang, Xin Zhang","doi":"10.1093/cercor/bhaf066","DOIUrl":"10.1093/cercor/bhaf066","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cue validity significantly influences attention guidance, either facilitating or hindering the ability for conflict resolution. Previous studies have demonstrated that the validity effect and conflict resolution are associated with better/worse behavioral performance and specific neural activations; however, the underlying neural mechanism of their interaction remains unclear. We hypothesized that the effect of cue validity might sustain specific sequences of neural activities until target occurrence and throughout the subsequent conflict resolution. In this study, we recorded the scalp electroencephalography during the Attention Network Test paradigm to investigate their interactions in neural dynamics. Specifically, we performed a cluster-level channel-time-frequency analysis to explore significant time-frequency neural activity patterns associated with these interactions, in scalp regions of interest determined by a data-driven strategy. Our results revealed a string of significant neural dynamics in the frontal and parietal regions, including initial broad-band (especially the gamma-band) activations and subsequent complex cognitive processes evoked/effected by the invalid cue, that were firstly elicited. Finally, the resolution of conflict was completed by the frontal behavior-related theta-band power reduction. In summary, our findings advanced the understanding of the temporal and spectral sequences of neural dynamics, with the key regions involved in the resolution of conflict after invalid cueing.</p>","PeriodicalId":9715,"journal":{"name":"Cerebral cortex","volume":"35 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143762960","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The facilitative mechanism of social interaction scenarios on second language vocabulary learning: evidence from near-infrared spectroscopy hyper-scanning.","authors":"Yunwei Zhang, Zhengwei Shi, Yusheng Liu, Jingjing Guo","doi":"10.1093/cercor/bhaf070","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhaf070","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Social interaction has a significant impact on vocabulary learning, but previous studies have examined its unique effects from a single-brain perspective, neglecting the role of inter-brain synchrony. Our study used an fNIRS hyper-scanning method to investigate the neurocognitive effects of social interaction contexts on second language vocabulary learning. A total of 54 bilingual pairs were randomly assigned to interactive or noninteractive conditions and learned words via 9-grid picture matrices. The results revealed higher accuracy in picture selection for interactive learners during the learning phase. During the testing phase, participants in the interactive condition demonstrated significantly higher accuracy than those in the noninteractive condition. Both conditions showed significant inter-brain synchrony (IBS), but interactive learners had greater inter-brain synchrony than noninteractive in the somatosensory association cortex and right supramarginal gyrus. inter-brain synchrony level positively predicted test scores for interactive learners. These results suggest that social interaction can enhance inter-brain synchrony, thereby facilitating second language vocabulary learning.</p>","PeriodicalId":9715,"journal":{"name":"Cerebral cortex","volume":"35 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143971160","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Brain activation patterns reflecting differences in music training: listening by ear vs. reading sheet music for the recognition of contexts and structures in a composition.","authors":"Reiya Horisawa, Keita Umejima, Seizo Azuma, Takeaki Miyamae, Ryugo Hayano, Kuniyoshi L Sakai","doi":"10.1093/cercor/bhaf072","DOIUrl":"10.1093/cercor/bhaf072","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>When practicing a new piece of music, what are the neural substrates influenced by short-term training such as listening to recorded sources or reading sheet music? Do those neural mechanisms reflect the effects of long-term training in music? In the present functional magnetic resonance imaging study with intermediate piano players in the middle of acquiring advanced knowledge and skills in music, we compared short-term training of listening to recorded pieces (\"Listen\") and reading sheet music (\"Read\"). Participants were \"Multi-\" and \"Mono-instrumentalist\" groups according to whether they played multiple instruments or only the piano. We used an error-detection task with music stimuli including structural errors made by swapping 2 phrases within a composition, thereby focusing on contextual comprehension of musical phrases. Overall performances were significantly better under Listen than under Read, and significantly better in Multi than in Mono. Moreover, we observed left-lateralized frontal activations under Listen for Multi, whereas bilateral temporo-frontal regions were activated under Read for both groups. Focusing on individual differences under Read, we found a positive correlation between the frontal activations and the accuracy rates for Mono. Overall, our results elucidate how the neural substrates of judgments on structures and context in music are influenced by both long-term and short-term training.</p>","PeriodicalId":9715,"journal":{"name":"Cerebral cortex","volume":"35 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11959692/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143762958","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cerebral cortexPub Date : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaf099
Paul Ashwood
{"title":"One cell to rule them all: Immune regulation of the brain in autism spectrum disorder.","authors":"Paul Ashwood","doi":"10.1093/cercor/bhaf099","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhaf099","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>For 80 years there has been a link between autism and immune activation. Studies point to dysfunction in immune responses in peripheral blood, gut mucosa, and brain. Human postmortem brain studies in autism show increased differential expression of inflammatory immune genes, increased pro-inflammatory cytokine levels, and glial activation. Immune cells in the brain are comprised of both tissue-resident cells and those recruited from the blood. This includes regulatory T cells (Tregs) that foster immune tolerance and tissue repair. Tregs reduce microglial reactivity, assist in regenerative and reparative processes, and promote differentiation of myelin-producing oligodendrocytes in the brain, thus modulating white matter development. Neuroinflammation may be a universal autism phenotype independent of the underlying etiology that can be controlled by Tregs promoting homeostasis, microglia and oligodendrocyte function, and white matter development.</p>","PeriodicalId":9715,"journal":{"name":"Cerebral cortex","volume":"35 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143966938","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Enhanced reciprocal connections of the prefrontoparietal-thalamo-hippocampal circuit in older adults.","authors":"Zhen Ouyang, Haixia Jiang, Feng Zhang, Xue Wang, Chuqiao Geng, Mingjuan Zhao, Dong Cui, Zihao Zheng, Li Dong, Qing Jiao, Weifang Cao","doi":"10.1093/cercor/bhaf080","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhaf080","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cognitive functions rely on specific brain circuits involving cortical and subcortical regions. However, how age-related changes in effective connectivity within the prefrontoparietal-thalamo-hippocampal circuit affect cognition remains unclear. This study included 143 healthy older adults (60 to 88 yrs) and 124 young adults (18 to 44 yrs), using regression dynamic causal modeling to analyze resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data. Compared to young adults, older adults showed increased reciprocal effective connectivity within the ventromedial prefrontal cortex-lateral thalamic nuclei-right caudal hippocampus circuit. Enhanced bidirectional connectivity was also observed within the frontoparietal network, between the pregenual cingulate gyrus and superior frontal gyrus, and between lateral thalamic nuclei (LTN) and frontal pole. Additionally, heightened connectivity between thalamus and hippocampus negatively correlated with cognitive performance. Our findings reveal significant age-related increases in effective connectivity within the prefrontoparietal-thalamo-hippocampal circuit, linked to cognitive performance levels. Increased connectivity may indicate compensatory mechanisms helping preserve cognitive function in healthy aging. These results advance our understanding of neural dynamics underlying cognitive aging and potential adaptive mechanisms in older adults.</p>","PeriodicalId":9715,"journal":{"name":"Cerebral cortex","volume":"35 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143974212","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Evaluating the evolution and inter-individual variability of infant functional module development from 0 to 5 yr old.","authors":"Lingbin Bian, Nizhuan Wang, Yuanning Li, Adeel Razi, Qian Wang, Han Zhang, Dinggang Shen","doi":"10.1093/cercor/bhaf071","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhaf071","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The segregation and integration of infant brain networks undergo tremendous changes due to the rapid development of brain function and organization. In this paper, we introduce a novel approach utilizing Bayesian modeling to analyze the dynamic development of functional modules in infants over time. This method retains inter-individual variability and, in comparison with conventional group averaging techniques, more effectively detects modules, taking into account the stationarity of module evolution. Furthermore, we explore gender differences in module development under awake and sleep conditions by assessing modular similarities. Our results show that female infants demonstrate more distinct modular structures between these 2 conditions, possibly implying relative quiet and restful sleep compared with male infants.</p>","PeriodicalId":9715,"journal":{"name":"Cerebral cortex","volume":"35 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143986465","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cerebral cortexPub Date : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaf097
Yi Ji, Min Xu, Han Zhao, Huanhuan Cai, Kaidong Chen, Li Zhang, Haixia Mao, Feng Wang, Jiajia Zhu, Xiangming Fang
{"title":"Genetic mechanisms underlying gray matter atrophy in Parkinson's disease: a combined transcriptome and neuroimaging study.","authors":"Yi Ji, Min Xu, Han Zhao, Huanhuan Cai, Kaidong Chen, Li Zhang, Haixia Mao, Feng Wang, Jiajia Zhu, Xiangming Fang","doi":"10.1093/cercor/bhaf097","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhaf097","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Extensive studies have demonstrated significant gray matter atrophy in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD); however, the underlying gene expression mechanisms remain largely unknown. To comprehensively characterize the gray matter volume alterations in PD patients, we conducted a neuroimaging meta-analysis and validated the observed atrophic phenotypes in an independent dataset. Leveraging the Allen Human Brain Atlas (AHBA), we linked brain transcriptomic data to neuroimaging phenotypes to identify genes associated with PD-related gray matter atrophy. Further enrichment analyses and functional characterization explored the potential roles of these correlated genes in disease pathology. Both the neuroimaging meta-analysis and independent dataset analysis consistently revealed significant gray matter atrophy in PD, particularly in the superior temporal gyrus, highly associated with sensory and motor functions. Spatial transcriptome-neuroimaging correlation analysis identified 1,952 overlapping genes whose expression levels were significantly correlated with the spatial distribution of gray matter atrophy in PD patients. These genes were enriched in several key biological processes and molecular pathways, exhibiting region- and cell type-specific expression, particularly in dopaminergic receptor neurons of brain tissue. This study delineates the spatial distribution of gray matter atrophy in PD and suggests that this neurodegenerative phenotype may result from complex interactions among multiple functionally relevant genes.</p>","PeriodicalId":9715,"journal":{"name":"Cerebral cortex","volume":"35 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143987068","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cerebral cortexPub Date : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaf073
Chao Huang, Bernhard Englitz, Andrey Reznik, Fleur Zeldenrust, Tansu Celikel
{"title":"Information transfer and recovery for the sense of touch.","authors":"Chao Huang, Bernhard Englitz, Andrey Reznik, Fleur Zeldenrust, Tansu Celikel","doi":"10.1093/cercor/bhaf073","DOIUrl":"10.1093/cercor/bhaf073","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Transformation of postsynaptic potentials into action potentials is the rate-limiting step of communication in neural networks. The efficiency of this intracellular information transfer also powerfully shapes stimulus representations in sensory cortices. Using whole-cell recordings and information-theoretic measures, we show herein that somatic postsynaptic potentials accurately represent stimulus location on a trial-by-trial basis in single neurons, even 4 synapses away from the sensory periphery in the whisker system. This information is largely lost during action potential generation but can be rapidly (<20 ms) recovered using complementary information in local populations in a cell-type-specific manner. These results show that as sensory information is transferred from one neural locus to another, the circuits reconstruct the stimulus with high fidelity so that sensory representations of single neurons faithfully represent the stimulus in the periphery, but only in their postsynaptic potentials, resulting in lossless information processing for the sense of touch in the primary somatosensory cortex.</p>","PeriodicalId":9715,"journal":{"name":"Cerebral cortex","volume":"35 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11976729/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143802613","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cerebral cortexPub Date : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaf077
Zijun Huang, Bowei Zhong, Tengji Yang, Wei Fan
{"title":"Neural correlates of how egoistic, altruistic, and mixed motivations modulate the influence of self-deception on deceptive behavior.","authors":"Zijun Huang, Bowei Zhong, Tengji Yang, Wei Fan","doi":"10.1093/cercor/bhaf077","DOIUrl":"10.1093/cercor/bhaf077","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Using event-related potentials, this study investigated the interplay between self-deception and varying motivations in influencing deceptive behavior. Participants in either the self-deception or nonself-deception condition were instructed to make deceptive decisions under different motivational contexts. Behavioral responses and neural activity were recorded throughout the decision-making process. Behaviorally, there were no significant differences in deception proportions between the self-deception and nonself-deception conditions under egoistic or mixed motivations. However, under altruistic motivation, participants in the self-deception condition engaged in more deceptive behavior compared to those in the nonself-deception condition. Event-related potential results revealed no significant differences in P2 and N2 amplitudes between the self-deception and nonself-deception conditions under egoistic or mixed motivations. However, under altruistic motivation, the self-deception condition was associated with reduced P2 amplitudes and more negative N2 amplitudes relative to the nonself-deception condition. Additionally, no significant interaction in P3 amplitudes was found between self-deception and different motivations. These findings suggest that the effect of self-deception on deceptive behavior is modulated by different motivations. Specifically, egoistic or mixed motivations might be associated with a self-serving tendency in deceptive behavior, while altruistic motivation appeared to enhance deceptive behavior in the self-deception condition, potentially to foster a prosocial image.</p>","PeriodicalId":9715,"journal":{"name":"Cerebral cortex","volume":"35 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143802615","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Cerebral cortexPub Date : 2025-04-01DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaf089
Tien-Wen Lee
{"title":"Framing major depressive disorder as a condition of network imbalance at the compartment level: a proof-of-concept study.","authors":"Tien-Wen Lee","doi":"10.1093/cercor/bhaf089","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhaf089","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with hypoactivity in the frontoparietal (FP) system and hyperactivity in the limbic (LM) system. The widely accepted limbic-cortical dysregulation model has recently been extended by the concept of imbalanced reciprocal suppression between these 2 systems. This study investigates the refined theoretical framework. Neuroimaging datasets from 60 MDD and 60 healthy controls were obtained from the Canadian Biomarker Integration Network in Depression database, including structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and resting-state functional MRI (rsfMRI). The cerebral cortex was parcellated using the modular analysis and similarity measurements (MOSI) technique. For each node, the average amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (avgALFF) and nodal strength were calculated. Correlation analyses were conducted to establish an adjacency matrix and assess the relationship between nodal power and strength. The results indicated that the LM system in MDD displayed higher partition numbers and avgALFF (P < 0.005). A significant negative correlation between nodal strength and power was replicated (P < 1E-10), suggesting that greater functional input enhances regional neural suppression. Notably, MDD participants exhibited a higher negative correlation between FP nodal power and LM-FP connectivity (stronger suppression) but a lower negative correlation between LM nodal power and FP-LM connectivity (weaker suppression). These findings support the theory of abnormal cortical signal organization and reciprocal suppression in MDD.</p>","PeriodicalId":9715,"journal":{"name":"Cerebral cortex","volume":"35 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143976258","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}