TY - THES A1 - Kuhnke, Philipp T1 - The neural basis of conceptual knowledge retrieval T1 - Die neuronale Basis der Konzeptverarbeitung BT - insights from fMRI & TMS in the healthy human brain BT - Einblicke durch fMRT & TMS im gesunden menschlichen Gehirn N2 - Conceptual knowledge about objects, people and events in the world is central to human cognition, underlying core cognitive abilities such as object recognition and use, and word comprehension. Previous research indicates that concepts consist of perceptual and motor features represented in modality-specific perceptual-motor brain regions. In addition, cross-modal convergence zones integrate modality-specific features into more abstract conceptual representations. However, several questions remain open: First, to what extent does the retrieval of perceptual-motor features depend on the concurrent task? Second, how do modality-specific and cross-modal regions interact during conceptual knowledge retrieval? Third, which brain regions are causally relevant for conceptually-guided behavior? This thesis addresses these three key issues using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in the healthy human brain. Study 1 - an fMRI activation study - tested to what extent the retrieval of sound and action features of concepts, and the resulting engagement of auditory and somatomotor brain regions depend on the concurrent task. 40 healthy human participants performed three different tasks - lexical decision, sound judgment, and action judgment - on words with a high or low association to sounds and actions. We found that modality-specific regions selectively respond to task-relevant features: Auditory regions selectively responded to sound features during sound judgments, and somatomotor regions selectively responded to action features during action judgments. Unexpectedly, several regions (e.g. the left posterior parietal cortex; PPC) exhibited a task-dependent response to both sound and action features. We propose these regions to be "multimodal", and not "amodal", convergence zones which retain modality-specific information. Study 2 - an fMRI connectivity study - investigated the functional interaction between modality-specific and multimodal areas during conceptual knowledge retrieval. Using the above fMRI data, we asked (1) whether modality-specific and multimodal regions are functionally coupled during sound and action feature retrieval, (2) whether their coupling depends on the task, (3) whether information flows bottom-up, top-down, or bidirectionally, and (4) whether their coupling is behaviorally relevant. We found that functional coupling between multimodal and modality-specific areas is task-dependent, bidirectional, and relevant for conceptually-guided behavior. Left PPC acted as a connectivity "switchboard" that flexibly adapted its coupling to task-relevant modality-specific nodes. Hence, neuroimaging studies 1 and 2 suggested a key role of left PPC as a multimodal convergence zone for conceptual knowledge. However, as neuroimaging is correlational, it remained unknown whether left PPC plays a causal role as a multimodal conceptual hub. Therefore, study 3 - a TMS study - tested the causal relevance of left PPC for sound and action feature retrieval. We found that TMS over left PPC selectively impaired action judgments on low sound-low action words, as compared to sham stimulation. Computational simulations of the TMS-induced electrical field revealed that stronger stimulation of left PPC was associated with worse performance on action, but not sound, judgments. These results indicate that left PPC causally supports conceptual processing when action knowledge is task-relevant and cannot be compensated by sound knowledge. Our findings suggest that left PPC is specialized for action knowledge, challenging the view of left PPC as a multimodal conceptual hub. Overall, our studies support "hybrid theories" which posit that conceptual processing involves both modality-specific perceptual-motor regions and cross-modal convergence zones. In our new model of the conceptual system, we propose conceptual processing to rely on a representational hierarchy from modality-specific to multimodal up to amodal brain regions. Crucially, this hierarchical system is flexible, with different regions and connections being engaged in a task-dependent fashion. Our model not only reconciles the seemingly opposing grounded cognition and amodal theories, it also incorporates task dependency of conceptually-related brain activity and connectivity, thereby resolving several current issues on the neural basis of conceptual knowledge retrieval. N2 - Konzeptuelles Wissen über Objekte, Menschen und Ereignisse in der Welt ist zentral für die menschliche Kognition. So unterliegt es kognitiven Fähigkeiten wie der Objekterkennung und -benutzung und dem Wortverständnis. Die bisherige Forschung legt nahe, dass Konzepte aus perzeptuellen und motorischen Merkmalen bestehen, die in modalitätsspezifischen perzeptuell-motorischen Hirnregionen repräsentiert sind. Darüber hinaus integrieren crossmodale Konvergenzzonen modalitätsspezifische Merkmale in abstraktere konzeptuelle Repräsentationen. Mehrere Fragen bleiben jedoch offen. Erstens: Inwiefern hängt die Aktivierung perzeptuell-motorischer Areale von der Aufgabe ab? Zweitens: Wie interagieren modalitätsspezifische und crossmodale Areale miteinander? Drittens: Welche Hirnregionen sind kausal relevant für konzeptgeleitetes Verhalten? Diese Dissertation adressiert diese Kernfragen mittels funktioneller Magnetresonanztomografie (fMRT) und transkranieller Magnetstimulation (TMS) im gesunden menschlichen Gehirn. Studie 1—eine fMRT Aktivierungsstudie—prüfte, inwiefern die Aktivierung von Geräusch– und Handlungsmerkmalen von der Aufgabe abhängt. Vierzig gesunde Probanden führten drei verschiedene Aufgaben—lexikalische Entscheidungen, Geräuschentscheidungen, Handlungsentscheidungen—bei Wörtern mit einer hohen oder niedrigen Assoziation zu Geräuschen und Handlungen aus. Die Ergebnisse zeigten, dass modalitätsspezifische Regionen selektiv für aufgabenrelevante Merkmale aktiv wurden: Auditorische Regionen aktivierten selektiv für Geräuschmerkmale während Geräuschentscheidungen. Somatomotorische Areale hingehen aktivierten selektiv für Handlungsmerkmale während Handlungsentscheidungen. Überraschenderweise zeigten mehrere Regionen (z.B. der linke posteriore Parietalkortex; PPC) aufgabenabhängige Aktivität für Geräusch- und Handlungsmerkmale. Wir schlagen vor, dass die Regionen „multimodale“ (und nicht „amodale“) Konvergenzzonen sind, die modalitätsspezifische Informationen behalten. Studie 2—eine fMRT Konnektivitätsstudie—untersuchte die funktionale Interaktion zwischen modalitätsspezifischen und multimodalen Arealen während der Konzeptverarbeitung. Mit denselben fMRT-Daten fragten wir, (1) ob modalitätsspezifische und multimodale Areale während der Verarbeitung von Geräusch- und Handlungsmerkmalen zusammenarbeiten, (2) ob deren Interaktion von der Aufgabe abhängt, (3) in welche Richtung die Information fließt und (4) ob die Interaktion das Verhalten der Probanden bestimmt. Wir fanden heraus, dass die funktionale Interaktion zwischen modalitätsspezifischen und multimodalen Arealen aufgabenabhängig, bidirektional und relevant für das Verhalten ist. Der linke PPC agierte als „Schaltstelle“, die flexibel ihre Konnektivität zu aufgabenrelevanten modalitätsspezifischen Knoten adaptierte. Studien 1 und 2 legen also eine zentrale Rolle des linken PPC als multimodale Konvergenzzone für konzeptuelles Wissen nahe. Da bildgebende Verfahren jedoch korrelativ sind, bleibt unklar, ob der linke LPP tatsächlich eine kausale Rolle als multimodales konzeptuelles Areal spielt. Studie 3—eine TMS Studie—testete daher die kausale Relevanz des linken PPC für Geräusch- und Handlungswissen. Die Ergebnisse zeigten, dass TMS über dem linken PPC (im Vergleich zu Placebo-Stimulation) selektiv Handlungsentscheidungen störte. Computersimulationen des TMS-induzierten elektrischen Feldes zeigten zudem, dass stärkere Stimulation des linken PPC mit schlechterer Verhaltensleistung bei Handlungsentscheidungen, aber nicht bei Geräuschentscheidungen, assoziiert war. Diese Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass der linke PPC auf Handlungswissen spezialisiert ist, was die Sicht des PPC als multimodales konzeptuelles Areal herausfordert. Insgesamt unterstützen unsere Studien sogenannte Hybridtheorien, die vorschlagen, dass konzeptuelle Verarbeitung sowohl modalitätsspezifische als auch crossmodale Hirnregionen involviert. Unser neues Modell des konzeptuellen Systems postuliert, dass konzeptuelle Verarbeitung auf einer repräsentationalen Hierarchie von modalitätsspezifischen zu multimodalen bis hin zu amodalen Regionen basiert. Dieses hierarchische System ist flexibel, sodass verschiedene Regionen und Verbindungen in aufgabenabhängiger Weise aktiviert werden. Unser Modell bringt somit nicht nur die scheinbar widersprüchlichen grounded cognition und amodalen Theorien in Einklang, sondern es berücksichtigt auch die Aufgabenabhängigkeit von konzeptueller Hirnaktivität und -konnektivität und klärt so einige aktuelle Kernfragen zur neuronalen Basis der Konzeptverarbeitung. KW - neuroscience KW - cognitive science KW - cognition KW - semantics KW - concepts KW - fMRI KW - TMS KW - neuroimaging KW - brain stimulation KW - language KW - Kognition KW - Kognitionswissenschaft KW - Konzept KW - Gedächtnis KW - Semantik KW - Sprache KW - Bildgebung KW - Hirnstimulation KW - Neurostimulation KW - funktionelle Magnetresonanztomografie KW - fMRT KW - transkranielle Magnetstimulation KW - TMS Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-514414 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Stelzel, Christine A1 - Bohle, Hannah A1 - Schauenburg, Gesche A1 - Walter, Henrik A1 - Granacher, Urs A1 - Rapp, Michael Armin A1 - Heinzel, Stephan T1 - Contribution of the Lateral Prefrontal Cortex to Cognitive-Postural Multitasking T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - There is evidence for cortical contribution to the regulation of human postural control. Interference from concurrently performed cognitive tasks supports this notion, and the lateral prefrontal cortex (lPFC) has been suggested to play a prominent role in the processing of purely cognitive as well as cognitive-postural dual tasks. The degree of cognitive-motor interference varies greatly between individuals, but it is unresolved whether individual differences in the recruitment of specific lPFC regions during cognitive dual tasking are associated with individual differences in cognitive-motor interference. Here, we investigated inter-individual variability in a cognitive-postural multitasking situation in healthy young adults (n = 29) in order to relate these to inter-individual variability in lPFC recruitment during cognitive multitasking. For this purpose, a oneback working memory task was performed either as single task or as dual task in order to vary cognitive load. Participants performed these cognitive single and dual tasks either during upright stance on a balance pad that was placed on top of a force plate or during fMRI measurement with little to no postural demands. We hypothesized dual one-back task performance to be associated with lPFC recruitment when compared to single one-back task performance. In addition, we expected individual variability in lPFC recruitment to be associated with postural performance costs during concurrent dual one-back performance. As expected, behavioral performance costs in postural sway during dual-one back performance largely varied between individuals and so did lPFC recruitment during dual one-back performance. Most importantly, individuals who recruited the right mid-lPFC to a larger degree during dual one-back performance also showed greater postural sway as measured by larger performance costs in total center of pressure displacements. This effect was selective to the high-load dual one-back task and suggests a crucial role of the right lPFC in allocating resources during cognitivemotor interference. Our study provides further insight into the mechanisms underlying cognitive-motor multitasking and its impairments. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 489 KW - balance KW - dual task KW - fMRI KW - postural control KW - working memory Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-421140 SN - 1866-8364 IS - 489 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Heinzel, Stephan A1 - Rimpel, Jérôme A1 - Stelzel, Christine A1 - Rapp, Michael Armin T1 - Transfer Effects to a Multimodal Dual-Task after Working Memory Training and Associated Neural Correlates in Older Adults BT - A Pilot Study N2 - Working memory (WM) performance declines with age. However, several studies have shown that WM training may lead to performance increases not only in the trained task, but also in untrained cognitive transfer tasks. It has been suggested that transfer effects occur if training task and transfer task share specific processing components that are supposedly processed in the same brain areas. In the current study, we investigated whether single-task WM training and training-related alterations in neural activity might support performance in a dual-task setting, thus assessing transfer effects to higher-order control processes in the context of dual-task coordination. A sample of older adults (age 60–72) was assigned to either a training or control group. The training group participated in 12 sessions of an adaptive n-back training. At pre and post-measurement, a multimodal dual-task was performed in all participants to assess transfer effects. This task consisted of two simultaneous delayed match to sample WM tasks using two different stimulus modalities (visual and auditory) that were performed either in isolation (single-task) or in conjunction (dual-task). A subgroup also participated in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during the performance of the n-back task before and after training. While no transfer to single-task performance was found, dual-task costs in both the visual modality (p < 0.05) and the auditory modality (p < 0.05) decreased at post-measurement in the training but not in the control group. In the fMRI subgroup of the training participants, neural activity changes in left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) during one-back predicted post-training auditory dual-task costs, while neural activity changes in right DLPFC during three-back predicted visual dual-task costs. Results might indicate an improvement in central executive processing that could facilitate both WM and dual-task coordination. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 343 KW - aging KW - cognitive training KW - dual-task KW - fMRI KW - modality KW - neuroimaging KW - transfer KW - working memory Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-401921 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Heinzel, Stephan A1 - Rimpel, Jérôme A1 - Stelzel, Christine A1 - Rapp, Michael Armin T1 - Transfer Effects to a Multimodal Dual-Task after Working Memory Training and Associated Neural Correlates in Older Adults BT - A Pilot Study JF - Frontiers in human neuroscience N2 - Working memory (WM) performance declines with age. However, several studies have shown that WM training may lead to performance increases not only in the trained task, but also in untrained cognitive transfer tasks. It has been suggested that transfer effects occur if training task and transfer task share specific processing components that are supposedly processed in the same brain areas. In the current study, we investigated whether single-task WM training and training-related alterations in neural activity might support performance in a dual-task setting, thus assessing transfer effects to higher-order control processes in the context of dual-task coordination. A sample of older adults (age 60–72) was assigned to either a training or control group. The training group participated in 12 sessions of an adaptive n-back training. At pre and post-measurement, a multimodal dual-task was performed in all participants to assess transfer effects. This task consisted of two simultaneous delayed match to sample WM tasks using two different stimulus modalities (visual and auditory) that were performed either in isolation (single-task) or in conjunction (dual-task). A subgroup also participated in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during the performance of the n-back task before and after training. While no transfer to single-task performance was found, dual-task costs in both the visual modality (p < 0.05) and the auditory modality (p < 0.05) decreased at post-measurement in the training but not in the control group. In the fMRI subgroup of the training participants, neural activity changes in left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) during one-back predicted post-training auditory dual-task costs, while neural activity changes in right DLPFC during three-back predicted visual dual-task costs. Results might indicate an improvement in central executive processing that could facilitate both WM and dual-task coordination. KW - working memory KW - cognitive training KW - modality KW - dual-task KW - aging KW - transfer KW - fMRI KW - neuroimaging Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2017.00085 VL - 11 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wiebking, Christine A1 - de Greck, Moritz A1 - Duncan, Niall W. A1 - Tempelmann, Claus A1 - Bajbouj, Malek A1 - Northoff, Georg T1 - Interoception in insula subregions as a possible state marker for depression - an exploratory fMRI study investigating healthy, depressed and remitted participants JF - Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience N2 - Background: Interoceptive awareness, the awareness of stimuli originating inside the body, plays an important role in human emotions and psychopathology. The insula is particularly involved in neural processes underlying iA. However, iA-related neural activity in the insula during the acute state of major depressive disorder (MDD) and in remission from depression has not been explored. Methods: A well-established fMRI paradigm for studying interoceptive awareness (iA; heartbeat counting) and exteroceptive awareness (eA; tone counting) was used. Study participants formed three independent groups: patients suffering from MDD, patients in remission from MDD or healthy controls. Task-induced neural activity in three functional subdivisions of the insula was compared between these groups. Results: Depressed participants showed neural hypo-responses during iA in anterior insula regions, as compared to both healthy and remitted participants. The right dorsal anterior insula showed the strongest response to iA across all participant groups. In depressed participants there was no differentiation between different stimuli types in this region (i.e., between iA, eA and noTask). Healthy and remitted participants in contrast showed clear activity differences. Conclusions: This is the first study comparing iA and eA-related activity in the insula in depressed participants to that in healthy and remitted individuals. The preliminary results suggest that these groups differ in there being hypo-responses across insula regions in the depressed participants, whilst healthy participants and patients in remission from MDD show the same neural activity during iA in insula subregions implying a possible state marker for MDD. The lack of activity differences between different stimulus types in the depressed group may account for their symptoms of altered external and internal focus. KW - major depressive disorder KW - interoceptive awareness KW - insula KW - remission KW - neuroimaging KW - fMRI Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00082 SN - 1662-5153 VL - 9 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Heinzel, Stephan A1 - Lorenz, Robert C. A1 - Brockhaus, Wolf-Ruediger A1 - Wuestenberg, Torsten A1 - Kathmann, Norbert A1 - Heinz, Andreas A1 - Rapp, Michael Armin T1 - Working memory load-dependent brain response predicts behavioral training gains in older adults JF - The journal of neuroscience N2 - In the domain of working memory (WM), a sigmoid-shaped relationship between WM load and brain activation patterns has been demonstrated in younger adults. It has been suggested that age-related alterations of this pattern are associated with changes in neural efficiency and capacity. At the same time, WM training studies have shown that some older adults are able to increase their WM performance through training. In this study, functional magnetic resonance imaging during an n-back WM task at different WM load levels was applied to compare blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) responses between younger and older participants and to predict gains in WM performance after a subsequent 12-session WM training procedure in older adults. We show that increased neural efficiency and capacity, as reflected by more "youth-like" brain response patterns in regions of interest of the frontoparietal WM network, were associated with better behavioral training outcome beyond the effects of age, sex, education, gray matter volume, and baseline WM performance. Furthermore, at low difficulty levels, decreases in BOLD response were found after WM training. Results indicate that both neural efficiency (i. e., decreased activation at comparable performance levels) and capacity (i. e., increasing activation with increasing WM load) of a WM-related network predict plasticity of the WM system, whereas WM training may specifically increase neural efficiency in older adults. KW - aging KW - fMRI KW - neuroimaging KW - plasticity KW - training KW - working memory Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2463-13.2014 SN - 0270-6474 VL - 34 IS - 4 SP - 1224 EP - 1233 PB - Society for Neuroscience CY - Washington ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Haegele, Claudia A1 - Friedel, Eva A1 - Schlagenhauf, Florian A1 - Sterzer, Philipp A1 - Beck, Anne A1 - Bermpohl, Felix A1 - Rapp, Michael Armin A1 - Stoy, Meline A1 - Stroehle, Andreas A1 - Dolan, Raymond J. A1 - Heinz, Andreas T1 - Reward expectation and affective responses across psychiatric disorders - A dimensional approach T2 - Biological psychiatry : a journal of psychiatric neuroscience and therapeutics ; a publication of the Society of Biological Psychiatry KW - dimensional KW - transdiagnostic KW - reward system KW - ventral striatum KW - fMRI Y1 - 2014 SN - 0006-3223 SN - 1873-2402 VL - 75 IS - 9 SP - 91S EP - 92S PB - Elsevier CY - New York ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lorenz, Robert C. A1 - Gleich, Tobias A1 - Beck, Anne A1 - Poehland, Lydia A1 - Raufelder, Diana A1 - Sommer, Werner A1 - Rapp, Michael Armin A1 - Kuehn, Simone A1 - Gallinat, Jürgen T1 - Reward anticipation in the adolescent and aging brain JF - Human brain mapping : a journal devoted to functional neuroanatomy and neuroimaging N2 - Processing of reward is the basis of adaptive behavior of the human being. Neural correlates of reward processing seem to be influenced by developmental changes from adolescence to late adulthood. The aim of this study is to uncover these neural correlates during a slot machine gambling task across the lifespan. Therefore, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate 102 volunteers in three different age groups: 34 adolescents, 34 younger adults, and 34 older adults. We focused on the core reward areas ventral striatum (VS) and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), the valence processing associated areas, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and insula, as well as information integration associated areas, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and inferior parietal lobule (IPL). Results showed that VS and VMPFC were characterized by a hyperactivation in adolescents compared with younger adults. Furthermore, the ACC and insula were characterized by a U-shape pattern (hypoactivation in younger adults compared with adolescents and older adults), whereas the DLPFC and IPL were characterized by a J-shaped form (hyperactivation in older adults compared with younger groups). Furthermore, a functional connectivity analysis revealed an elevated negative functional coupling between the inhibition-related area rIFG and VS in younger adults compared with adolescents. Results indicate that lifespan-related changes during reward anticipation are characterized by different trajectories in different reward network modules and support the hypothesis of an imbalance in maturation of striatal and prefrontal cortex in adolescents. Furthermore, these results suggest compensatory age-specific effects in fronto-parietal regions. Hum Brain Mapp 35:5153-5165, 2014. (c) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. KW - reward anticipation KW - lifespan KW - aging KW - adolescence KW - fMRI KW - connectivity Y1 - 2014 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.22540 SN - 1065-9471 SN - 1097-0193 VL - 35 IS - 10 SP - 5153 EP - 5165 PB - Wiley-Blackwell CY - Hoboken ER - TY - GEN A1 - Wiebking, Christine A1 - Northoff, Georg T1 - Neural activity during interoceptive awareness and its associations with alexithymia BT - An fMRI study in major depressive disorder and non-psychiatric controls N2 - Objective: Alexithymia relates to difficulties recognizing and describing emotions. It has been linked to subjectively increased interoceptive awareness (IA) and to psychiatric illnesses such as major depressive disorder (MDD) and somatization. MDD in turn is characterized by aberrant emotion processing and IA on the subjective as well as on the neural level. However, a link between neural activity in response to IA and alexithymic traits in health and depression remains unclear. Methods: A well-established fMRI task was used to investigate neural activity during IA (heartbeat counting) and exteroceptive awareness (tone counting) in non-psychiatric controls (NC) and MDD. Firstly, comparing MDD and NC, a linear relationship between IA-related activity and scores of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) was investigated through whole-brain regression. Secondly, NC were divided by median-split of TAS scores into groups showing low (NC-low) or high (NC-high) alexithymia. MDD and NC-high showed equally high TAS scores. Subsequently, IA-related neural activity was compared on a whole-brain level between the three independent samples (MDD, NC-low, NC-high). Results: Whole-brain regressions between MDD and NC revealed neural differences during IA as a function of TAS-DD (subscale difficulty describing feelings) in the supragenual anterior cingulate cortex (sACC; BA 24/32), which were due to negative associations between TAS-DD and IA-related activity in NC. Contrasting NC subgroups after median-split on a whole-brain level, high TAS scores were associated with decreased neural activity during IA in the sACC and increased insula activity. Though having equally high alexithymia scores, NC-high showed increased insula activity during IA compared to MDD, whilst both groups showed decreased activity in the sACC. Conclusions: Within the context of decreased sACC activity during IA in alexithymia (NC-high and MDD), increased insula activity might mirror a compensatory mechanism in NC-high, which is disrupted in MDD. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 274 KW - major depressive disorder KW - alexithymia KW - interoceptive awareness KW - insula KW - sACC KW - interoception KW - fMRI KW - neuroimaging Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-78726 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wiebking, Christine A1 - Northoff, Georg T1 - Neural activity during interoceptive awareness and its associations with alexithymia BT - An fMRI study in major depressive disorder and non-psychiatric controls JF - Frontiers in psychology N2 - Objective: Alexithymia relates to difficulties recognizing and describing emotions. It has been linked to subjectively increased interoceptive awareness (IA) and to psychiatric illnesses such as major depressive disorder (MDD) and somatization. MDD in turn is characterized by aberrant emotion processing and IA on the subjective as well as on the neural level. However, a link between neural activity in response to IA and alexithymic traits in health and depression remains unclear. Methods: A well-established fMRI task was used to investigate neural activity during IA (heartbeat counting) and exteroceptive awareness (tone counting) in non-psychiatric controls (NC) and MDD. Firstly, comparing MDD and NC, a linear relationship between IA-related activity and scores of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS) was investigated through whole-brain regression. Secondly, NC were divided by median-split of TAS scores into groups showing low (NC-low) or high (NC-high) alexithymia. MDD and NC-high showed equally high TAS scores. Subsequently, IA-related neural activity was compared on a whole-brain level between the three independent samples (MDD, NC-low, NC-high). Results: Whole-brain regressions between MDD and NC revealed neural differences during IA as a function of TAS-DD (subscale difficulty describing feelings) in the supragenual anterior cingulate cortex (sACC; BA 24/32), which were due to negative associations between TAS-DD and IA-related activity in NC. Contrasting NC subgroups after median-split on a whole-brain level, high TAS scores were associated with decreased neural activity during IA in the sACC and increased insula activity. Though having equally high alexithymia scores, NC-high showed increased insula activity during IA compared to MDD, whilst both groups showed decreased activity in the sACC. Conclusions: Within the context of decreased sACC activity during IA in alexithymia (NC-high and MDD), increased insula activity might mirror a compensatory mechanism in NC-high, which is disrupted in MDD. KW - major depressive disorder KW - alexithymia KW - interoceptive awareness KW - insula KW - sACC KW - fMRI KW - neuroimaging Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00589 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 6 IS - 589 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wiebking, Christine A1 - de Greck, Moritz A1 - Duncan, Niall W. A1 - Tempelmann, Claus A1 - Bajbouj, Malek A1 - Northoff, Georg T1 - Interoception in insula subregions as a possible state marker for depression BT - an exploratory fMRI study investigating healthy, depressed and remitted participants JF - Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience N2 - Background: Interoceptive awareness (iA), the awareness of stimuli originating inside the body, plays an important role in human emotions and psychopathology. The insula is particularly involved in neural processes underlying iA. However, iA-related neural activity in the insula during the acute state of major depressive disorder (MDD) and in remission from depression has not been explored. Methods: A well-established fMRI paradigm for studying (iA; heartbeat counting) and exteroceptive awareness (eA; tone counting) was used. Study participants formed three independent groups: patients suffering from MDD, patients in remission from MDD or healthy controls. Task-induced neural activity in three functional subdivisions of the insula was compared between these groups. Results: Depressed participants showed neural hypo-responses during iA in anterior insula regions, as compared to both healthy and remitted participants. The right dorsal anterior insula showed the strongest response to iA across all participant groups. In depressed participants there was no differentiation between different stimuli types in this region (i.e., between iA, eA and noTask). Healthy and remitted participants in contrast showed clear activity differences. Conclusions: This is the first study comparing iA and eA-related activity in the insula in depressed participants to that in healthy and remitted individuals. The preliminary results suggest that these groups differ in there being hypo-responses across insula regions in the depressed participants, whilst non-psychiatric participants and patients in remission from MDD show the same neural activity during iA in insula subregions implying a possible state marker for MDD. The lack of activity differences between different stimulus types in the depressed group may account for their symptoms of altered external and internal focus. KW - major depressive disorder KW - interoceptive awareness KW - insula KW - remission KW - neuroimaging KW - fMRI KW - hopelessness KW - interoception Y1 - 2015 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00082 SN - 1662-5153 IS - 9 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER - TY - GEN A1 - Wiebking, Christine A1 - de Greck, Moritz A1 - Duncan, Niall W. A1 - Tempelmann, Claus A1 - Bajbouj, Malek A1 - Northoff, Georg T1 - Interoception in insula subregions as a possible state marker for depression BT - an exploratory fMRI study investigating healthy, depressed and remitted participants N2 - Background: Interoceptive awareness (iA), the awareness of stimuli originating inside the body, plays an important role in human emotions and psychopathology. The insula is particularly involved in neural processes underlying iA. However, iA-related neural activity in the insula during the acute state of major depressive disorder (MDD) and in remission from depression has not been explored. Methods: A well-established fMRI paradigm for studying (iA; heartbeat counting) and exteroceptive awareness (eA; tone counting) was used. Study participants formed three independent groups: patients suffering from MDD, patients in remission from MDD or healthy controls. Task-induced neural activity in three functional subdivisions of the insula was compared between these groups. Results: Depressed participants showed neural hypo-responses during iA in anterior insula regions, as compared to both healthy and remitted participants. The right dorsal anterior insula showed the strongest response to iA across all participant groups. In depressed participants there was no differentiation between different stimuli types in this region (i.e., between iA, eA and noTask). Healthy and remitted participants in contrast showed clear activity differences. Conclusions: This is the first study comparing iA and eA-related activity in the insula in depressed participants to that in healthy and remitted individuals. The preliminary results suggest that these groups differ in there being hypo-responses across insula regions in the depressed participants, whilst non-psychiatric participants and patients in remission from MDD show the same neural activity during iA in insula subregions implying a possible state marker for MDD. The lack of activity differences between different stimulus types in the depressed group may account for their symptoms of altered external and internal focus. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 271 KW - major depressive disorder KW - interoceptive awareness KW - insula KW - remission KW - neuroimaging KW - fMRI KW - hopelessness KW - interoception Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-75161 ER -