Brain Function in Early Childhood: Individual Differences in Age and Attentive Traits

Children, like adults, are unique individuals with complex interwoven relationships between brain function, behaviour, and phenotypic traits, which further interact with rapid developmental processes. A nuanced description of variability between children will add to our knowledge of how they think and behave, and potentially advance the development of personalized early interventions. With functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we have gained insight into brain responses – however, due to practical considerations, we have been unable to render a complete understanding of brain-behaviour relationships in young children. The use of naturalistic stimuli in fMRI studies has increased the ecological validity and the retention of developmental neuroimaging data. In this dissertation, I sought to explore the relationships between age, attentive traits, and inter-individual variability of brain function in young children in naturalistic paradigms. I conducted a scoping review to synthesize the current and historical task- and naturalistic-fMRI literature on the development of visual processing in the brain, through the lens of two influential theories: the interactive specialization and maturational frameworks. I found that while there is generally a consensus of progressive development of visual brain function throughout childhood, there is not enough evidence to fully support other aspects of these theories. I also conducted two experiments, using naturalistic fMRI and an analysis technique called inter-subject correlation (ISC), which quantifies the spatiotemporal similarity of brain activity between individuals, to explore how age and attentive traits affect inter-individual variability of brain function in children aged 4-8 years. I found that children’s brain responses to movies “homogenized” with increasing age in our sample, with greater variability seen in the younger children. Further, both inattention and hyperactivity were associated with ISC in the sample, though the relationships with these traits were different in widespread regions of the brain. Together, my research advances our understanding of functional brain responses in children and underscores the importance of an individual differences approach to developmental neuroimaging

Functional connectivity in children diagnosed with ADHD during rest, movie watching and virtual reality task

Aktiivisuuden ja tarkkaavuuden häiriö eli ADHD on neuropsykiatrinen häiriö, jolle on ominaista tarkkaavuuden puute, ylivilkkaus ja impulsiivisuus. Oireet ilmaantuvat lapsuudessa ja ne voivat hoitamattomina jatkua aikuisuuteen asti haitaten elämänlaatua. Tällä hetkellä lapsen ADHD:n diagnosointi perustuu vanhempien täyttämiin subjektiivisiin kyselyihin ja haastatteluun. Erityisesti arkielämän oireilun aikana ilmenevien aivotoiminnan muutosten havaitseminen voisi tuoda tärkeää lisätietoa diagnostiikan kohdentamiseksi. Aivojen toimintaa luonnollisen kaltaisten tilanteiden aikana ei ADHD-diagnoosin saaneilla olla juurikaan tutkittu. Sen sijaan lepotilakuvantamista ja yksinkertaisia tehtäviä hyödyntävissä ADHD-tutkimuksissa on havaittu aivotoiminnan muutoksia laajoissa hermoverkostoissa. Näiden hermoverkostojen toimintaa on tehokasta tutkia tarkastelemalla toiminnallista konnektiivisuutta eli eri aivojen osien toiminnan synkronisuutta. Tässä tutkielmassa tutkittiin toiminnallista magneettikuvausta hyödyntäen ADHD-diagnoosin saaneiden lasten (n=17) ja verrokkien (n=19) eroja koko aivojen toiminnallisessa konnektiivisuudessa arkielämää simuloivan virtuaalitodellisuustehtävän (EPELI), luonnollisen kaltaisten videoiden katselun ja lepotilan aikana. Konnektiivisuusmatriisit muodostettiin NiLearn Toolbox-ohjelmalla Seitzmanin ja kollegojen (2018) 300:n alueen parsellaatiota käyttäen. Koko aivojen konnektiivisuutta tarkasteltiin verkostomallia hyödyntävällä Network-Based Statistics -menetelmällä. Videoiden katselun aikana ADHD-ryhmällä ilmeni suurentunutta konnektiivisuutta verrokkiryhmään nähden verkostossa, johon kuului useampi liikeaivokuoren alue. Tämä voi viitata näiden alueiden rooliin ADHD:n ylivilkkausoireissa. Samaan verkostoon kuului myös oikea ylempi ohimopoimu, joka on aiemmin yhdistetty impulsiivisuusoireisiin ADHD-diagnoosin saaneilla henkilöillä. Virtuaalitodellisuustehtävän ja lepotilan aikana ryhmien välillä ei havaittu eroja konnektiivisuudessa. Koetilanteiden välillä paljastui kuitenkin eroja useissa verkostoissa, kun konnektiivisuutta verrattiin ryhmien sisällä. Monet näistä verkostoista olivat hyvin laajoja ja sisälsivät aivokuoren alueiden lisäksi useita kuorenalaisia ja pikkuaivoihin kuuluvia rakenteita. Sekä verrokki- että ADHD-ryhmässä havaittiin suurentunutta konnektiivisuutta lepotilassa verrattuna EPELI:iin. Tämä saattoi mahdollisesti johtua osallistujien toiminnan erilaisuudesta tehtäviensuorituksen aikana. Tämä tutkielma on kirjoittajan tietojen mukaan ensimmäinen, jossa tarkasteltiin ADHD-diagnoosin saaneiden aivojen toiminnallista konnektiivisuutta luonnon kaltaisten ärsykkeiden aikana. Videoiden katselun aikaiset selkeät erot verrokkien ja ADHD-ryhmän välillä ovat lupaavia tulevien luonnon kaltaisia ärsykkeitä hyödyntävien aivotutkimusten kannalta. Tulosten perusteella verkostomallit ovat tehokkaita ADHD:n toiminnallisen konnektiivisuuden tutkimisessa eri olosuhteissa. Virtuaalitehtävän aikaisten toimintojen samankaltaisuuden huomioiminen olisi kuitenkin voinut johtaa suurempien erojen havaitsemiseen.Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. The symptoms appear in childhood and, if left untreated, can continue into adulthood affecting the quality of life. Currently, diagnosing a child's ADHD relies on subjective questionnaires filled out by a parent and an interview. The detection of changes in brain activity especially during everyday activities could bring important information that could help inform the diagnostics of ADHD. The changes in brain activity in persons diagnosed with ADHD during familiar, everyday events have been studied very little. However, ADHD brain imaging studies done during resting state and simple tasks have found changes in large-scale brain networks. These networks can be studied using functional connectivity approach, where the degree of synchronous activity in different brain regions is used to determine the connection strength between these regions. In this thesis, using functional magnetic resonance imaging, the differences in the functional connectivity of the whole brain between children diagnosed with ADHD (n=17) and controls (n=19) were investigated during a virtual reality task that simulates everyday life (EPELI), watching natural-like videos, and resting state. Connectivity matrices were generated with the NiLearn Toolbox program using Seitzman and colleagues' (2018) 300-area parcellation. The connectivity of the whole brain was examined using Network-Based Statistics. During movie watching the ADHD group showed increased connectivity compared to the control group in a network that included several areas of the motor cortex. This may indicate a role for these regions in the hyperactivity symptoms of ADHD. The same network also included the right superior temporal gyrus, which has previously been linked to impulsivity symptoms in individuals diagnosed with ADHD. During the virtual reality task and resting state, no differences in connectivity were observed between the groups. However, differences between the experimental situations were revealed in several networks when the connectivity was compared within the groups. Many of these networks were very extensive and included several subcortical and cerebellar structures in addition to cortical areas. Both the control and ADHD groups showed increased connectivity in the resting state compared to EPELI. This could possibly be due to the differences in the participants' actions during the task performance. To the best of the author's knowledge, this study is the first to examine the functional connectivity of brains diagnosed with ADHD during naturalistic stimuli. The clear differences between the controls and the ADHD group during movie watching are promising for future naturalistic brain studies. Based on the results, network models are effective in studying the functional connectivity of ADHD under different conditions. However, consideration for similarity of activities during the virtual task could have led to the detection of larger differences

Social and Affective Neuroscience of Everyday Human Interaction

This Open Access book presents the current state of the art knowledge on social and affective neuroscience based on empirical findings. This volume is divided into several sections first guiding the reader through important theoretical topics within affective neuroscience, social neuroscience and moral emotions, and clinical neuroscience. Each chapter addresses everyday social interactions and various aspects of social interactions from a different angle taking the reader on a diverse journey. The last section of the book is of methodological nature. Basic information is presented for the reader to learn about common methodologies used in neuroscience alongside advanced input to deepen the understanding and usability of these methods in social and affective neuroscience for more experienced readers

Using Movies to Probe the Neurobiology of Anxiety

Over the past century, research has helped us build a fundamental understanding of the neurobiological underpinnings of anxiety. Specifically, anxiety engages a broad range of cortico-subcortical neural circuitry. Core to this is a ‘defensive response network’ which includes an amygdala-prefrontal circuit that is hypothesized to drive attentional amplification of threat-relevant stimuli in the environment. In order to help prepare the body for defensive behaviors to threat, anxiety also engages peripheral physiological systems. However, our theoretical frameworks of the neurobiology of anxiety are built mostly on the foundations of tightly-controlled experiments, such as task-based fMRI. Whether these findings generalize to more naturalistic settings is unknown. To address this shortcoming, movie-watching paradigms offer an effective tool at the intersection of tightly controlled and entirely naturalistic experiments. Particularly, using suspenseful movies presents a novel and effective means to induce and study anxiety. In this thesis, I demonstrate the potential of movie-watching paradigms in the study of how trait and state anxiety impact the ‘defensive response network’ in the brain, as well as peripheral physiology. The key findings reveal that trait anxiety is associated with differing amygdala-prefrontal responses to suspenseful movies; specific trait anxiety symptoms are linked to altered states of anxiety during suspenseful movies; and states of anxiety during movies impact brain-body communication. Notably, my results frequently diverged from those of conventional task-based experiments. Taken together, the insights gathered from this thesis underscore the utility of movie-watching paradigms for a more nuanced understanding of how anxiety impacts the brain and peripheral physiology. These outcomes provide compelling evidence that further integration of naturalistic methods will be beneficial in the study of the neurobiology of anxiety

Social and Affective Neuroscience of Everyday Human Interaction

This Open Access book presents the current state of the art knowledge on social and affective neuroscience based on empirical findings. This volume is divided into several sections first guiding the reader through important theoretical topics within affective neuroscience, social neuroscience and moral emotions, and clinical neuroscience. Each chapter addresses everyday social interactions and various aspects of social interactions from a different angle taking the reader on a diverse journey. The last section of the book is of methodological nature. Basic information is presented for the reader to learn about common methodologies used in neuroscience alongside advanced input to deepen the understanding and usability of these methods in social and affective neuroscience for more experienced readers

Fluctuations of attention network activation during the resting state reflect fluctuations in subjective attentional state.

peer reviewe

Social and Affective Neuroscience of Embodiment

Embodiment has been discussed in the context of social, affective, and cognitive psychology, and also in the investigations of neuroscience in order to understand the relationship between biological mechanisms, body and cognitive, and social and affective processes. New theoretical models have been presented by researchers considering not only the sensory–motor interaction and the environment but also biological mechanisms regulating homeostasis and neural processes (Tsakiris M, Q J Exp Psychol 70(4):597–609, 2017). Historically, the body and the mind were comprehended as separate entities. The body was considered to function as a machine, responsible for providing sensory information to the mind and executing its commands. The mind, however, would process information in an isolated way, similar to a computer (Pecher D, Zwaan RA, Grounding cognition: the role of perception and action in memory, language, and thinking. Cambridge University Press, 2005). This mind and body perspective (Marmeleira J, Duarte Santos G, Percept Motor Skills 126, 2019; Marshall PJ, Child Dev Perspect 10(4):245–250, 2016), for many years, was the basis for studies in social and cognitive areas, in neuroscience, and clinical psychology

Facial EMG – Investigating the Interplay of Facial Muscles and Emotions

This chapter provides information about facial electromyography (EMG) as a method of investigating emotions and affect, including examples of application and methods for analysis. This chapter begins with a short introduction to emotion theory followed by an operationalisation of facial emotional expressions as an underlying requirement for their study using facial EMG. This chapter ends by providing practical information on the use of facial EMG

Time Distortions in Mind

Time Distortions in Mind brings together current research on temporal processing in clinical populations to elucidate the interdependence between perturbations in timing and disturbances in the mind and brain. For the student, the scientist, and the stepping-stone for further research

Time Distortions in Mind

Time Distortions in Mind brings together current research on temporal processing in clinical populations to elucidate the interdependence between perturbations in timing and disturbances in the mind and brain. For the student, the scientist, and the stepping-stone for further research. Readership: An excellent reference for the student and the scientist interested in aspects of temporal processing and abnormal psychology