An interoceptive predictive coding model of conscious presence

We describe a theoretical model of the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying conscious presence and its disturbances. The model is based on interoceptive prediction error and is informed by predictive models of agency, general models of hierarchical predictive coding and dopaminergic signaling in cortex, the role of the anterior insular cortex (AIC) in interoception and emotion, and cognitive neuroscience evidence from studies of virtual reality and of psychiatric disorders of presence, specifically depersonalization/derealization disorder. The model associates presence with successful suppression by top-down predictions of informative interoceptive signals evoked by autonomic control signals and, indirectly, by visceral responses to afferent sensory signals. The model connects presence to agency by allowing that predicted interoceptive signals will depend on whether afferent sensory signals are determined, by a parallel predictive-coding mechanism, to be self-generated or externally caused. Anatomically, we identify the AIC as the likely locus of key neural comparator mechanisms. Our model integrates a broad range of previously disparate evidence, makes predictions for conjoint manipulations of agency and presence, offers a new view of emotion as interoceptive inference, and represents a step toward a mechanistic account of a fundamental phenomenological property of consciousness

The role of expectations on affective sound processing: behavioural and neural correlates

Ph. D. Thesis.Theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence in the last two decades have shown that prior expectations about the upcoming stimulus can shape the perception when the stimulus arrives. How expectations influence emotional responses to the stimulus is, however, relatively less understood. In this thesis, using behavioural and neural measures of electroencephalography (EEG) and intracranially recorded local field potentials (LFPs) from human subjects, I explore the role of expectations on the processing of affective sounds. In Chapter 2, the neural basis of expectation is first established using EEG. Two visual cues were used to elicit the expectation of either neutral or aversive sounds. An event related potential just before the onset of upcoming stimuli, called Stimulus Preceding Negativity (SPN), is measured to index the expectation of an upcoming stimulus. Although a robust measure of SPN could be observed for the expectation of both aversive and neutral sounds, no difference between the two was observed indicating no relation between the magnitude of SPN and valence of sounds. Source localization of SPN, using multiple sparse priors algorithm revealed a network of brain areas including the anterior insula, inferior frontal gyrus, temporal cortex, supplementary motor area (SMA) and thalamus. A limitation of the first experiment was that no behavioural measure of expectation of valence was recorded. It is likely that there is variation across subjects in the expectation and perceived valence after the stimulus onset. The second experiment (Chapter 3), also a cued paradigm as above, addressed this limitation by using subjective measures of expectations before the sound onset and aversive ratings after sound offset as reported by the subjects. Mediation analysis between perceived ratings following sound onset and expectation ratings confirmed a mediator role of expectation/predictions in the aversive experience – an expectation for aversive sounds translated into a more aversive experience, and an expectation for less aversive sounds translated into a less aversive experience once the sound was heard. Exploratory analyses showed that subjects whose perceived aversiveness shifted in the direction of expectation displayed a stronger SPN. Moreover, this effect was seen for aversive but not for neutral sounds. Additionally, activity in the alpha-beta band during encoding of the predictive cues was associated with the precision of subjective expectancy. In summary, the data highlight the importance of measuring behavioural/subjective correlates of expectation and perceived aversiveness. This may be particularly important when the cues-contingencies are not explicitly disclosed and when using emotional (subjective) stimuli, as there is bound to be high inter-individual variability both in learning rates and stimulus appraisal. Expectations about the upcoming stimulus can be formed based on different sources. For example, it could be based on information from other people (that is, social source) or expectations can be formed based on personal experiences with the world (conditioned source). In the third and last experiment (Chapter 4), the behavioural, physiological and neural basis of social and conditioned expectations are measured. Using a cued paradigm, subjects formed expectations of the upcoming stimulus either based on social information or their own conditioning experiences. As in the experiment in Chapter 3, subjects rated their expectation prior to the stimulus onset and their perceived aversiveness following the onset of the stimulus. The data again show that the perceived aversiveness shifted in the direction of expectations for both the social and conditioned cues. Further, physiological and autonomic responses also shifted in the direction of expectations. Recordings from LFPs in a group of epileptic patients undergoing neurosurgical evaluations for the locations of their seizure foci show expectation-based changes during sound perception in a widespread network including temporal cortex, anterior cingulate and orbitofrontal cortices, inferior frontal gyrus, and insula. Collectively, the research presented in this doctoral thesis show expectations can and do alter the processing of aversive sounds at the behavioural, somatic, and neural levels.Newcastle Universit

High Field fMRI Reveals Thalamocortical Integration of Segregated Cognitive and Emotional Processing in Mediodorsal and Intralaminar Thalamic Nuclei

Thalamocortical loops, connecting functionally segregated, higher order cortical regions, and basal ganglia, have been proposed not only for well described motor and sensory regions, but also for limbic and prefrontal areas relevant for affective and cognitive processes. These functions are, however, more specific to humans, rendering most invasive neuroanatomical approaches impossible and interspecies translations difficult. In contrast, non-invasive imaging of functional neuroanatomy using fMRI allows for the development of elaborate task paradigms capable of testing the specific functionalities proposed for these circuits. Until recently, spatial resolution largely limited the anatomical definition of functional clusters at the level of distinct thalamic nuclei. Since their anatomical distinction seems crucial not only for the segregation of cognitive and limbic loops but also for the detection of their functional interaction during cognitive–emotional integration, we applied high resolution fMRI on 7 Tesla. Using an event-related design, we could isolate thalamic effects for preceding attention as well as experience of erotic stimuli. We could demonstrate specific thalamic effects of general emotional arousal in mediodorsal nucleus and effects specific to preceding attention and expectancy in intralaminar centromedian/parafascicular complex. These thalamic effects were paralleled by specific coactivations in the head of caudate nucleus as well as segregated portions of rostral or caudal cingulate cortex and anterior insula supporting distinct thalamo–striato–cortical loops. In addition to predescribed effects of sexual arousal in hypothalamus and ventral striatum, high resolution fMRI could extent this network to paraventricular thalamus encompassing laterodorsal and parataenial nuclei. We could lend evidence to segregated subcortical loops which integrate cognitive and emotional aspects of basic human behavior such as sexual processing

The Brain Network of Expectancy and Uncertainty Processing

[Background] The Stimulus Preceding Negativity (SPN) is a non-motor slow cortical potential elicited by temporally predictable stimuli, customarily interpreted as a physiological index of expectancy. Its origin would be the brain activity responsible for generating the anticipatory mental representation of an expected upcoming event. The SPN manifests itself as a slow cortical potential with negative slope, growing in amplitude as the stimulus approximates. The uncertainty hypothesis we present here postulates that the SPN is linked to control-related areas in the prefrontal cortex that become more active before the occurrence of an upcoming outcome perceived as uncertain. [Methods/Findings] We tested the uncertainty hypothesis by using a repeated measures design in a Human Contingency Learning task with two levels of uncertainty. In the high uncertainty condition, the outcome is unpredictable. In the mid uncertainty condition, the outcome can be learnt to be predicted in 75% of the trials. Our experiment shows that the Stimulus Preceding Negativity is larger for probabilistically unpredictable (uncertain) outcomes than for probabilistically predictable ones. sLoreta estimations of the brain activity preceding the outcome suggest that prefrontal and parietal areas can be involved in its generation. Prefrontal sites activation (Anterior Cingulate and Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex) seems to be related to the degree of uncertainty. Activation in posterior parietal areas, however, does not correlates with uncertainty. [Conclusions/Significance] We suggest that the Stimulus Preceding Negativity reflects the attempt to predict the outcome, when posterior brain areas fail to generate a stable expectancy. Uncertainty is thus conceptualized, not just as the absence of learned expectancy, but as a state with psychological and physiological entity.Research by A. Catena is funded by CONSOLIDER-INGENIO CSD2007-00012 (http://www.bcbl.eu/consolider/index.php). Research by J.C. Perales is founded by a Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN) grant (Dirección General de Programas y Transferencia de Conocimiento, Ref. PSI2009-13133, http://www.micinn.es/). Research by A. Catena, A. Candido, and A. Maldonado is founded by a Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN) grant (Dirección General de Programas y Transferencia de Conocimiento, Ref. PSI2009-12217, http://www.micinn.es/). Research was also founded by a Junta de Andalucía grant (Reference P09/SEJ-4752, http://www.juntadeandalucia.es/servicios​/ayudas/detalle/69962.html)

Brain disorders and the biological role of music

Despite its evident universality and high social value, the ultimate biological role of music and its connection to brain disorders remain poorly understood. Recent findings from basic neuroscience have shed fresh light on these old problems. New insights provided by clinical neuroscience concerning the effects of brain disorders promise to be particularly valuable in uncovering the underlying cognitive and neural architecture of music and for assessing candidate accounts of the biological role of music. Here we advance a new model of the biological role of music in human evolution and the link to brain disorders, drawing on diverse lines of evidence derived from comparative ethology, cognitive neuropsychology and neuroimaging studies in the normal and the disordered brain. We propose that music evolved from the call signals of our hominid ancestors as a means mentally to rehearse and predict potentially costly, affectively laden social routines in surrogate, coded, low-cost form: essentially, a mechanism for transforming emotional mental states efficiently and adaptively into social signals. This biological role of music has its legacy today in the disordered processing of music and mental states that characterizes certain developmental and acquired clinical syndromes of brain network disintegration

Pain: A Precision Signal for Reinforcement Learning and Control.

Since noxious stimulation usually leads to the perception of pain, pain has traditionally been considered sensory nociception. But its variability and sensitivity to a broad array of cognitive and motivational factors have meant it is commonly viewed as inherently imprecise and intangibly subjective. However, the core function of pain is motivational-to direct both short- and long-term behavior away from harm. Here, we illustrate that a reinforcement learning model of pain offers a mechanistic understanding of how the brain supports this, illustrating the underlying computational architecture of the pain system. Importantly, it explains why pain is tuned by multiple factors and necessarily supported by a distributed network of brain regions, recasting pain as a precise and objectifiable control signal

THE ROLE OF PROBABILISTIC INFORMATION ON AFFECTIVE PREDICTIONS: NEURAL AND SUBJECTIVE CORRELATES AS MODULATED BY INTOLERANCE OF UNCERTAINTY

Emotions have been recently reconsidered as interoceptive predictive models, “constructed” by the brain on the basis of contextual information and prior experience, with the aim to predict relevant stimuli or events, and to provide the organism with optimal resources for survival. Nevertheless, the specific mechanisms underlying the construction of affective predictions both at the neural and subjective experience level remain unclear. More specifically, both the role played by contextual information and prior experience on the one hand, and the potential interactions with dispositional characteristics such as Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU), which is considered a trans-diagnostic risk factor for affective disorders, on the other hand, have yet to be unraveled. The present thesis aimed to answer these open questions. As a first aim, we investigated how contextual information of different predictive value modulates the neural correlates of affective predictions construction. Second, we explored how prior probabilistic experience affects the construction of affective predictions at the subjective experience level. Third and last, we studied how individual differences in IU impact on the construction of affective predictions as a function of contextual information and prior experience. Taken together, this thesis contributes to untangling the dynamics of affective prediction construction at the neural and subjective experience level. Contextual information and prior experience were found to differently influence (depending on their predictive value), and to interact with IU, in shaping the neural correlates and the subjective experience of emotion along the construction of affective predictions. Thus, this work offers both a theoretical contribution to predictive models of emotion, by better clarifying the mechanisms subtending prediction construction at the neural and subjective experience levels, and potential clinical implications for the prevention and treatment of anxiety disorders, given the trans-diagnostic nature of IU as a risk factor for the development of affective psychopathology.Emotions have been recently reconsidered as interoceptive predictive models, “constructed” by the brain on the basis of contextual information and prior experience, with the aim to predict relevant stimuli or events, and to provide the organism with optimal resources for survival. Nevertheless, the specific mechanisms underlying the construction of affective predictions both at the neural and subjective experience level remain unclear. More specifically, both the role played by contextual information and prior experience on the one hand, and the potential interactions with dispositional characteristics such as Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU), which is considered a trans-diagnostic risk factor for affective disorders, on the other hand, have yet to be unraveled. The present thesis aimed to answer these open questions. As a first aim, we investigated how contextual information of different predictive value modulates the neural correlates of affective predictions construction. Second, we explored how prior probabilistic experience affects the construction of affective predictions at the subjective experience level. Third and last, we studied how individual differences in IU impact on the construction of affective predictions as a function of contextual information and prior experience. Taken together, this thesis contributes to untangling the dynamics of affective prediction construction at the neural and subjective experience level. Contextual information and prior experience were found to differently influence (depending on their predictive value), and to interact with IU, in shaping the neural correlates and the subjective experience of emotion along the construction of affective predictions. Thus, this work offers both a theoretical contribution to predictive models of emotion, by better clarifying the mechanisms subtending prediction construction at the neural and subjective experience levels, and potential clinical implications for the prevention and treatment of anxiety disorders, given the trans-diagnostic nature of IU as a risk factor for the development of affective psychopathology

How the Attitude of Acceptance, Enthusiasm and Learning through Motivation Affects Brain Development in Children with Autism: A Literature Review

Research on the autism spectrum (AS) has expanded tremendously over the last two decades with exciting insights into underlying neurobiology. Neuroplasticity, the remarkable ability of the brain to form new connections as a result of experience, is not limited to specific parts of the brain nor does it have a time limit meaning that growth and learning are on-going processes. In this review we explore the impact of the attitude of acceptance, enthusiasm and learning through motivation on brain development in children on the AS. The first part of the review focusses on the impact of attitude on social, emotional and cognitive development, while the second part focusses on the impact of attitude on brain biology

Neuronal and behavioural pain processing

In our study “Neuronal and Behavioural Pain Processing: A Comparison Between a Strong Brand and a Generic Medication Placebo using the Example of Aspirin vs. 1A Pharma”, we investigated the expectation effects associated with brands by labelling two different placebo interventions. We tested the hypothesis, whether a strong brand can influence the impact of an inert substance. We studied the potential differences between the two placebos on a behavioural and neural level inducing the stimulus with noxious heat pain using Medoc. The research objective was to unveil, whether recipients can be influenced through expectations, verbal suggestions and the brand itself. We applied a two by two design with two identical placebo interventions that differed in their labelling. One group was told that they will receive 500 mg of “Aspirin” (original brand), while the other group was told that they will receive a popular ASA generic (“1A Pharma”). At the beginning, we established the individual pain levels of each subject with the numeric rating scale. Then we measured pain intensities before and after the intervention. The intervention was the administration of the placebo. We investigated behavioural as well as neural differences and looked for corresponding activated brain regions using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Those participants, who were administered the original brand in the placebo intervention, showed a decrease in pain intensity. The generic group did not show any significant pain decrease. At the neuronal level, during the native condition, we observed activations of the anterior insula in both groups. After the intervention, the participants showed activations of the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. The direct comparison of the two placebo conditions – the branded placebo vs. the generic – showed higher activations for the bilateral dorsolateral and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. During the anticipation phase we observed activations of hippocampal, parahippocampal and adjacent brain areas for the generic group, only. These results suggest that only the original brand appears to evoke a behavioural response measured in terms of pain reduction. On a neuronal level, the activations were significant for the original brand only. Comparing the two placebo interventions, expectations seem to be significantly enhanced by the trusted brand, which appears to boost the placebo effect. Our results suggest that the underlying neural mechanisms of this placebo response are based on fronto-cortical neural networks