Neural correlates of affective contributions to lexical decisions in children and adults

The goal of the present study was to investigate whether 6–9-year old children and adults show similar neural responses to affective words. An event-related neuroimaging paradigm was used in which both age cohorts performed the same auditory lexical decision task (LDT). The results show similarities in (auditory) lexico-semantic network activation as well as in areas associated with affective information. In both age cohorts’ activations were stronger for positive than for negative words, thus exhibiting a positivity superiority effect. Children showed less activation in areas associated with affective information in response to all three valence categories than adults. Our results are discussed in the light of computational models of word recognition, and previous findings of affective contributions to LDT in adults

Epilepsia

ObjectiveFunctional connectivity (FC) among language regions is decreased in adults with epilepsy compared to controls, but less is known about FC in children with epilepsy. We sought to determine if language FC is reduced in pediatric epilepsy, and examined clinical factors that associate with language FC in this population.MethodsWe assessed FC during an age-adjusted language task in children with left-hemisphere focal epilepsy (n=19) compared to controls (n=19). Time series data were extracted for three left ROIs and their right homologues: inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), middle frontal gyrus (MFG), and Wernicke's area (WA) using SPM8. Associations between FC and factors such as cognitive performance, language dominance, and epilepsy duration were assessed.ResultsChildren with epilepsy showed decreased interhemispheric connectivity compared to controls, particularly between core left language regions (IFG, WA) and their right hemisphere homologues, as well as decreased intrahemispheric right frontal FC. Increased intrahemispheric FC between left IFG and left WA was a positive predictor of language skills overall, and naming ability in particular. FC of language areas was not affected by language dominance, as the effects remained when only examining study participants with left language dominance. Overall FC did not differ according to duration of epilepsy or age of onset.SignificanceFC during a language task is reduced in children, similar to findings in adults. In specific, children with left focal epilepsy demonstrated decreased interhemispheric FC in temporal and frontal language connections and decreased intrahemispheric right frontal FC. These differences were present near the onset of epilepsy. Greater FC between left language centers is related to better language ability. Our results highlight that connectivity of language areas has a developmental pattern and is related to cognitive ability.U01 DP003255/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHS/United StatesK23 NS065121/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/United States5K23NS065121-01A2/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/United StatesT32 HD046388/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United StatesP30 HD040677/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United StatesK23 MH086111/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United StatesR01 MH084961/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United StatesR01MH084961/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United StatesR01 NS044280/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/United States1P30HD40677-01/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United StatesR21 MH092615/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States5K23MH086111/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United StatesMH084961/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States1UO1DP003255/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHS/United States2K12NS052159-06A1/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/United States1R21MH092615/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States5T32HD046388-08/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United StatesM01 RR020359/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/United States2016-02-01T00:00:00Z25516399PMC43407507184vault:1333

Hippocampal Influences on Movements, Sensory, and Language Processing: A Role in Cognitive Control?

Beyond its established role in declarative memory function, the hippocampus has been implicated in varied roles in sensory processing and cognition, particularly those requiring temporal or spatial context. Disentangling its known role in memory from other cognitive functions can be challenging, as memory is directly or indirectly involved in most conscious activities, including tasks that underlie most experimental investigations. Recent work from this lab has examined the directional influence from the hippocampus on cortical areas involved in task performance, including tasks requiring movements, sensory processing, or language judgments. The hippocampus shows preferential connectivity with relevant cortical areas, typically the region critically involved in task performance, raising the possibility that the hippocampus plays a role in cognitive control. Minimal criteria for a role in cognitive control are proposed, and hippocampal connectivity with sensorimotor cortex during a non-mnemonic motor task is shown to meet this standard. Future directions for exploration are discussed

Developmental differences in the influence of phonological similarity on spoken word processing in Mandarin Chinese.

The developmental trajectory of spoken word recognition has been well established in Indo-European languages, but to date remains poorly characterized in Mandarin Chinese. In this study, typically developing children (N=17; mean age 10; 5) and adults (N=17; mean age 24) performed a picture-word matching task in Mandarin while we recorded ERPs. Mismatches diverged from expectations in different components of the Mandarin syllable; namely, word-initial phonemes, word-final phonemes, and tone. By comparing responses to different mismatch types, we uncovered evidence suggesting that both children and adults process words incrementally. However, we also observed key developmental differences in how subjects treated onset and rime mismatches. This was taken as evidence for a stronger influence of top-down processing on spoken word recognition in adults compared to children. This work therefore offers an important developmental component to theories of Mandarin spoken word recognition

Neural Correlates of Food Addiction in Adolescents, as Assessed by Inhibitory Control and the YFAS-C

Honors (Bachelor's)NeurosciencePsychologyPsychiatryUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163763/1/cphaneuf.pd

Hippocampus

The hippocampus is a bicortical structure with extensive fiber connections with multiple brain regions. It is involved in several functions, such as learning, memory, attention, emotion, and more. This book covers various aspects of the hippocampus including cytoarchitecture, functions, diseases, and treatment. It highlights the most advanced findings in research on the hippocampus. It discusses circuits, pattern formation process of grid cells, and zinc dynamics of the hippocampus. The book also addresses the tau pathology and circRNAs related to Alzheimer’s disease and potential treatment strategies. It is a useful resource for general readers, students, and researchers

Neuroimaging investigations of language to aid paediatric neurosurgical decision making

Childhood onset epilepsy can have a profound effect on cognitive, emotional and behavioural development. As such, early intervention is crucial. Approximately 25-50% of children with epilepsy show resistance to medication however. For these children, neurosurgical intervention may be considered. The decision for surgery is a multi-disciplinary process, including functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to assess the risk posed by surgery to language. Based on feasibility and behavioural pilot studies, I developed an fMRI task panel optimised for pre-surgical investigations of language in children. This task panel maps different language systems (word retrieval, sentence generation, auditory comprehension and reading comprehension) and localises critical language functions (semantic and syntactic processing). I validated this task panel in healthy children (N=43, 5-16 years). This included assessments of scan quality, comparison of methods for artefact repair, and definition of typical activation patterns. I also piloted the new task panel in a representative sample of children with epilepsy, who were being considered for surgery (N=13, aged 5-16 years). Patient case studies are reported to highlight methodological challenges associated with localisation of critical language regions on an individual basis. Finally, I present experimental analyses which highlight the importance of the ventral system to semantic processing. Activation in this network was reduced in children with epilepsy and predicted language outcome. Further investigation showed prolonged development of specific nodes within this system, supporting multimodal semantic processing (independent of effort and performance accuracy). These regions included ventral occipito-temporal cortex, whose role in semantic processing has so far been underappreciated in the developmental literature. These analyses provide evidence for a core language system, which may be crucial for post-surgical language outcome. The findings from this thesis contribute towards extending and improving the role of fMRI in the surgical decision-making process, with the potential for improving long term outcome. They also contribute to models of typical and atypical language development