Making sense: dopamine activates conscious self-monitoring through medial prefrontal cortex

When experiences become meaningful to the self, they are linked to synchronous activity in a paralimbic network of self-awareness and dopaminergic activity. This network includes medial prefrontal and medial parietal/posterior cingulate cortices, where transcranial magnetic stimulation may transiently impair self-awareness. Conversely, we hypothesize that dopaminergic stimulation may improve self-awareness and metacognition (i.e., the ability of the brain to consciously monitor its own cognitive processes). Here, we demonstrate improved noetic (conscious) metacognition by oral administration of 100 mg dopamine in minimal self-awareness. In a separate experiment with extended self-awareness dopamine improved the retrieval accuracy of memories of self-judgment (autonoetic, i.e., explicitly self-conscious) metacognition. Concomitantly, magnetoencephalography (MEG) showed increased amplitudes of oscillations (power) preferentially in the medial prefrontal cortex. Given that electromagnetic activity in this region is instrumental in self-awareness, this explains the specific effect of dopamine on explicit self-awareness and autonoetic metacognition

Recurrent Activity in Higher Order, Modality Non-Specific Brain Regions: A Granger Causality Analysis of Autobiographic Memory Retrieval

It has been proposed that the workings of the brain are mainly intrinsically generated recurrent neuronal activity, with sensory inputs as modifiers of such activity in both sensory and higher order modality non-specific regions. This is supported by the demonstration of recurrent neuronal activity in the visual system as a response to visual stimulation. In contrast recurrent activity has never been demonstrated before in higher order modality non-specific regions. Using magneto-encephalography and Granger causality analysis, we tested in a paralimbic network the hypothesis that stimulation may enhance causal recurrent interaction between higher-order, modality non-specific regions. The network includes anterior cingulate/medial prefrontal and posterior cingulate/medial parietal cortices together with pulvinar thalami, a network known to be effective in autobiographic memory retrieval and self-awareness. Autobiographic memory retrieval of previous personal judgments of visually presented words was used as stimuli. It is demonstrated that the prestimulus condition is characterized by causal, recurrent oscillations which are maximal in the lower gamma range. When retrieving previous judgments of visually presented adjectives, this activity is dramatically increased during the stimulus task as ascertained by Granger causality analysis. Our results confirm the hypothesis that stimulation may enhance causal interaction between higher order, modality non-specific brain regions, exemplified in a network of autobiographical memory retrieval

Making sense: dopamine activates conscious self-monitoring through medial prefrontal cortex

When experiences become meaningful to the self, they are linked to synchronous activity in a paralimbic network of self-awareness and dopaminergic activity. This network includes medial prefrontal and medial parietal/posterior cingulate cortices, where transcranial magnetic stimulation may transiently impair self-awareness. Conversely, we hypothesize that dopaminergic stimulation may improve self-awareness and metacognition (i.e., the ability of the brain to consciously monitor its own cognitive processes). Here, we demonstrate improved noetic (conscious) metacognition by oral administration of 100 mg dopamine in minimal self-awareness. In a separate experiment with extended self-awareness dopamine improved the retrieval accuracy of memories of self-judgment (autonoetic, i.e., explicitly self-conscious) metacognition. Concomitantly, magnetoencephalography (MEG) showed increased amplitudes of oscillations (power) preferentially in the medial prefrontal cortex. Given that electromagnetic activity in this region is instrumental in self-awareness, this explains the specific effect of dopamine on explicit self-awareness and autonoetic metacognition

Paralimbic causal information flow during 900 ms prestimulus and 900 ms stimulus conditions vs. 5 Hz frequency bands.

<p>Granger causality is seen in both the prestimulus state and during retrieval of self-judgment. Granger causality was maximal in the lower gamma band 30–45 Hz range (bars: standard errors of mean), and larger in the autobiographic memory retrieval condition than in the prestimulus condition (p<0.0001, ANOVA).</p

Bi-directional paralimbic interregional activity in the prestimulus condition (A) and in the stimulus condition (B).

<p>Granger causality is bi-directional and approximately symmetrical between regions in almost all 100 ms epochs with few exceptions, independent of frequency band, and in both conditions, although intensified in the lower gamma range and during autobiographical memory retrieval. Bars: 95% confidence limits.</p

A paralimbic network of self-awareness.

<p>The network was identified in a previous PET study of hemodynamic paralimbic interactions elicited by self-awareness <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0022286#pone.0022286-Lou1" target="_blank">[12]</a>). Talairach coordinates of anterior cingulate/medial prefrontal, posterior cingulate/medial parietal, and pulvinar thalami were measured for identification of targets for the MEG analysis used in the present study (0,59,40; 0,−50,28; and 0,−38,8, respectively).</p

GENERAL ASPECTS OF NLP IN TEACHING LANGUAGES

This article is focus on NLP as a tool helping to improve personal excellence in teaching languages. NLP states that learning begins in the students’ frame of reference and thus, it is important for teachers to increase their interpersonal skills and ability to recognize it. A map of how language operates is drawn by the Meta Model - a tool for a fuller understanding of what people say -, which deals with the concepts of surface structure and deep structure. The meta programs deal with deletions, distortions and generalisations which appear in language during communication. Establish rapport is a helpful method to create favourable teaching atmosphere and humanising teaching is a way to improve students’ performance

Small x Phenomenology - summary of the 3rd Lund Small x Workshop in 2004

A third workshop on small-x physics, within the Small-x Collaboration, was held in Hamburg in May 2004 with the aim of overviewing recent theoretical progress in this area and summarizing the experimental status