The landscape of cognitive neuroscience: challenges, rewards, and new perspectives

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The urgent need for integrated science to fight COVID-19 pandemic and beyond

The COVID-19 pandemic has become the leading societal concern. The pandemic has shown that the public health concern is not only a medical problem, but also afects society as a whole; so, it has also become the leading scientifc concern. We discuss in this treatise the importance of bringing the world’s scientists together to fnd efective solu‑ tions for controlling the pandemic. By applying novel research frameworks, interdisciplinary collaboration promises to manage the pandemic’s consequences and prevent recurrences of similar pandemics

Socialization During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Social and Scientific Networks During Social Distancing

In the COVID-19 era, while we are encouraged to be physically far away from each other, social and scientific networking is needed more than ever. The dire consequences of social distancing can be diminished by social networking. Social media, a quintessential component of social networking, facilitates the dissemination of reliable information and fighting against misinformation by health authorities. Distance learning, telemedicine, and telehealth are among the most prominent applications of networking during this pandemic. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the importance of collaborative scientific efforts. In this chapter, we summarize the advantages of harnessing both social and scientific networking in minimizing the harms of this pandemic. We also discuss the extra collaborative measures we can take in our fight against COVID-19, particularly in the scientific field

Topography and behavioral relevance of the global signal in the human brain

10.1038/s41598-019-50750-8Scientific Reports911428

Functional Connectivity of Human Striatum: A Resting State fMRI Study

Item does not contain fulltextClassically regarded as motor structures, the basal ganglia subserve a wide range of functions, including motor, cognitive, motivational, and emotional processes. Consistent with this broad-reaching involvement in brain function, basal ganglia dysfunction has been implicated in numerous neurological and psychiatric disorders. Despite recent advances in human neuroimaging, models of basal ganglia circuitry continue to rely primarily upon inference from animal studies. Here, we provide a comprehensive functional connectivity analysis of basal ganglia circuitry in humans through a functional magnetic resonance imaging examination during rest. Voxelwise regression analyses substantiated the hypothesized motor, cognitive, and affective divisions among striatal subregions, and provided in vivo evidence of a functional organization consistent with parallel and integrative loop models described in animals. Our findings also revealed subtler distinctions within striatal subregions not previously appreciated by task-based imaging approaches. For instance, the inferior ventral striatum is functionally connected with medial portions of orbitofrontal cortex, whereas a more superior ventral striatal seed is associated with medial and lateral portions. The ability to map multiple distinct striatal circuits in a single study in humans, as opposed to relying on meta-analyses of multiple studies, is a principal strength of resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging. This approach holds promise for studying basal ganglia dysfunction in clinical disorders

Residual functional connectivity in the split-brain revealed with resting-state functional MRI

Item does not contain fulltextSplit-brain patients present a unique opportunity to address controversies regarding subcortical contributions to interhemispheric coordination. We characterized residual functional connectivity in a complete commissurotomy patient by examining patterns of low-frequency BOLD functional MRI signal. Using independent components analysis and region-of-interest-based functional connectivity analyses, we demonstrate bilateral resting state networks in a patient lacking all major cerebral commissures. Compared with a control group, the patient's interhemispheric correlation scores fell within the normal range for two out of three regions examined. Thus, we provide evidence for bilateral resting state networks in a patient with complete commissurotomy. Such continued interhemispheric interaction suggests that, at least in part, cortical networks in the brain can be coordinated by subcortical mechanisms

Lag analysis of fast fMRI reveals delayed information flow between the default mode and other networks in narcolepsy

Abstract Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disease characterized by dysfunction of the hypocretin system in brain causing disruption in the wake-promoting system. In addition to sleep attacks and cataplexy, patients with narcolepsy commonly report cognitive symptoms while objective deficits in sustained attention and executive function have been observed. Prior resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies in narcolepsy have reported decreased inter/intranetwork connectivity regarding the default mode network (DMN). Recently developed fast fMRI data acquisition allows more precise detection of brain signal propagation with a novel dynamic lag analysis. In this study, we used fast fMRI data to analyze dynamics of inter resting-state network (RSN) information signaling between narcolepsy type 1 patients (NT1, n = 23) and age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HC, n = 23). We investigated dynamic connectivity properties between positive and negative peaks and, furthermore, their anticorrelative (pos-neg) counterparts. The lag distributions were significantly (P < 0.005, familywise error rate corrected) altered in 24 RSN pairs in NT1. The DMN was involved in 83% of the altered RSN pairs. We conclude that narcolepsy type 1 is characterized with delayed and monotonic inter-RSN information flow especially involving anticorrelations, which are known to be characteristic behavior of the DMN regarding neurocognition