Featured
-
-
Article
| Open AccessPrefrontal signals precede striatal signals for biased credit assignment in motivational learning biases
People are more likely to take action when they expect a reward but hold back when expecting punishment. Here, the authors show that such motivational biases may stem from biased action outcome learning in cortico-striatal circuits.
- Johannes Algermissen
- , Jennifer C. Swart
- & Hanneke E. M. den Ouden
-
Article
| Open AccessInferring language dispersal patterns with velocity field estimation
Reconstructing language dispersal patterns is important for understanding cultural spread and demic diffusion. Here, the authors use a computational approach based on velocity field estimation to infer the dispersal patterns of Indo-European, Sino-Tibetan, Bantu, and Arawak language families.
- Sizhe Yang
- , Xiaoru Sun
- & Menghan Zhang
-
Article
| Open AccessDopamine release in human associative striatum during reversal learning
Dopamine release in the brain is hypothesised to be related to unexpected changes in reward. Here, the authors combine PET and fMRI in humans to show individual differences in reward prediction error during a card guessing game are associated with dopamine receptor occupancy in the striatum.
- Filip Grill
- , Marc Guitart-Masip
- & Anna Rieckmann
-
Article
| Open AccessSpontaneous emergence of rudimentary music detectors in deep neural networks
Music is processed by dedicated circuits in the brain. Here, the authors show that these circuits can spontaneously emerge in neural networks by learning natural sound processing, even without explicit training with music.
- Gwangsu Kim
- , Dong-Kyum Kim
- & Hawoong Jeong
-
Article
| Open AccessAsymmetric coding of reward prediction errors in human insula and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex
It is unclear how dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and insula represent reward prediction errors. Here, the authors analyze human intracranial data to reveal spatially mixed, asymmetric coding of valence-specific and unsigned reward prediction errors, with insula leading dorsomedial prefrontal cortex.
- Colin W. Hoy
- , David R. Quiroga-Martinez
- & Robert T. Knight
-
Article
| Open AccessPersonalized functional brain network topography is associated with individual differences in youth cognition
Individual differences in cognitive abilities during childhood are associated with important outcomes in adolescence. Here, the authors show associations between youth cognition and individual-specific patterns of cortical brain network organization.
- Arielle S. Keller
- , Adam R. Pines
- & Theodore D. Satterthwaite
-
Article
| Open AccessRespiration modulates sleep oscillations and memory reactivation in humans
The memory function of sleep relies on the coordination of slow oscillations and spindles. Here the authors show that respiration is associated with the emergence and interplay of these sleep rhythms, and that this coupling is linked to memory reactivation.
- Thomas Schreiner
- , Marit Petzka
- & Bernhard P. Staresina
-
Article
| Open AccessIdentification of 5-HT2A receptor signaling pathways associated with psychedelic potential
Serotonin 5-HT2A receptor signaling mechanisms associated with predicting psychedelic potential remain elusive. Using 5-HT2A-selective β-arrestin-biased ligands, here the authors show that a threshold level of 5-HT2A-Gq efficacy and not β-arrestin recruitment is associated with psychedelic potential.
- Jason Wallach
- , Andrew B. Cao
- & John D. McCorvy
-
Article
| Open AccessMental search of concepts is supported by egocentric vector representations and restructured grid maps
Our brains use complementary egocentric and allocentric reference frames to represent target locations in the physical environment. Here, the authors show that similar mechanisms are recruited when people mentally search for concepts in memory.
- Simone Viganò
- , Rena Bayramova
- & Roberto Bottini
-
Comment
| Open AccessAccelerating African neuroscience to provide an equitable framework using perspectives from West and Southern Africa
Drawing on perspectives from West and Southern Africa, this Comment critically examines the current state of neuroscience progress in Africa, describing the unique landscape and ongoing challenges as embedded within wider socio-political realities. Distinct research opportunities in the African context are explored to include genetic and bio-diversity, multilingual and multicultural populations, life-course development, clinical neuroscience and neuropsychology, with applications to machine learning models, in light of complex post-colonial legacies that often impede research progress. Key determinants needed to accelerate African neuroscience are then discussed, as well as cautionary underpinnings that together create an equitable neuroscience framework.
- Sahba Besharati
- & Rufus Akinyemi
-
Article
| Open AccessNeural substrates of parallel devaluation-sensitive and devaluation-insensitive Pavlovian learning in humans
This study shows evidence for multiple and distinct associative mechanisms involved in human Pavlovian learning, identifying putative neural correlates for the parallel expression of both devaluation sensitive and insensitive Pavlovian behaviors.
- Eva R. Pool
- , Wolfgang M. Pauli
- & John P. O’Doherty
-
Article
| Open AccessLongitudinal development of category representations in ventral temporal cortex predicts word and face recognition
Viewing categories like faces or words elicits unique patterns of responses in high-level visual cortex. Here, the authors show that distributed patterns for faces and words become more distinct during childhood and predict children’s recognition ability.
- Marisa Nordt
- , Jesse Gomez
- & Kalanit Grill-Spector
-
Article
| Open AccessOpposing brain signatures of sleep in task-based and resting-state conditions
The associations between sleep, depression and brain activity are not well understood. Here, the authors show patterns of brain activity associated with insomnia and depression resemble those found in people who sleep less, but only under cognitive load. At rest, these activation patterns are hyperconnected and resemble those found in longer sleepers.
- Mohamed Abdelhack
- , Peter Zhukovsky
- & Daniel Felsky
-
Article
| Open AccessEmergence of the cortical encoding of phonetic features in the first year of life
To understand speech, our brains have to learn the different types of sounds that constitute words, including syllables, stress patterns and smaller sound elements, such as phonetic categories. Here, the authors provide evidence that at 7 months, the infant brain learns reliably to detect invariant phonetic categories.
- Giovanni M. Di Liberto
- , Adam Attaheri
- & Usha Goswami
-
Article
| Open AccessIntrospective inference counteracts perceptual distortion
People can have perceptual illusions that they realize are not real. Here, the authors show that this type of reality testing can be explained by a Bayesian inference model that incorporates introspective knowledge.
- Andra Mihali
- , Marianne Broeker
- & Guillermo Horga
-
Article
| Open AccessElectrophysiological population dynamics reveal context dependencies during decision making in human frontal cortex
How neurons represent competing values during decision making remains poorly understood. Here, the authors find evidence that context modulates value representation in the human cortex.
- Wan-Yu Shih
- , Hsiang-Yu Yu
- & Shih-Wei Wu
-
Article
| Open AccessComplex 33-beam simulated galactic cosmic radiation exposure impacts cognitive function and prefrontal cortex neurotransmitter networks in male mice
Here the authors show in male mice that acute and chronic complex simulated galactic cosmic radiation exposure differentially reorganized prefrontal cortex neurotransmitter networks in vivo, which was associated with cognitive deficits.
- Rajeev I. Desai
- , Brian D. Kangas
- & Charles L. Limoli
-
Article
| Open AccessDistinct value computations support rapid sequential decisions
How animals determine the value of the environment for motivation and error-based learning remains unclear. Here, the authors found that rats use multiple distinct algorithms to compute the value of the environment for rapid sequential actions on single trials.
- Andrew Mah
- , Shannon S. Schiereck
- & Christine M. Constantinople
-
Article
| Open AccessBehavioral representational similarity analysis reveals how episodic learning is influenced by and reshapes semantic memory
Pre-existing semantic knowledge provides an organizational structure for episodic memories. Here, the authors show that episodic learning systematically shapes this semantic space depending on how learners engage with material and the strength of prior associations.
- Catherine R. Walsh
- & Jesse Rissman
-
Article
| Open AccessDopamine receptor activation regulates reward expectancy signals during cognitive control in primate prefrontal neurons
Dopamine responds to reward-predicting cues and is also linked to cognitive control. Here the authors examine the role of dopamine receptor subtypes in the neuromodulation of reward-related activity in the macaque prefrontal cortex.
- Torben Ott
- , Anna Marlina Stein
- & Andreas Nieder
-
Article
| Open AccessVirtual lesions in MEG reveal increasing vulnerability of the language network from early childhood through adolescence
The robustness of the brain’s language network to injury throughout development is not well understood. Here, the authors use an MEG dataset of children listening to stories to show that the brain connectivity of younger children is more robust to simulated lesions.
- Brady J. Williamson
- , Hansel M. Greiner
- & Darren S. Kadis
-
Article
| Open AccessFunctional alterations of the prefrontal circuit underlying cognitive aging in mice
The neural mechanisms underlying the effects of aging on executive functioning remain unclear. Here, the authors show neurons in the young mouse medial prefrontal cortex show cross-modal memory coding, however this declines in middle and old age, along with resting state functional connectivity in the region.
- Huee Ru Chong
- , Yadollah Ranjbar-Slamloo
- & Tsukasa Kamigaki
-
Article
| Open AccessCovariance patterns between sleep health domains and distributed intrinsic functional connectivity
The relationship between sleep health and brain functional connectivity is not well understood. Here, the authors reveal a composite sleep health dimension which covaries with connectivity of the attentional and thalamic networks.
- Yulin Wang
- , Sarah Genon
- & Xu Lei
-
Article
| Open AccessNeural control of lexical tone production in human laryngeal motor cortex
In tonal languages, modulation of pitch distinguishes words with different meaning. Here the authors investigate neural mechanisms of pitch control during lexical tone production in Mandarin-speaking participants.
- Junfeng Lu
- , Yuanning Li
- & Edward F. Chang
-
Article
| Open AccessSelf-reported childhood family adversity is linked to an attenuated gain of trust during adolescence
The authors examined how family experiences are linked to the development of trust in adolescence and young adulthood. They show that trust increases over time but self-reported family adversity can hinder this, and trust may act as a resilience factor in maintaining positive peer relations.
- Andrea M. F. Reiter
- , Andreas Hula
- & Raymond J. Dolan
-
Article
| Open AccessA canonical trajectory of executive function maturation from adolescence to adulthood
Goal-directed cognition (executive function) is thought to develop through adolescence. Here, the authors find evidence across multiple datasets and measures that executive function develops until 18–20 years old.
- Brenden Tervo-Clemmens
- , Finnegan J. Calabro
- & Beatriz Luna
-
Article
| Open AccessNeural and computational underpinnings of biased confidence in human reinforcement learning
The mechanism of confidence formation in learning remains poorly understood. Here, the authors show that both dorsal and ventral prefrontal networks encode confidence, but only the ventral network incorporates the valence-induced bias.
- Chih-Chung Ting
- , Nahuel Salem-Garcia
- & Maël Lebreton
-
Article
| Open AccessThe spatiotemporal dynamics of semantic integration in the human brain
Limitations of spatiotemporal resolution have rendered it difficult to isolate language. Here, intracranial recordings were used to map semantic processes pertaining to sentence integration, unveiling complementary roles for frontotemporal brain regions.
- Elliot Murphy
- , Kiefer J. Forseth
- & Nitin Tandon
-
Article
| Open AccessEnhanced brain structure-function tethering in transmodal cortex revealed by high-frequency eigenmodes
Brain structure and function have been observed to be increasingly untethered in transmodal cortex. Here, the authors show that structure-function coupling in these areas can be enhanced by diffusion patterns governed by high-frequency eigenmodes.
- Yaqian Yang
- , Zhiming Zheng
- & Shaoting Tang
-
Article
| Open AccessDomain adapted brain network fusion captures variance related to pubertal brain development and mental health
Charting variance in brain development across adolescence remains a challenge. Here, the authors show that domain adapted brain network fusion based on subject similarities in brain structure is associated with puberty and mental health in two independent cohorts.
- Dominik Kraft
- , Dag Alnæs
- & Tobias Kaufmann
-
Article
| Open AccessKetamine’s acute effects on negative brain states are mediated through distinct altered states of consciousness in humans
The neural mechanisms underlying ketamine-induced altered states of consciousness are not well understood. Here, the authors show that depersonalization and dissociative amnesia related to ketamine have opposing effects on the activity of the right anterior insula in response to social threat.
- Laura M. Hack
- , Xue Zhang
- & Leanne M. Williams
-
Article
| Open AccessHuman thalamic low-frequency oscillations correlate with expected value and outcomes during reinforcement learning
The functional role of the human thalamus in reinforcement learning is debated. Here, using intra-thalamic recordings in humans, the authors report that thalamic low-frequency oscillations correlate with variables for learning from both reward and punishment.
- Antoine Collomb-Clerc
- , Maëlle C. M. Gueguen
- & Julien Bastin
-
Article
| Open AccessInitial conditions combine with sensory evidence to induce decision-related dynamics in premotor cortex
It remains unclear why some decisions take longer than others even when the sensory inputs are similar. Here, the authors show that both initial neural state and sensory input combine in the premotor cortex to influence the speed and geometry of neural population activity during decisions.
- Pierre O. Boucher
- , Tian Wang
- & Chandramouli Chandrasekaran
-
Article
| Open AccessOligodendrocyte dynamics dictate cognitive performance outcomes of working memory training in mice
How and to what extent oligodendrocytes (OLs) contribute to learning and cognition is not well understood. Here, the authors show that the performance of mice in working memory-dependent cognitive tasks depends on OL genesis and is proportional to the number of OL precursors and OLs generated during training.
- Takahiro Shimizu
- , Stuart G. Nayar
- & William D. Richardson
-
Article
| Open AccessImmediate neural impact and incomplete compensation after semantic hub disconnection
The human brain is a distributed system composed of highly interconnected hubs. Here, patients undergoing a rare operation reveal the immediate impact and compensatory brain network changes that occur when a key hub is removed.
- Zsuzsanna Kocsis
- , Rick L. Jenison
- & Christopher I. Petkov
-
Article
| Open AccessKetamine evoked disruption of entorhinal and hippocampal spatial maps
Ketamine’s antidepressant effects can be accompanied by altered spatial cognition. Here, the authors record from thousands of neurons in awake behaving mice to reveal how ketamine disrupts coding in the spatial navigation circuit.
- Francis Kei Masuda
- , Emily A. Aery Jones
- & Lisa M. Giocomo
-
Article
| Open AccessMyelination and excitation-inhibition balance synergistically shape structure-function coupling across the human cortex
The relationship between structural and functional coupling varies across the brain, but the biological underpinnings are not known. Here, the authors show that structure-function coupling is related to myelination and excitation-inhibition balance.
- Panagiotis Fotiadis
- , Matthew Cieslak
- & Dani S. Bassett
-
Article
| Open AccessPET-measured human dopamine synthesis capacity and receptor availability predict trading rewards and time-costs during foraging
The role of dopamine in foraging behaviour in humans is not well understood. Here, the authors show using PET imaging, that striatal dopamine receptor availability, and dopamine function in the anterior cingulate cortex and mesolimbic areas are related to the decision to explore new environments.
- Angela M. Ianni
- , Daniel P. Eisenberg
- & Karen F. Berman
-
Article
| Open AccessFeedforward attentional selection in sensory cortex
How salient objects in our environment grab our attention has been a matter of debate for decades. Here, the authors demonstrate that salient objects automatically capture attention, but cognitive effort can affect their potency.
- Jacob A. Westerberg
- , Jeffrey D. Schall
- & Alexander Maier
-
Article
| Open AccessIncreasing associative plasticity in temporo-occipital back-projections improves visual perception of emotions
Temporo-occipital areas are involved in perceiving emotional faces. Here, the authors show that strengthening back-projections from temporal to occipital areas enhances visual cortex’s response to face stimuli and perception of emotions from them.
- Sara Borgomaneri
- , Marco Zanon
- & Alessio Avenanti
-
Article
| Open AccessNetwork controllability of structural connectomes in the neonatal brain
Network controllability represents the ease with which the brain switches between mental states and can be inferred from white matter connectivity. Here, the authors show network controllability emerges in infants as early as the third trimester, and that preterm birth disrupts the energy required to drive state transitions.
- Huili Sun
- , Rongtao Jiang
- & Dustin Scheinost
-
Article
| Open AccessAction initiation and punishment learning differ from childhood to adolescence while reward learning remains stable
Adolescence is often associated with heightened reward learning and impulsivity. Here the authors show in 742 people aged 9-18 that reward learning in fact remains stable with age, whilst punishment learning increases and action initiation decreases.
- Ruth Pauli
- , Inti A. Brazil
- & Patricia L. Lockwood
-
Article
| Open AccessVariation in spatial dependencies across the cortical mantle discriminates the functional behaviour of primary and association cortex
How spatial organisation in the brain affects function is not well understood. Here, the authors show that function changes gradually across sensory cortex, more rapidly across association cortex, and that these changes are related to variation in intracortical myelination.
- Robert Leech
- , Reinder Vos De Wael
- & Jonathan Smallwood
-
Article
| Open AccessPrior information differentially affects discrimination decisions and subjective confidence reports
Both decisions and the confidence accompanying them are influenced not only by incoming information, but also prior expectations. Here, the authors show that confidence in decisions is affected by prior information more than the decisions themselves.
- Marika Constant
- , Michael Pereira
- & Elisa Filevich
-
Article
| Open AccessBeta traveling waves in monkey frontal and parietal areas encode recent reward history
Here, the authors show that beta oscillations in the frontal and parietal lobes of monkeys propagate as traveling waves. The strength of these signals increases after rewards, suggesting a role for traveling waves in memory for recent events.
- Erfan Zabeh
- , Nicholas C. Foley
- & Jacqueline P. Gottlieb
-
Article
| Open AccessDissociable roles of human frontal eye fields and early visual cortex in presaccadic attention
It has been unclear whether human FEF and early visual cortex play a role in the perceptual modulations preceding saccades. Here, the authors show that V1/2 TMS reduces sensitivity at the contralateral target just before saccade onset, and rFEF+TMS enhances sensitivity where presaccadic perception is poor.
- Nina M. Hanning
- , Antonio Fernández
- & Marisa Carrasco
-
Article
| Open AccessDopamine regulates decision thresholds in human reinforcement learning in males
The neurotransmitter dopamine is known to regulate learning and decision-making. Here, the authors show that pharmacologically enhancing dopamine levels influences the regulation of speed and accuracy during reward learning.
- Karima Chakroun
- , Antonius Wiehler
- & Jan Peters
-
Article
| Open AccessCycles of goal silencing and reactivation underlie complex problem-solving in primate frontal and parietal cortex
Simple working memory tasks show sustained neural firing in frontal and parietal cortex. Here, the authors show cycles of target silencing and reactivation that are more restricted to single targets in parietal than frontal cortex.
- Kei Watanabe
- , Mikiko Kadohisa
- & John Duncan
-
Article
| Open AccessPlatelet-derived exerkine CXCL4/platelet factor 4 rejuvenates hippocampal neurogenesis and restores cognitive function in aged mice
Exercise has positive effects on the brain during aging. Here the authors show that in mice, platelet-released exerkine PF4 mediates the effects of exercise on the brain.
- Odette Leiter
- , David Brici
- & Tara L. Walker