Hum Brain Mapp [JOURNAL]
Sun
200 papers
Dyadic Neural Synchronization: Differences between Offline and Computer-assisted Online Verbal Interaction.
Hu S, Zhang P, Fang Y … +6 more , Gong X, Fu L, Ma E, Zhou D, Lv Z, Valdes-Sosa PA
Hum Brain Mapp · 2025 Dec · PMID 41395859 · Full text
Computer-assisted online interaction (CAOI) has become predominant in daily life and is increasingly supplanting offline verbal interaction (FVI). Previous research has shown that face-to-face verbal interaction (VI) exh...
Computer-assisted online interaction (CAOI) has become predominant in daily life and is increasingly supplanting offline verbal interaction (FVI). Previous research has shown that face-to-face verbal interaction (VI) exhibits significant differences in interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) compared to computer-assisted online VI. However, the differences between various forms of FVI and CAOI remain unclear. In this work, we designed different forms of naturalistic VI tasks between dual persons and adopted electroencephalography (EEG) hyperscanning to simultaneously record neural activities from both participants. The experiment included three conditions: online versus offline, with versus without feedback, with versus without visual information or eye contact. Thirty-one pairs of labmates with ordinary levels of intimacy were recruited as subjects. To analyze the impacts of these VI forms on INS, we calculated intersubject correlation at both scalp and cortex levels and constructed brain-to-brain networks based on intersubject functional connectivity using the phase lag index at the scalp level and the phase locking value at the cortex level. We found that interactions with feedback exhibit higher synchronization than interactions without feedback. VIs with visual information or eye contact are more effective in eliciting stronger INS. Additionally, compared to FVI, CAOI exhibits weakened neural synchronization. Intriguingly, online text-based interaction also results in high neural coupling. Our study reveals significant differences in various CAOIs and FVIs concerning typical factors, providing crucial insights into the mechanisms of INS during online interactions.
Network Neuroscience of Human Multitasking: Local Connections Matter.
Mueckstein M, Hilger K, Heinzel S … +3 more , Granacher U, Rapp MA, Stelzel C
Hum Brain Mapp · 2025 Dec · PMID 41392946 · Full text
The neural basis of multitasking costs is subject to continuing debate. Cognitive theories assume that the overlap of task representations may lead to between-task crosstalk in concurrent task processing and thus require...
The neural basis of multitasking costs is subject to continuing debate. Cognitive theories assume that the overlap of task representations may lead to between-task crosstalk in concurrent task processing and thus requires cognitive control. Recent research suggests that modality-based crosstalk contributes to multitasking costs, involving central overlap of modality-specific representations. Consistently increased costs for specific modality pairings (visual-vocal and auditory-manual vs. visual-manual and auditory-vocal) were demonstrated (modality-compatibility effect), which were recently linked to representational overlap in the auditory cortex. However, it remains unclear whether modality-based crosstalk emerges from overlapping patterns of global brain connectivity and whether resolving it requires additional involvement of cognitive control as reflected in the fronto-parietal control network. This preregistered functional imaging study investigates these questions in 64 healthy, young human adults. Specifically, we focus on the modality-compatibility effect in multitasking by employing functional connectivity (FC) analysis. First, we tested the FC similarity FC dissimilarity between the single-task networks. Second, we compared the strength of the control network in whole-brain FC between dual tasks. We found no evidence for differences in FC dissimilarities of single-task networks between modality pairings and no additional involvement of the control network during dual tasks by comparing the global connectivity. However, unregistered post hoc connectivity analysis revealed the first evidence for a correlation of the (behavioral) modality-compatibility effect with local FC. This effect was locally restricted to FC between lateral frontal and sensory auditory regions, consistent with the modality-based crosstalk assumption. More generally, the findings suggest that robust behavioral differences in multitasking are not necessarily related to global functional connectivity differences but might be related to functionally specific local connectivity changes.
Correction to "Reliability, Sensitivity, and Predictive Value of fMRI During Multiple Object Tracking as a Marker of Cognitive-Training Gain in Combination With tDCS in Stroke Survivors".
Hum Brain Mapp · 2025 Dec · PMID 41392945 · Full text
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Sex Similarities and Differences in Brain Dynamic Functional Connectivity Among Individuals With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Ma X, Belmonte MK, Zhao Y … +1 more , Zhao J
Hum Brain Mapp · 2025 Dec · PMID 41384338 · Full text
Given the historical underrepresentation of autistic females in neuroscience research, few neuroimaging studies have directly compared females and males with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) to explore both sex-independen...
Given the historical underrepresentation of autistic females in neuroscience research, few neuroimaging studies have directly compared females and males with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) to explore both sex-independent and -specific neural features. This study employed a sliding-window approach to construct dynamic functional connectivity and investigated sex similarities and differences in modular variability (nodal level), edge variability (edge level), and state variability (brain state level) in brain connectomes among individuals with and without ASD. Ninety-eight autistic individuals (49 female, 49 male; full-scale IQ ≥ 70) and 98 typically developing individuals (TD; 49 female, 49 male), matched on sex, age, and full-scale IQ, were selected from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange (ABIDE). Results showed that both autistic males and females exhibited reduced modular variability in the left middle frontal gyrus and diminished edge variability in the functional connectivity between the right olfactory cortex and the right paracentral lobule, compared to their TD peers. Notably, autistic individuals manifested a sex-opposite shift in the edge variability of functional connectivity between the left amygdala and the right anterior cingulate and paracingulate gyri. Furthermore, greater autistic symptom severity was associated with reduced maintenance of a high-connectivity brain state characterized by functional competition between the frontal cortex and sensory-perceptual or subcortical regions. These findings reveal both shared and sex-differentiated alterations in connectome dynamics in ASD, with the sex-specific patterns aligning with the gender incoherence model. Understanding these dynamic features may inform more individualized and sex-sensitive educational and social support for individuals with ASD.
An Imaging-Guided Neural Model Explains Lexical Stress Alteration in Acquired Apraxia of Speech.
Civier O, Ramage A, Tourville J … +3 more , Robin DA, Guenther FH, Ballard KJ
Hum Brain Mapp · 2025 Dec · PMID 41378706 · Full text
Acquired apraxia of speech (AOS) is a disorder of speech motor planning/programming that is induced by a lesion to the left anterior ventral precentral sulcus. This study analyses neuroimaging data from AOS in order to p...
Acquired apraxia of speech (AOS) is a disorder of speech motor planning/programming that is induced by a lesion to the left anterior ventral precentral sulcus. This study analyses neuroimaging data from AOS in order to propose and computationally test a mechanistic explanation of how the lesion leads to the characteristic of altered lexical stress in the disorder. Neuroimaging data from 31 participants with left hemisphere stroke (15 AOS) were reanalysed to guide a 'lesioned' version of the bilateral GODIVA neuro-computational model of speech production. Structural MRI and resting-state functional MRI measurements were used to decide the model's lesion extent and atypical neural processing, respectively. The 'lesioned' model was compared with a neurotypical model on the production of an exemplar utterance with different linguistic contexts. Analyses revealed the average lesion in the AOS participants extended over 22.25% of the left anterior ventral precentral sulcus. Functional connectivity in AOS was reduced between the lateral part of that region and the right motor cortex, as well as between the left and right motor cortices themselves. The version of the model that we altered in line with these findings produced lengthening of the second of two consecutive short syllables. The lengthened syllable was a word-initial unstressed syllable, and consequently, its contrastiveness with the adjacent stressed syllable of the word was reduced. The agreement between simulation results and previously reported acoustic measurements from actual AOS patients lends support to our mechanistic explanation. In conclusion, simulations of the GODIVA model provided empirical support for a mechanistic explanation indicating permanent sub-threshold cortical activity in AOS. As a result, the speech system becomes biased away from a motor control strategy based on motor programs and toward a strategy based on sensory feedback. This both lengthens brief syllables and interferes with the mechanism to shift between syllables, ultimately altering lexical stress. Analysis of the model's neural dynamics suggests the explanation can be generalised to various contexts where lexical stress is altered in AOS.
White Matter Bundle Reconstruction From Single-Shell Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Test-Retest Reliability and Predictive Capability Across Orientation Distribution Function Reconstruction Methods.
Rauland A, Meisler SL, Alexander-Bloch AF … +16 more , Bagautdinova J, Baller EB, Gur RE, Gur RC, Luo AC, Moore TM, Popovych OV, Reetz K, Roalf DR, Shinohara RT, Sotardi S, Sydnor VJ, Vossough A, Eickhoff SB, Cieslak M, Satterthwaite TD
Hum Brain Mapp · 2025 Dec · PMID 41376618 · Full text
Deriving white matter (WM) bundles in vivo has thus far mainly been applied in research settings, leveraging high angular resolution, multi-shell diffusion MRI (dMRI) acquisitions that enable modern reconstruction method...
Deriving white matter (WM) bundles in vivo has thus far mainly been applied in research settings, leveraging high angular resolution, multi-shell diffusion MRI (dMRI) acquisitions that enable modern reconstruction methods. However, these advanced acquisitions are both time-consuming and costly to acquire. The ability to reconstruct WM bundles in the massive amounts of existing single-shelled, lower angular resolution data from legacy research studies and healthcare systems would offer much broader clinical applications and population-level generalizability. While legacy scans may offer a valuable, large-scale complement to contemporary research datasets, the reliability of white matter bundles derived from these scans remains unclear. Here, we leverage a large research dataset where each 64-direction dMRI scan was acquired as two independent 32-direction runs per subject. To investigate how a state-of-the-art bundle-specific reconstruction method generalizes to this data, we evaluated the test-retest reliability of WM bundles reconstructed from the two 32-direction scans across three orientation distribution function (ODF) reconstruction methods: generalized q-sampling imaging (GQI), constrained spherical deconvolution (CSD), and single-shell three-tissue CSD (SS3T). We found that the majority of WM bundles could be reliably extracted from dMRI scans that were acquired using the 32-direction, single-shell acquisition scheme. The mean Dice coefficient of reconstructed WM bundles was consistently higher within subject than between subject for all WM bundles and ODF reconstruction methods, illustrating preservation of person-specific anatomy. Further, when using features of the bundles to predict complex reasoning assessed using a computerized cognitive battery, we observed stable prediction accuracies (r: 0.15-0.36) across the test-retest data. Among the three ODF reconstruction methods, SS3T had a good balance between sensitivity and specificity when comparing the reconstructed bundles to atlas bundles, a high intra-class correlation of extracted features, more plausible bundles, and strong predictive performance. More broadly, these results demonstrate that bundle-specific reconstruction can achieve robust performance even on lower angular resolution, single-shell dMRI, with particular advantages for ODF methods optimized for single-shell data. This highlights the considerable potential for dMRI collected in healthcare settings and legacy research datasets to accelerate and expand the scope of WM research.
Brain-Pupil Coupling Revealed Through Deep Learning of Intracranial Recordings.
Li V, Wong SM, Suresh H … +15 more , Warsi NM, Coleman SC, Mithani K, Alhasan HA, Gouveia FV, Jain P, Ochi A, Otsubo H, Sham L, Weiss S, Sharma R, Kerr EN, Rutka JT, Donner E, Ibrahim GM
Hum Brain Mapp · 2025 Dec · PMID 41368939 · Full text
Pupillary responses are windows into human cognition, but their neural substrates are poorly understood. We studied brain-pupil coupling through intracranial recordings and pupillometry in 13 children and youth with epil...
Pupillary responses are windows into human cognition, but their neural substrates are poorly understood. We studied brain-pupil coupling through intracranial recordings and pupillometry in 13 children and youth with epilepsy (ages 9-18) during an attentional set-shifting task. Time-resolved mixed-effects modelling identified associations between pupil diameter, neural activity and cognitive performance. We first showed that pupillary dynamics are closely linked to cognitive performance, with task-stage dependencies. Larger pupil sizes prior to stimulus onset were associated with faster reaction times, whereas smaller pupil sizes during and after stimulus presentation were linked to better performance. Next, linear models identified associations between band-limited power in task-relevant neural networks and pupil size changes during the task. Finally, deep learning models based on intracranial neural activity captured patterns predictive of changes in pupil size in five of seven participants that generalised to recordings from a separate day. Using salience-based gradient mapping, we identified a network of task-relevant cortical and subcortical regions whose engagement was consistently associated with higher model performance in predicting pupil dynamics during attentional set-shifting. Our findings suggest pupillary responses are coordinated with goal-oriented cognitive processing, providing a basis for modelling cognitive functions through pupillary dynamics.
Psychotic-Like Experiences and White Matter Microstructure: A Fixel-Based Analysis Approach With Robust Replication Across Two Cohorts.
Goodwin I, Larsen KM, Sangchooli A … +26 more , Smith RE, Banaschewski T, Barker GJ, Bokde ALW, Brühl R, Desrivières S, Garavan H, Gowland P, Grigis A, Heinz A, Lemaitre H, Martinot JL, Martinot MP, Artiges E, Nees F, Orfanos DP, Paus T, Poustka L, Smolka MN, Vaidya N, Walter H, Whelan R, Schumann G, IMAGEN Consortium, Hester R, Garrido MI
Hum Brain Mapp · 2025 Dec · PMID 41368887 · Full text
Structural deficits in white matter fibre have been linked to psychosis. However, it remains unclear whether these aberrations are present in individuals that experience non-clinical psychotic-like experiences, predating...
Structural deficits in white matter fibre have been linked to psychosis. However, it remains unclear whether these aberrations are present in individuals that experience non-clinical psychotic-like experiences, predating illness onset. While previous research demonstrates that alterations in white matter in schizotypy are consistent with those in clinical psychosis, these studies often dichotomise healthy samples into high and low schizotypy, which may reduce statistical sensitivity. Previous research is also confounded by the investigation of diffusion MRI parameters that fail to account for complex crossing fibre populations. In this work, we treat psychotic-like experiences as a continuous variable, and applied Fixel-Based Analysis (FBA), a framework for investigating microstructural and morphological effects in brain white matter using diffusion-weighted imaging data. Across two independent cohorts of healthy participants with varied psychotic-like experiences including data from the IMAGEN consortium (Study 1 n = 41; Study 2 n = 1098), we hypothesized that greater psychotic-like experiences would be associated with FBA metrics sensitive to microstructural fibre density and/or cross-sectional morphological effects. Contrary to our hypothesis, we did not find significant correlations between psychotic-like experiences and FBA metrics across either dataset (FWE p < 0.05). Bayesian analysis of tract-aggregated data showed substantial evidence of no association (Bayes factor < 1/3) between psychotic-like experiences and fibre density, nor cross-sectional morphology, across several white matter tracts of interest, pre-defined from prior neuroimaging literature. These findings suggest that the relationship between non-clinical psychotic-like experiences and white matter microstructure may not be as robust as previously thought. This raises the possibility that white matter alterations across the psychosis spectrum echo clinical diagnostic thresholding, with observable effects in clinical but not sub-clinical presentations. Our findings show no association between whole-brain fibre-specific properties of white matter microstructure and sub-clinical psychotic-like experiences. Further, we show evidence for the lack of an association within tract-aggregated fibre-specific metrics. Future research should integrate longitudinal designs to explore whether fibre-specific white matter attributes provide clinically meaningful insight into the risk of psychosis onset.
Lexical Representations in the Common and Specific Neural Networks for Visual, Phonological, and Semantic Processing in Chinese Reading.
Feng Y, Li A, Su X … +3 more , Zhu H, Cao Y, Mei L
Hum Brain Mapp · 2025 Dec · PMID 41346110 · Full text
Previous studies have investigated the common and specific neural correlates underlying visuo-orthographic, phonological, and semantic processing in word reading. However, it remains unclear how those networks represent...
Previous studies have investigated the common and specific neural correlates underlying visuo-orthographic, phonological, and semantic processing in word reading. However, it remains unclear how those networks represent different types of lexical information and how such representations and the interactions between networks are modulated by task-induced processing demands. To address this issue, 32 native Chinese participants were scanned with fMRI while performing a localizer task, and two reading tasks designed to elicit high demands on visuo-orthographic processing (i.e., structural judgment task) and semantic processing (i.e., familiarity judgment task). Activation analyses identified both common and specific neural networks involved in visual, phonological, and semantic processing. Representational similarity analysis (RSA) further revealed that the common network represented multiple types of lexical information, whereas the specific networks selectively represented particular lexical information corresponding to their respective processing type. Moreover, processing demands modulated lexical representations of common and specific networks in distinct ways: the common network exhibited flexible representational patterns, representing task-relevant lexical information under high processing demands, whereas the specific networks showed process-dependent selectivity, representing corresponding lexical information only under high processing demands. Functional connectivity analyses further indicated that processing demands could modulate connectivity patterns among networks, particularly between the common and specific networks. These findings highlight the distinct functional roles of common and specific networks, providing a new perspective on the complementary contributions of functionally overlapping and specialized systems in word reading.
The Change of Dopamine Transporter After Glucose Loading Is Associated With an Individual's Attitude Toward Sweet Foods in Healthy Young Males.
Pak K, Kim J, Kim K … +2 more , Seo S, Lee MJ
Hum Brain Mapp · 2025 Dec · PMID 41334957 · Full text
The dopamine transporter (DAT) mediates the reuptake of extracellular dopamine into presynaptic neurons. We investigated the effects of glucose loading on the striatal DAT in healthy young adults who underwent F-FP-CIT P...
The dopamine transporter (DAT) mediates the reuptake of extracellular dopamine into presynaptic neurons. We investigated the effects of glucose loading on the striatal DAT in healthy young adults who underwent F-FP-CIT PET scans and completed a sweet taste questionnaire (STQ). Thirty-five healthy participants were enrolled in this study. Each participant visited the institution three times for three brain PET scans (two F-FP-CIT PET scans after the infusion of glucose or placebo and one F-Fluorodeoxyglucose PET scan). All participants underwent the 12-item self-reporting STQ to evaluate their reactions to eating sweet foods, cravings for sweet foods, and degree of control over eating sweet foods (STQ 1: sensitivity to the mood-altering effect of sweet foods, and STQ 2: impaired control over eating sweet foods). In the caudate, glucose-loaded DAT availability was significantly higher than placebo-loaded DAT availability, and in the putamen, there was a trend toward higher DAT availability following glucose loading. The STQ was consistently positively related to glucose-loaded DAT availability, not with placebo-loaded DAT availability. In conclusion, changes in striatal DAT availability after glucose loading suggest an association with attitudes toward sweet foods in healthy young males. This may indicate that individuals with higher DAT availability after glucose loading experience rapid clearance of synaptic dopamine after consuming sweet foods, potentially leading to a desire for additional sweet foods.
High Resolution Postmortem MRI Discovers Developing Structural Connectivity in the Human Ascending Arousal Network.
Licandro R, Olchanyi M, Ferraz da Silva LF … +9 more , van der Kouwe A, Jaimes C, Ngo NX, Kelley W, Folkerth R, Haynes RL, Edlow BL, Kinney HC, Zöllei L
Hum Brain Mapp · 2025 Dec · PMID 41319039 · Full text
Human arousal is essential to survival and mediated by the ascending arousal network (AAN) and its connections. It spans from the brainstem to the diencephalon, basal forebrain, and cerebral cortex. Despite advances in m...
Human arousal is essential to survival and mediated by the ascending arousal network (AAN) and its connections. It spans from the brainstem to the diencephalon, basal forebrain, and cerebral cortex. Despite advances in mapping the AAN in adults, it is unexplored in fetal and early infant life, especially with high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging techniques. In this study, we conducted-for the first time-high-resolution ex vivo diffusion MRI-based analysis of the AAN in seven fetal, infant, and adult brains, incorporating probabilistic tractography and quantifying connectivity using graph theory. We observed that AAN structural connectivity becomes increasingly integrated during development, progressively reaching rostrally during the first postconceptional year. We quantitatively identified the dorsal raphe (DR) nucleus and ventral tegmental area (VTA) as AAN connectivity hubs already in the fetus persisting into adulthood. The DR appears to form a local hub of short-range connectivities, while the VTA evolves as a long-range global hub. The identified connectivity maps advance our understanding of AAN architecture changes due to normative human brain development, as well as disorders of arousal, such as coma and sudden infant death syndrome.
Age-Related Changes in Default Mode Network in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Insights From Effective Connectivity.
Shafieizadegan S, Shayegh F, Amirfattahi R
Hum Brain Mapp · 2025 Dec · PMID 41318910 · Full text
Altered brain connectivity in the default mode network (DMN) has frequently been reported in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) patients compared to typically developing control (TC) participants. Most of these studies have...
Altered brain connectivity in the default mode network (DMN) has frequently been reported in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) patients compared to typically developing control (TC) participants. Most of these studies have focused on a specific age group or mixed-age groups with ASD. This study investigates age-related changes in effective connectivity (EC) within the DMN in individuals with ASD compared to TC. Using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from the ABIDE-I and ABIDE-II databases, we analyzed 591 ASD and 725 TC participants across three age cohorts: children (≤ 12 years), adolescents (12-18 years), and adults (≥ 18 years). Spectral Dynamic Causal Modeling was employed to estimate EC within the DMN, focusing on eight regions of interest: posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), left/right inferior parietal cortex (lIPC/rIPC), left/right middle temporal cortex (lMTC/rMTC), and left/right hippocampus (lHIP/rHIP). Parametric Empirical Bayes (PEB) analysis was used to assess group differences and age-related changes in EC, while controlling for covariates such as gender, handedness, eye status, and head motion. Key findings revealed significant group differences in EC between ASD and TC across all age groups. In children, ASD exhibited both hyper- and hypo-connectivity in various DMN connections, with most connections showing increased EC in ASD. Adolescents and adults with ASD displayed a mixed pattern of group differences in EC, though the majority of connections showed hypo-connectivity in ASD. Age-by-group interactions observed in children and adolescents not adults, highlighted nonlinear developmental trajectories, with significant differences in EC patterns between ASD and TC. Additionally, in children and adults several extrinsic and intrinsic connections were associated significantly with diagnostic observation schedule (ADOS) symptom severity, such as overall ASD symptoms, communication and stereotyped behaviors, which these connections may serve as a neural marker of symptom severity in ASD. These findings underscore the dynamic nature of EC abnormalities in ASD across the lifespan, suggesting that early hyper-connectivity may transition to hypo-connectivity in later developmental stages. The study highlights the potential of EC as a biomarker for ASD and emphasizes the importance of age-specific approaches in understanding the neural underpinnings of the disorder. Future research with larger datasets is needed to validate these findings and further explore the clinical relevance of EC in ASD diagnostics and interventions.
Expertise-Dependent Brain Network Organization During Music Perception.
Papadaki E, Lin Z, Werner A … +4 more , Brandmaier AM, Lindenberger U, Kühn S, Wenger E
Hum Brain Mapp · 2025 Dec · PMID 41316851 · Full text
Listening to music is a ubiquitous human activity, but little is known about its functional cerebral correlates. We investigated the dynamics of fMRI-based brain activation patterns associated with two musical compositio...
Listening to music is a ubiquitous human activity, but little is known about its functional cerebral correlates. We investigated the dynamics of fMRI-based brain activation patterns associated with two musical compositions and examined whether these patterns are modulated by the degree of musical expertise. Specifically, 24 aspiring professionals and 17 amateur musicians listened to a baroque composition by J. S. Bach and an early modern piece by A. Webern. Using measures of dynamic and static functional connectivity and graph theory, we identified two distinct brain states: one characterized by higher modularity (greater segregation), and the other by higher global efficiency (greater integration). Participants spent more time in the segregated state while listening to Bach, and more frequently shifted to the integrated state during Webern's piece. An anticorrelation was observed between segregation and music complexity as measured by permutation entropy, indicating that music with higher complexity elicited more integrated brain states. Individuals with greater musical expertise demonstrated higher global efficiency during the Webern piece and engaged more frontal, temporal, and parietal regions as functional hubs. These findings suggest that musical form and expertise jointly shape the brain's functional organization during naturalistic music listening.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Guided Neuronavigation for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Mood Disorders: Technical Foundation, Advances, and Emerging Tools.
Demchenko I, Al-Shamali HF, Rueda A … +6 more , Tailor I, Janssen-Aguilar R, Schweizer TA, Dunlop K, Graham SJ, Bhat V
Hum Brain Mapp · 2025 Dec · PMID 41310980 · Full text
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) guided by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has significantly advanced the treatment of mood disorders by enabling precise targeting of brain circuits implicated in their pathophysi...
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) guided by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has significantly advanced the treatment of mood disorders by enabling precise targeting of brain circuits implicated in their pathophysiology. The integration of neuronavigation systems, which utilize real-time MRI-based coil positioning, has improved spatial targeting accuracy, individualization, and therapeutic outcomes. Despite these advancements, achieving optimal stimulation efficacy requires careful consideration of MRI techniques, including anatomical imaging, functional MRI (fMRI), and connectivity-based methods. Anatomical MRI provides a reliable structural foundation for neuronavigation but lacks specificity regarding functional neural networks implicated in mood disorders. In contrast, fMRI, through task-based and resting-state paradigms, enhances target selection precision by identifying patient-specific neural activity and functional connectivity patterns, although this approach is vulnerable to variability and imaging artifacts. Connectivity-based MRI neuronavigation represents a promising advancement by explicitly targeting disrupted neural networks. This review critically examines recent technological and methodological progress in MRI-guided neuronavigation for TMS, addressing current challenges such as image acquisition quality, co-registration accuracy, artifact mitigation, and practical constraints in clinical settings. Finally, it discusses emerging opportunities and innovations poised to enhance neuronavigation precision, foster wider clinical adoption, and ultimately improve therapeutic outcomes in interventional psychiatry for mood disorders.
Discordance Between Spatial and Population Correlations From Human Brain Imaging Data.
Fisher PM, Larsen K, Plavén-Sigray P … +2 more , Knudsen GM, Ozenne B
Hum Brain Mapp · 2025 Dec · PMID 41294249 · Full text
It has become increasingly common to probe correlations between human brain imaging measures of receptor/protein binding and function using population-level brain maps, typically drawn from independent cohorts to estimat...
It has become increasingly common to probe correlations between human brain imaging measures of receptor/protein binding and function using population-level brain maps, typically drawn from independent cohorts to estimate correlations across regions. This strategy raises issues of interpretation that we highlight here with both an empirical multimodal brain imaging dataset and simulation studies. Twenty-four healthy participants completed neuroimaging with both [11C]Cimbi-36 positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging scans to estimate receptor binding potential (BP) and cerebral blood flow (CBF), respectively, in 18 cortical/subcortical regions. Correlations between BP and CBF were estimated in four ways: (1) Pearson correlation across regions of mean regional BP and CBF from a single or separate cohorts ( and , respectively), to mimic studies using data from independent cohorts; (2) Pearson correlation between BP and CBF across participants in each region ( ); or (3) the correlation between BP and CBF across participants across all regions within a single linear mixed effects model ( ). We observed a significant positive correlation across regions ( = 0.672, p = 0.0023; = 0.659, p = 0.0030). Region-specific correlations across participants were substantively lower and not statistically significant ( : mean = 0.140, range = -0.112-0.336; all p > 0.10), nor when estimated simultaneously within a linear mixed model ( = 0.138, p = 0.26). Our simulation study illustrated that regional differences in BP or CBF mean and variance can substantially bias across-regions correlations and inflate the type-1 error rate. Our observations allude to ambiguity in the meaning of across-regions correlations and suggest interpreting them as evidence for a biological relation, which implies a relation across participants, is problematic. Without validated methods that handle confounding and other biases, we urge caution in how future studies interpret across-regions correlations of population-level brain maps.
Prediction of Individual Melodic Contour Processing in Sensory Association Cortices From Resting State Functional Connectivity.
Ahrends C, Lumaca M, Kringelbach ML … +2 more , Vidaurre D, Vuust P
Hum Brain Mapp · 2025 Dec · PMID 41293889 · Full text
Recent studies suggest that it is possible to predict an individual brain's spatial activation pattern in response to a paradigm from their functional connectivity at rest (rsFC). However, it is unclear whether this pred...
Recent studies suggest that it is possible to predict an individual brain's spatial activation pattern in response to a paradigm from their functional connectivity at rest (rsFC). However, it is unclear whether this prediction works across the brain. We here aim to understand whether individual task activation can be best predicted in local regions that are highly specialised to the task at hand or whether there are domain-independent regions in the brain that carry most information about the individual. To answer this question, we used fMRI data from participants at rest and during an auditory oddball paradigm. We then predicted individual differences in brain responses to melodic deviants from their rsFC both across the whole brain and within the auditory cortices. Predictability was consistently higher in sensory association cortices: In the local (auditory cortex) parcellation, the best predicted area was the right superior temporal gyrus (STG), an auditory association area, while in the global parcellation, the best predicted network was the bilateral visual association cortex. Our results indicate that individual differences can be predicted in paradigm-relevant areas or general areas with high inter-individual variability. Predicting individual task activation from rsFC may be of clinical relevance in cases where patients are unable to carry out a certain task, such as, to inform surgical targets.
In Vivo Quantification of White Matter Pathways in the Human Hippocampus.
Gumus M, Bourganos A, Mack ML
Hum Brain Mapp · 2025 Dec · PMID 41287444 · Full text
The hippocampus is a key structure in cognition. Although much research has focused on defining the functions of its anatomically distinct subfields, the communication among these subfields within the hippocampal circuit...
The hippocampus is a key structure in cognition. Although much research has focused on defining the functions of its anatomically distinct subfields, the communication among these subfields within the hippocampal circuit, supported by white matter pathways, is theoretically key to emergent cognitive function. Yet, hippocampal white matter connections in humans have not been fully explored in vivo. By leveraging diffusion-weighted imaging and a large healthy sample (N = 653), we developed a processing pipeline for in vivo quantification of human hippocampal pathways. We provided evidence for monosynaptic and trisynaptic pathway-related connections in humans, supporting the described hippocampal circuit in ex vivo and animal studies. In addition to hemispheric and sex differences, the individual variability in hippocampal pathways was linked to cognitive abilities. Thus, in vivo characterization of human hippocampal pathways highlights the individual differences within these structures and paves the way for their implications in cognition, aging, and diseases.
Investigating the Neural Correlates of the Attention Training Technique Using a Novel fMRI Paradigm for Measuring Attentional Control.
Schwarz K, Wells A, Giller F … +1 more , Endrass T
Hum Brain Mapp · 2025 Dec · PMID 41287354 · Full text
Attentional control (AC) plays a causal role in various mental disorders and, within the metacognitive model, contributes to maladaptive repetitive cognitive processes such as rumination and worry. The Attention Training...
Attentional control (AC) plays a causal role in various mental disorders and, within the metacognitive model, contributes to maladaptive repetitive cognitive processes such as rumination and worry. The Attention Training Technique (ATT), an auditory psychotherapeutic intervention, improves AC and is associated with the efficiency of large-scale fronto-parietal control networks (FPN). This study investigates the neural correlates of ATT by applying a newly tailored fMRI paradigm, focusing on FPN engagement and its relationship with AC. We adapted ATT to examine neural responses during ATT compared to passive listening in ATT-naïve participants (N = 43) and ensured the robustness of results by validating the findings in a second independent sample (N = 28). To optimize the paradigm, we compared two ATT conditions, rapidly switching (ATT) and selectively focusing (ATT) attention, against multiple passive-listening control conditions, to probe ATT-related FPN activation. We also tested whether trial-wise subjective effort and self/external focus ratings differentiated ATT from control trials, parametrically modulated FPN activation, and whether ATT-related FPN activation correlated with trait AC. ATT versus control conditions activated the FPN (p < 0.05). This effect was present in both ATT conditions, with stronger activation in the ATT versus ATT condition, and independent of the specific control condition. Ratings of self/external focus and effort significantly differentiated ATT from control conditions (all p < 0.001) and parametrically modulated FPN activation (p < 0.05). All effects were replicated in the second sample. Across both samples, FPN activation in ATT versus control conditions and trial-wise ratings related to trait AC. Using a novel fMRI paradigm in two independent samples, we demonstrate that the ATT is associated with activation of the FPN, a key network for AC and mental health. The relationship between FPN activation and self-report measures supports the relevance of the data for understanding ATT and its links to clinical phenotypes.
Inverse Association of Locus Coeruleus MRI Integrity With Structural Volume and Its Impact on Individual's Inattentiveness.
Neal J, Kim SH, Katz B … +2 more , Kim IH, Lee TH
Hum Brain Mapp · 2025 Dec · PMID 41287222 · Full text
The locus coeruleus (LC) is a nucleus within the brainstem associated with physiological arousal and altered structure and function in the context of neurological conditions. Pathologies related to difficulties with atte...
The locus coeruleus (LC) is a nucleus within the brainstem associated with physiological arousal and altered structure and function in the context of neurological conditions. Pathologies related to difficulties with attention have previously been associated with abnormalities in neurotransmitter production and sensitivity, suggesting the possibility of abnormality in neurotransmitter-producing neural regions. One such region is the LC, associated with norepinephrine production. To examine the possibility that LC alteration is associated with inattentive symptom reporting, regression analyses were performed using neuromelanin contrast ratios and volume in a sample of 141 individuals age-ranged from 8 to 54. Mediation modeling was subsequently performed to examine the relationship between neuromelanin contrast and volume in regard to inattentive behavior. We found that the structural integrity value of the LC, especially in the right hemisphere, showed a significant negative association with the level of the individual's inattentiveness score. LC volume was also significantly positively associated with inattention, and this finding was also lateralized to the right LC. Interestingly, an inverse association was found between structural integrity and volume. These findings support the relationship between LC and attention-related behavior through both neuromelanin-sensitive and structural imaging, with important implications for the association between regional structure and function.
Prefrontal Cortex Responses to Conflicting Information.
Bíró P, Collin SHP
Hum Brain Mapp · 2025 Dec · PMID 41277731 · Full text
Over time, we develop event schemas or scripts that shape our expectations about what typically happens in certain contexts. However, even after forming a memory about a certain event, we are often exposed to related inf...
Over time, we develop event schemas or scripts that shape our expectations about what typically happens in certain contexts. However, even after forming a memory about a certain event, we are often exposed to related information about that same event at later points in time. This additional information sometimes causes one to have to re-evaluate the interpretation of the original event. Over a two-day fNIRS experiment, participants were exposed to events that were subsequently updated with schema-congruent or schema-incongruent additional details. These schema-incongruent additional details make those events more fitting to another schema than originally was the case, meaning that participants would need to dissociate that event from the original schema and re-integrate it with another schema. The fNIRS results showed higher oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO) concentrations in the prefrontal cortex (PFC)-which indicates enhanced PFC activation-for events updated with schema-congruent compared to schema-incongruent details. When specifically looking at those events that were updated with schema-incongruent details, our results suggest that dissociating an event from the original schema and re-integrating it with another schema was accompanied by an initial PFC decrease early in the trial followed by a PFC increase later in the trial. This was a distinctly different pattern compared to trials in which participants failed to re-integrate the event with another schema, which showed delayed PFC increase with lower amplitude and no initial PFC decrease. Our findings provide insight into how people process and integrate conflicting information.
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