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Representations and Distributions of Higher Brain Functions at a Functional,...
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Representations and Distributions of Higher Brain Functions at a Functional, Anatomical, and Neuronal Level

A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737). This special issue belongs to the section "Neuroscience".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2023) | Viewed by 21617

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Julian Keenan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Cognitive Neuroimaging Laboratory, Department of Biology, Montclair State University, 320 Science Hall, Montclair, NJ 07043, USA
Interests: neuroimaging; self-awareness and theory of mind; deception and deception detection; evolutionary cognitive neuroscience
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to our Special Issue, entittled Representations and Distributions of Higher Brain Functions at a Functional, Anatomical, and Neuronal Level. Your work, if accepted, will appear among luminaries in neuroscience and we are excited for your contribution.

This Special Issue aims to examine the neuroscience behind consciousness, top-down modulations, network processing and functional consequences. Studies at the synaptic or structural level are welcome, and research with implications for Evolutionary Neuroscience and similarly wider scopes are encouraged. Biology focuses on both the proximate and the ultimate causes and we encourage such a focus in your submission.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are invited. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the neural processing of consciousness, language, memory, abstraction, or planning. The submisison of research on ocial and evolutionary neuroscience topics is equally encouraged. Original data are preferred over reviews, though both will be considered. Distribution of neural functions, either via neuroimaging, neurostimulation, or at the single-neuron level is of interest.

I look forward to receiving your contribution.

Prof. Dr. Julian Keenan
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biology is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • neuroscience

  • consciousness
  • cognition
  • higher-order processing
  • evolutionary neuroscience
  • neuroimaging
  • brain stimulation
  • neural distributions

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research, Review

2 pages, 145 KiB  
Editorial
The Science and Philosophy of the Brain and the Future of Neuroscience
by Julian Paul Keenan
Biology 2024, 13(8), 607; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology13080607 - 11 Aug 2024
Viewed by 1839
Abstract
The future of neuroscience is epitomized in this Special Issue of Biology, titled “Representations and Distributions of Higher Brain Functions at a Functional, Anatomical, and Neuronal Level” [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Representations and Distributions of Higher Brain Functions at a Functional, Anatomical, and Neuronal Level)

Research

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20 pages, 2716 KiB  
Article
Neurofeedback and Affect Regulation Circuitry in Depressed and Healthy Adolescents
by Giang H. Nguyen, Sewon Oh, Corey Schneider, Jia Y. Teoh, Maggie Engstrom, Carmen Santana-Gonzalez, David Porter and Karina Quevedo
Biology 2023, 12(11), 1399; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12111399 - 3 Nov 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1520
Abstract
Neurodevelopmental psychopathology seeks to understand higher-order emotion regulation circuitry to develop new therapies for adolescents with depression. Depressed (N = 34) and healthy youth (N = 19) completed neurofeedback (NF) training and exhibited increased bilateral amygdala and hippocampus activity in the [...] Read more.
Neurodevelopmental psychopathology seeks to understand higher-order emotion regulation circuitry to develop new therapies for adolescents with depression. Depressed (N = 34) and healthy youth (N = 19) completed neurofeedback (NF) training and exhibited increased bilateral amygdala and hippocampus activity in the region of interest (ROI) analyses by recalling positive autobiographical memories. We tested factors supportive of the engagement of emotion regulation’s neural areas during NF (i.e., parental support, medication, and gender effects upon anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) engagement). Whole-brain analyses yielded effects of NF vs. control condition and effects of diagnosis. Youth showed higher amygdala and hippocampus (AMYHIPPO) activity during the NF vs. control condition, particularly in the left hippocampus. ACC’s activity was also higher during NF vs. control. Higher average ACC activity was linked to better parental support, absent depression, female gender, and absent medication. Control youth showed higher average AMYHIPPO and ACC activity throughout the task and a faster decline in activity vs. depressed youths. Whole-brain level analyses showed higher activity in the frontotemporal network during the NF vs. control conditions, suggesting targeting their connectivity in future neurofeedback trials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Representations and Distributions of Higher Brain Functions at a Functional, Anatomical, and Neuronal Level)
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12 pages, 2998 KiB  
Article
Alterations in Brain Activity Induced by Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Their Relation to Decision Making
by Lexie Lawson, Stephanie Spivak, Heather Webber, Saeed Yasin, Briana Goncalves, Olivia Tarrio, Sydney Ash, Maria Ferrol, Athenia Ibragimov, Alejandro Gili Olivares and Julian Paul Keenan
Biology 2023, 12(11), 1366; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12111366 - 25 Oct 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2589
Abstract
Understanding the intricate dynamics between conscious choice and neural processes is crucial for unraveling the complexity of human decision-making. This study investigates the effects of inhibitory Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) on choice bias, shedding light on the malleability of cognitive-motor functions involved in [...] Read more.
Understanding the intricate dynamics between conscious choice and neural processes is crucial for unraveling the complexity of human decision-making. This study investigates the effects of inhibitory Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) on choice bias, shedding light on the malleability of cognitive-motor functions involved in decisions. While reaction times remained unaffected, inhibitory TMS to either the left or right motor cortex led to a significant bias in screen side preference during a choice task. These findings suggest that our cognitive-motor processes underlying decision-making can be unconsciously influenced by TMS. Furthermore, analysis of choice attribution categories revealed individual variability, emphasizing the complex nature of the decision-making process. These insights contribute to the ongoing exploration of the neural mechanisms governing human choice. As the neural basis of free will continues to captivate scientific inquiry, this research advances our understanding of the intricate relationship between neural circuits and conscious intention. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Representations and Distributions of Higher Brain Functions at a Functional, Anatomical, and Neuronal Level)
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Review

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14 pages, 3393 KiB  
Review
Evaluation of the Hierarchical Correspondence between the Human Brain and Artificial Neural Networks: A Review
by Trung Quang Pham, Teppei Matsui and Junichi Chikazoe
Biology 2023, 12(10), 1330; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12101330 - 12 Oct 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3073
Abstract
Artificial neural networks (ANNs) that are heavily inspired by the human brain now achieve human-level performance across multiple task domains. ANNs have thus drawn attention in neuroscience, raising the possibility of providing a framework for understanding the information encoded in the human brain. [...] Read more.
Artificial neural networks (ANNs) that are heavily inspired by the human brain now achieve human-level performance across multiple task domains. ANNs have thus drawn attention in neuroscience, raising the possibility of providing a framework for understanding the information encoded in the human brain. However, the correspondence between ANNs and the brain cannot be measured directly. They differ in outputs and substrates, neurons vastly outnumber their ANN analogs (i.e., nodes), and the key algorithm responsible for most of modern ANN training (i.e., backpropagation) is likely absent from the brain. Neuroscientists have thus taken a variety of approaches to examine the similarity between the brain and ANNs at multiple levels of their information hierarchy. This review provides an overview of the currently available approaches and their limitations for evaluating brain–ANN correspondence. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Representations and Distributions of Higher Brain Functions at a Functional, Anatomical, and Neuronal Level)
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20 pages, 1126 KiB  
Review
The Basolateral Amygdala: The Core of a Network for Threat Conditioning, Extinction, and Second-Order Threat Conditioning
by Tayebeh Sepahvand, Kyron D. Power, Tian Qin and Qi Yuan
Biology 2023, 12(10), 1274; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12101274 - 22 Sep 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3582
Abstract
Threat conditioning, extinction, and second-order threat conditioning studied in animal models provide insight into the brain-based mechanisms of fear- and anxiety-related disorders and their treatment. Much attention has been paid to the role of the basolateral amygdala (BLA) in such processes, an overview [...] Read more.
Threat conditioning, extinction, and second-order threat conditioning studied in animal models provide insight into the brain-based mechanisms of fear- and anxiety-related disorders and their treatment. Much attention has been paid to the role of the basolateral amygdala (BLA) in such processes, an overview of which is presented in this review. More recent evidence suggests that the BLA serves as the core of a greater network of structures in these forms of learning, including associative and sensory cortices. The BLA is importantly regulated by hippocampal and prefrontal inputs, as well as by the catecholaminergic neuromodulators, norepinephrine and dopamine, that may provide important prediction-error or learning signals for these forms of learning. The sensory cortices may be required for the long-term storage of threat memories. As such, future research may further investigate the potential of the sensory cortices for the long-term storage of extinction and second-order conditioning memories. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Representations and Distributions of Higher Brain Functions at a Functional, Anatomical, and Neuronal Level)
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21 pages, 1530 KiB  
Review
Assessing and Modelling of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Using Molecular and Functional Biomarkers
by Konstantina Skolariki, Aristidis G. Vrahatis, Marios G. Krokidis, Themis P. Exarchos and Panagiotis Vlamos
Biology 2023, 12(8), 1050; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12081050 - 26 Jul 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4918
Abstract
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a complex psychological disorder that develops following exposure to traumatic events. PTSD is influenced by catalytic factors such as dysregulated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, neurotransmitter imbalances, and oxidative stress. Genetic variations may act as important catalysts, impacting neurochemical signaling, [...] Read more.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a complex psychological disorder that develops following exposure to traumatic events. PTSD is influenced by catalytic factors such as dysregulated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, neurotransmitter imbalances, and oxidative stress. Genetic variations may act as important catalysts, impacting neurochemical signaling, synaptic plasticity, and stress response systems. Understanding the intricate gene networks and their interactions is vital for comprehending the underlying mechanisms of PTSD. Focusing on the catalytic factors of PTSD is essential because they provide valuable insights into the underlying mechanisms of the disorder. By understanding these factors and their interplay, researchers may uncover potential targets for interventions and therapies, leading to more effective and personalized treatments for individuals with PTSD. The aforementioned gene networks, composed of specific genes associated with the disorder, provide a comprehensive view of the molecular pathways and regulatory mechanisms involved in PTSD. Through this study valuable insights into the disorder’s underlying mechanisms and opening avenues for effective treatments, personalized interventions, and the development of biomarkers for early detection and monitoring are provided. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Representations and Distributions of Higher Brain Functions at a Functional, Anatomical, and Neuronal Level)
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21 pages, 1218 KiB  
Review
Specific Neural Mechanisms of Self-Cognition and the Application of Brainprint Recognition
by Rongkai Zhang, Ying Zeng, Li Tong and Bin Yan
Biology 2023, 12(3), 486; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology12030486 - 22 Mar 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3190
Abstract
The important identity attribute of self-information presents unique cognitive processing advantages in psychological experiments and has become a research hotspot in psychology and brain science. The unique processing mode of own information has been widely verified in visual and auditory experiments, which is [...] Read more.
The important identity attribute of self-information presents unique cognitive processing advantages in psychological experiments and has become a research hotspot in psychology and brain science. The unique processing mode of own information has been widely verified in visual and auditory experiments, which is a unique neural processing method for own name, face, voice and other information. In the study of individual behavior, the behavioral uniqueness of self-information is reflected in the faster response of the human brain to self-information, the higher attention to self-information, and the stronger memory level of self-reference. Brain imaging studies have also presented the uniqueness of self-cognition in the brain. EEG studies have shown that self-information induces significant P300 components. fMRI and PET results show that the differences in self and non-self working patterns were located in the frontal and parietal lobes. In addition, this paper combines the self-uniqueness theory and brain-print recognition technology to explore the application of self-information in experimental design, channel combination strategy and identity feature selection of brainprints. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Representations and Distributions of Higher Brain Functions at a Functional, Anatomical, and Neuronal Level)
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