An fMRI Study Using a Combined Task of Interval Discrimination and Oddball Could Reveal Common Brain Circuits of Cognitive Change

Abstract

Recent functional neuroimaging studies suggest that the brain networks responsible for time processing are involved during other cognitive processes, leading to a hypothesis that time-related processing is needed to perform a range of tasks across various cognitive functions. To examine this hypothesis, we analyze whether, in healthy subjects, the brain structures activated or deactivated during performance of timing and oddball-detection type tasks coincide. To this end, we conducted two independent signed differential mapping (SDM) meta-analyses of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies assessing the cerebral generators of the responses elicited by tasks based on timing and oddball-detection paradigms. Finally, we undertook a multimodal meta-analysis to detect brain regions common to the findings of the two previous meta-analyses. We found that healthy subjects showed significant activation in cortical areas related to timing and salience networks. The patterns of activation and deactivation corresponding to each task type partially coincided. We hypothesize that there exists a time and change-detection network that serves as a common underlying resource used in a broad range of cognitive processes.

Time discrimination and change detection could share a common brain network: findings of a task-based fMRI study

“…Despite the limitations of the study, in view of the fact that the differences between brain activation patterns were small, predictable and also explainable by the limitations of the study design, our results support the hypothesis that the network defined under the TD paradigm has areas in common with other cognitive networks and processes such as OD ( Alústiza et al, 2016 , 2017 , 2018 ; Garcés et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Previous studies have pointed out the relationship of temporality with other cognitive processes, such as change detection ( Ortuño et al, 2005 ; Livesey et al, 2007 ; Alústiza et al, 2018 ; Garcés et al, 2021 ). This hypothesized connection becomes more evident when studying processes that require greater cognitive demand, since any cognitive task involves salience and change detection processes ( Wiener et al, 2010 ; Niendam et al, 2012 ; Ortuño and Alústiza, 2014 ; Radua et al, 2014 ; Alústiza et al, 2016 , 2017 ).…”

“…Therefore, we hypothesize that there is a common brain network underlying time and change detection processes. Following this idea, we conducted a meta-analysis study ( Garcés et al, 2021 ) in which we provided evidence that timing and salience processes are connected. Considering the limitations of a meta-analysis study and in order to corroborate this hypothesis, we considered it worthwhile to perform our own experimental functional neuroimaging experiment in the small-scale proof-of-concept study reported here.…”

“…These emergent properties are the result of the interactions and integration of different brain areas working together, which enables the performance of other functional roles such as perception, memory, decision-making, and more ( Pessoa, 2022 ). Regarding time perception, several studies have documented this hypothesis, showing that the network associated with TD is involved in other processes, such as change detection ( Stevens et al, 2000 , 2007 ; Menon and Uddin, 2010 ; Alústiza et al, 2018 ; Justen and Herbert, 2018 ; Garcés et al, 2021 ) or cognitive control ( Radua et al, 2014 ; Alústiza et al, 2017 ; Garcés et al, 2021 ), especially when execution of a task requires increases in cognitive effort ( Alústiza et al, 2016 ; McTeague et al, 2016 , 2017 ). Cognitive effort is an aspect of every cognitive process; it reflects the level of difficulty of a cognitive task and the resulting mental effort that a person must apply to achieve the cognitive goal ( Radua et al, 2014 ).…”

“…With respect to normal cognition, we hypothesize the existence of a common time and change detection brain network that supports multiple non-temporal tasks. In a previous study, we conducted two independent signed differential mapping (SDM) meta-analysis of fMRI studies using timing and OD paradigms and a multimodal meta-analysis to elucidate whether there are brain regions common to these two processes, finding that the pattern of brain activation partially coincided ( Garcés et al, 2021 ). These findings support the hypothesis that change detection paradigms, such as OD, could be related to a basic underlaying TD function and, eventually, to other non-temporary task and cognitive control processes, as far as they both implicate change.…”