Single‐trial EEG‐informed fMRI analysis of emotional decision problems in hot executive function

Abstract

BackgroundExecutive function refers to conscious control in psychological process which relates to thinking and action. Emotional decision is a part of hot executive function and contains emotion and logic elements. As a kind of important social adaptation ability, more and more attention has been paid in recent years.ObjectiveGambling task can be well performed in the study of emotional decision. As fMRI researches focused on gambling task show not completely consistent brain activation regions, this study adopted EEG‐fMRI fusion technology to reveal brain neural activity related with feedback stimuli.MethodsIn this study, an EEG‐informed fMRI analysis was applied to process simultaneous EEG‐fMRI data. First, relative power‐spectrum analysis and K‐means clustering method were performed separately to extract EEG‐fMRI features. Then, Generalized linear models were structured using fMRI data and using different EEG features as regressors.ResultsThe results showed that in the win versus loss stimuli, the activated regions almost covered the caudate, the ventral striatum (VS), the orbital frontal cortex (OFC), and the cingulate. Wide activation areas associated with reward and punishment were revealed by the EEG‐fMRI integration analysis than the conventional fMRI results, such as the posterior cingulate and the OFC. The VS and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) were found when EEG power features were performed as regressors of GLM compared with results entering the amplitudes of feedback‐related negativity (FRN) as regressors. Furthermore, the brain region activation intensity was the strongest when theta‐band power was used as a regressor compared with the other two fusion results.ConclusionsThe EEG‐based fMRI analysis can more accurately depict the whole‐brain activation map and analyze emotional decision problems.

Exploring the effects of anodal and cathodal high definition transcranial direct current stimulation targeting the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex

“…It also is consistent with data that shows that incongruent trials show greater modulation than the congruent trials in the cognitive Counting Stroop task. On the other hand, the theta frequency band has been associated with post-response monitoring and is believed to reflect voluntary control processing 108 – 110 , emotional processing 111 , action regulation 112 , 113 , and emotional decision making 114 .Cathodal tDCS has been demonstrated to significantly increase both theta rhythms and local connectivity in the theta band range 115 , 116 . This pattern is also demonstrable in animals; increased theta activity in the cerebral cortex of cats has been demonstrated after cathodal tDCS 117 .…”

Mapping and Timing the (Healthy) Emotional Brain: A Review

“…Over the past decade, several studies using both techniques have been proposed to, among other, find new large-scale brain networks [55], examine some specific networks [56][57][58] or even provide neurofeedback to assist in the regulation of some circuits [59].…”

Simultaneous EEG-fMRI for Functional Neurological Assessment

“…In another study using a two-choice decision-making paradigm, the authors demonstrate that an increase in theta band power, associated with a choice with a negative feedback, corresponds to the activation of fronto-parietal areas; at contrary, an increase in the power of the beta band, associated with a positive feedback, reflects the activation of subcortical are as involved in the reward network (55). Other authors employed the gambling task paradigm in 20 healthy controls to analyze the concurrent activation of large areas related to the reward and punishment, such as posterior cingulate, medial pre-frontal cortex and ventral striatum (56).…”

“…A further application of EEG-fMRI is represented by neuro feedback, which allows the modulation of the brain activities, although up to now the information that come back to the patient belong to only EEG (57) or fMRI scan (53, 56, 59). As for EEG neurofeedback, several authors have compared brain activation during motion imaginations and movement execution in healthy subjects, suggesting a role for this approach in the rehabilitation of patients affected by post-stroke paralysis (57).…”