The ascending arousal system promotes optimal performance through mesoscale network integration in a visuospatial attentional task

Wainstein, Gabriel; Rojas‐Líbano, Daniel; Medel, Vicente; Alnæs, Dag; Kolskår, Knut-Kristian; Endestad, Tor; Laeng, Bruno; Ossandón, Tomás; Crossley, Nicolás; Matar, Elie; Shine, James M.

doi:10.1162/netn_a_00205

Cited by 27 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 91 publications

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“…Recent animal and human fMRI studies support the role of NE in brain network reorganization ( 6 , 62 , 63 , 67 ). NE release has been shown to promote topological integration within the network ( 68 , 69 ). This aligns well with our findings showing enhanced ReHo and FC within the Frontal DMN module following CNO-evoked LC-NE activation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemogenetic stimulation of tonic locus coeruleus activity strengthens the default mode network

et al. 2022

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The default mode network (DMN) of the brain is functionally associated with a wide range of behaviors. In this study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and spectral fiber photometry to investigate the selective neuromodulatory effect of norepinephrine (NE)–releasing noradrenergic neurons in the locus coeruleus (LC) on the mouse DMN. Chemogenetic-induced tonic LC activity decreased cerebral blood volume (CBV) and glucose uptake and increased synchronous low-frequency fMRI activity within the frontal cortices of the DMN. Fiber photometry results corroborated these findings, showing that LC-NE activation induced NE release, enhanced calcium-weighted neuronal spiking, and reduced CBV in the anterior cingulate cortex. These data suggest that LC-NE alters conventional coupling between neuronal activity and CBV in the frontal DMN. We also demonstrated that chemogenetic activation of LC-NE neurons strengthened functional connectivity within the frontal DMN, and this effect was causally mediated by reduced modulatory inputs from retrosplenial and hippocampal regions to the association cortices of the DMN.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemogenetic stimulation of tonic locus coeruleus activity strengthens the default mode network

et al. 2022

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“…Beyond the experimental evidence discussed in the previous section, showing the contribution of heartbeats in consciousness, the raising evidence on brain-heart interactions suggest that HRV may play a role in consciousness as well. Autonomic activity can shape and constrain the ongoing brain dynamics supporting changes in conscious awareness [138,139]. Importantly, the changes in sympathetic activity precede the brain network organization, suggesting causal interactions [138].…”

Section: Consciousness and Complexity In The Brain-heart Communicatio...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Brain-heart interactions in the neurobiology of consciousness

Candia-Rivera¹

2022

Preprint

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Recent experimental evidence on patients with disorders of consciousness revealed that observing brain-heart interactions helps to detect residual consciousness, even in patients with absence of behavioral signs of consciousness. Those findings support hypotheses suggesting that visceral activity is involved in the neurobiology of consciousness, and sum to the existing evidence in healthy participants in which the neural responses to heartbeats reveal perceptual and self-consciousness. More evidence obtained through mathematical modeling of physiological dynamics revealed that emotion processing is prompted by an initial modulation from ascending vagal inputs to the brain, followed by sustained bidirectional brain-heart interactions. Those findings support long-lasting hypotheses on the causal role of bodily activity in emotions, feelings, and potentially consciousness. In this paper, the theoretical landscape on the potential role of heartbeats in cognition and consciousness is reviewed, as well as the experimental evidence supporting these hypotheses. I advocate for methodological developments on the estimation of brain-heart interactions to uncover the role of the heart in the origin, levels, and contents of consciousness. The ongoing evidence depicts interactions further than the cortical responses evoked by each heartbeat, suggesting the potential presence of non-linear, complex, and bidirectional communications between brain and heartbeat dynamics. Further developments on methodologies to analyze brain-heart interactions may contribute to a better understanding of the physiological dynamics involved in homeostatic-allostatic control, cognitive functions, and consciousness.

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“…The topological signature of functional networks estimated from BOLD data have previously been linked to effective performance on cognitive tasks. For instance, an integrated brain has been linked to the completion of a range of complex tasks, such as those that probe working memory 35, 44, 45 , logical reasoning 46 and attentional tracking 47, 48 . In contrast, a relatively segregated functional network has been linked to relative sensorimotor automaticity 32, 33 , as well as to attentional vigilance 49 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Parallel processing relies on a distributed, low-dimensional cortico-cerebellar architecture

Müller

Hou

Palesi

et al. 2022

Preprint

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A characteristic feature of human cognition is our ability to 'multi-task' - performing two or more tasks in parallel - particularly when one task is well-learned. How the brain supports this capacity remains poorly understood. Most past studies have focussed on identifying the areas of the brain - typically the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex - that are required to navigate information processing bottlenecks. In contrast, we take a systems neuroscience approach to test the hypothesis that the capacity to conduct effective parallel processing relies on a distributed architecture that interconnects the cerebral cortex with the cerebellum. The latter structure contains over half of the neurons in the adult human brain, and is well-suited to support the fast, effective, dynamic sequences required to perform tasks relatively automatically. By delegating stereotyped within-task computations to the cerebellum, the cerebral cortex can be freed up to focus on the more challenging aspects of performing the tasks in parallel. To test this hypothesis, we analysed task-based fMRI data from 50 participants who performed a task in which they either balanced an avatar on a screen ('Balance'), performed serial-7 subtractions ('Calculation') or performed both in parallel ('Dual-Task'). Using a set of approaches that include dimensionality reduction, structure-function coupling and time-varying functional connectivity, we provide robust evidence in support of our hypothesis. We conclude that distributed interactions between the cerebral cortex and cerebellum are crucially involved in parallel processing in the human brain.

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The ascending arousal system promotes optimal performance through mesoscale network integration in a visuospatial attentional task

Cited by 27 publications

References 91 publications

Chemogenetic stimulation of tonic locus coeruleus activity strengthens the default mode network

Chemogenetic stimulation of tonic locus coeruleus activity strengthens the default mode network

Brain-heart interactions in the neurobiology of consciousness

Parallel processing relies on a distributed, low-dimensional cortico-cerebellar architecture

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