Sorted By:  Title  Journal  Author  Year
Title Resting-state functional connectivity of the raphe nuclei in major depressive Disorder: A Multi-site study
Author Yajuan Zhang, Chu-Chung Huang, Jiajia Zhao, Yuchen Liu, Mingrui Xia, Xiaoqin Wang, Dongtao Wei, Yuan Chen, Bangshan Liu, Yanting Zheng, Yankun Wu, Taolin Chen, Yuqi Cheng, Xiufeng Xu, Qiyong Gong, Tianmei Si, Shijun Qiu, Jingliang Cheng, Yanqing Tang, Fei Wang, Jiang Qiu, Peng Xie, Lingjiang Li, Yong He, Ching-Po Lin, Chun-Yi Zac Lo, DIDA-Major Depressive Disorder Working Group
Journal NeuroImage: Clinical
Year 2023
Abstract
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Title Regional grey matter volume in the posterior cingulate cortex predicts positive risk‐taking: A moderation model
Author Di Liu, Mengcheng Ji, Kaixiang Zhuang, Qunlin Chen, Baoguo Shi, Jiang Qiu
Journal International Journal of Psychology
Year 2023
Abstract
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Title The influence of emotion regulation flexibility on mental health: Evidence from experience sampling
Author Xiaoqin WANG, Yafei TAN, Jie MENG, Yuan LIU, Dongtao WEI, Wenjing YANG, Jiang QIU
Journal Acta Psychologica Sinica
Year 2023
Abstract
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Title Common brain activation and connectivity patterns supporting the generation of creative uses and creative metaphors
Author Qunlin Chen, Ruizhi He, Jiangzhou Sun, Ke Ding, Xi Wang, Li He, Kaixiang Zhuang, James Lloyd-Cox, Jiang Qiu
Journal Neuropsychologia
Year 2023
Abstract
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Title Linking negative affect, personality and social conditions to structural brain development during the transition from late adolescent to young adulthood
Author Jiahui Liu, Yi Zhang, Jiang Qiu, Dongtao Wei
Journal Journal of Affective Disorders
Year 2023
Abstract
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Title Mapping the creative personality: A psychometric network analysis of highly creative artists and scientists
Author Qunlin Chen, Alexander P Christensen, Yoed N Kenett, Zhiting Ren, David M Condon, Robert M Bilder, Jiang Qiu, Roger E Beaty
Journal Creativity Research Journal
Year 2023
Abstract
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Title Individualized prediction of trait self‐control from whole‐brain functional connectivity
Author Zhiting Ren, Jiangzhou Sun, Cheng Liu, Xinyue Li, Xianrui Li, Xinyi Li, Zeqing Liu, Taiyong Bi, Jiang Qiu
Journal Psychophysiology
Year 2023
Abstract
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Title Gene transcriptional expression of cortical thinning during childhood and adolescence
Author Zheyi Zhou, Dongtao Wei, Wei Liu, Hong Chen, Shaozheng Qin, Pengfei Xu, Xi‐Nian Zuo, Yue‐Jia Luo, Jiang Qiu
Journal Human Brain Mapping
Year 2023
Abstract
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Title Retrieval flexibility links to creativity: evidence from computational linguistic measure
Author Jingyi Zhang, Kaixiang Zhuang, Jiangzhou Sun, Cheng Liu, Li Fan, Xueyang Wang, Jing Gu, Jiang Qiu
Journal Cerebral Cortex
Year 2023
Abstract
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Title A meta-analysis of the relationship between semantic distance and creative thinking
Author Yadan LI, XIE DU Ying, Chunyu LIU, Yilong YANG, Yangping LI, Jiang QIU
Journal Advances in Psychological Science
Year 2023
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Title Exploring the behavioral and neural correlates of semantic distance in creative writing
Author Li Fan, Kaixiang Zhuang, Xueyang Wang, Jingyi Zhang, Cheng Liu, Jing Gu, Jiang Qiu
Journal Psychophysiology
Year 2023
Abstract
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Title Personality subtypes of depressive disorders and their functional connectivity basis
Author Yu LI, Dongtao WEI, Jiang QIU
Journal Acta Psychologica Sinica
Year 2023
Abstract
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Title Brain structural abnormalities in adult major depressive disorder revealed by voxel-and source-based morphometry: evidence from the REST-meta-MDD Consortium
Author KangCheng Wang, YuFei Hu, ChaoGan Yan, MeiLing Li, YanJing Wu, Jiang Qiu, XingXing Zhu, REST-meta-MDD Consortium
Journal Psychological Medicine
Year 2023
Abstract
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Title Amygdala-based functional connectivity mediates the relationship between thought control ability and trait anxiety
Author Yuchi Yan, Min Li, Hui Jia, Lei Fu, Jiang Qiu, Wenjing Yang
Journal Brain and Cognition
Year 2023
Abstract
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Title Comparisons of Convergent Thinking: A Perspective Informed by Culture and Neural Mechanisms
Author Jing Chen, Baoguo Shi, Qunlin Chen, Jiang Qiu
Journal Thinking Skills and Creativity
Year 2023
Abstract
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Title Gray matter density within the middle cingulate gyrus mediates the relationship between English Proficiency and verbal creativity
Author Ting Li, Jiangzhou Sun, Zhiting Ren, Jiang Qiu
Journal Thinking Skills and Creativity
Year 2023
Abstract
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Title Bidirectional relationship between insular grey matter volume and alexithymia: Evidence from a longitudinal study
Author Wenjing Li, Yuan Liu, Jiang Qiu, Yu Li
Journal Journal of Affective Disorders
Year 2023
Abstract
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Title Functional connectivity mediating passive coping style and perceived stress in predicting anxiety
Author Qiuyang Feng, Yu Li, Cheng Liu, Xueyang Wang, Shuang Tang, Bijie Tie, Xianrui Li, Jiang Qiu
Journal Journal of Affective Disorders
Year 2023
Abstract
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Title AI-based dimensional neuroimaging system for characterizing heterogeneity in brain structure and function in major depressive disorder: COORDINATE-MDD consortium design and rationale
Author Cynthia HY Fu, Guray Erus, Yong Fan, Mathilde Antoniades, Danilo Arnone, Stephen R Arnott, Taolin Chen, Ki Sueng Choi, Cherise Chin Fatt, Benicio N Frey, Vibe G Frokjaer, Melanie Ganz, Jose Garcia, Beata R Godlewska, Stefanie Hassel, Keith Ho, Andrew M McIntosh, Kun Qin, Susan Rotzinger, Matthew D Sacchet, Jonathan Savitz, Haochang Shou, Ashish Singh, Aleks Stolicyn, Irina Strigo, Stephen C Strother, Duygu Tosun, Teresa A Victor, Dongtao Wei, Toby Wise, Rachel D Woodham, Roland Zahn, Ian M Anderson, JF Deakin, Boadie W Dunlop, Rebecca Elliott, Qiyong Gong, Ian H Gotlib, Catherine J Harmer, Sidney H Kennedy, Gitte M Knudsen, Helen S Mayberg, Martin P Paulus, Jiang Qiu, Madhukar H Trivedi, Heather C Whalley, Chao-Gan Yan, Allan H Young, Christos Davatzikos
Journal BMC psychiatry
Year 2023
Abstract
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Title Reduced hippocampal-cortical connectivity during memory suppression predicts the ability to forget unwanted memories
Author Yuchi Yan, Justin C Hulbert, Kaixiang Zhuang, Wei Liu, Dongtao Wei, Jiang Qiu, Michael C Anderson, Wenjing Yang
Journal CEREBRAL CORTEX
Year 2022
Abstract The ability to suppress unwelcome memories is important for productivity and well-being. Successful memory suppression is associated with hippocampal deactivations and a concomitant disruption of this region's functionality. Much of the previous neuroimaging literature exploring such suppression-related hippocampal modulations has focused on the region's negative coupling with the prefrontal cortex. Task-based changes in functional connectivity between the hippocampus and other brain regions still need further exploration. In the present study, we utilize psychophysiological interactions and seed connectome-based predictive modeling to investigate the relationship between the hippocampus and the rest of the brain as 134 participants attempted to suppress unwanted memories during the Think/No-Think task. The results show that during retrieval suppression, the right hippocampus exhibited decreased functional connectivity with visual cortical areas (lingual and cuneus gyrus), left nucleus accumbens and the brain-stem that predicted superior forgetting of unwanted memories on later memory tests. Validation tests verified that prediction performance was not an artifact of head motion or prediction method and that the negative features remained consistent across different brain parcellations. These findings suggest that systemic memory suppression involves more than the modulation of hippocampal activity-it alters functional connectivity patterns between the hippocampus and visual cortex, leading to successful forgetting.
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Title Everyday creativity is associated with increased frontal electroencephalography alpha activity during creative ideation
Author Lei Fu, Jia Zhao, Jiangzhou Sun, Yuchi Yan, Mujie Ma, Qunlin Chen, Jiang Qiu, Wenjing Yang
Journal Neuroscience
Year 2022
Abstract Everyday creativity is the basic ability of human survival and penetrates every aspect of life. Nevertheless, the neural mechanisms underlying everyday creativity was largely unexplored. In this study, seventy-five participants completed the creative behaviour inventory, a tool for assessing creative behaviour in daily life. The participants also completed the alternate uses task (AUT) during an electroencephalography (EEG) assessment to evaluate creative thinking. Alpha power was used to quantify neural oscillations during the creative process, while alpha coherence was used to quantify information communication between frontal regions and other sites during creative ideation. Moreover, these two task-related quantitative measures were combined to investigate the relationship between individual differences in everyday creativity and EEG alpha activity during creative idea generation. Compared with the reference period, increased alpha power was observed in the frontal cortex of the right hemisphere and increased functional coupling was observed between frontal and parietal/temporal regions during the activation period. Interestingly, individual differences in everyday creativity were associated with distinct patterns of EEG alpha activity. Specifically, individuals with higher everyday creativity had increased alpha power in the frontal cortex, and increased changes in coherence in frontal-temporal regions of the right hemisphere while performing the AUT. It might indicate that individuals with higher everyday creativity had an enhanced ability to focus on internal information processing and control bottom-up stimuli, as well as better selection of novel semantic information when performing creative ideation tasks.
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Title The impact of knowledge on poetry comosition: An fMRI investigation
Author Ruizhi He, Kaixiang Zhuang, Lijun Liu, Ke Ding, Xi Wang, Lei Fu, Jiang Qiu, Qunlin Chen
Journal Brain and Language
Year 2022
Abstract Poetry composition is an ecologically valid approach for investigating creative processes. However, little is known about how the brain creates poetry and about the role of knowledge during poetry composition. Here, we identified patterns of task-based functional connectivity during poetry composition by experts and novices under two experimental conditions (familiar vs unfamiliar themes) and one control condition. Poetry composition was related to large-scale network connectivity between the language network (LN) and the right executive control network (RECN), precuneus, and higher visual network. Under familiar themes, poetry composition recruited more functional connections between the RECN and default mode network, whereas using unfamiliar themes elicited more functional connections between sensorimotor and visual networks. Moreover, the strength of LN-RECN is positively correlated with originality in the familiar condition, while negatively correlated with originality in the unfamiliar condition. These results reveal the brain connectivity patterns and highlight the importance of knowledge underlying poetry composition.
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Title Exploring the behavioral and neural correlates of semantic distance in creative writing
Author Li Fan, Kaixiang Zhuang, Xueyang Wang, Jingyi Zhang, Cheng Liu, Jing Gu, Jiang Qiu
Journal Psychophysiology
Year 2022
Abstract Creativity is critical to economic growth and societal progress. However, assessing creativity using objective approaches remains a challenge. To address this, we employ three objective indicators based on semantic distance to quantify the originality and appropriateness of creativity by analyzing long texts in a story-writing experiment. Global and local distances were generated separately by computing the mean distance of the whole text and the distance between adjacent sentences, and they were positively correlated with story originality in writing. Global cohesion was positively correlated with story rationality in writing, as generated by computing the semantic coherence between the text and story context. At the behavioral level, three semantic indicators were used to measure originality and appropriateness of creativity and reflected individual differences, including creative achievement and creative personality. At the neural level, global distance was best predicted by the features of the salience and default networks, whereas global cohesion corresponded to the control and salience networks. These findings point to a stable neural basis for semantic indicators and verify the idea of separating different dimensions of creativity. Taken together, our results demonstrate the significance of semantic indicators in assessing creativity and provide insights into analyzing long texts in natural paradigm.
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Title Retrieval flexibility links to creativity: evidence from computational linguistic measure
Author Jingyi Zhang, Kaixiang Zhuang, Jiangzhou Sun, Cheng Liu, Li Fan, Xueyang Wang, Jing Gu, Jiang Qiu
Journal CEREBRAL CORTEX
Year 2022
Abstract Creativity, the ability to generate original and valuable products, has long been linked to semantic retrieval processes. The associative theory of creativity posits flexible retrieval ability as an important basis for creative idea generation. However, there is insufficient research on how flexible memory retrieval acts on creative activities. This study aimed to capture different dynamic aspects of retrieval processes and examine the behavioral and neural associations between retrieval flexibility and creativity. We developed 5 metrics to quantify retrieval flexibility based on previous studies, which confirmed the important role of creativity. Our findings showed that retrieval flexibility was positively correlated with multiple creativity-related behavior constructs and can promote distinct search patterns in different creative groups. Moreover, high flexibility was associated with the lifetime of a specific brain state during rest, characterized by interactions among large-scale cognitive brain systems. The flexible functional connectivity within and between default mode, executive control, and salience provides further evidence on brain dynamics of creativity. Retrieval flexibility mediated the links between the lifetime of the related brain state and creativity. This new approach is expected to enhance our knowledge of the role of retrieval flexibility in creativity from a dynamic perspective.
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Title Superior frontal gyrus and middle temporal gyrus connectivity mediates the relationship between neuroticism and thought suppression
Author FengYing Lu, WenJing Yang, DongTao Wei, JiangZhou Sun, QingLin Zhang, Jiang Qiu
Journal Brain Imaging and Behavior
Year 2022
Abstract Thought suppression, which is defined as an effort "not to think about" a particular thought, is essential to maintain good mental health. Despite previous functional imaging studies on thought suppression and related functional activity, the neural basis of thought suppression in individual difference is still unclear. Many studies have focused on the relationship between neuroticism and thought suppression; however, the neural basis of this relationship is not well known. Thus, in the present study, we investigated the neural basis of thought suppression and further explored the neural mechanisms underlying the relationship between neuroticism and thought suppression. The first step was to use voxel-based morphometry (VBM) to investigate the neuroanatomical basis of thought suppression in healthy subjects. We found a significant positive correlation between thought suppression and the gray matter volume (GMV) of the right superior frontal gyrus (SFG). The second step was to use resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) to investigate the neural functional basis of thought suppression. The results showed that thought suppression was positively correlated with rsFC between the right SFG and the left middle temporal gyrus (MTG). Interestingly, the relationship between neuroticism and thought suppression was mediated by the strength of rsFC between the right SFG and the left MTG. The results suggest that better ability to suppress unwanted intrusive thoughts is supported by greater GMV of the right SFG and stronger functional connectivity between the SFG and MTG. They also indicate that weak rsFC between the SFG and MTG can partly explain the negative association between neuroticism and thought suppression.
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Title The brain functional connectivity in the default mode network is associated with self-efficacy in young adults
Author Xi Wang, Qunlin Chen, Yu Li, Ke Ding, Jiang Qiu
Journal Brain Imaging and Behavior
Year 2022
Abstract Self-efficacy is a subjective belief that depends on self-related past experience, and is a strong predictor for individual future performance. To the aim of promoting one's future performance, it is necessary to gain better knowledge of it's cognitive process and brain mechanism. The present research sought to investigate the functional connectivity basis of self-efficacy by using the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data of a large sample of young adults (536 participants). Multiple regression analysis was performed to examine the relationship between self-efficacy integrated score and brain functional connectivity measures. Gender, age, mean framewise displacement and grey matter volume were used as nuisance covariates. The whole-brain analysis revealed an association between self-efficacy and the functional connectivity of several regions within the default mode network. These regions included the right anterior cingulate cortex, the left posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus and bilateral parahippocampal cortex. Our findings suggest that the default mode network plays a crucial role in self-efficacy, and hold the view that episodic memory and self-related processing have influence on self-efficacy.
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Title The functional connectivity basis of creative achievement linked with openness to experience and divergent thinking
Author Xueyang Wang, Kaixiang Zhuang, Zhenyu Li, Jiang Qiu
Journal BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY
Year 2022
Abstract Openness to experience and divergent thinking are considered to be critical in real-life creative achievement. However, there is still a lack of neural evidence to explain how creative achievement is related to openness to experience and divergent thinking. Here, a structural equation model and resting-state functional connectivity were used to investigate their relationships in college students. The structural equation model results repeatedly showed that openness to experience and divergent thinking are positively associated with creative achievement, and the resting-state functional connectivity results showed that openness to experience and divergent thinking were both correlated with the attention network and default mode network. However, openness to experience was also correlated with the primary sensorimotor network and frontoparietal control network. Mediation models further corroborated this result. Collectively, these findings support previous works and further indicate that different neural bases may underlie the associations of creative achievement with openness to experience and divergent thinking.
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Title An insula-based network mediates the relation between rumination and interoceptive sensibility in the healthy population
Author Xianrui Li, Facai Qin, Jiahui Liu, Qian Luo, Yi Zhang, Jun Hu, Yulin Chen, Dongtao Wei, Jiang Qiu
Journal JOURNAL OF AFFECTIVE DISORDERS
Year 2022
Abstract Background: Individuals sometimes continuously centered their attention on the same thoughts. When such process tends to be negative and self-referential, we delineated this mental state as rumination, which may undermine body's perception of endogenous signal, but little is known about the certainly relationship and the potential neural mechanisms. Methods: Rumination and interoceptive sensibility were measured by questionnaires, then insula-related network of rumination dimensions were examined by the whole brain resting-state functional connectivity (FC) in 479 college students, and whether the insula-based network mediate the relationship between rumination and interoceptive sensibility were tested. Results: Rumination (including brooding reflective pondering) and interoceptive sensibility showed positive correlations. The neural mechanisms of brooding and reflective pondering were all related to the insula-networks, to be specific, brooding was positively correlated with the FC between the left posterior insula (PI) and left parahippocampal gyrus/ hippocampus (PHG), reflective pondering were positively correlated with the FC between the insula subregion and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Moreover, the relationship between brooding and interoceptive sensibility was mediated by the FC between left PI and left PHG. Limitations: We just tested the relationship between rumination and interoceptive sensibility at a cross-sectional level, but it is unclear that whether the longitudinal relationship would be predicted by the related network. Conclusions: Our findings provided new insights into neural mechanisms of brooding and reflective pondering, also the integration of brooding and interoceptive sensibility. The insula-related networks may contribute crucially to rumination and interoception.
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Title Sex-specific intra- and inter-hemispheric structural connectivity related to divergent thinking
Author Haoman Zhang, Lei Hao, Li Fan, Yi Zhang, Ting Li, Jiang Qiu
Journal NEUROSCIENCE LETTERS
Year 2022
Abstract Gender differences in creativity partly underscore the diversity between males and females in society. Divergent thinking forms the core of creativity and enables humans to innovate and solve problems. Sex differences in functional activation associated with divergent thinking may reflect the use of distinct strategies in males and females when faced with tasks involving creativity. Although female-specific white matter associated to creativity has been found, fractional anisotropy measuring structural connectivity which can better reflect the degree of brain regions interplay should be adapted to corroborate sex-specific WM connectivity related to divergent thinking. Using fractional anisotropy indexes derived from diffusion tensor imaging in 425 participants (118 males), we observed that divergent thinking was positively associated with fractional anisotropy in the corpus callosum and right superior longitudinal fasciculus in females and was positively associated with fractional anisotropy in the right tapetum in males. Our findings provide insight into sex-specific intra- and inter-hemispheric structural connectivity bases underlying divergent thinking.
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Title Creative problem solving in knowledge-rich contexts
Author Yang, W., Green, A. E., Chen, Q., Kenett, Y. N., Sun, J., Wei, D., & Qiu, J.
Journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences
Year 2022
Abstract Creative problem solving (CPS) in real-world contexts often relies on reorganization of existing knowledge to serve new, problem-relevant functions. However, classic creativity paradigms that minimize knowledge content are generally used to investigate creativity, including CPS. We argue that CPS research should expand consideration of knowledge-rich problem contexts, both in novices and experts within specific domains. In particular, paradigms focusing on creative analogical transfer of knowledge may reflect CPS skills that are applicable to real-world problem solving. Such paradigms have begun to provide process-level insights into cognitive and neural characteristics of knowledge-rich CPS and point to multiple avenues for fruitfully expanding inquiry into the role of crystalized knowledge in creativity.
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Title A Neural Predictive Model of Negative Emotions for COVID-19
Author Mao, Y., Wei, D., Yang, W., Sun, J., Yu, Y., Zhuang, K., ... & Qiu, J.
Journal IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing
Year 2022
Abstract The long-lasting global pandemic of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has changed our daily life in many ways and put heavy burden on our mental health. Having a predictive model of negative emotions during COVID-19 is of great importance for identifying potential risky population. To establish a neural predictive model achieving both good interpretability and predictivity, we have utilized a large-scale (n = 542) longitudinal dataset, alongside two independent samples for external validation. We built a predictive model based on psychologically meaningful resting state neural activities. The whole-brain resting-state neural activity and social-psychological profile of the subjects were obtained from Sept. to Dec. 2019 (Time 1). Their negative emotions were tracked and re-assessed twice, on Feb 22 (Time 2) and Apr 24 (Time 3), 2020, respectively. We first applied canonical correlation analysis on both the neural profiles and psychological profiles collected on Time 1, this step selects only the psychological meaningful neural patterns for later model construction. We then trained the neural predictive model using those identified features on data obtained on Time 2. It achieved a good prediction performance (r = 0.44, p = 8.13 × 10-27). The two most important neural predictors are associated with self-control and social interaction. This study established an effective neural prediction model of negative emotions, achieving good interpretability and predictivity. It will be useful for identifying potential risky population of emotional disorders related to COVID-19.
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Title Resting-state functional connectome predicts individual differences in depression during COVID-19 pandemic
Author Mao, Y., Chen, Q., Wei, D., Yang, W., Sun, J., Yu, Y., Zhuang, K., Wang, X., He, L., Feng, T., Lei, X., He, Q., Chen, H., Duan, S., & Qiu, J.
Journal American Psychologist
Year 2022
Abstract Stressful life events are significant risk factors for depression, and increases in depressive symptoms have been observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study is to explore the neural makers for individuals' depression during COVID-19, using connectome-based predictive modeling (CPM). Then we tested whether these neural markers could be used to identify groups at high/low risk for depression with a longitudinal dataset. The results suggested that the high-risk group demonstrated a higher level and increment of depression during the pandemic, as compared to the low-risk group. Furthermore, a support vector machine (SVM) algorithm was used to discriminate major depression disorder patients and healthy controls, using neural features defined by CPM. The results confirmed the CPM's ability for capturing the depression-related patterns with individuals' resting-state functional connectivity signature. The exploration for the anatomy of these functional connectivity features emphasized the role of an emotion-regulation circuit and an interoception circuit in the neuropathology of depression. In summary, the present study augments current understanding of potential pathological mechanisms underlying depression during an acute and unpredictable life-threatening event and suggests that resting-state functional connectivity may provide potential effective neural markers for identifying susceptible populations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
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Title Linking functional connectome gradient to individual creativity
Author Tengbin Huo, Yunman Xia, Kaixiang Zhuang, Qunlin Chen, Jiangzhou Sun, Wenjing Yang, Jiang Qiu
Journal Cerebral Cortex
Year 2022
Abstract Introduction Human brain network is organized as a hierarchical organization, exhibiting various connectome gradients. The principal gradient is anchored by the modality-specific primary areas and the transmodal regions. Previous studies have suggested that the unimodal-transmodal gradient in the functional connectome may offer an overarching framework for high-order cognitions of human brain. However, there is still a lacking of direct evidence to associate these two. Objectives Therefore, we aim to explore the association between creativity, a typical human high-order cognitive function, and unimodal-transmodal gradient, using two independent datasets of young adults. Methods For each individual, we identified the unimodal-transmodal gradient in functional connectome and calculated its global measures. Then we correlated the individual creativity score with measures of unimodal-transmodal gradient at global-brain, subsystem, and regional level. Results The results suggested that better creative performance was associated with greater distance between primary areas and transmodal regions in gradient axes, and less distance between ventral attention network and default mode network. Individual creativity was also found positively correlated with regional gradients in ventral attention network, and negatively correlated with gradients of regions in visual cortex. Conclusion Together, these findings directly link the unimodal-transmodal gradient to individual creativity, providing empirical evidence for the cognitive implications of functional connectome gradient.
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Title Maladaptive Changes in Delay Discounting in Males during the Covid-19 Pandemic: The Predictive Role Of Functional Connectome
Author Zhibing Xiao, Zhiyi Chen, Wanting Chen, Wei Gao, Li He, Qiang Wang, Xu Lei, Jiang Qiu, Tingyong Feng, Hong Chen, Ofir Turel, Antoine Bechara, Qinghua He
Journal Cerebral Cortex
Year 2022
Abstract The Coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) and measures to curb it created population-level changes in male-dominant impulsive and risky behaviors such as violent crimes and gambling. One possible explanation for this is that the pandemic has been stressful, and males, more so than females, tend to respond to stress by altering their focus on immediate versus delayed rewards, as reflected in their delay discounting rates. Delay discounting rates from healthy undergraduate students were collected twice during the pandemic. Discounting rates of males (n=190) but not of females (n=493) increased during the pandemic. Using machine learning, we show that prepandemic functional connectome predict increased discounting rates in males (n=88). Moreover, considering that delay discounting is associated with multiple psychiatric disorders, we found the same neural pattern that predicted increased discounting rates in this study, in secondary datasets of patients with major depression and schizophrenia. The findings point to sex-based differences in maladaptive delay discounting under real-world stress events, and to connectome-based neuromarkers of such effects. They can explain why there was a population-level increase in several impulsive and risky behaviors during the pandemic and point to intriguing questions about the shared underlying mechanisms of stress responses, psychiatric disorders and delay discounting.
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Title The trait and state negative affect can be separately predicted by stable and variable resting-state functional connectivity
Author Yu Li, Kaixiang Zhuang, Zili Yi, Dongtao Wei, Jiangzhou Sun, Jiang Qiu
Journal Psychological Medicine
Year 2022
Abstract Background Many emotional experiences such as anxiety and depression are influenced by negative affect (NA). NA has both trait and state features, which play different roles in physiological and mental health. Attending to NA common to various emotional experiences and their trait-state features might help deepen the understanding of the shared foundation of related emotional disorders. Methods The principal component of five measures was calculated to indicate individuals' NA level. Applying the connectivity-based correlation analysis, we first identified resting-state functional connectives (FCs) relating to NA in sample 1 (n = 367), which were validated through an independent sample (n = 232; sample 2). Next, based on the variability of FCs across large timescale, we further divided the NA-related FCs into high- and low-variability groups. Finally, FCs in different variability groups were separately applied to predict individuals' neuroticism level (which is assumed to be the core trait-related factor underlying NA), and the change of NA level (which represents the state-related fluctuation of NA). Results The low-variability FCs were primarily within the default mode network (DMN) and between the DMN and dorsal attention network/sensory system and significantly predicted trait rather than state NA. The high-variability FCs were primarily between the DMN and ventral attention network, the fronto-parietal network and DMN/sensory system, and significantly predicted the change of NA level. Conclusions The trait and state NA can be separately predicted by stable and variable spontaneous FCs with different attentional processes and emotion regulatory mechanisms, which could deepen our understanding of NA.
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Title Brain structural abnormalities in adult major depressive disorder revealed by voxel-and source-based morphometry: evidence from the REST-meta-MDD Consortium
Author KangCheng Wang, YuFei Hu, ChaoGan Yan, MeiLing Li, YanJing Wu, Jiang Qiu, XingXing Zhu, REST-meta-MDD Consortium
Journal Psychological Medicine
Year 2022
Abstract Background Neuroimaging studies on major depressive disorder (MDD) have identified an extensive range of brain structural abnormalities, but the exact neural mechanisms associated with MDD remain elusive. Most previous studies were performed with voxel- or surface-based morphometry which were univariate methods without considering spatial information across voxels/vertices. Methods Brain morphology was investigated using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and source-based morphometry (SBM) in 1082 MDD patients and 990 healthy controls (HCs) from the REST-meta-MDD Consortium. We first examined group differences in regional grey matter (GM) volumes and structural covariance networks between patients and HCs. We then compared first-episode, drug-naïve (FEDN) patients, and recurrent patients. Additionally, we assessed the effects of symptom severity and illness duration on brain alterations. Results VBM showed decreased GM volume in various regions in MDD patients including the superior temporal cortex, anterior and middle cingulate cortex, inferior frontal cortex, and precuneus. SBM returned differences only in the prefrontal network. Comparisons between FEDN and recurrent MDD patients showed no significant differences by VBM, but SBM showed greater decreases in prefrontal, basal ganglia, visual, and cerebellar networks in the recurrent group. Moreover, depression severity was associated with volumes in the inferior frontal gyrus and precuneus, as well as the prefrontal network. Conclusions Simultaneous application of VBM and SBM methods revealed brain alterations in MDD patients and specified differences between recurrent and FEDN patients, which tentatively provide an effective multivariate method to identify potential neurobiological markers for depression.
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Title Brain charts for the human lifespan
Author Richard AI Bethlehem, Jakob Seidlitz, Simon R White, Jacob W Vogel, Kevin M Anderson, Chris Adamson, Sophie Adler, George S Alexopoulos, Evdokia Anagnostou, Ariosky Areces-Gonzalez, DE Astle, B Auyeung, M Ayub, J Bae, G Ball, Simon Baron-Cohen, R Beare, SA Bedford, V Benegal, Frauke Beyer, J Blangero, M Blesa Cábez, JP Boardman, M Borzage, JF Bosch-Bayard, N Bourke, VD Calhoun, MM Chakravarty, C Chen, C Chertavian, G Chetelat, YS Chong, JH Cole, A Corvin, M Costantino, E Courchesne, F Crivello, VL Cropley, J Crosbie, N Crossley, M Delarue, Richard Delorme, S Desrivieres, GA Devenyi, MA Di Biase, R Dolan, KA Donald, G Donohoe, K Dunlop, AD Edwards, JT Elison, CT Ellis, JA Elman, L Eyler, DA Fair, E Feczko, PC Fletcher, P Fonagy, CE Franz, L Galan-Garcia, A Gholipour, J Giedd, JH Gilmore, DC Glahn, IM Goodyer, PE Grant, NA Groenewold, FM Gunning, RE Gur, RC Gur, CF Hammill, O Hansson, T Hedden, A Heinz, RN Henson, Katja Heuer, J Hoare, B Holla, AJ Holmes, R Holt, H Huang, K Im, J Ipser, CR Jack, AP Jackowski, T Jia, KA Johnson, PB Jones, DT Jones, RS Kahn, H Karlsson, L Karlsson, R Kawashima, EA Kelley, S Kern, KW Kim, MG Kitzbichler, WS Kremen, F Lalonde, B Landeau, S Lee, J Lerch, JD Lewis, J Li, W Liao, C Liston, MV Lombardo, J Lv, C Lynch, TT Mallard, M Marcelis, RD Markello, SR Mathias, B Mazoyer, P McGuire, MJ Meaney, A Mechelli, N Medic, B Misic, SE Morgan, D Mothersill, J Nigg, MQW Ong, C Ortinau, R Ossenkoppele, M Ouyang, L Palaniyappan, L Paly, PM Pan, C Pantelis, MM Park, T Paus, Z Pausova, D Paz-Linares, A Pichet Binette, K Pierce, X Qian, J Qiu, A Qiu, A Raznahan, Timothy Rittman, A Rodrigue, CK Rollins, R Romero-Garcia, L Ronan, MD Rosenberg, DH Rowitch, GA Salum, TD Satterthwaite, Herma Lina
Journal Nature
Year 2022
Abstract Over the past few decades, neuroimaging has become a ubiquitous tool in basic research and clinical studies of the human brain. However, no reference standards currently exist to quantify individual differences in neuroimaging metrics over time, in contrast to growth charts for anthropometric traits such as height and weight1. Here we assemble an interactive open resource to benchmark brain morphology derived from any current or future sample of MRI data (http://www.brainchart.io/). With the goal of basing these reference charts on the largest and most inclusive dataset available, acknowledging limitations due to known biases of MRI studies relative to the diversity of the global population, we aggregated 123,984 MRI scans, across more than 100 primary studies, from 101,457 human participants between 115 days post-conception to 100 years of age. MRI metrics were quantified by centile scores, relative to non-linear trajectories2 of brain structural changes, and rates of change, over the lifespan. Brain charts identified previously unreported neurodevelopmental milestones3, showed high stability of individuals across longitudinal assessments, and demonstrated robustness to technical and methodological differences between primary studies. Centile scores showed increased heritability compared with non-centiled MRI phenotypes, and provided a standardized measure of atypical brain structure that revealed patterns of neuroanatomical variation across neurological and psychiatric disorders. In summary, brain charts are an essential step towards robust quantification of individual variation benchmarked to normative trajectories in multiple, commonly used neuroimaging phenotypes.
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Title Functional connectome prediction of anxiety related to the COVID-19 pandemic
Author He, L., Wei, D., Yang, F., Zhang, J., Cheng, W., Feng, J., ... & Qiu, J
Journal American Journal of Psychiatry
Year 2021
Abstract Objective: Increased anxiety in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been widely noted. The purpose of this study was to test whether the prepandemic functional connectome predicted individual anxiety induced by the pandemic. Methods: Anxiety scores from healthy undergraduate students were collected during the severe and remission periods of the pandemic (first survey, February 22-28, 2020, N=589; second survey, April 24 to May 1, 2020, N=486). Brain imaging data and baseline (daily) anxiety ratings were acquired before the pandemic. The predictive performance of the functional connectome on individual anxiety was examined using machine learning and was validated in two external undergraduate student samples (N=149 and N=474). The clinical relevance of the findings was further explored by applying the connectome-based neuromarkers of pandemic-related anxiety to distinguish between individuals with specific mental disorders and matched healthy control subjects (generalized anxiety disorder, N=43; major depression, N=536; schizophrenia, N=72). Results: Anxiety scores increased from the prepandemic baseline to the severe stage of the pandemic and remained high in the remission stage. The prepandemic functional connectome predicted pandemic-related anxiety and generalized to the external sample but showed poor performance for predicting daily anxiety. The connectome-based neuromarkers of pandemic-related anxiety further distinguished between participants with generalized anxiety and healthy control subjects but were not useful for diagnostic classification in major depression and schizophrenia. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate the feasibility of using the functional connectome to predict individual anxiety induced by major stressful events (e.g., the current global health crisis), which advances our understanding of the neurobiological basis of anxiety susceptibility and may have implications for developing targeted psychological and clinical interventions that promote the reduction of stress and anxiety.
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Title Unity and diversity of neural representation in executive functions
Author He, L., Zhuang, K., Chen, Q., Wei, D., Chen, X., Fan, J., & Qiu, J
Journal Journal of Experimental Psychology: General
Year 2021
Abstract Although the unity and diversity model of executive functions (EFs) has been replicated, there are some studies questioning the validity of the EFs construct. This debate can be partially resolved by directly combining the brain activity pattern in different executive control processes. Previous univariate activation studies have suggested that the neural substrates of different EFs (e.g., updating, inhibiting, and shifting) involve common and distinct brain regions. However, the underlying multivariate neural representation of EFs in terms of unity and diversity is still elusive. Here, we employed the n-back task, stop signal task, and category switching task to investigate the characteristic of the neural representation in the three EF domains. At the global level, multivoxel pattern analysis revealed that a three-way classifier built with global activation pattern successfully distinguished the three EF tasks. At the local level, although most overlapping activations exhibit lower neural representational similarity, the inferior frontal junction showed similar neural representation across the three EFs, which was further confirmed by searchlight analysis that additionally revealed other similar representational regions were located in the presupplementary motor area extend to dorsal midcingulate cortex. In addition, using machine learning-based predictive framework, the resting-state functional networks built with the representational regions of EFs predicted intellectual abilities to some extent in a large independent sample. These findings suggest that different EFs are characterized by dissociable global neural representation but also share similar local neural representation, which contributes to understanding the neural correlates of the unity and diversity of EFs from an integrated framework.
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Title The bright side and dark side of daydreaming predict creativity together through brain functional connectivity.
Author Sun, J., He, L., Chen, Q., Yang, W., Wei, D., & Qiu, J.
Journal Human Brain Mapping
Year 2021
Abstract Daydreaming and creativity have similar cognitive processes and neural basis. However, few empirical studies have examined the relationship between daydreaming and creativity using cognitive neuroscience methods. The present study explored the relationship between different types of daydreaming and creativity and their common neural basis. The behavioral results revealed that positive constructive daydreaming is positively related to creativity, while poor attentional control is negatively related to it. Machine learning framework was adopted to examine the predictive effect of daydreaming-related brain functional connectivity (FC) on creativity. The results demonstrated that task FCs related to positive constructive daydreaming and task FCs related to poor attentional control both predicted an individual's creativity score successfully. In addition, task FCs combining the positive constructive daydreaming and poor attentional control also had significant predictive effect on creativity score. Furthermore, predictive analysis based on resting-state FCs showed similar patterns. Both of the subscale-related FCs and combined FCs had significant predictive effect on creativity score. Further analysis showed the task and the resting-state FCs both mainly located in the default mode network, central executive network, salience network, and attention network. These results showed that daydreaming was closely related to creativity, as they shared common FC basis.
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Title Functional Connectome Prediction of Anxiety Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Author He, L., Wei, D., Yang, F., Zhang, J., Cheng, W., Feng, J., Yang, W., Zhuang, K., Chen, Q., Ren, Z., Li, Y., Wang, X., Mao, Y., Chen, Z., Liao, M., Cui, H., Li, C., He, Q., Lei, X., Feng, T., … Qiu, J.
Journal The American journal of psychiatry
Year 2021
Abstract Objective: Increased anxiety in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been widely noted. The purpose of this study was to test whether the prepandemic functional connectome predicted individual anxiety induced by the pandemic. Methods: Anxiety scores from healthy undergraduate students were collected during the severe and remission periods of the pandemic (first survey, February 22-28, 2020, N=589; second survey, April 24 to May 1, 2020, N=486). Brain imaging data and baseline (daily) anxiety ratings were acquired before the pandemic. The predictive performance of the functional connectome on individual anxiety was examined using machine learning and was validated in two external undergraduate student samples (N=149 and N=474). The clinical relevance of the findings was further explored by applying the connectome-based neuromarkers of pandemic-related anxiety to distinguish between individuals with specific mental disorders and matched healthy control subjects (generalized anxiety disorder, N=43; major depression, N=536; schizophrenia, N=72). Results: Anxiety scores increased from the prepandemic baseline to the severe stage of the pandemic and remained high in the remission stage. The prepandemic functional connectome predicted pandemic-related anxiety and generalized to the external sample but showed poor performance for predicting daily anxiety. The connectome-based neuromarkers of pandemic-related anxiety further distinguished between participants with generalized anxiety and healthy control subjects but were not useful for diagnostic classification in major depression and schizophrenia. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate the feasibility of using the functional connectome to predict individual anxiety induced by major stressful events (e.g., the current global health crisis), which advances our understanding of the neurobiological basis of anxiety susceptibility and may have implications for developing targeted psychological and clinical interventions that promote the reduction of stress and anxiety.
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Title The functional connectome predicts feeling of stress on regular days and during the COVID-19 pandemic
Author Liu,P., Yang, W., Zhuang, K., Wei, D., &Qiu, J.
Journal Neurobiology of Stress
Year 2021
Abstract Although many studies have explored the neural mechanism of the feeling of stress, to date, no effort has been made to establish a model capable of predicting the feeling of stress at the individual level using the resting-state functional connectome. Although individuals may be confronted with multidimensional stressors during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, their appraisal of the impact and severity of these events might vary. In this study, connectome-based predictive modeling (CPM) with leave-one-out cross-validation was conducted to predict individual perceived stress (PS) from whole-brain functional connectivity data from 817 participants. The results showed that the feeling of stress could be predicted by the interaction between the default model network and salience network, which are involved in emotion regulation and salience attribution, respectively. Key nodes that contributed to the prediction model comprised regions mainly located in the limbic systems and temporal lobe. Critically, the CPM model of PS based on regular days can be generalized to predict individual PS levels during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is a multidimensional, uncontrollable stressful situation. The stability of the results was demonstrated by two independent datasets. The present work not only expands existing knowledge regarding the neural mechanism of PS but also may help identify high-risk individuals in healthy populations.
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Title Unity and diversity of neural representation in executive functions.
Author He, L., Zhuang, K., Chen, Q., Wei, D., Chen, X., Fan, J., & Qiu, J.
Journal Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
Year 2021
Abstract Although the unity and diversity model of executive functions (EFs) has been replicated, there are some studies questioning the validity of the EFs construct. This debate can be partially resolved by directly combining the brain activity pattern in different executive control processes. Previous univariate activation studies have suggested that the neural substrates of different EFs (e.g., updating, inhibiting, and shifting) involve common and distinct brain regions. However, the underlying multivariate neural representation of EFs in terms of unity and diversity is still elusive. Here, we employed the n-back task, stop signal task, and category switching task to investigate the characteristic of the neural representation in the three EF domains. At the global level, multivoxel pattern analysis revealed that a three-way classifier built with global activation pattern successfully distinguished the three EF tasks. At the local level, although most overlapping activations exhibit lower neural representational similarity, the inferior frontal junction showed similar neural representation across the three EFs, which was further confirmed by searchlight analysis that additionally revealed other similar representational regions were located in the presupplementary motor area extend to dorsal midcingulate cortex. In addition, using machine learning-based predictive framework, the resting-state functional networks built with the representational regions of EFs predicted intellectual abilities to some extent in a large independent sample. These findings suggest that different EFs are characterized by dissociable global neural representation but also share similar local neural representation, which contributes to understanding the neural correlates of the unity and diversity of EFs from an integrated framework.
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Title Connectome-based evidence for creative thinking as an emergent property of ordinary cognitive operations.
Author Zhuang, K., Yang, W., Li, Y., Zhang, J., Chen, Q., Meng, J., Wei, D., Sun, J., He, L., Mao, Y., Wang, X., Vatansever, D., & Qiu, J.
Journal NeuroImage
Year 2020
Abstract Creative thinking is a hallmark of human cognition, which enables us to generate novel and useful ideas. Nevertheless, its emergence within the macro-scale neurocognitive circuitry remains largely unknown. Using resting-state fMRI data from two large population samples (SWU: n = 931; HCP: n = 1001) and a novel "travelling pattern prediction analysis", here we identified the modularized functional connectivity patterns linked to creative thinking ability, which concurrently explained individual variability across ordinary cognitive abilities such as episodic memory, working memory and relational processing. Further interrogation of this neural pattern with graph theoretical tools revealed both hub-like brain structures and globally-efficient information transfer paths that together may facilitate higher creative thinking ability through the convergence of distinct cognitive operations. Collectively, our results provide reliable evidence for the hypothesized emergence of creative thinking from core cognitive components through neural integration, and thus allude to a significant theoretical advancement in the study of creativity.
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Title Linking personality types to depressive symptoms: A prospective typology based on neuroticism, extraversion and conscientiousness.
Author Li, Y., He, L., Zhuang, K., Wu, X., Sun, J., Wei, D., & Qiu, J.
Journal Neuropsychologia
Year 2020
Abstract From a traditional variable-centered perspective, the personality traits specifically linked to depressive symptoms are neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness (NEC). Few studies have considered the interactive effects of personality traits within individuals from the taxonomic perspective. We explored novel NEC personality subtypes in general and subthreshold depressive subjects by using graph-based classification algorithms and multiple external validators. Personality and depressive symptoms were assessed in 1055 healthy subjects (150 with subthreshold depression) using the NEO-PI-R and BDI at baseline. NEC personality data were used to identify subtypes in healthy and subthreshold depressive samples, and external validators, including current and longitudinal depressive symptoms and seven subcortical gray matter volumes, were examined. Four novel NEC personality types in the general sample showed superior current and longitudinal behavioral validation of depressive symptoms as well as some discrimination in biological indicators (putamen, nucleus accumbens, and amygdala). Four profiles defined in subthreshold depression selectively exhibited meaningful differences in longitudinal depressive symptoms. In both samples, some types adhere to the principles previously described NEC three-way interaction. The resulting typology, especially the four types in the general population, linked depressive symptoms provided a superior description of within-person organization of neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness.
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Title Decreased inter-hemispheric interactions but increased intra-hemispheric integration during typical aging
Author Chen, Q., Xia, Y., Zhuang, K., Wu, X., Liu, G., & Qiu, J
Journal Aging-US
Year 2019
Abstract Normal aging is known to be accompanied by decreased segregation across the whole-brain functional network, which is associated with cognitive decline. Although compelling evidence supports reduced segregation and increased integration in whole-brain functional connectivity with aging, the age effect on the reorganization of large-scale functional networks at the hemispheric level remains unclear. Here, we aimed to examine age-related differences in inter-hemispheric interactions and intra-hemispheric integration by using resting-state functional MRI data of a healthy adult lifespan sample. The results showed that age-related decreases in inter-hemispheric integration were found in entire functional networks in both hemispheres, except for the sensorimotor network (SMN) and posterior default mode network (DMN). Specifically, aging was accompanied by increasing inter-hemispheric segregation in the left frontoparietal network (FPN) and left ventral attention network (VAN), as well as right-brain networks located in the auditory network (AN), visual network (VN), and temporal parts of the DMN. Moreover, aging was associated with increasing intra-hemispheric integration within the bilateral VN and posterior DMN while decreasing intra-hemispheric integration within the right VAN. These remarkable changes with aging confirm that there are dynamic interactions between functional networks across the lifespan and provide a means of investigating the mechanisms of cognitive aging.
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Title Brain Entropy is Associated with Divergent Thinking
Author Shi, L., Beaty, R., Chen, Q., Sun, J., ... & Qiu, J
Journal Cerebral Cortex
Year 2019
Abstract Creativity is the ability to generate original and useful products, and it is considered central to the progression of human civilization. As a non-inherited emerging process, creativity may stem from temporally dynamic brain activity, which, however, has not been well studied. The purpose of this study was to measure brain dynamics using entropy and to examine the associations between brain entropy (BEN) and divergent thinking in a large healthy sample. The results showed that divergent thinking was consistently positively correlated with regional BEN in the left dorsal anterior cingulate cortex/pre-supplementary motor area and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, suggesting that creativity is closely related to the functional dynamics of the control networks involved in cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control. Importantly, our main results were cross-validated in two independent cohorts from two different cultures. Additionally, three dimensions of divergent thinking (fluency, flexibility and originality) were positively correlated with regional BEN in the left inferior frontal gyrus and left middle temporal gyrus, suggesting that more highly creative individuals possess more flexible semantic associative networks. Taken together, our findings provide the first evidence of the associations of regional BEN with individual variations in divergent thinking and show that BEN is sensitive to detecting variations in important cognitive abilities in healthy subjects
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Title Brain hemispheric involvement in visuospatial and verbal divergent thinking.
Author Chen, Q., Beaty, R. E., Cui, Z., Sun, J., He, H., Zhuang, K., ... & Qiu, J.
Journal NeuroImage
Year 2019
Abstract Hemispheric lateralization for creative thinking remains a controversial topic. Early behavioral and neuroimaging research supported right hemisphere dominance in creative thinking, but more recent evidence suggests the left hemisphere plays an equally important role. In addition, the extent to which hemispheric lateralization in specific brain regions relates to individual creative ability, and whether hemispheric dominance relates to distinct task performance, remain poorly understood. Here, using multivariate predictive modeling of resting-state functional MRI data in a large sample of adults (N = 502), we estimated hemispheric segregation and integration for each brain region and investigated these lateralization indices with respect to individual differences in visuospatial and verbal divergent thinking. Our analyses revealed that individual visuospatial divergent thinking performance could be predicted by right-hemispheric segregation within the visual network, sensorimotor network, and some regions within the default mode network. High visuospatial divergent thinking was related to stronger functional connectivity between the visual network, fronto-parietal network, and default mode network within the right hemisphere. In contrast, high verbal divergent thinking performance could be predicted by inter-hemispheric balance within regions mainly involved in complex semantic processing (e.g., lateral temporal cortex and inferior frontal gyrus) and cognitive control processing (e.g., inferior frontal gyrus, middle frontal cortex, and superior parietal lobule). The current study suggests that two distinct forms of functional lateralization support individual differences in visuospatial and verbal divergent thinking. These findings have important implications for our understanding of hemispheric interaction mechanisms of creative thinking.
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Title Polygenic Score of Subjective Well-Being Is Associated with the Brain Morphology in Superior Temporal Gyrus and Insula.
Author Li Song,Jie Meng,Qiang Liu,Tengbin Huo,Xingxing Zhu, Yiman Li, Zhiting Ren,Xiao Wang, and Jiang Qiu
Journal NEUROSCIENCE
Year 2019
Abstract
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Title Brain flexibility associated with need for cognition contributes to creative achievement.
Author Li He, Kaixiang Zhuang, Yu Li, Jiangzhou Sun,Jie Meng,Wenfeng Zhu,Yu Mao,Qunlin Chen,Xiaoyi Chen,Jiang Qiu.
Journal PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY
Year 2019
Abstract Advances in graph-theoretic models of networks have made it possible to investigate the topological properties of the human brain across time and space. Brain flexibility is defined as the frequency with which brain regions switch between different functional modules over time and has been shown to correlate with higher-order cognitive functions. Need for cognition (NFC) refers to a personality trait to engage in and enjoy effortful cognitive endeavors and usually has a positive effect on diverse cognitive activities (e.g., creativity), which may also be closely related to brain flexibility. Here, we tested whether the flexibility of a large-scale brain network associated with NFC facilitated creative achievement. Robust correlation analyses showed that NFC correlates with the flexibility of the insula, the medial prefrontal cortex, and the putamen at the node level. Several large-scale brain networks whose flexibility also correlated with NFC, including the default mode network, salience network, subcortical network, ventral attention network, and control network, imply that higher NFC individuals may exhibit better cognitive abilities, such as executive control, salient detection, spontaneous thought, and motivation function. Interestingly, only global flexibility acted as a mediator in the relationship between NFC and creative achievement, suggesting that the mediating mechanism may involve an interaction between distinct regions or large-scale networks across the entire brain instead of the functional characteristic of local regions. Together, we demonstrate that the higher NFC is, the more flexible the brain, which may provide a potential insight into the acquisition of creative achievement.
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Title Neural and genetic mechanisms of creative potential
Author Ren, Z., Yang, W., & Qiu, J
Journal Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences
Year 2019
Abstract Creative potential exists in everyone and it has pervasively penetrated into our daily life. A series of recently studies have shed new light on the issue of how the brain produces creative potential and how genes affect it. The present study systematically explored the genetic and brain basis of creative potential. In terms of brain level, a wide range of brain regions in the structure and function are involved in creative potential. In terms of heredity level, genes involved in dopamine (DA) transmission such as the catechol-O-methyltransferase gene (COMT) and the dopamine D2 receptor gene (DRD2) have been considered as potential candidates for creative potential. Further, some trends of future research are pointed out for advancing our understanding of creative potential.
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Title Verbal Creativity Correlates with the Temporal Variability of Brain Networks During the Resting State.
Author Sun, J., Liu, Z., Rolls, E. T., Chen, Q., Yao, Y., Yang, W., ... & Qiu, J.
Journal Cerebral Cortex
Year 2019
Abstract Creativity is the ability to see the world in new ways. Creative individuals exhibit the ability to switch between different modes of thinking and shift their mental focus. This suggests a connection between creativity and dynamic interactions of brain networks. We report here the first investigation into the relationship between the reconfiguration of dynamic brain networks during the resting state and verbal creativity using two fMRI datasets involving 574 subjects. We find that verbal creativity correlates with temporal variability of the functional-connectivity (FC) patterns of the lateral prefrontal cortex, the precuneus, and the parahippocampal gyrus. High variability of these regions indicates flexible connectivity patterns which may facilitate executive functions. Furthermore, verbal creativity correlates with the temporal variability of FC patterns within the default mode network (DMN), between the DMN and attention/sensorimotor network, and between control and sensory networks. High variability of FCs between the DMN and attention networks characterizes frequent adjustments of attention. Finally, dynamic interaction between the cerebellum and task control network also contributes to verbal creativity, suggesting a relationship between the cerebellum and creativity. This study reveals a close relationship between verbal creativity and high variability of cortical networks involved in spontaneous thought, attention and cognitive control.
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Title The important role of dacc in shyness.
Author Mao, Y. , Meng, J. , Ding, C. , Wei, D. , & Qiu, J
Journal Brain Imaging and Behavior
Year 2019
Abstract Shyness is often characterized by the avoidance of social contact, the fear of other people’s evaluations and a lack of self-esteem. Generally, individuals with high levels of shyness are more likely to suffer from psychosomatic stress and social anxiety. However, the structural brain basis of individual shyness among healthy people has not yet been investigated with DTI (diffusion tensor imaging). Thus, in this study, we investigated the relationship between FA (fractional anisotropy), WMV (white matter volume), GMV (gray matter volume) and shyness in a large healthy sample of 318 college students. Multiple regression was used to analyze the correlations among regional FA, WMV, GMV and shyness, adjusting for age, sex, and total intracranial volume. The results showed that shyness was significantly, negatively associated with FA, WMV and GMV in a cluster that included the dACC (dorsal anterior cingulate cortex) and the MCC (middle cingulate cortex) and was significantly positively associated with the GMV in the IPL (inferior parietal lobule), an effect that may have been related to the weaker ability to regulate emotion in these participants and their state of being overly worried about others’ evaluations. Finally, mediation analyses revealed that the correlation between shyness and psychosomatic stress was mediated by a region including the dACC and the MCC
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Title Plasticity of the resting-state brain: static and dynamic functional connectivity change induced by divergent thinking training.
Author Sun, J., Zhang, Q., Li, Y., Meng, J., Chen, Q., Yang, W., ... & Qiu, J
Journal Brain imaging and behavior
Year 2019
Abstract Creativity is very important and is linked to almost all areas of our everyday life. Improving creativity brings great benefits. Various strategies and training paradigms have been used to stimulate creative thinking. These training approaches have been confirmed to be effective. However, whether or not training can reshape the resting-state brain is still unclear. The present study examined whether or not the divergent thinking training intervention can reshape the resting-state brain functional connectivity (FC). Static seed-based and dynamic approaches were used to explore this problem. Results demonstrate significant changes in static and dynamic FCs. FCs, such as dorsal anterior cingulate cortex-inferior parietal lobule, dorsal anterior cingulate cortexprecuneus and left and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, was significantly improved through the training. Furthermore, the temporal variability of the supplementary motor area and middle temporal gyrus was improved. These results indicate that divergent thinking training may lead to resting-state brain plasticity. Considering the role of these regions in brain networks, the present study further confirms the close relationship between the brain networks’ dynamic interactions and divergent thinking processes
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Title Tracking the dynamic functional connectivity structure of the human brain across the adult lifespan
Author Xia, Y., Chen, Q., Shi, L., Li, M., Gong, W., Chen, H., & Qiu, J.
Journal Human brain mapping
Year 2019
Abstract The transition from early adulthood to older is marked by pronounced functional and structural brain transformations that impact cognition and behaviour. Here, we use dynamic functional network connectivity method to examine resting state functional network changes over aging process. In general, the features of dynamic functional states are generally varying across ages, such as the frequency of expression and the amount of time spent in the certain state. Increasing age is associated with less variability of functional state across time at rest period. From age point of view, examining the age-related difference of topology index revealed 19-30 age range has the significant largest global efficiency, largest local efficiency of default-mode network (DMN), cognitive control network (CCN) and salience network (SN). As for functional states, one state displayed the whole positive connectivity, in the meantime, it has the largest global efficiency and local efficiency of three subnetworks. Besides, the frequency of another state was negatively correlated to the box block (The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale subset, which is thought to evaluate fine motor skills, processing speed, and visuospatial ability), while positively correlated with age, and the box block was inversely correlated to age. The results suggested that cognitive aging may be characterized by the dynamic functional network connectivity. Taken together, these findings suggested the importance of a dynamic approach to understanding cognitive aging in lifespan
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Title The error-related negativity for error processing in interoception
Author Yafei Tan, Jolien Vandeput, Jiang Qiu, Omer Van den Bergh, Andreas von Leupoldt
Journal NeuroImage
Year 2019
Abstract The error-related negativity (ERN) is an event-related potential in the electroencephalogram (EEG) observed within the first 100 ms after commission of an error. Increased ERN amplitudes have been observed in several psychological disorders characterized by high negative affect. While the ERN has extensively been studied in tasks using exteroceptive stimuli, its relation to interoceptive stimuli is unknown. Since errors related to interoception might be particularly relevant for survival and negative affect, this study aimed to explore the ERN for errors related to interoceptive, respiratory sensations (intERN). Moreover, we compared the intERN with a commonly observed ERN related to exteroceptive, visual stimuli (extERN) and examined their associations with interoception-related negative affect. We studied the ERN using a respiratory occlusion task (intERN) and a visual flanker task (extERN) in 40 healthy volunteers during continuous 129 channel EEG recordings. In the occlusion task, participants received inspiratory occlusions of two different durations and indicated whether each occlusion was short or long. In the Flanker task, participants indicated the direction of arrowheads. Interoception-related negative affect was assessed with the Anxiety Sensitivity Index. Comparable with the extERN, the intERN was observed at fronto-central scalp positions after error commission in the occlusion task, but it peaked significantly earlier than the extERN. Mean amplitudes of the intERN and extERN showed no significant difference and were not correlated. Moreover, higher levels of anxiety sensitivity were correlated with significantly greater amplitudes of the intERN, but with lower amplitudes of the extERN. The present results firstly demonstrate an error-related negativity EEG-potential that is related to interoceptive sensations (intERN). This intERN is not associated with a commonly observed ERN elicited by exteroceptive stimuli and is distinctly linked to higher levels of interoceptionrelated negative affect. The intERN might be a promising neural marker for future studies on interoception, negative affect and error processing.
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Title Brain connection pattern under interoceptive attention state predict interoceptive intensity and subjective anxiety feeling.
Author Wu, X., Shi, L., Wei, D., & Qiu, J
Journal Human brain mapping
Year 2019
Abstract Interoception involves the processing of a variety of different types of information ascending from the body. Accumulating evidence has indicated that interoception plays a fundamental role in cognitive and emotional processes, such as anxiety, but how different functional connectivity patterns contribute to emotions and visceral feelings during an interoceptive attention state is still unclear. In the present study, an interoceptive attention task was performed during functional magnetic resonance imaging of healthy subjects, and the participants' subjective ratings of the intensity of interoception and feelings of anxiety were recorded. Several network nodes were selected, based on previous studies, to construct task-dependent functional connectivity patterns, which were processed by support vector regression to predict the corresponding feeling scores. The results showed that for interoception, the cingulo-opercular task control network provided the greatest contribution, whereas the most important feature for anxiety was the connections between the sensorimotor area (SSM) and the salience network (SN). There existed four overlapping connections between the two predictions: two negative connections between the default mode network (DMN) and the SSM, one negative connection between the DMN and the SN, and one positive connection between the ventral attention network and the SN; this overlap might suggest common bodily attention processing that is involved in both interoception and anxiety. This study remediates the lack of network-level biomarkers of interoception and provides a reference at the level of the brain for further understanding anxiety from an interoceptive perspective
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Title Personality traits are related with dynamic functional connectivity in major depression disorder: A resting-state analysis.
Author Wu, X., He, H., Shi, L., Xia, Y., Zuang, K., Feng, Q.,& Qiu, J
Journal Journal of affective disorders
Year 2019
Abstract Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most well-known psychiatric disorders, which can be destructive for its damage to people’s normal cognitive, emotional and social functions. Personality refers to the unique and stable character of thinking and behavior style of an individual, which has long been thought as a key influence factor for MDD. Although some knowledge about the common neural basic between MDD and personality traits has been acquired, there are few studies exploring dynamic neural mechanism behind them, which changes brain connectivity pattern rapidly to adapt to the environment over time. Methods: In this study, the emerging dynamic functional network connectivity (DFNC) method was used in resting-state fMRI data to find the differences between healthy group (N=107) and MDD group (N=109) in state-based dynamic measures, and the correlations between these measures and personality traits (extraversion and neuroticism in Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, EPQ) were explored. Results: The results showed that MDD was significantly less than the health control group in dwell time and fraction time of state 4, which was positively correlated with extraversion score and negatively correlated with neuroticism score. Further exploration on state 4 showed that it had low modularity, hyper-connectedness of sensory-related regions and DMN, and weak connections between cortex and subcortical areas, which suggested that the absence of this state in MDD might represent a decrease in activity and positive emotions. Conclusion: We found the dynamic functional connectivity mechanism underlying MDD, confirmed our hypothesis that there existed the interacted relationship between trait, disease and the brain's dynamic characteristic, and suggested some reference for treatment of depression
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Title The reductions in the subcallosal region cortical volume and surface area in major depressive disorder across the adult life span
Author Dongtao Wei, Kangcheng Wang, Jie Meng, Kaixiang Zhuang, Qunlin Chen, Wenjing Yan, Peng Xie*, and Jiang Qiu*
Journal Psychological Medicine
Year 2019
Abstract Background. Imaging studies have shown that the subcallosal region (SCR) volume was decreased in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). However, whether the volumetric reductions in the SCR are due to thinning of the cortex or a loss of surface area (SA) remains unclear. In addition, the relationship between cortical measurements of the SCR and age through the adult life span in MDD remains unclear. Methods. We used a cross-sectional design from 114 individuals with MDD and 112 matched healthy control (HC) individuals across the adult life span (range: 18–74 years). The mean cortical volume (CV), SA and cortical thickness (CT) of the SCR were computed using cortical parcellation based on FreeSurfer software. Multivariate analyses of covariance models were performed to compare differences between the MDD and HC groups on cortical measurements of the SCR. Multiple linear regression models were used to test age-by-group interaction effects on these cortical measurements of the SCR. Results. The MDD had significant reductions in the CV and SA of the left SCR compared with HC individuals after controlling of other variables. The left SCR CV and SA reductions compared with matched controls were observed only in early adulthood patients. We also found a significant age-related CT reduction in the SCR both in the MDD and HC participants. Conclusions. The SCR volume reduction was mainly driven by SA in MDD. The different trajectories between the CT and SA of the SCR with age may provide valuable information to distinguish pathological processes and normal ageing in MDD.
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Title Recover from the adversity:Functional connectivity basis of psychological resilience.
Author Shi, L. , Sun, J. , & Qiu, J
Journal Neuropsychologia
Year 2019
Abstract Psychological resilience refers to the ability that individuals can positively adapt and respond to stress and adversity. It is important for mental health and well-being. However, there was few study examined the functional connectivity basis of psychological resilience. The present study used resting-state seed-based functional connectivity to explore the neural basis of psychological resilience and its association with positive affect in a big healthy sample. Results showed that resilience is associated with functional connectivity between regions involved in emotional flexibility, coping ability, and inhibitory control. Specifically, resilience is positively correlated with the strength of the left insula and the right parahippocampus connectivity which is involved in the self-evaluation process. It is also positively correlated with the strength of the left orbitofrontal gyrus (OFC) and the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) connectivity which is associated with the flexible use of emotional resources and flexible control in processing affective information. Additionally, resilience is negatively correlated with the strength of the left OFC and the right precuneus connectivity which is implicated in the rumination in negatively self-related thoughts. Crucially, the left OFC-IFG connectivity mediated the effect of positive affect on resilience, supporting the opinion that positive affect facilitates resilience by broadening one's attention and promoting flexible thinking and coping abilities. In summary, these findings extend previous studies by revealing the functional connectivity basis of psychological resilience and highlighting the left OFC-IFG connectivity as a neural substrate linking positive affect and psychological resilience
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Title Openness to experience and psychophysiological interaction patterns during divergent thinking.
Author Sun, J., Shi, L., Chen, Q., Yang, W., Wei, D., Zhang, J., ... & Qiu, J
Journal Brain imaging and behavior
Year 2018
Abstract Creativity is the ability to produce something novel and useful. Various tasks have been used to explore the neural bases of creativity. However, studies exploring the relationship between the brain regions during divergent thinking are still rare. Given that the brain works in networks, exploring the functional connectivity (FC) patterns during divergent thinking is important. The present study explored the FC patterns during alternative uses task and its relationship with openness to experience. Psychophysiological interaction results corroborated that the inferior parietal lobule was positively connected to the precuneus and middle temporal gyrus. Middle frontal gyrus/superior frontal gyrus was positively connected to the precuneus and supramarginal gyrus. Individual difference analysis revealed that openness to experience was positively related to the strength of FCs between some key regions of default mode, cognitive control and salience networks. Findings confirmed the networkbased mechanisms underlying creativity and the neural basis of individual differences of openness to experience
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Title Abnormal rsFC and GMV changes in parahippocampal and DLPFC for high Déjà vu experienced subjects.
Author Qiu, J., Xia, Y., He, L., Chen, Q., Sang, N., Liu, W., & Li, H
Journal Biological psychology
Year 2018
Abstract How déjà vu works has long been a mystery, partially because of its characteristics of unpredictable occurrences and quick disappearances, which make it difficult to be explored. Previous studies have described the anatomical structures underlying déjà vu in healthy subjects; however, the functional mechanism of déjà vu remains unclear. Therefore, this study investigated the brain structural and functional components underlying déjà vu by combining voxel-based morphometry analysis (VBM) with resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC). The VBM analysis revealed that the anterior parahippocampal gyrus (PHG) had significantly less grey matter volume (GMV) in high déjà vu group than low group, confirming previous studies. Further functional connectivity analysis revealed that the frequency of déjà vu experiences was negatively correlated with the strength of the rsFC between anterior dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and anterior PHG but positively correlated with the strength of the rsFC between posterior DLPFC and posterior PHG. Moreover, the frequency of déjà vu experiences was negatively correlated with the strength of the rsFC between the anterior and posterior regions of the PHG. These findings indicated that familiarity without recollection (PHG) and superior context monitoring (DLPFC) are critical for real-life déjà vu experiences
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Title Structural and functional brain scans from the cross-sectional Southwest University adult lifespan dataset
Author Dongtao Wei, Kaixiang Zhuang, Lei Ai, Qunlin Chen, Wenjing Yan, Wei Liu, Kangcheng Wang, Jiangzhou Sun, and Jiang Qiu*
Journal Scientific Data
Year 2018
Abstract Recently, the field of developmental neuroscience has aimed to uncover the developmental trajectory of the human brain and to understand the changes that occur as a function of ageing. Here, we present a dataset of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data covering the adult lifespan that includes structural MRI and resting-state functional MRI. Four hundred ninety-four healthy adults (age range: 19-80 years; Males = 187) were recruited and completed two multi-modal MRI scan sessions at the Brain Imaging Center of Southwest University, Chongqing, China. The goals of the dataset are to give researchers the opportunity to map the developmental trajectories of structural and functional changes in the human brain and to replicate previous findings
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Title Predicting trait-like individual differences in fear of pain in the healthy state using gray matter volume.
Author Wang, X., Baeken, C., Fang, M., Qiu, J., Chen, H., & Wu, G. R
Journal Brain imaging and behavior
Year 2018
Abstract Fear of pain (FOP) can be considered as a product of evolution from overstated negative interpretations of pain and sometimes may cause more damage than the actual pain itself. While trait-like measures of FOP have emerged as predictors for the inception and development of chronic pain, its neural underpinnings are not well understood. To investigate the relationship between gray matter volumes (GMV) and trait-like individual differences in FOP, we analyzed structural magnetic resonance imaging data in a sample of healthy young adults. Regression analysis results showed that individuals with higher FOP scores displayed higher GMV in brain regions important for the regulation of pain and fear. These brain areas include the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), the anterior part of the dorsal ACC, the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, and the adjacent pre-supplementary motor area. Furthermore, cross-validation analysis confirmed that the identified regional GMV offered a reliable neural signature of trait-like FOP. Our findings shed more light on the neuroanatomical architecture of FOP in currently pain-free people, which may be helpful to guide early interventions to prevent FOP from becoming chronic.
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Title Brain networks of happiness: dynamic functional connectivity among the default, cognitive and salience networks relates to subjective well-being.
Author Liang, S. , Jiangzhou, S. , Xinran, W. , Dongtao, W. , Qunlin, C. , & Wenjing, Y. , et al
Journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
Year 2018
Abstract Subjective well-being (SWB) reflects the cognitive and emotional evaluations of an individual’s life and plays an important role in individual’s success in health, work and social relationships. Although previous studies have revealed the spontaneous brain activity underlying SWB, little is known about the relationship between brain network interactions and SWB. The present study investigated the static and dynamic functional connectivity among large-scale brain networks during resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in relation to SWB in two large independent datasets. The results showed that SWB is negatively correlated with static functional connectivity between the salience network (SN) and the anterior default mode network (DMN). Dynamic functional network connectivity (dFNC) analysis found that SWB is negatively correlated with the fraction of time that participants spent in a brain state characterized by weak cross-network connectivity (between the DMN, SN and frontal–parietal network [FPN]) and strong within-network connectivity (within the DMN and within the FPN). This connectivity profle may account for the good mental adaptability and flexible information communication of people with high levels of SWB. The dFNC results were well replicated with different analysis parameters and further validated in an independent sample. Taken together, these fndings reveal that the dynamic interaction between networks involved in self-reflection, emotional regulation and cognitive control underlies SWB
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Title Large-scale brain network connectivity underlying creativity in resting-state and task fmri: cooperation between default network and frontal-parietal network.
Author Shi, L. , Sun, J. , Ren, Z. , Chen, Q. , Wei, D. , & Yang, W. , et al
Journal Biological Psychology
Year 2018
Abstract Creativity is imperative to social development and the promotion of well-being. Here, independent component analysis and functional network connectivity analysis methods were applied to both resting-state and divergent thinking task fMRI data from the same sample to investigate large-scale brain network connectivity underlying creativity. The results showed that the strength of the connectivity between the posterior default mode network (DMN) and right frontal-parietal network (FPN) was significantly greater whereas the right FPN and left FPN connectivity strength was weaker in the creative condition than in the control condition. In addition, the posterior DMN and right FPN connectivity strength in the divergent thinking task was positively correlated with the connectivity strength between anterior DMN and left FPN during the resting-state. Moreover, the anterior DMN and left FPN connectivity strength during the resting-state was posit ively correlated with the originality score derived from divergent thinking task. Taken together, these findings extend previous research by revealing the cooperation between the DMN and FPN involved in creative thinking during both resting-state and task fMRI and provide insights into the prediction of creative thinking performance through brain network connectivity during resting-state and task fMRI in the future
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Title Robust prediction of individual creative ability from brain functional connectivity
Author Roger E. Beaty, Yoed N. Kenett, Alexander P. Christensen, Monica D. Rosenberg, Mathias Benedek, Qunlin Chen, Andreas Fink, Jiang Qiu, Thomas R. Kwapil, Michael J. Kane, and Paul J. Silvia
Journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Year 2018
Abstract People’s ability to think creatively is a primary means of technological and cultural progress, yet the neural architecture of the highly creative brain remains largely undefined. Here, we employed a recently developed method in functional brain imaging analysis—connectome-based predictive modeling—to identify a brain network associated with high-creative ability, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data acquired from 163 participants engaged in a classic divergent thinking task. At the behavioral level, we found a strong correlation between creative thinking ability and self-reported creative behavior and accomplishment in the arts and sciences (r = 0.54). At the neural level, we found a pattern of functional brain connectivity related to high-creative thinking ability consisting of frontal and parietal regions within default, salience, and executive brain systems. In a leave-one-out cross-validation analysis, we show that this neural model can reliably predict the creative quality of ideas generated by novel participants within the sample. Furthermore, in a series of external validation analyses using data from two independent task fMRI samples and a large task-free resting-state fMRI sample, we demonstrate robust prediction of individual creative thinking ability from the same pattern of brain connectivity. The findings thus reveal a wholebrain network associated with high-creative ability comprised of cortical hubs within default, salience, and executive systems—intrinsic functional networks that tend to work in opposition—suggesting that highly creative people are characterized by the ability to simultaneously engage these large-scale brain networks.
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Title Only-child and non-only-child exhibit differences in creativity and agreeableness: evidence from behavioral and anatomical structural studies
Author Yang JY, Hou X, Wei DT, Wang KC, Li Y, Qiu J
Journal Brain imaging and behavior
Year 2017
Abstract Behavior and “Neuroscience shows that our gut instincts about only children are right”-more creativity but less agreeableness
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Title Longitudinal test-retest neuroimaging data from healthy young adults in southwest China
Author Liu W, Wei DT, Chen QL, Yang WJ, Meng J, Wu GR,Qiu J
Journal Scientific Data
Year 2017
Abstract The SLIM project tracked 3-years longitudinal change of brain and behavior for 581 participants (over 1000 scans) and released the collection of high-resolution MRI, and a carefully collection of behavior, cognitive and personality data. Each neuroimaging dataset includes at least one structural images, one resting-state MRI and one diffusion weighted imaging acquisition.
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Title The cooperation of the default and executive control networks contributes to creativity
Author Zhu WF,Chen QL,Xia L,Beaty.R , Yang WJ,Tian F
Journal Human Brain Mapping
Year 2017
Abstract Creativity is imperative to the progression of human civilization, prosperity, and well-being. Past creative researches tends to emphasize the default mode network (DMN) or the frontoparietal network (FPN) somewhat exclusively. However, little is known about how these networks interact to contribute to creativity and whether common or distinct brain networks are responsible for visual and verbal creativity. read more >>>
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Title Longitudinal Alterations of Frontoparietal and Frontotemporal Networks Predict Future Creative Cognitive Ability
Author Chen QL,Roger E. Beaty, Wei DT, Yang JY, Sun JZ, Liu W, Yang WJ,Zhang QL,Qiu J
Journal Cerebral Cortex
Year 2016
Abstract Creative cognition is important to academic performance and career success during late adolescence and adulthood. However, there is a lack of longitudinal data on whether brain structural development could predict improvements in creative thinking, and how such changes interact with other cognitive abilities to support creative performance. Here we examined longitudinal alterations of brain structure and their relation to creative cognitive ability in a sample of 159 healthy young adults who were scanned using magnetic resonance imaging 2–3 times over the course of 3 years. The most robust predictor of future creative ability was the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), which in conjunction with baseline creative capacity showed a 31% prediction rate. Longitudinal analysis revealed that slower decreases in gray matter density within left frontoparietal and right frontotemporal clusters predicted enhanced creative ability. Moreoever, the relationship between longitudinal alterations within frontal-related clusters and improved creative ability was moderated by the right DLPFC and working memory ability. We conclude that continuous goal-directed planning and accumulated knowledge are implemented in the right DLPFC and temporal areas, respectively, which in turn support longitudinal gains in creative cognitive ability.
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Title Medial reward and lateral non-reward orbitofrontal cortex circuits change in opposite directions in depression
Author Cheng W, Edmund T. Rolls,Qiu J ,Liu W,Tang YQ,Chu-Chung Huang,XinFa Wang, Jie Zhang, Wei Lin,Lirong Zheng,JunCai Pu,Shih-Jen Tsai,Albert C. Yang,Ching-Po Lin,Fei Wang,Peng Xie ,Jianfeng Feng
Journal BRAIN
Year 2016
Abstract The first brain-wide voxel-level resting state functional connectivity neuroimaging analysis of depression is reported, with 421 patients with major depressive disorder and 488 control subjects. Resting state functional connectivity between different voxels reflects correlations of activity between those voxels and is a fundamental tool in helping to understand the brain regions with altered connectivity and function in depression. One major circuit with altered functional connectivity involved the medial orbitofrontal cortex Brodmann area 13, which is implicated in reward, and which had reduced functional connectivity in depression with memory systems in the parahippocampal gyrus and medial temporal lobe, especially involving the perirhinal cortex Brodmann area 36 and entorhinal cortex Brodmann area 28. The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale scores were correlated with weakened functional connectivity of the medial orbitofrontal cortex Brodmann area 13. Thus in depression there is decreased reward-related and memory system functional connectivity, and this is related to the depressed symptoms. The lateral orbitofrontal cortex Brodmann area 47/12, involved in non-reward and punishing events, did not have this reduced functional connectivity with memory systems. Second, the lateral orbitofrontal cortex Brodmann area 47/12 had increased functional connectivity with the precuneus, the angular gyrus, and the temporal visual cortex Brodmann area 21. This enhanced functional connectivity of the nonreward/punishment system (Brodmann area 47/12) with the precuneus (involved in the sense of self and agency), and the angular gyrus (involved in language) is thus related to the explicit affectively negative sense of the self, and of self-esteem, in depression. A comparison of the functional connectivity in 185 depressed patients not receiving medication and 182 patients receiving medication showed that the functional connectivity of the lateral orbitofrontal cortex Brodmann area 47/12 with these three brain areas was lower in the medicated than the unmedicated patients. This is consistent with the hypothesis that the increased functional connectivity of the lateral orbitofrontal cortex Brodmann area 47/12 is related to depression. Relating the changes in cortical connectivity to our understanding of the functions of different parts of the orbitofrontal cortex in emotion helps to provide new insight into the brain changes related to depression.
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Title Training Your Brain to Be More Creative: Brain Functional and Structural Changes Induced by Divergent Thinking Training
Author Sun JZ,Chen QL,Zhang QL,LI YD,Li HJ,Wei DT,Yang WJ,Qiu j
Journal Human Brain Mapping
Year 2016
Abstract Creativity is commonly defined as the ability to produce something both novel and useful.Stimulating creativity has great significance for both individual success and social improvement.Although increasing creative capacity has been confirmed to be possible and effective at the behavioral level, few longitudinal studies have examined the extent to which the brain function and structure underlying creativity are plastic. A cognitive stimulation (20 sessions) method was used in the present study to train subjects and to explore the neuroplasticity induced by training. The behavioral results revealed that both the originality and the fluency of divergent thinking were significantly improved by training. Furthermore, functional changes induced by training were observed in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and posterior brain regions. Moreover, the gray matter volume (GMV) was significantly increased in the dACC after divergent thinking training. These results suggest that the enhancement of creativity may rely not only on the posterior brain regions that are related to the fundamental cognitive processes of creativity (e.g., semantic processing, generating novel associations), but also on areas that are involved in top-down cognitive control, such as the dACC and DLPFC.
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Title Our new structure MRI study supports The Imbalance Hypothesis of Depression
Author Liu W, Mao Y, Wei DT, Yang JY, Du X, Xie P, Qiu j
Journal Neuroscience Bulletin
Year 2016
Abstract Structural Asymmetry of Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Correlates with Depressive Symptoms: Evidence from Healthy Individuals and Patients with Major Depressive Disorder
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Title Prediction of trait and state anxiety by using the resting state fMRI: a longitudinal study
Author Tian X,Wei DT, Xue Du, Kangcheng Wang, Junyi Yang, Wei Liu, Jie Meng, Huijuan Liu, Guangyuan Liu, Jiang Qiu
Journal NeuroImage
Year 2016
Abstract Anxiety is a multidimensional construct that includes stable trait anxiety and momentary state anxiety, which have a combined effect on our mental and physical well being. However, the relationship between intrinsic brain activity and the feeling of anxiety, particularly trait and state anxiety, remain unclear. In this study, we used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) (amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo)) to determine the effects of intrinsic brain activity on stable inter-individual trait anxiety and intra-individual state anxiety variability in a cross-sectional and test-retest study. We found that at both time points, the trait anxiety score was significantly associated with intrinsic brain activity (both the ALFF and ReHo) in the right ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and ALFF of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex/anterior midcingulate cortex (dACC/aMCC). More importantly, the change in intrinsic brain activity in the right insula was predictive of intra-individual state anxiety variability over a 9-month interval. The test-retest nature of this study’s design could provide an opportunity to distinguish between the intrinsic brain activity associated with state and trait anxiety. These results could deepen our understanding of anxiety from a neuroscientific perspective
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Title Abnormal Degree Centrality of Functional Hubs Associated with Negative Coping in Older--Chinese Adults Who Lost Their Only Child
Author Liu W, Huijuan Liu, Dongtao Wei, Jiangzhou Sun , Junyi Yang, , Jie Meng ,Lihong Wang , Jiang Qiu
Journal Biological Psychology
Year 2015
Abstract Brain imaging revealed the “SCAR” on the brain of parents who lost their only child
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Title Individual differences in rumination in healthy and depressive samples: association with brain structure, functional connectivity and depression
Author Wang KC, Wei DT, Yang JY, Xie Peng, Hao X, Qiu J
Journal Psychological Medicine
Year 2015
Abstract Background. Rumination is an important cognitive risk factor for onset and relapse of depression. However, no studies have employed a dimensional approach in investigating the neural correlates of rumination and the relationship with depression. Method. Non-clinical healthy subjects (n = 306), who completed the classical rumination and depression scales, were studied using voxel-based morphometry and regional homogeneity (ReHo). Subsequently, mediation analysis was conducted to examine the influence of rumination on the relationship between brain structure and depression. Moreover, depressive patients (n = 60) and a control group (n = 63) of comparable age and education were studied with regions of interest that were identified in the healthy individuals. Results. For healthy individuals, regional grey-matter volume (rGMV) of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and parahippocampal gyrus (PHG) were positively correlated with rumination. In addition, rumination had a mediating effect on the relationship between the DLPFC and PHG and depression. Moreover, ReHo analysis showed that rumination had a significantly negative correlation with functional homogeneity of DLPFC. However, compared to the control group, depressed patients showed significant decrease of rGMV in the DLPFC and PHG and there was a significant negative correlation between DLPFC volume and depressive rumination. Conclusions. Increased DLPFC volume (decreased ReHo) in healthy individuals while decreased in depression indicated the trend of DLPFC from inefficient inhibition (‘overload state’) to impaired regulatory mechanism (‘paralysis state’). This finding might elucidate when and why healthy individuals would develop sustained negative mood and depression eventually.
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Title A meta- analysis of neuroimaging studies on divergent thinking using activation likelihood estimation
Author Wu X, Yang WJ, Tong DD, Sun JZ, Chen QL, Zhang M, Qiu J
Journal Human Brain Mapping
Year 2015
Abstract In this study, an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis was used to conduct a quantitative investigation of neuroimaging studies on divergent thinking. Based on the ALE results, the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies showed that distributed brain regions were more active under divergent thinking tasks (DTTs) than those under control tasks, but a large portion of the brain regions were deactivated. The ALE results indicated that the brain networks of the creative idea generation in DTTs may be composed of the lateral prefrontal cortex, posterior parietal cortex [such as the inferior parietal lobule (BA 40) and precuneus (BA 7)], anterior cingulate cortex (BA 32), and several regions in the temporal cortex [such as the left middle temporal gyrus (BA 39) and left fusiform gyrus (BA 37)]. The left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (BA 47) was related to selecting the loosely and remotely associated concepts and organizing them into creative ideas, whereas the anterior cingulate cortex (BA 32) was related to observing and forming distant semantic associations in performing DTTs. The posterior parietal cortex may be involved in the semantic information related to the retrieval and buffering of the formed creative ideas, and several regions in the temporal cortex may be related to the stored long-term memory. In addition, the ALE results of the structural studies showed that divergent thinking was related to the dopaminergic system (e.g., left caudate and claustrum). Based on the ALE results, both fMRI and structural MRI studies could uncover the neural basis of divergent thinking from different aspects (e.g., specific cognitive processing and stable individual difference of cognitive capability).
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Title Brain structures and functional connectivity associated with individual differences in Internet tendency in healthy young adults
Author Li WW, Li YD, Yang WJ, Zhang QL, Wei DT, Li WF, Hitchman G, Qiu J
Journal Neuropsychologia
Year 2015
Abstract Internet addiction (IA) incurs significant social and financial costs in the form of physical side-effects, academic and occupational impairment, and serious relationship problems. The majority of previous studies on Internet addiction disorders (IAD) have focused on structural and functional abnormalities, while few studies have simultaneously investigated the structural and functional brain alterations underlying individual differences in IA tendencies measured by questionnaires in a healthy sample. Here we combined structural (regional gray matter volume, rGMV) and functional (resting-state functional connectivity, rsFC) information to explore the neural mechanisms underlying IAT in a large sample of 260 healthy young adults. The results showed that IAT scores were significantly and positively correlated with rGMV in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC, one key node of the cognitive control network, CCN), which might reflect reduced functioning of inhibitory control. More interestingly, decreased anticorrelations between the right DLPFC and the medial prefrontal cortex/rostral anterior cingulate cortex (mPFC/rACC, one key node of the default mode network, DMN) were associated with higher IAT scores, which might be associated with reduced efficiency of the CCN and DMN (e.g., diminished cognitive control and self-monitoring). Furthermore, the Stroop interference effect was positively associated with the volume of the DLPFC and with the IA scores, as well as with the connectivity between DLPFC and mPFC, which further indicated that rGMV variations in the DLPFC and decreased anticonnections between the DLPFC and mPFC may reflect addiction-related reduced inhibitory control and cognitive efficiency. These findings suggest the combination of structural and functional information can provide a valuable basis for further understanding of the mechanisms and pathogenesis of IA.
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Title The correlation between Emotional Intelligence and gray matter volume in university students. Brain and cognition
Author Tan YF, Zhang, Q., Li, W., Wei, D., Qiao, L., Qiu, J., ... & Liu, Y.
Journal Brain and Cognition
Year 2014
Abstract A number of recent studies have investigated the neurological substrates of Emotional Intelligence (EI),but none of them have considered the neural correlates of EI that are measured using the Schutte SelfReport Emotional Intelligence Scale (SSREIS). This scale was developed based on the EI model of Salovey and Mayer (1990). In the present study, SSREIS was adopted to estimate EI. Meanwhile, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) were used to evaluate the gray matter volume (GMV) of 328 university students. Results found positive correlations between Monitor of Emotions and VBM measurements in the insula and orbitofrontal cortex. In addition, Utilization of Emotions was positively correlated with the GMV in the parahippocampal gyrus, but was negatively correlated with the VBM measurements in the fusiform gyrus and middle temporal gyrus. Furthermore, Social Ability had volume correlates in the vermis. These findings indicate that the neural correlates of the EI model, which primarily focuses on the abilities of individuals to appraise and express emotions, can also regulate and utilize emotions to solve problems.
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Title The correlation between gray matter volume and perceived social support: A voxel-based morphometry study
Author Che XY, Wei DT, Li WF, Li HJ, Qiao L, Qiu J, Zhang QL, Liu YJ
Journal Social Neuroscience
Year 2014
Abstract Social support refers to interpersonal exchanges that include the combinations of aid, affirmation and affection. Perceived social support is a kind of subjective judgment of one’s availability of social support. In spite of the importance of perceived social support to health, however, its neural substrate remains unknown. To address this question, voxel-based morphometry was employed to investigate the neural bases of individual differences in responses to the Perceived Social Support Scale (PSSS) in healthy volunteers (144 men and 203 women; mean age = 19.9; SD = 1.33, age range : 17–27). As a result, multiple regression analysis revealed that the PSSS scores were significantly and positively correlated with gray matter volume in a cluster that mainly included areas in posterior parts of posterior cingulate cortex, bilateral lingual cortex, left occipital lobe and cuneus. Highlysupported individuals had larger gray matter volume in these brain regions, implying a relatively high level of ability to engage in self-referential processes and social cognition. Our results provide a biological basis for exploring perceived social support particularly in relationship to various health parameters and outcomes.
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Title Synchronous activation within the default mode network correlates with perceived social support.
Author Che XW, Wei DT, Li WF, Zhang QL, Qiu J, Liu YJ. (2014).
Journal Neuropsychologia
Year 2014
Abstract Perceived social support emphasizes subjective feeling of provisions offered by family, friends and significant others. In consideration of the great significance of perceived social support to health outcomes, attempt to reveal the neural substrates of perceived social support will facilitate its application in a series of mental disorders. Perceived social support potentially relies on healthy interpersonal relationships calling for cognitive processes like perspective taking, empathy and theory of mind. Interestingly, functional activations and connectivity within the default mode network (DMN) are extensively involved in these interpersonal skills. As a result, it is proposed that synchronous activities among brain regions within the DMN will correlate with self-report of perceived social support. In the present study, we tried to investigate the associations between coherence among the DMN regions and perceived social support at resting state. A total of 333 (145 men) participants were directed to fulfill the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) after a 484-seconds functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning without any task. As a result, seed-based functional connectivity and power spectrum analyses revealed that heightened synchronicity among the DMN regions was associated with better performance on perceived social support. Moreover, results in the present study were independent of different methods, structural changes, and general cognitive performance.
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Title When “Your” reward is the same as “My” reward: Self-construal priming shifts neural responses to own vs. friends' rewards
Author Varnum ME, Shi Z, Chen A, Qiu J, & Han S.
Journal NeuroImage
Year 2014
Abstract Is it possible for neural responses to others' rewards to be as strong as those for the self? Although prior fMRI studies have demonstrated that watching others get rewards can activate one's own reward centers, such vicarious reward activationhasalwaysbeenlessstrongthan responses to rewards for oneself. In the present study we manipulated participants' self-construal (independent vs. interdependent) and found that, when an independent selfconstrual was primed, subjects showed greater activation in the bilateral ventral striatum in response to winning money for the self (vs. for a friend) during a gambling game.However, priming an interdependent self-construal resulted in comparable activation in these regions in response to winning money for the self and for a friend. Our findings suggest that interdependence may cause people to experience rewards for a close other as strongly as they experience rewards for the self.
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Title Mis-binding of Color and Motion in Human Visual Cortex. (Cooperation publication)
Author Zhang X, Qiu J, Zhang Y., Han S, & Fang F.
Journal Current Biology
Year 2014
Abstract A fundamental challenge for the visual system is to integrate visual features into a coherent scene, known as the binding problem. The neural mechanisms of feature binding are hard to identify because of difficulties in separating active feature binding from feature co-occurence. In previous studies on feature binding [1-5], visual features were superimposed and presented simultaneously. Neurons throughout visual cortex are known to code multiple features [6]. Therefore, the observed binding effects could be due to the physical co-occurrence of features and the sensory representation of feature pairings. It is uncertain whether the mechanisms responsible for perceptual binding were actually recruited [7, 8]. To address this issue, we performed psychophysical and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments to investigate the neural mechanisms of a steady-state misbinding of color and motion [9], because feature misbinding is probably the most striking evidence for the active existence of the binding mechanisms [10]. We found that adapting to the color-motion misbinding generated the color-contingent motion aftereffect, as well as the color-contingent motion adaptation effect in visual cortex. Notably, V2 exhibited the strongest adaptation effect, which significantly correlated with the aftereffect across subjects. Furthermore, effective connectivity analysis using dynamic causal modeling showed that the misbinding was closely associated with enhanced feedback from V4 and V5 to V2. These findings provide strong evidence for active feature binding in early visual cortex and suggest a critical role of reentrant connections from specialized intermediate areas to early visual cortex in this process.
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Title Association of creative achievement with cognitive flexibility by a combined voxel-based morphometry and resting-state functional connectivity study (in press)
Author Chen QL, Yang WJ, Li WF, Wei DT, Li HJ, Qiao L, Zhang QL, Qiu J.
Journal NeuroImage
Year 2014
Abstract Although researchers generally concur that creativity involves the production of novel and useful products, the neural basis of creativity remains elusive due to the complexity of the cognitive processes involved. Recent studies have shown that highly creative individuals displayed more cognitive flexibility. However, direct evidence supporting the relationship between creativity and cognitive flexibility has rarely been investigated using both structural and functional neuroimaging techniques. We used a combined voxel-based morphometry and resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) analysis to investigate the relationship between individual creativity ability assessed by the creative achievement questionnaire (CAQ), and regional gray matter volume (GMV), as well as intrinsic functional connectivity. Results showed that CAQ scores negatively correlated with GMV in the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the bilateral dorsal ACC (dACC) extending to supplementary motor area, but positively correlated with GMV in the bilateral superior frontal gyrus and ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). Further functional connectivity analysis revealed that higher creative achievement was inversely associated with the strength of rsFC between the dACC and medial superior frontal gyrus (mSFG), right middle frontal gyrus, and left orbito-frontal insula. Moreover, the association between the dACC-mSFG connectivity and CAQ scores was mediated by cognitive flexibility, assessed by a task-switching paradigm. These findings indicate that individual differences in creative achievement are associated with both brain structure and corresponding intrinsic functional connectivity involved in cognitive flexibility and deliberate creative processing. Furthermore, dACC-mSFG connectivity may affect creative achievement through its impact on cognitive flexibility.
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Title Function and Structure of Human Left Fusiform Cortex Are Closely Associated with Perceptual Learning of Faces
Author Bi TY, Chen Juan, Zhou JG, He Y, Fang F
Journal Current Biology
Year 2014
Abstract Training can lead to long-lasting improvement in our perceptual ability, which is referred to as perceptual learning. Unraveling its neural mechanisms has proved difficult. With functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), we addressed this issue by searching for the neural correlates of perceptual learning of face views over a long time course. Human subjects were trained to perform a face view discrimination task. Their behavioral performance and MRI signals were measured before, immediately after, and 1 month after training. We found that, across individual subjects, their behavioral learning effects correlated with the stability improvement of spatial activity pattern in the left fusiform cortex immediately after and 1 month after training. We also found that the thickness of the left fusiform cortex before training could predict subjects’ behavioral learning effects. These findings, for the first time, not only suggest that, remarkably, the improved pattern stability contributes to the long-term mechanisms of perceptual learning, but also provide strong and converging evidence for the pivotal role of the left fusiform cortex in adaptive face processing.
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Title Regional gray matter volume and anxiety-related trait interact to predict somatic complaints in non-clinical sample.
Author Wei DT, Li WF, Chen, QL., Li HJ, Hao X, Zhang L, Zhang QL, Qiu J
Journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience(SCAN)
Year 2014
Abstract Somatic complaints can be important features of an individual s expression of anxiety. Anxiety-related traits are also risk factors for somatic symptoms. However, it is not known which neuroanatomical mechanisms may be responsible for this relationship. In this study, our first step was to use voxel-based morphometry (VBM) approaches to investigate the neuroanatomical basis underlying somatic complaints in a large sample of healthy subjects. We found a significant positive correlation between somatic complaints and parahippocampal gyrus (PHG) volume adjacent to the entorhinal cortex. Further analysis revealed that the interaction between PHG volume/entorhinal cortex and neuroticism-anxiety (N-Anx) predicted somatic complaints. Specifically, somatic complaints were associated with higher N-Anx for individuals with increased PHG volume. These findings suggest that increased PHG volume and higher trait anxiety can predict vulnerability to somatic complaints in the general population.
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Title Examining Brain Structures Associated with Perceived Stress in a Large Sample of Young Adults Via Voxel-Based Morphometry
Author Li HJ, Li WF, Wei DT, Chen, QL., Jackson, T., Zhang QL, Qiu J
Journal Neuroimage
Year 2014
Abstract Perceived stress reflects the extent to which situations are appraised as stressful at a given point in one's life. Past brain imaging studies have examined activation patterns underlying the stress response, yet focal differences in brain structures related to perceived stress are not well understood, especially when considering gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) structures simultaneously. In this study, voxel-based morphometry was used to investigate relations between GM/WM volume and perceived stress levels in a large young adult sample. Participants (138 men, 166 women) completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS; Cohen et al., 1983) and underwent an anatomical magnetic resonance imaging scan. Higher PSS scores were associated with larger GM volume in a cluster that included regions in the bilateral parahippocampal gyrus, fusiform cortex, and entorhinal cortex and smaller GM volume in a cluster that included regions of the right insular cortex. Higher PSS scores were also related to smaller WM volume in a cluster that included the body of the corpus callosum. This pattern of results remained significant even after controlling for effects of general intelligence, socioeconomic status, and depression. Together,findings suggest a unique structural basis for individual differences in perceived stress, distributed across different GM and WM regions of the brain.
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Title Brain Structure Links Trait Creativity to Openness to Experience.
Author Li WF, Li, XT, Zhang QL, Qiu, J, Liu, J.
Journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience(SCAN)
Year 2014
Abstract Creativity is crucial to the progression of human civilization and has led to important scientific discoveries. Especially, individuals are more likely to have scientific discoveries if they possess certain personality traits of creativity (trait creativity), including imagination, curiosity, challenge, and risk-taking. The current study used voxel-based morphometry (VBM)to identify the brain regions underlying individual differences in trait creativity, as measured by the Williams creativity aptitude test,in a large sample (n = 246). We found that creative individuals had higher gray matter volume in the right posterior middle temporal gyrus (pMTG), which might be related to semantic processing during novelty seeking (e.g., novel association, conceptual integration, and metaphor understanding). More importantly, although basic personality factors such as openness to experience, extroversion, conscientiousness and agreeableness (as measured by the NEO Personality Inventory) all contributed to trait creativity, only openness to experience mediated the association between the right pMTGvolume and trait creativity. Taken together, our results suggest that the basic personality trait of openness might play an important role in shaping an individual’s trait creativity.
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Title Regional Gray Matter Volume is associated with Rejection Sensitivity: A Voxel-Based Morphometry Study.
Author Sun JZ, Li HJ, Li WF, Wei DT, Hitchman, G., Zhang QL, Qiu J
Journal Cognitive, Affective, and Behavioral Neuroscience
Year 2014
Abstract Rejection sensitivity (RS) can be defined as the disposition that one tends to anxiously expect, readily perceive, and intensely react to rejection. High-RS individuals are more likely to suffer mental disorders. Previous studies have investigated brain activity during social rejection using different kinds of rejection paradigms and have provided neural evidence of individual differences in response to rejection cues, but the association between individual differences in RS and brain structure has never been investigated. In this study, voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was used to investigate the relationship between gray matter volume (GMV) and RS in a large healthy sample of 150 men and 188 women. The participants completed the RS Questionnaire and underwent an anatomical magnetic resonance imaging scan. Multiple regression was used to analyze the correlation between regional GMV and RS scores, adjusting for age, sex, and total brain GMV. These results showed that GMV in the region of the posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus was negatively associated with RS, and GMV in the region of the inferior temporal gyrus was positively correlated with RS. These findings suggest a relationship between individual differences in RS and GMV in brain regions that are primarily related to social cognition.
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Title Increased resting functional connectivity of the medial prefrontal cortex in Creativity by means of Cognitive Stimulation.
Author Wei DT, Yang, JY., Li WF, Wang, KC., Zhang QL, Qiu J
Journal Cortex
Year 2014
Abstract Creativity is imperative to the progression of civilization and is central to cultural life. Many neuroimaging studies have investigated the patterns of functional activity in the brain during different creative tasks, and the structural and functional characteristics of the highly creative individuals. However, few studies have investigated resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) in the brain related to individual differences in creativity, and it is still unclear whether the RSFC underlying creativity can be changed by training. The present study therefore used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RsfMRI) to investigate the relationship between RSFC and creativity (divergent thinking, measured by the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking) to explore whether RSFC can be influenced by cognitive stimulation. The results of 269 adults showed that creativity was positively correlated with the strength of RSFC between the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the middle temporal gyrus (mTG). In addition, behavioral data showed that cognitive stimulation was successful in enhancing originality in a subset of the original participants (n ¼34). Most interesting, we found that there was also a significantly increased RSFC between the mPFC and the mTG by analyzing the data of Rs-fMRI after creativity training. Taken together, these results suggest that increased RSFC between mPFC and mTG, which belong to the default mode network might be crucial to creativity, and that RSFC between the mPFC and mTG can be improved by means of cognitive stimulation (reflecting creativity training-induced changes in functional connectivity, especially in the lower creativity individuals who had lower scores of Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking).
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Title Recovering Directed Networks in Neuroimaging Datasets Using Partially Conditioned Granger Causality
Author Wu GR, Liao W,Stramaglia S, Chen HF, Marinazzo D
Journal Brain Connectivity
Year 2013
Abstract Recovering directed pathways of information transfer between brain areas is an important issue in neuroscience and helps to shed light on the brain function in several physiological and cognitive states. Granger causality (GC) analysis is a valuable tool to detect directed dynamical connectivity, and it is being increasingly used. Unfortunately, this approach encounters some limitations in particularly when applied to neuroimaging datasets, often consisting in short and noisy data and for which redundancy plays an important role. In this article, we address one of these limitations, namely, the computational and conceptual problems arising when conditional GC, necessary to disambiguate direct and mediated influences, is used on short and noisy datasets of many variables, as it is typically the case in some electroencephalography (EEG) protocols and in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We show that considering GC in the framework of information theory we can limit the conditioning to a limited number of variables chosen as the most informative, obtaining more stable and reliable results both in EEG and fMRI data.
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Title A blind deconvolution approach to recover effective connectivity brain networks from resting state fMRI data
Author Wu GR, Liao W, Stramaglia S, Ding JR, Chen HF, Marinazzo D
Journal Medical Image Analysis
Year 2013
Abstract A great improvement to the insight on brain function that we can get from fMRI data can come from effective connectivity analysis, in which the flow of information between even remote brain regions is inferred by the parameters of a predictive dynamical model. As opposed to biologically inspired models, some techniques as Granger causality (GC) are purely data-driven and rely on statistical prediction and temporal precedence. While powerful and widely applicable, this approach could suffer from two main limitations when applied to BOLD fMRI data: confounding effect of hemodynamic response function (HRF) and conditioning to a large number of variables in presence of short time series. For task-related fMRI, neural population dynamics can be captured by modeling signal dynamics with explicit exogenous inputs; for resting-state fMRI on the other hand, the absence of explicit inputs makes this task more difficult, unless relying on some specific prior physiological hypothesis. In order to overcome these issues and to allow a more general approach, here we present a simple and novel blind-deconvolution technique for BOLD-fMRI signal. In a recent study it has been proposed that relevant information in resting-state fMRI can be obtained by inspecting the discrete events resulting in relatively large amplitude BOLD signal peaks. Following this idea, we consider resting fMRI as ‘spontaneous event-related’, we individuate point processes corresponding to signal fluctuations with a given signature, extract a region-specific HRF and use it in deconvolution, after following an alignment procedure. Coming to the second limitation, a fully multivariate conditioning with short and noisy data leads to computational problems due to overfitting. Furthermore, conceptual issues arise in presence of redundancy. We thus apply partial conditioning to a limited subset of variables in the framework of information theory, as recently proposed. Mixing these two improvements we compare the differences between BOLD and deconvolved BOLD level effective networks and draw some conclusions.
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Title Neural representations for the generation of inventive conceptions inspired by adaptive feature optimization of biological species.
Author Zhang H, Liu J, & Zhang, Q.L.
Journal Cortex
Year 2013
Abstract Inventive conceptions amount to creative ideas for designing devices that are both original and useful. The generation of inventive conceptions is a key element of the inventive process. However, neural mechanisms of the inventive process remain poorly understood. Here we employed functional feature association tasks and event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to investigate neural substrates for the generation of inventive conceptions. The functional MRI (fMRI) data revealed significant activations at Brodmann area (BA) 47 in the left inferior frontal gyrus and at BA 18 in the left lingual gyrus, when participants performed biological functional feature association tasks compared with non-biological functional feature association tasks. Our results suggest that the left inferior frontal gyrus (BA 47) is associated with novelty-based representations formed by the generation and selection of semantic relatedness, and the left lingual gyrus (BA 18) is involved in relevant visual imagery in processing of semantic relatedness. The findings might shed light on neural mechanisms underlying the inventive process.
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Title Detection of deception based on fMRI activation patterns underlying the production of a deceptive response and receiving feedback about the success of the deception after a mock murder crime.
Author Cui Q, Vanman, E., Wei, D. T., Yang, W.J. Jia, L. & Zhang, Q.L.
Journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience(SCAN)
Year 2013
Abstract The ability of a deceiver to track a victim s ongoing judgments about the truthfulness of the deceit can be critical for successful deception. However,no study has yet investigated the neural circuits underlying receiving a judgment about one s lie. To explore this issue, we used a modified Guilty Knowledge Test in a mock murder situation to simultaneously record the neural responses involved in producing deception and later when judgments of that deception were made. Producing deception recruited the bilateral inferior parietal lobules (IPLs), right ventral lateral prefrontal (VLPF) areas and right striatum, among which the activation of the right VLPF contributed mostly to diagnosing the identities of the participants, correctly diagnosing 81.25% of murderers and 81.25% of innocents . Moreover, the participant s response when their deception was successful uniquely recruited the right middle frontal gyrus, bilateral IPLs, bilateral orbitofrontal cortices, bilateral middle temporal gyrus and left cerebellum, among which the right IPL contributed mostly to diagnosing participants identities, correctly diagnosing 93.75% of murderers and 87.5% of innocents. This study shows that neural activity associated with being a successful liar (or not) is a feasible indicator for detecting lies and may be more valid than neural activity associated with producing deception.
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Title Exposure to traumatic experiences is associated with abnormal neural mechanism during charitable donation.
Author Wei DT, Wang, KC., Shen, YM., Du, X., Li WF, Dupuis-Roy, N., Qiu J, Zhang QL
Journal Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
Year 2013
Abstract Previous studies suggested that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) might be associated with dysfunctional reward processing. At present, little is known about the neural mechanisms of reward-related processing during a charitable donation task in trauma survivors who do not go on to develop PTSD. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the neural basis of charitable donation in non-PTSD survivors of the Sichuan earthquake. Results showed that activations in the striatum of trauma survivors were reduced in both the low donation (donated a small amount to the Red Cross) and the high donation conditions (donated a large amount to the Red Cross) compared with the healthy controls. Furthermore, the trauma survivors also exhibited less activity in the insula than the healthy controls in the high donation condition. Thesefindings suggest that abnormal reward-related activations might be associated with dysfunctions in the reward pathway of trauma survivors. Also, we discuss the possibility that traumatic experiences attenuate the reactivity of reward-related brain areas to positive emotions (as induced by advantageous donations).
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Title Category-Selective Attention Modulates Unconscious Processes in the Middle Occipital Gyrus.
Author Tu S, Qiu J., Martens, U., & Zhang QL
Journal Consciousness and Cognition
Year 2013
Abstract Many studies have revealed the top-down modulation (spatial attention, attentional load, etc.) on unconscious processing. However, there is little research about how categoryselective attention could modulate the unconscious processing. In the present study, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the results showed that category-selective attention modulated unconscious face/tool processing in the middle occipital gyrus (MOG). Interestingly, MOG effects were of opposed direction for face and tool processes. During unconscious face processing, activation in MOG decreased under the face-selective attention compared with tool-selective attention. This result was in line with the predictive coding theory. During unconscious tool processing, however, activation in MOG increased under the tool-selective attention compared with face-selective attention. The different effects might be ascribed to an interaction between top-down category-selective processes and bottom-up processes in the partial awareness level as proposed byKouider, De Gardelle, Sackur, and Dupoux (2010). Specifically, we suppose an ‘‘excessive activation’’ hypothesis.
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Title Rumitation mediates the relationship between structural variations in ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and sensitivity to negative life events.
Author Qiao L, Wei,D.T., Li,W.F., Chen,Q.L., Che,X.W., Li,B.B., Li,Y.D, Qiu,J., Zhang,Q.L.,Liu Y.J.
Journal Neuroscience
Year 2013
Abstract Individuals have different levels of stress sensitivity. An individual’s predisposition to experience negative life events (NLEs) may make him/her more vulnerable to a series of psychopathological and physical diseases. However, the neuroanatomical correlates of individual differences in sensitivity to NLEs remain unknown. In this study, voxel-based morphometry was used to identify the gray matter (GM) associations of individual differences in sensitivity to NLEs measured by adolescent self-rating life events checklist. Results showed that there was a positive association between individual NLEs sensitivity and regional GM volume (rGMV) in the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC). GM was mostly evident in the left frontal operculum and a small part of the left middle frontal gyrus. This region was thought to play an important role in introception. Importantly, our study revealed that rumination served as a mediator between the rGMV of the VLPFC and individual NLEs sensitivity. These findings suggest that people with greater VLPFC might be more inclined to ruminate and the ruminative response style might make them more sensitive to NLEs.
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Title Gray matter correlates of dispositional optimism: A voxel-based morphometry study.
Author Yang JY, Wei DT, Wang KC, & Qiu J
Journal Neuroscience Letters
Year 2013
Abstract Dispositional optimism is an important product of human evolution. This individual difference variable plays a core role in human experience. Dispositional optimism is beneficial to physical and psychological wellbeing. Previous task-related neuroimaging studies on dispositional optimism were limited by small sample sizes, and did not examine individual differences in dispositional optimism related to brain structure. Thus, the current study used voxel-based morphometry and the revised Life Orientation Test to investigate individual dispositional optimism and its association with brain structure in 361 healthy participants. The results showed that individual dispositional optimism was associated with larger gray matter volume of a cluster of areas that included the left thalamus/left pulvinar that extended to the left parahippocampal gyrus. These findings suggest a biological basis for individual dispositional optimism, distributed across different gray matter regions of the brain.
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Title Brain mechanisms of valuable scientific problem finding inspired by heuristic knowledge.
Author Tong DD, Li, W. F., Dai, T. E., Nusbaum, H. C., Qiu J, & Zhang QL
Journal Experimental Brain Research
Year 2013
Abstract Heuristics through the application of heuristic knowledge to the creation of imitation devices may be one of the most common processes in scientific innovation. In particular, heuristics suggests that innovation includes the automatic activation of heuristic knowledge and formation of novel associations between heuristic knowledge and problem situations. In this study, 76 scientific innovation problem situations were selected as materials. Among these, 36 contain related heuristic knowledge and 40 have no such information. Through functional magnetic resonance imaging, the learning–testing paradigm was used to explore the brain mechanisms of scientific problem finding inspired by heuristic knowledge. Participants were asked to find a problem on the basis of a given innovation problem situation. Two scenarios were presented: finding scientific problems with related heuristic knowledge and finding conventional problems without related heuristic knowledge. The authors assumed that the regions in the brain significantly activated by the finding scientific problems with related heuristic knowledge condition compared with the finding normal problems without related heuristic knowledge condition are relevant to the brain mechanisms of scientific problem finding inspired by heuristic knowledge. The first scenario more significantly activated the left precuneus and left angular gyrus than did the second scenario. These findings suggest that the precuneus is relevant to the successful storage and retrieval of heuristic knowledge and that the left angular gyrus is involved in the formation of novel associations between heuristic knowledge and problem situations for finding scientific problems.
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Title Brain activity in using heuristic prototype to solve insight problems.
Author Tong DD, Zhu, H. X, Li, W. F. Yang, W. J. Qiu J & Zhang QL
Journal Behavioural Brain Research
Year 2013
Abstract When confronted with a real-world problem, heuristic knowledge and experience can guide the solution of a specific technical problem as the key step toward innovation. In particular, a heuristic prototype must be used correctly to cue the technical problem that exists in a particular situation. The present study selected an innovative paradigm and scientific innovation materials to investigate the neural basis of insight induced by heuristic prototypes using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The day prior to undergoing fMRI scanning, participants were asked to solve 42 difficult technical problems that scientists might have already encountered but were unknown to the participants. In the subsequent fMRI experiment, the same participants were randomly presented with 84 prototypes classified into two types: related prototypes (RPs), which were useful for solving previously encountered problems, and unrelated prototypes (UPs), which sometimes did not contribute to problem solving. While being scanned, participants were asked to assess whether a prototype is relevant to any of the technical problems. This study comprised two conditions: solving technical problems when presented with a related heuristic prototype and failing to solve technical problems using unrelated heuristic prototypes. The authors assumed that the regions significantly activated by the RP condition, compared with the UP condition, reflected brain activity related to the role of heuristic prototypes in scientific insight. fMRI data showed that the left dorsolateral prefrontal gyrus (left DLFPC, BA9) and the left angular gyrus (left AG, BA39) were more significantly activated when presented with RPs than with UPs. The results suggest that the DLPFC may be involved in the automatic retrieval of technical problems and breaking of mental sets. Moreover, the left AG may be involved in forming novel associations between technical problems and related prototypes.
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Title The Electrophysiological Correlates of Scientific Innovation Induced by Heuristic Information.
Author Luo JL, Du, X. M., Tang, X. C., Zhang, A.T., Li, H. J., & Zhang QL
Journal Creativity Research Journal
Year 2013
Abstract In this study, novel and old scientific innovations (NSI and OSI) were selected as materials to explore the electrophysiological correlates of scientific innovation induced by heuristic information. Using event-related brain potentials (ERPs) to do so, college students solved NSI problems (for which they did not know the answers) and OSI problems (for which they knew the answers). A new experimental paradigm (heuristic information learning– problems testing model) was adopted to make subjects actively find a solution. The results showed that the P3 amplitude was higher for OSI than for NSI between 360 and 430 ms after onset of the problem stimuli. This finding most likely reflects an automatic matching process based on the known answer retrieval, which would be easier for OSI than NSI problems. However, the N4 amplitude was higher for NSI than for OSI between 430 and 500 ms and a greater negativity in the NSI (in comparison with OSI) developed between 500 and 900 ms. This pattern could reflect the generation of novel solutions due to the application of heuristic information (retrieved from memory) during NSI problems solving.
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Title Different neural substrates underlying directed forgetting for negative and neutral images: An event-related potential study.
Author Yang WJ, Liu PD, Xiao X, Li XP, Zeng C, Qiu J, Zhang QL.
Journal Brain Research
Year 2012
Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the different neural correlations of directed forgetting for emotionally negative and neutral images in 17 healthy individuals using event-related potentials (ERPs). Behavioral findings showed that the task yielded a robust directed forgetting effect for both neutral and negative images: more to-be-remembered than to-be-forgotten images were recognized. ERPs were recorded as participants viewed different valence images (negative/ neutral) and were given different instructions, including remember (R) or forget (F) commands. Enhanced late parietal positive potentials were observed for negative images during image viewing. In the 200–300 ms time window, F instructions elicited a larger N2 than did R instructions and successful implementation of F instructions (F-miss) appeared more negative over the frontal region comparing with the unintentional forgetting (R-miss), suggesting that F instructions trigger a frontal mechanism to inhibit the processing of previously presented images. More important, F instructions following emotionally negative images elicited an enhanced frontal N2 effect than neutral images. This result suggests that forgetting negative stimuli is more laborious. In addition, within the 300–400 ms time window, R instructions elicited a larger P3 response than did F instructions and successful implementation of the R instructions (R-hit) appeared more positive than the unintentional remembering (F-hit) over the posterior scalp region. This posterior wave might reflect rehearsal and memory consolidation process.
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Title Kernel canonical-correlation Granger causality for multiple time series
Author Wu GR, Duan XJ, Liao W, Gao Q, Chen HF
Journal Physical Review
Year 2011
Abstract Canonical-correlation analysis as a multivariate statistical technique has been applied to multivariate Granger causality analysis to infer information flow in complex systems. It shows unique appeal and great superiority over the traditional vector autoregressive method, due to the simplified procedure that detects causal interaction between multiple time series, and the avoidance of potential model estimation problems. However, it is limited to the linear case. Here, we extend the framework of canonical correlation to include the estimation of multivariate nonlinear Granger causality for drawing inference about directed interaction. Its feasibility and effectiveness are verified on simulated data.
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Title Multiscale Causal Connectivity Analysis by Canonical Correlation: Theory and Application to Epileptic Brain
Author Wu GR, Chen FY, Kang DZ, Zhang XY, Marinazzo D, Chen HF
Journal IEEE transactions on biomedical engineering
Year 2011
Abstract Multivariate Granger causality is a well-established approach for inferring information flow in complex systems, and it is being increasingly applied to map brain connectivity. Traditional Granger causality is based on vector autoregressive (AR) or mixed autoregressive moving average (ARMA) model, which are potentially affected by errors in parameter estimation and may be contaminated by zero-lag correlation, notably when modeling neuroimaging data. To overcome this issue, we present here an extended canonical correlation approach to measure multivariate Granger causal interactions among time series. The procedure includes a reduced rank step for calculating canonical correlation analysis (CCA), and extends the definition of causality including instantaneous effects, thus avoiding the potential estimation problems of AR (or ARMA) models. We tested this approach on simulated data and confirmed its practical utility by exploring local network connectivity at different scales in the epileptic brain analyzing scalp and depth-EEG data during an interictal period.
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Title Emotional arousal to negative information after traumatic experiences: an event-related brain potential study.
Author Wei DT, Qiu J.
Journal Neuroscience
Year 2011
Abstract Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) during an emotional Stroop task were measured in two groups of participants: 14 participants who had experienced the great Sichuan earthquake (earthquake group) and 14 participants who did not experience the earthquake (control group). ERP data showed that negative words elicited a more negative P2 than positive words in the earthquake group. Moreover, negative words also elicited a more negative ERP deflection (N280-380 effect) than positive words in the earthquake group, while this effect was not found in the control group. We suggest that the N280-380 effect may reflect heightened emotional arousal to negative words due to personal experience of a traumatic event. Dipole analysis localized the N280-380 to the parahippocampal gyrus and the cuneus, which we suggest may be related to the automatic recollection of the traumatic experience.
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Title Learning to Discriminate Face Views
Author Bi TY, Chen N, Weng Q, He D, Fang F
Journal J Neurophysiol
Year 2010
Abstract Learning to discriminate face views.J Neurophysiol104: 3305–3311, 2010. First published July 14, 2010; doi:10.1152/jn.00286.2010. Although perceptual learning of simple visual features has been studied extensively and intensively for many years, we still know little about the mechanisms of perceptual learning of complex object recognition. In a series of seven experiments, human perceptual learning in discrimination of in-depth orientation of face view was studied using psychophysical methods. We trained subjects to discriminate face orientations around a face view (i.e., 30°) over eight daily sessions, which resulted in a significant improvement in sensitivity to the face view orientation. This improved sensitivity was highly specific to the trained orientation and persisted up to 6 mo. Different from perceptual learning of simple visual features, this orientation-specific learning effect could completely transfer across changes in face size, visual field, and face identity. A complete transfer also occurred between two partial face images that were mutually exclusive but constituted a complete face. However, the transfer of the learning effect between upright and inverted faces and between a face and a paperclip object was very weak. These results shed light on the mechanisms of the perceptual learning of face view discrimination. They suggest that the visual system had learned how to compute face orientation from face configural information more accurately and that a large amount of plastic changes took place at a level of higher visual processing where size-, location-, and identity-invariant face views are represented.
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Title The impact of social comparison on the neural substrates of reward processing: An Event-Related Potential study.
Author Qiu J, Yu CY, Li H, Jou, J., Tu S, Wang T, Wei DT, Zhang QL.
Journal Neuroimage
Year 2010
Abstract Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded to explore the electrophysiological correlates of reward processing in the social comparison context when subjects performed a simple number estimation task that entailed monetary rewards for correct answers. Three social comparison stimulus categories (three relative reward levels/self reward related to the other subject's) were mainly prepared: Self: Other =1:2 (Disadvantageous inequity condition); Self: Other =1:1 (Equity condition); and Self: Other =2:1 (Advantageous inequity condition). Results showed that: both Disadvantageous and Advantageous inequity elicited a more negative ERP deflection (N350–550) than did Equity between 350 and 550 ms, and the generators of N350–550 were localized near the parahippocampal gyrus and the medial frontal/anterior cingulate cortex, which might be related to monitor and control reward prediction error during reward processing. Then, Disadvantageous and Advantageous inequity both elicited a more late negative complex (LNC1 and LNC2) than did Equity between 550 and 750 ms. The generators of LNC1 and LNC2 were both localized near the caudate nucleus, which might be related to reward processing under social comparison.
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Title Neural correlates of the "Aha" experiences: Evidence from an fMRI Study of insight problem solving.
Author Qiu J, Li H, Jou, J., Liu J, Luo YJ, Feng TY Wu, Z.Z., Zhang QL.
Journal Cortex
Year 2010
Abstract In the present study, we used learning–testing paradigm to examine brain activation of ‘‘Aha’’ effects with event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during solving Chinese logogriphs. Blood oxygenation level-dependent fMRI contrasts between Aha and No-aha conditions were measured. Increased activities in the precuneus (BA 19/7), the left inferior/middle frontal gyrus (BA 9/6), the inferior occipital gyrus (BA 18), and the cerebellum were specifically associated with the ‘‘Aha’’ effects. The results indicate that (1) the precuneus might be involved in successful prototype events retrieval, (2) the left inferior frontal/middle frontal gyrus might be involved in forming novel association and breaking mental sets, (3) the inferior occipital gyrus and the cerebellum might be involved in re-arrangement of visual stimulus and deployment of attentional resources.
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Title Spatiotemporal cortical activation underlying self-referencial processing evoked by self-hand.
Author Su YH, Chen AT, Qiu J, Wei DT, Tu S.
Journal Biological Psychology
Year 2010
Abstract Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded to explore the electrophysiological correlates of selfreferencial processing when subjects were asked to judge whether the stimuli (their hands) were their own or not. ERP results showed that: first, own hand elicited a greater positive component (P350–500) than did other hand in the time window of 350–500 ms, and the generator of P350–500 was localized in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), which might be related to retrieval and identification of selfreferencial information due to their sensitivity to self-hand. Second, own hand elicited a more positive component (LPC) than did other hand in the later time window. Dipole analysis revealed that the generators were localized in the parahippocampal gyrus and the medial frontal gyrus, which might be involved in making a self-referencial decision based on retrieval of self-hand information.
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Title The role of gaze direction in face viewpoint aftereffect
Author Bi TY, Su JZ, Chen Juan, Fang F
Journal Vision Research
Year 2009
Abstract Face viewpoint aftereffect is a visual illusion that, after adaptation to a face side view, the perceived view direction of the same face subsequently presented near its front view is biased in a direction opposite to that of the adapted view. Eye gaze is a unique component in face not only because its direction is relatively independent of face view direction, but also because it is a primary cue for conveying social attention. Here, we studied the contribution of gaze direction adaptation to the formation of face viewpoint aftereffect. We found that a tiny (in terms of relative area) change of gaze direction in adapting face stimuli could induce a dramatic reduction in the magnitude of face viewpoint aftereffect. However, vertical inversion of the face stimuli almost abolished the reduction. Implications of these findings about face view representation and gaze direction representation are discussed.
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Title The effect of crowding on orientation-selective adaptation in human early visual cortex
Author Bi TY, Cai P, Zhou TG, Fang F
Journal Journal of Vision
Year 2009
Abstract Crowding is the identification difficulty for a target in the presence of nearbyflankers. Based on psychophysicalfindings, many theories have been proposed to explain crowding at multiple levels. However, little is known about its neural mechanism. In this study, we combined psychophysical and fMRI adaptation techniques to search for the cortical locus of crowding. In the psychophysical experiment, when subjects’ attention was controlled, we found that the threshold elevation aftereffect (TEAE) was not affected by crowding, regardless of the contrast level of adapting stimulus. In the fMRI experiment, the orientation-selective fMRI adaptation in V1 was not affected by crowding either. However, downstream from V1, we found that crowding weakened the adaptation effect in V2 and V3. Our results demonstrate that crowding occurs beyond V1 and provide one of thefirst pieces of direct evidence supporting the two-stage model of crowding (D. M. Levi, 2008).
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Title The Müller–Lyer illusion seen by the brain: An event-related brain potentials study.
Author Qiu J, Li H, Liu Q, Zhang QL.
Journal Biological Psychology
Year 2008
Abstract In two experiments, event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were used to examine the neural correlates of a visual illusion effect in Mu ¨ller–Lyer illusion tasks (illusion stimuli) and baseline tasks (no-illusion stimuli). The behavioral data showed that the illusion stimuli indeed yielded an illusion effect. Scalp ERP analysis revealed its neurophysiological substrate: the Mu ¨ller–Lyer illusion tasks (Illusion tasks 1–3) elicited a more negative ERP deflection than did the baseline tasks about 400 ms after onset of the stimuli. Dipole source analysis of the difference wave (Illusion task 2–Baseline task 1) and the original waveforms of the different conditions (Illusion tasks 2 and 3 and Baseline task 2) indicated that the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)/superior frontal cortex may contribute to the illusion effect, possibly in relation to high-level cognitive control. The results indicated that apparent distortions of the Mu ¨ller–Lyer illusion might be influenced by top-down control.
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Title The neural basis of analogical inference: An event-related potential study.
Author Qiu J, Li H, Chen AT, Zhang QL.
Journal Neuropsychologia
Year 2008
Abstract The spatiotemporal analysis of brain activation during the execution of easy analogy (EA) and difficult analogy (DA) tasks was investigated using high-density event-related brain potentials (ERPs). Results showed that reasoning tasks (schema induction) elicited a more negative ERP deflection (N500–1000) than did the baseline task (BS) between 500 and 1000 ms. Dipole source analysis of difference waves (EA-BS and DA-BS) indicated that the negative components were both localized near the left thalamus, possibly associated with the retrieval of alphabetical information. Furthermore, DA elicited a more positive ERP component (P600–1000) than did EA in the same time window. Two generators of P600–1000 were located in the medial prefrontal cortex (BA10) and the left frontal cortex (BA6) which was possibly involved in integrating information in schema abstraction. In the stage of analogy mapping, a greater negativity (N400–600) in the reasoning tasks as compared to BS was found over fronto-central scalp regions. A generator of this effect was located in the left fusiform gyrus and was possibly related to associative memory and activation of schema. Then, a greater negativity in the reasoning tasks, in comparison to BS task, developed between 900–1200 ms (LNC1) and 2000–2500 ms (LNC2). Dipole source analysis (EA-BS) localized the generator of LNC1 in the left prefrontal cortex (BA 10) which was possibly related to mapping the schema to the target problem, and the generator of LNC2 in the left prefrontal cortex (BA 9) which was possibly related to deciding whether a conclusion correctly follows from the schema.
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Title The neural basis of conditional reasoning: An event-related potential study.
Author Qiu J, Li H, Huang XT, Zhang FH, Chen AT, Luo YJ, Zhang QL, Yuan H.
Journal Neuropsychologia
Year 2007
Abstract The spatiotemporal analysis of brain activation during the execution of conditional reasoning tasks (the four inference forms: Modus Ponens (MP), Modus Tollens (MT), affirming the consequent (AC), and denying the antecedent (DA)) and one baseline task (BS) was performed in 12 normal young adult participants using high-density event-related brain potentials (ERPs). Results showed that the early components elicited by the five task types were not significantly different. Reasoning tasks elicited a more negative EPR deflection (N600) than did the BS task in the time window of 500–700 ms after onset of the minor premise. Dipole source analysis of the difference wave (MP−BS) suggested that a generator localized in the left anterior cingulate cortex (BA 24) was involved in the activation and the application of the inference rules. ERP components of the five tasks were similar in the subsequent time period between 700 and 1700 ms. Following that period, a greater negativity in the reasoning tasks, in comparison to the BS task, developed between 1700 and 2000 ms poststimulus over the left fronto-central scalp regions. A generator of this effect was located in the right anterior cingulate cortex (BA 24) and was possibly related to cognitive control. The results indicate that the cingulate cortex was activated by conditional reasoning tasks with purely abstract materials and support the view that human reasoning is not a unified phenomenon but is content-sensitive.
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