employing-transcranial-magnetic-stimulation-resource-limited

Employing Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in a Resource Limited Environment to Establish Brain-Behavior Relationships

Neuroimaging is typically perceived as a resource demanding discipline. While this is the case in certain circumstances, institutions with limited ...

the-sol-braiding-method-for-handling-thick-hair-during-transcranial

The Sol Braiding Method for Handling Thick Hair During Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: An Address for Potential Bias in Brain Stimulation

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is a technique that is frequently utilized in neuroscience for both therapeutic and research purposes. TMS offers ...

Montclair State University

Previous research has indicated a possible right hemisphere advantage in deception detection including a possible left ear advantage in decoding deceptive statements. In this study, 32 undergraduate students listened to 112 true and false statements presented unilaterally to both the left and right ears. The participants responded using their left or right hand, indicating whether the statements they heard were true or false. It was found that there was a significant (p < .004) advantage for the left ear in detecting whether a statement was true or false. These findings replicate and extend previous research indicating a left ear/right hemisphere advantage in deception detection.

Hemispheric asymmetry and deception detection.

The number of concussions and other head injuries are increasing in the National Hockey League (NHL). The factors that may influence concussion risk in hockey remain largely unknown. In the current study, data on 787 NHL players from the 2001-2002 season were examined. It was found that a player's average ice time per game was a significant predictor of concussion. A player's total ice time for the season was not a significant predictor, however, and there was no significant difference found in the number of games played in the season between those who suffered a concussion and those who did not. These data suggest that in-game fatigue is an important factor when considering concussions.

In-game fatigue influences concussions in national hockey league players.

Self-enhancement is the biasing of one's view of oneself in a positive direction. The brain correlates of self-enhancement remain unclear though it has been reported that the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) may be important for producing self-enhancing responses. Previous studies have not examined whether the neural correlates of self-enhancement depend on the particular domain in which individuals are enhancing themselves. Both moralistic and egoistic words were presented to participants while transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was applied to the MPFC, precuneus or in a sham orientation. Participants were asked to make decisions as to the words describing themselves, some of which were positive and some of which were negative. It was found the MPFC TMS significantly disrupted egoistic self-enhancement when TMS was delivered to the MPFC. Judgments involving moralistic words were not influenced by TMS. These data provide further evidence that MPFC is involved in self-enhancement, and that the role of MPFC may be selective in this regard.

Elucidating the neural correlates of egoistic and moralistic self-enhancement.

The tendency to claim more knowledge than one actually has is common and well documented; however, little research has focused on the neural mechanisms that underlie this phenomenon. The goal of the present study was to investigate the cortical correlates of overclaiming. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was delivered to the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), supplementary motor area, and precuneus during the presentation of a series of words that participants were told made up a cultural IQ test. However, participants were not informed that 50% of the words were actually fabricated. False claiming was reduced following MPFC TMS. Furthermore, reaction time decreases following MPFC TMS indicated that participants engaged in less reflection during the task, suggesting a potential reduction in social monitoring of behavior. 

Overclaiming and the medial prefrontal cortex: A transcranial magnetic stimulation study.

Although theories that examine direct links between behavior and brain remain incomplete, it is known that brain expansion significantly correlates with caloric and oxygen demands. Therefore, one of the principles governing evolutionary cognitive neuroscience is that cognitive abilities that require significant brain function (and/or structural support) must be accompanied by significant fitness benefit to offset the increased metabolic demands. One such capacity is self-awareness (SA), which (1) is found only in the greater apes and (2) remains unclear in terms of both cortical underpinning and possible fitness benefit. In the current experiment, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was applied to the prefrontal cortex during a spatial perspective-taking task involving self and other viewpoints. It was found that delivery of TMS to the right prefrontal region disrupted self-, but not other-, perspective. These data suggest that self-awareness may have evolved in concert with other right hemisphere cognitive abilities. 

The Anatomical and Evolutionary Relationship between Self-awareness and Theory of Mind.

The Medial Prefrontal Cortex (MPFC) is crucial for normal social functioning in humans. Because of its involvement in social monitoring, self-awareness, and self-enhancement, the MPFC may be critical to buffering negative affect and establishing a positive self-esteem. For example, we have previously found that disruption of the MPFC leads to more honest responses, which implies that the MPFC may be critically involved in self-deception. We therefore hypothesized that disrupting the MPFC would lead to a decrease in affect. Employing a virtual lesion TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) technique, we disrupted the MPFC while participants rated their mood based on two anchor affect terms. During TMS, the participants rated their current emotional mental state. Compared to sham TMS, it was found that mood was reduced immediately following single-pulse MPFC stimulation. The results supported the hypothesis the MPFC mood reduction occurs when the MPFC is disrupted. Because this study replicated the conditions employed in previous self-deception studies, we suggest that the results may indicate that lack of self-enhancement may lead to a decrease in mood. Further studies should examine this possibility.

The medial prefrontal cortex: a potential link between self-deception and affect.

Humans employ a number of strategies to improve their position in their given social hierarchy. Overclaiming involves presenting oneself as having more knowledge than one actually possesses, and it is typically invoked to increase one's social standing. If increased expectations to possess knowledge is a perceived social pressure, such expectations should increase bouts of overclaiming. As the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) is sensitive to social pressure and disruption of the MPFC leads to decreases in overclaiming, we predicted that transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) applied to the MPFC would reduce overclaiming and the effects would be enhanced in the presence of social pressure. Twelve participants were given a test in which half of the words were real and half were fake, and they were asked how well they knew each word. They were not told that any of the words were fake. Half of the participants were exposed to social pressure while the other half were not. Following TMS delivered to the MPFC, overclaiming rates decreased, specifically under conditions of high social pressure. Medial PFC TMS did not influence real word responses and real words did not interact with the MPFC and social pressure. These preliminary findings support the significant role the MPFC plays in social cognition and the importance of the MPFC in mediating socially meaningful situations. We suggest the role of the MPFC as being highly influenced by the premium placed on social manipulation in human evolution.

Preliminary Evidence of the Role of Medial Prefrontal Cortex in Self-Enhancement: A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Study.

Only by understanding the ability to take a third-person perspective can we begin to elucidate the neural processes responsible for one's inimitable conscious experience. The current study examined differences in hemispheric laterality during a first-person perspective (1PP) and third-person perspective (3PP) taking task, using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Participants were asked to take either the 1PP or 3PP when identifying the number of spheres in a virtual scene. During this task, single-pulse TMS was delivered to the motor cortex of both the left and right hemispheres of 10 healthy volunteers. Measures of TMS-induced motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) of the contralateral abductor pollicis brevis (APB) were employed as an indicator of lateralized cortical activation. The data suggest that the right hemisphere is more important in discriminating between 1PP and 3PP. These data add a novel method for determining perspective taking and add to the literature supporting the role of the right hemisphere in meta representation.

Corticospinal Excitability during a Perspective Taking Task as Measured by TMS-Induced Motor Evoked Potentials.

For more than two decades, research focusing on both clinical and non-clinical populations has suggested a key role for specific regions in the regulation of self-conscious emotions. It is speculated that both the expression and the interpretation of self-conscious emotions are critical in humans for action planning and response, communication, learning, parenting, and most social encounters. Empathy, Guilt, Jealousy, Shame, and Pride are all categorized as self-conscious emotions, all of which are crucial components to one's sense of self. There has been an abundance of evidence pointing to the right Fronto-Temporal involvement in the integration of cognitive processes underlying the expression of these emotions. Numerous regions within the right hemisphere have been identified including the right temporal parietal junction (rTPJ), the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and the inferior parietal lobule (IPL). In this review, we aim to investigate patient cases, in addition to clinical and non-clinical studies. We also aim to highlight these specific brain regions pivotal to the right hemispheric dominance observed in the neural correlates of such self-conscious emotions and provide the potential role that self-conscious emotions play in evolution.

Self-Conscious Emotions and the Right Fronto-Temporal and Right Temporal Parietal Junction.

Self-enhancement (SE) is often overlooked as a fundamental cognitive ability mediated via the Prefrontal Cortex (PFC). Here, we present research that establishes the relationship between the PFC, SE, and the potential evolved beneficial mechanisms. Specifically, we believe there is now enough evidence to speculate that SE exists to provide significant benefits and should be considered a normal aspect of the self. Whatever the metabolic or social cost, the upside of SE is great enough that it is a core and fundamental psychological construct. Furthermore, though entirely theoretical, we suggest that a critical reason the PFC has evolved so significantly in  is to, in part, sustain SE. We, therefore, elaborate on its proximate and ultimate mechanisms.

Self-Enhancement and the Medial Prefrontal Cortex: The Convergence of Clinical and Experimental Findings.

Editorial: Emotional lateralization and psychopathology.

Social exclusion refers to the experience of rejection by one or more people during a social event and can induce pain-related sensations. Cyberball, a computer program, is one of the most common tools for analyzing social exclusion. Regions of the brain that underlie social pain include networks linked to the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Specifically, self-directed negative socially induced exclusion is associated with changes in DLPFC activity. Direct manipulation of this area may provide a better understanding of how the DLPFC can influence the perception of social exclusion and determine a causal role of the DLPFC. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was applied to both the left and right DLPFC to gauge different reactions to the Cyberball experience. It was found that there were elevated exclusion indices following right DLPFC rTMS; participants consistently felt more excluded when the right DLPFC was excited. This may relate to greater feelings of social pain when the right DLPFC is manipulated. These data demonstrate that direct manipulation of the DLPFC results in changes in responses to social exclusion.

Excitatory Dorsal Lateral Prefrontal Cortex Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Increases Social Anxiety.

(1) Objective: Narcissism is characterized by emotional regulation deficits, a lack of empathy for others, and extreme self-focus. Narcissism has also been linked to an increased desire for fame and celebrity worship. Here, the neuroscience underlying narcissism is examined in order to determine what regions and networks of the brain are altered when non-narcissistic individuals are compared to participants with both grandiose and vulnerable narcissism. (2) Methods: The behavioral relationships between grandiose narcissism and desire for fame and vulnerable narcissism and celebrity worship are explored, along with a possible relationship at the neural level between these constructs. In this paper, we review research demonstrating that increased levels of grandiose narcissism are associated with an increase in obsession with fame, while vulnerable narcissism is associated with celebrity worship. (3) Results: Based on current data, the frontal regions underlie narcissism and also likely underlie celebrity worship and desire for fame. This tenuous conclusion is based on a limited number of studies. (4) Conclusions: The brain areas associated with grandiose narcissism may be associated with an intense desire for fame as well, while brain regions associated with vulnerable narcissism may be similar in celebrity worshipers. Future research studies on the brain that are specifically designed to test these relationships at a neurological level are needed.

The Neural Correlates of Narcissism: Is There a Connection with Desire for Fame and Celebrity Worship?

Déjà vu and involuntary autobiographical memories (IAMs) are differentiated by a number of factors including metacognition. In contrast to IAMs, déjà vu activates regions associated with self-awareness including the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

Oh it's me again: Déjà vu, the brain, and self-awareness.

Understanding the intricate dynamics between conscious choice and neural processes is crucial for unraveling the complexity of human decision-making. This study investigates the effects of inhibitory Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) on choice bias, shedding light on the malleability of cognitive-motor functions involved in decisions. While reaction times remained unaffected, inhibitory TMS to either the left or right motor cortex led to a significant bias in screen side preference during a choice task. These findings suggest that our cognitive-motor processes underlying decision-making can be unconsciously influenced by TMS. Furthermore, analysis of choice attribution categories revealed individual variability, emphasizing the complex nature of the decision-making process. These insights contribute to the ongoing exploration of the neural mechanisms governing human choice. As the neural basis of free will continues to captivate scientific inquiry, this research advances our understanding of the intricate relationship between neural circuits and conscious intention.

ArticleTotal : 2	Year
Publication title Cited by 3	2022
Publication title Cited by 3	2024

Article	Year
Hemispheric asymmetry and deception detection. Laterality\| PubMed ID: 15849029	2005
In-game fatigue influences concussions in national hockey league players. Research in sports medicine (Print)\| PubMed ID: 18373290	2008
Elucidating the neural correlates of egoistic and moralistic self-enhancement. Consciousness and cognition\| PubMed ID: 18417363	2008
Overclaiming and the medial prefrontal cortex: A transcranial magnetic stimulation study. Cognitive neuroscience\| PubMed ID: 24168380	2010
The Anatomical and Evolutionary Relationship between Self-awareness and Theory of Mind. Human nature (Hawthorne, N.Y.)\| PubMed ID: 26181846	2007
The medial prefrontal cortex: a potential link between self-deception and affect. The International journal of neuroscience\| PubMed ID: 32253949	2021
Preliminary Evidence of the Role of Medial Prefrontal Cortex in Self-Enhancement: A Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Study. Brain sciences\| PubMed ID: 32784394	2020
Corticospinal Excitability during a Perspective Taking Task as Measured by TMS-Induced Motor Evoked Potentials. Brain sciences\| PubMed ID: 33919538	2021
Self-Conscious Emotions and the Right Fronto-Temporal and Right Temporal Parietal Junction. Brain sciences\| PubMed ID: 35203902	2022
Self-Enhancement and the Medial Prefrontal Cortex: The Convergence of Clinical and Experimental Findings. Brain sciences\| PubMed ID: 36009167	2022
Editorial: Emotional lateralization and psychopathology. Frontiers in psychiatry\| PubMed ID: 37457769	2023
Excitatory Dorsal Lateral Prefrontal Cortex Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Increases Social Anxiety. Brain sciences\| PubMed ID: 37508921	2023
The Neural Correlates of Narcissism: Is There a Connection with Desire for Fame and Celebrity Worship? Brain sciences\| PubMed ID: 37891865	2023
Oh it's me again: Déjà vu, the brain, and self-awareness. The Behavioral and brain sciences\| PubMed ID: 37961797	2023
Alterations in Brain Activity Induced by Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Their Relation to Decision Making. Biology\| PubMed ID: 37997965	2023

Julian Paul Keenan

Biography

JoVE Journal Publications

Other Publications