Name: correlating behavioral responses to fmri signals from human prefrontal cortex: examining cognitive processes using task analysis
Uploaded: 2012-06-20T12:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Correlating Behavioral Responses to fMRI Signals from Human Prefrontal Cortex: Examining Cognitive Processes Using Task Analysis at JoVE.com

Funded by the National Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) to JFXD, Faculty of Health, York University and author SO has PhD funding by The Ontario Problem Gambling Research Centre (OPGRC).

1. Before Entering the MRI Room
<ol>
	<li>Participants complete a consent form explaining all the experimental risks (e.g. pacemaker, claustrophobia, metallic implants, chance of pregnancy, etc), and benefits of their participation.</li>
	<li>All participants are required to fill out the MRI safety and screening questionnaire (brief medical history, previous surgical procedures etc.) Participants with contraindications must be excluded.</li>
</ol>
2. Task Overview and Training
<ol>
	<li>Provid...

<ol>
	<li>Stroop, J. R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Studies+of+interference+in+serial+verbal+reactions.">Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions.</a> Journal of Experimental Psychology. 18, 643-662 (1935).</li><li>Ovaysikia, S., Tahir, K. A., Chan, J. L., DeSouza, J. F. X. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Word+wins+over+face:+emotional+Stroop+effect+activates+the+frontal+cortical+network.">Word wins over face: emotional Stroop effect activates the frontal cortical network.</a> Front Hum. Neurosci. 4, 234 (2011).</li><li>Hallett, P. E. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Primary+and+secondary+saccades+to+goals+defined+by+instructions.">Primary and secondary saccades to goals defined by instructions.</a> Vision Res. 18, 1279-1296 (1978).</li><li>Connolly, J. D., Goodale, M. A., DeSouza, J. F. X., Menon, R. S., Vilis, T. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+comparison+of+frontoparietal+fMRI+activation+during+anti-saccades+and+anti-pointing.">A comparison of frontoparietal fMRI activation during anti-saccades and anti-pointing.</a> J. Neurophysiol. 84, 1645-1655 (2000).</li><li>DeSouza, J. F. X., Menon, R. S., Everling, S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Preparatory+set+associated+with+pro-saccades+and+anti-saccades+in+humans+investigated+with+event-related+FMRI.">Preparatory set associated with pro-saccades and anti-saccades in humans investigated with event-related FMRI.</a> J. Neurophysiol. 89, 1016-1023 (2003).</li><li>Everling, S., DeSouza, J. F. X. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Rule-dependent+activity+for+prosaccades+and+antisaccades+in+the+primate+prefrontal+cortex.">Rule-dependent activity for prosaccades and antisaccades in the primate prefrontal cortex.</a> J. Cogn. Neurosci. 17, 1483-1496 (2005).</li><li>Ford, K. A., Goltz, H. C., Brown, M. R. G., Everling, S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Neural+processes+associated+with+antisaccade+task+performance+investigated+with+event-related+fMRI.">Neural processes associated with antisaccade task performance investigated with event-related fMRI.</a> J. Neurophysiol. 94, 429-440 (2005).</li><li>DeSouza, J. F. X., Nicolle, D. A., Vilis, T. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Task-dependent+changes+in+the+shape+and+thickness+of+Listing's+plane.">Task-dependent changes in the shape and thickness of Listing's plane.</a> Vision Res. 37, 2271-2282 (1997).</li><li>Hadjikhani, N. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Mechanisms+of+migraine+aura+revealed+by+functional+MRI+in+human+visual+cortex.">Mechanisms of migraine aura revealed by functional MRI in human visual cortex.</a> Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 98, 4687-4692 (2001).</li><li>DeSouza, J. F. X. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Eye+position+signal+modulates+a+human+parietal+pointing+region+during+memory-guided+movements.">Eye position signal modulates a human parietal pointing region during memory-guided movements.</a> J. Neurosci. 20, 5835-5840 (2000).</li></ol>

Identifying brain regions relies on creating an accurate contrast between the tasks scanned (i.e. in either the Stroop, incongruent versus congruent emotion and facial expression; or anti-saccade versus pro-saccade) in order to produce a map of activation related to the task. These functional maps can be more refined when behavior is collected in the scanner to remove trials where the subject made errors. These errors can be removed and if there was enough numbers of errors than functional maps could be made of these<sup...

A correction was made to <a href="http://http://www.jove.com/video/3237">Correlating Behavioral Responses to fMRI Signals from Human Prefrontal Cortex: Examining Cognitive Processes Using Task Analysis</a>. Joseph DeSouza and Laura Pynn middle initials were omitted at publication.
These have been corrected to:
Joseph F.X. DeSouza Laura K. Pynn

A correction was made to <a href="http://http://www.jove.com/video/3237">Correlating Behavioral Responses to fMRI Signals from Human Prefrontal Cortex: Examining Cognitive Processes Using Task Analysis</a>. Some of the authors middle initials were omitted.

Erratum: Correlating Behavioral Responses to fMRI Signals from Human Prefrontal Cortex: Examining Cognitive Processes Using Task Analysis

<table border="1">
<tbody>
 <tr>
 <td>Name of Equipment</td>
 <td>Company</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>3-Tesla MRI machine</td>
 <td>Siemens Magnetom Trio (Erlangen, Germany)</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>iViewX Eye Tracking </td>
 <td>SensoMotoric Instruments, Inc. </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>BrainVoyager QX software </td>
 <td>Brain Innovation, Maastricht, The Netherlands</td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>Four-button Joystick</td>
 <td>Current Designs, Inc., Philadelphia, PA, USA </td>
 </tr>
 </tbody>
</table>
Table 1. Specific Reagents and Equipment.

correlating behavioral responses to fmri signals from human prefrontal cortex: examining cognitive processes using task analysis

The aim of this methods paper is to describe how to implement a neuroimaging technique to examine complementary brain processes engaged by two similar tasks. Participants' behavior during task performance in an fMRI scanner can then be correlated to the brain activity using the blood-oxygen-level-dependent signal. We measure behavior to be able to sort correct trials, where the subject performed the task correctly and then be able to examine the brain signals related to correct performance. Conversely, if subjects do not perform the task correctly, and these trials are included in the same analysis with the correct trials we would introduce trials that were not only for correct performance. Thus, in many cases these errors can be used themselves to then correlate brain activity to them. We describe two complementary tasks that are used in our lab to examine the brain during suppression of an automatic responses: the stroop1 and anti-saccade tasks. The emotional stroop paradigm instructs participants to either report the superimposed emotional 'word' across the affective faces or the facial 'expressions' of the face stimuli1,2. When the word and the facial expression refer to different emotions, a conflict between what must be said and what is automatically read occurs. The participant has to resolve the conflict between two simultaneously competing processes of word reading and facial expression. Our urge to read out a word leads to strong 'stimulus-response (SR)' associations; hence inhibiting these strong SR's is difficult and participants are prone to making errors. Overcoming this conflict and directing attention away from the face or the word requires the subject to inhibit bottom up processes which typically directs attention to the more salient stimulus. Similarly, in the anti-saccade task3,4,5,6, where an instruction cue is used to direct only attention to a peripheral stimulus location but then the eye movement is made to the mirror opposite position. Yet again we measure behavior by recording the eye movements of participants which allows for the sorting of the behavioral responses into correct and error trials7 which then can be correlated to brain activity. Neuroimaging now allows researchers to measure different behaviors of correct and error trials that are indicative of different cognitive processes and pinpoint the different neural networks involved.

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Correlating Behavioral Responses to fMRI Signals from Human Prefrontal Cortex: Examining Cognitive Processes Using Task Analysis at JoVE.com

Correlating Behavioral Responses to fMRI Signals from Human Prefrontal Cortex: Examining Cognitive Processes Using Task Analysis

The goal of our research is to correlate behavior to brain activity. Accurate behavioral measures and imaging techniques allow us to elucidate brain-behavior relationships.

The aim of this methods paper is to describe how to implement a neuroimaging technique to examine complementary brain processes engaged by two similar ...

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