In everyday listening situations, we need to constantly switch between alternative sound sources and engage attention according to cues that match our goals and expectations. The exact neuronal bases of these processes are poorly understood. We investigated oscillatory brain networks controlling auditory attention using cortically constrained fMRI-weighted magnetoencephalography/EEG source estimates. During consecutive trials, participants were instructed to shift attention based on a cue, presented in the ear where a target was likely to follow.
The ability to dynamically and rapidly adjust task performance based on its outcome is fundamental to adaptive, flexible behavior. Over trials of a task, responses speed up until an error is committed and after the error responses slow down. These dynamic adjustments serve to optimize performance and are well-described by the speed-accuracy trade-off (SATO) function.
The MR Physics and Instrumentation Group (MRPIGs) works to develop instrumentation to bring new levels of disease and biology under the lens of non-invasive human imaging. Although most academic work in MRI focuses on acquisition and reconstruction software, hardware and software methodology must advance together to gain maximum benefit in detection sensitivity, speed and the capabilities of the technology.
The Martinos Center’s Gaelle Desbordes and colleagues have shown that meditation can have lasting impact on brain function, even outside periods of formal meditation.
Their research focused on a part of the brain called the amygdala, which is involved in the processing of emotional stimuli. Functional MRI scans showed decreased activity in the amygdala in response to images with emotional content after eight weeks of meditation training.
Alok Jha of the Observer recently spoke with Martinos Center researcher Van Wedeen about his work with the connectome. Read what he had to say in "My life as a guinea pig for science."
The Valera Lab at the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging uses a range of neuroimaging and neuropsychological methodologies to investigate two understudied areas of interest: 1) the role of the cerebellum in psychiatric illness and 2) the sequelae of traumatic brain injuries in women experiencing intimate-partner violence.
