Koush Yury, Meskaldji Djalel-E, Pichon Swann, Rey Gwladys, Rieger Sebastian W, Linden David E J, Van De Ville Dimitri, Vuilleumier Patrik, Scharnowski Frank
Institute of Bioengineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1202 Geneva, Switzerland.
Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics.
Cereb Cortex. 2017 Feb 1;27(2):1193-1202. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhv311.
Most mental functions are associated with dynamic interactions within functional brain networks. Thus, training individuals to alter functional brain networks might provide novel and powerful means to improve cognitive performance and emotions. Using a novel connectivity-neurofeedback approach based on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we show for the first time that participants can learn to change functional brain networks. Specifically, we taught participants control over a key component of the emotion regulation network, in that they learned to increase top-down connectivity from the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, which is involved in cognitive control, onto the amygdala, which is involved in emotion processing. After training, participants successfully self-regulated the top-down connectivity between these brain areas even without neurofeedback, and this was associated with concomitant increases in subjective valence ratings of emotional stimuli of the participants. Connectivity-based neurofeedback goes beyond previous neurofeedback approaches, which were limited to training localized activity within a brain region. It allows to noninvasively and nonpharmacologically change interconnected functional brain networks directly, thereby resulting in specific behavioral changes. Our results demonstrate that connectivity-based neurofeedback training of emotion regulation networks enhances emotion regulation capabilities. This approach can potentially lead to powerful therapeutic emotion regulation protocols for neuropsychiatric disorders.
大多数心理功能与功能性脑网络内的动态交互相关联。因此，训练个体改变功能性脑网络可能为改善认知表现和情绪提供新颖且有力的方法。使用基于功能磁共振成像（fMRI）的一种新型连接性神经反馈方法，我们首次表明参与者能够学会改变功能性脑网络。具体而言，我们教会参与者控制情绪调节网络的一个关键组成部分，即他们学会增强从参与认知控制的背内侧前额叶皮质到参与情绪处理的杏仁核的自上而下的连接性。训练后，即使没有神经反馈，参与者也成功地自我调节了这些脑区之间的自上而下的连接性，并且这与参与者对情绪刺激的主观效价评分的相应增加相关联。基于连接性的神经反馈超越了以往的神经反馈方法，以往的方法局限于训练脑区内的局部活动。它允许直接以非侵入性和非药物方式改变相互连接的功能性脑网络，从而导致特定的行为变化。我们的结果表明，对情绪调节网络进行基于连接性的神经反馈训练可增强情绪调节能力。这种方法可能会为神经精神疾病带来强大的治疗性情绪调节方案。
