Posner Michael I
Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, USA.
Cortex. 2020 Jan;122:6-9. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2018.07.022. Epub 2018 Aug 31.
This paper is a review of our recent studies and ideas related to the neuropsychological issues that Robert Rafal and I worked together to understand attention and hopefully improve it in a variety of patients. Rehabilitation is also a goal of my current research to determine if non invasive stimuli can improve white matter in humans. We have found that fractional anisotropy (FA) is improved in pathways surrounding the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) following two week to four weeks of meditation training. We hypothesized that the frontal theta increased following meditation training might be a cause of the improved connectivity. This was confirmed by a mouse study using optogenetics to impose theta rhythms in the ACC. We have evidence that electrical stimulation while performing a task that activates the ACC can also increase theta. We plan studies to determine whether two to four weeks of stimulation can improve FA in pathways surrounding the anterior cingulate.
本文回顾了我和罗伯特·拉法尔近期共同开展的研究及相关想法，这些研究围绕神经心理学问题展开，旨在理解注意力，并有望改善各类患者的注意力。康复也是我目前研究的一个目标，即确定非侵入性刺激是否能改善人类白质。我们发现，经过两到四周的冥想训练后，前扣带回皮质（ACC）周围通路的分数各向异性（FA）有所改善。我们推测，冥想训练后额叶θ波增加可能是连接性改善的原因。一项使用光遗传学在ACC中施加θ节律的小鼠研究证实了这一点。我们有证据表明，在执行激活ACC的任务时进行电刺激也能增加θ波。我们计划开展研究，以确定两到四周的刺激是否能改善前扣带回周围通路的FA。
