Biology subjects

Gurevitch, G.

Publications and source records attributed to Gurevitch, G..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Music-to-My-Brain: Modulation of Reward System Activity via Musical Neurofeedback

Music robustly engages the human reward system, yet whether this engagement can be harnessed for volitional self-neuromodulation remains unknown. We developed a musical neurofeedback approach that enables individuals to control a validated, fMRI-informed EEG marker of ventral striatal activity. Personalized pleasurable music served as feedback, becoming increasingly rewarding through acoustic manipulation as regulation improved, thereby creating a positive feedback loop. Across three double-blind, sham-controlled studies (N=80; two with repeated training), contingent neurofeedback enabled participants to upregulate this EEG signal reflecting ventral striatal activity; in studies with repeated training, this learning generalized to no-feedback contexts. In the neurofeedback (but not sham) group, regulation success correlated with self-reported hedonic capacity, indicating behavioral relevance. Pre-post fMRI further showed that improvements in ventral striatal BOLD self-regulation were associated with EEG-based regulation performance, supporting the EEG measure as a marker of ventral striatal modulation. Mechanistically, neurofeedback training enhanced functional connectivity between right auditory cortex and ventral striatum during listening to trained music, with stronger effects in the neurofeedback than in the sham group, demonstrating experience-dependent modification of auditory-reward pathways. Together, these findings reveal a mechanism for music-based reward self-regulation and offer a potential scalable, personalized approach for targeting reward dysfunction such as anhedonia.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

Amygdala Self-Neuromodulation Capacity as a Window for Process-Related Network Recruitment

Neurofeedback (NF) has emerged as a promising avenue for demonstrating process-related neuroplasticity, enabling self-regulation of brain function. NF targeting the amygdala has drawn attention for therapeutic potential in psychiatry, by potentially harnessing emotion-regulation processes. However, not all individuals respond equally to NF training, possibly due to varying self-regulation abilities. This underscores the importance of understanding the mechanisms behind successful neuromodulation (i.e. capacity). This study aimed to investigate the establishment and neural correlates of neuromodulation capacity by using data from repeated sessions of Amygdala Electrical Finger Print (EFP)-NF and post-training fMRI-NF session. Results from 97 psychiatric patients and healthy participants revealed increased amygdala-EFP neuromodulation capacity over training, associated with post-training amygdala fMRI modulation-capacity and improvements in alexithymia. Individual differences in this capacity were associated with pre-training amygdala reactivity and initial neuromodulation success. Additionally, amygdala down-regulation during fMRI-NF co-modulated with other regions such as the posterior-insula and parahippocampal gyrus. This combined modulation better explained EFP-modulation capacity and improvement in alexithymia than the amygdala modulation alone, suggesting the relevance of this broader network to the gained capacity. These findings support a network-based approach for NF and highlight the need to consider individual differences in brain function and modulation capacity to optimize NF interventions.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2019

Electroencephalographic evidence for the involvement of mirror neuron and error monitoring related processes in virtual body ownership

The illusion that an artificial or virtual object becomes part of ones body has been demonstrated and productively investigated in the past two decades. Empirical and theoretical accounts of this phenomenon suggest that the body ownership illusion relies not on a single process, but rather on the alignment of the biological and the alternative bodies across multiple aspects. However, the portrayal of these aspects and the demarcation of their neurophysiological correlates has yet to be established.\n\nOur study examines electroencephalographic (EEG) markers of two extensively studied systems in the context of virtual body ownership illusion: the mirror neuron system (MNS) and the error monitoring system (EMS). We designed an experimental manipulation of brief involuntary virtual hand bounces, which triggers both systems, and examined how the response of EEG markers of these systems to this manipulation is modulated by three aspects of body ownership: agency, visuotactile synchronicity, and semantic congruence between the participants hands and its virtual representation.\n\nWe found evidence for enhanced MNS-related suppression of power at the Mu band in the synchronous and semantic congruence conditions. On the other hand, the EMS-related Pe/P300 wave was reduced by semantic congruence. This Pe/P300 effect was stronger among participants who exhibited higher acceptance of the spatial illusion and increased tendency for affective empathy. Mu power and Pe/P300 were not correlated, suggesting a dissociation between the distinct aspects of body ownership they probe. The findings suggest that synchronicity and semantic congruence induce sensorimotor sensitivity to the alternative body, whereas the latter parameter also buffers minor erroneous virtual motions. These neurophysiological markers may be added to the arsenal of body ownership probes, and integrated in VR rehabilitation protocols.

neuroscience↗