Biology subjects

Penhune, V.

Publications and source records attributed to Penhune, V..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2023

Patterns of Cerebellar-Cortical Structural Covariance Mirror Anatomical Connectivity of Sensorimotor and Cognitive Networks

The cortex and cerebellum are densely connected through reciprocal input/output projections that form segregated loop circuits. Anatomical studies in primates and imaging studies in humans show that anterior lobules of the cerebellum exhibit denser connections to sensorimotor and parietal cortical regions, while lobules Crus I and II are more heavily connected to prefrontal regions. The cerebellum and cortex develop in tandem in childhood, leading to the hypothesis that individual differences in structure should be related, especially for connected regions. To test this hypothesis we examined covariation between the volumes of anterior sensorimotor and lateral cognitive lobules of the cerebellum and measures of cortical thickness (CT) and surface surface area (SA) across the whole brain in a sample of 270 young, healthy adults drawn from the HCP dataset. We found that patterns of cerebellar-cortical covariance differed between sensorimotor and cognitive networks such that anterior motor lobules of the cerebellum showed greater covariance with sensorimotor regions of the cortex, while lobules Crus I and Crus II showed greater covariance with frontal and temporal regions. Interestingly, cerebellar volume showed predominantly negative relationships with CT and predominantly positive relationships with SA. Individual differences in SA are thought to be largely under genetic control while CT is thought to be more malleable by experience. This suggests that cerebellar-cortical covariation for SA may be a more stable feature, whereas covariation for CT may be more affected by development. Additionally, dissimilarity metrics revealed that the pattern of covariance showed a gradual transition between sensorimotor and cognitive lobules, consistent with evidence of functional gradients within the cerebellum. Taken together, these findings are consistent with known patterns of structural and functional connectivity between the cerebellum and cortex. They also shed new light on possibly differing relationships between cerebellar volume and cortical thickness and surface area. Finally, our findings are consistent with the interactive specialization framework which proposes that structurally and functionally connected brain regions develop in concert.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2019

Music predictability and liking enhance pupil dilation and promote motor learning in non-musicians

Humans can anticipate music and derive pleasure from it. Expectations facilitate movements associated with anticipated events, and they are linked with reward, which may also facilitate learning of the anticipated rewarding events. The present study investigates the synergistic effects of predictability and hedonic responses to music on arousal and motor-learning in a naive population. Novel melodies were manipulated in their overall predictability (predictable/unpredictable) as objectively defined by a model of music expectation, and ranked as high/medium/low liked based on participants self-reports collected during an initial listening session. During this session, we also recorded ocular pupil size as an implicit measure of listeners arousal. During the following motor task, participants learned to play target notes of the melodies on a keyboard (notes were of similar motor and musical complexity across melodies). Pupil dilation was greater for liked melodies, particularly when predictable. Motor performance was facilitated in predictable more than unpredictable melodies, but liked melodies were learned even in the unpredictable condition. Low-liked melodies also showed learning but mostly in participants with higher scores of task perceived competence. Taken together, these results suggest that effects of predictability on learning can be overshadowed by effects of stimulus liking or task-related intrinsic motivation.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2018

The sensation of groove is affected by the interaction of rhythmic and harmonic complexity

Groove is defined as the pleasurable desire to move to music. Research has shown that rhythmic complexity modulates the sensation of groove but how other musical features, such as harmony, influence groove is less clear. To address this, we asked people with a range of musical experience to rate stimuli that varied in both rhythmic and harmonic complexity. Rhythm showed an inverted U-shaped relationship with ratings of pleasure and wanting to move, whereas medium and low complexity chords were rated similarly. Pleasure mediated the effect of harmony on wanting to move and high complexity chords attenuated the effect of rhythm. While rhythmic complexity is the primary driver, harmony both modulates the effect of rhythm and makes a unique contribution via its effect on pleasure. These results may be accounted for by predictive processes based on rhythmic and harmonic expectancies that are known to contribute to musical pleasure or reward.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2018

Partially Overlapping Brain Networks for Singing and Cello Playing

1This research uses an MR-Compatible cello to compare functional brain activation during singing and cello playing within the same individuals to determine the extent to which arbitrary auditory-motor associations, like those required to play the cello, co-opt functional brain networks that evolved for singing. Musical instrument playing and singing both require highly specific associations between sounds and movements. However, vocal motor control is an evolutionarily old human trait and the auditory-motor associations used for singing are also used for speech and nonspeech vocalizations. This sets it apart from the arbitrary auditory-motor associations required to play musical instruments. The pitch range of the cello is similar to that of the human voice, but cello playing is completely independent of the vocal apparatus and can therefore be used to dissociate the auditory-vocal network from that of the auditory-motor network. While in the MR-Scanner, 11 expert cellists listened to and subsequently produced individual tones either by singing or cello playing. All participants were able to sing and play the target tones in tune (within 50Cents). We found that brain activity during cello playing directly overlaps with brain activity during singing in many areas within the auditory-vocal network. These include primary motor, dorsal pre-motor, and supplementary motor cortices, the primary and periprimary auditory cortices within the superior temporal gyrus including Heschls gyrus, anterior insula, anterior cingulate cortex, and intraparietal sulcus, and cerebellum but, notably, exclude the periaqueductal grey and basal ganglia. Second, we found that activity within the overlapping areas is positively correlated with, and therefore likely contributing to, both singing and playing in tune determined with performance measures. Third, we found that activity in auditory areas is functionally connected with activity in dorsal motor and pre-motor areas, and that the connectivity between them is positively correlated with good performance on this task. This functional connectivity suggests that the brain areas are working together to contribute to task performance and not just coincidently active. Last, our findings showed that cello playing may directly co-opt vocal areas (including larynx area of motor cortex), especially if musical training begins before age 7.

neuroscience↗