Biology subjects

Studenova, A.

Publications and source records attributed to Studenova, A..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Non-uniform effects of remaining field spread on the estimation of M/EEG activity and connectivity between regions of interest

In M/EEG analyses, it is often convenient to extract time series of activity originating from the regions of interest (ROIs). However, due to the spread of electric and magnetic fields, M/EEG recordings capture activity from all sources within the brain. Commonly used approaches for the extraction of ROI activity only partially alleviate this problem, and field spread remains a challenge even at the level of ROI time series. Because of the remaining field spread (RFS), the extracted time series captures activity not only from the considered ROI but also from other regions (not necessarily neighboring ones). The amount of RFS can strongly affect the validity of interpretations: with more RFS, the extracted time series becomes less representative of the ROI. However, neither the amount nor the pattern of RFS is usually known. In this study, we apply the cross-talk function (CTF) to analyze contributions of all sources across the brain to the extracted ROI time series, thereby quantifying the degree of RFS. With CTF, we show that the effect of RFS on the extraction of ROI activity and on the estimation of inter-regional connectivity is highly non-uniform across the cortex. In particular, ROIs farther away from the recording sensors are more likely to capture activity and connectivity from other areas. Finally, we validate this observation in simulations and complement it by investigating spurious and ghost interactions in real data. Overall, our results illustrate how CTF can be used as a diagnostic tool to quantify the effects of RFS and to evaluate pipelines for the extraction of ROI activity.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Voluntary movement initiation is associated with cardiac input in Libet's task.

The relationship between motor intention and initiation of voluntary movement remains a fundamental topic in neuroscience, originating from the B. Libet seminal framework introduced in 1983. Libets paradigm significantly influenced discussions on intentionality, motor control, and free will. However, methodological critiques continue to challenge its interpretations, specifically the accuracy and validity of the urge to move phenomenon. One understudied factor in this debate is the potential influence of interoceptive signals--particularly cardiac activity--in shaping the experience of motor intention and movement initiation. In our study, we addressed this gap by examining whether cardiac signals modulate participants experience of the urge to move, using behavioural and electrophysiological measures in 34 healthy human participants performing Libets task. Crucially, when participants were asked to report the perceived urge to move, their button press timings were predominantly aligned with the diastolic phase of the cardiac cycle, indicating cardiac modulation of motor intention perception. However, analysing heart evoked potential (HEP) amplitudes as a measure of cardiac input perception, we observed no differences in HEP amplitudes associated with changes in introspective demands during the task in both source and sensor spaces. Our results suggest that implicit perception of cardiac signals biases subjective experience of voluntary action initiation, independent from cortical interoceptive markers. These findings have implications for models of motor preparation, intentionality and the bodily basis of voluntary action, challenging conventional interpretations of motor intention and informing debates on volition and interoception. Significance StatementOur study provides evidence that implicit perception of cardiac signals influences the subjective experience of motor intention--the urge to move in Libets experiment. We demonstrate, for the first time, that when reporting urge to move, participants tended to initiate voluntary movements during the diastolic phase of the cardiac cycle. These findings challenge traditional views on factors affecting motor initiation, suggesting relevance of interoceptive processing. By highlighting the role of cardiac input in experiencing motor intention, our findings impact existing debates on volition, agency and free will, further underscoring the importance of integrating bodily signals into these theoretical frameworks.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2023

Sensorimotor brain-computer interface performance depends on signal-to-noise ratio but not connectivity of the mu rhythm in a multiverse analysis of longitudinal data

ObjectiveServing as a channel for communication with locked-in patients or control of prostheses, sensorimotor brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) decode imaginary movements from the recorded activity of the users brain. However, many individuals remain unable to control the BCI, and the underlying mechanisms are unclear. The users BCI performance was previously shown to correlate with the resting-state signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the mu rhythm and the phase synchronization (PS) of the mu rhythm between sensorimotor areas. Yet, these predictors of performance were primarily evaluated in a single BCI session, while the longitudinal aspect remains rather uninvestigated. In addition, different analysis pipelines were used to estimate PS in source space, potentially hindering the reproducibility of the results. ApproachTo systematically address these issues, we performed an extensive validation of the relationship between pre-stimulus SNR, PS, and session-wise BCI performance using a publicly available dataset of 62 human participants performing up to 11 sessions of BCI training. We performed the analysis in sensor space using the surface Laplacian and in source space by combining 24 processing pipelines in a multiverse analysis. This way, we could investigate how robust the observed effects were to the selection of the pipeline. Main resultsOur results show that SNR had both between- and within-subject effects on BCI performance for the majority of the pipelines. In contrast, the effect of PS on BCI performance was less robust to the selection of the pipeline and became non-significant after controlling for SNR. SignificanceTaken together, our results demonstrate that changes in neuronal connectivity within the sensorimotor system are not critical for learning to control a BCI, and interventions that increase the SNR of the mu rhythm might lead to improvements in the users BCI performance.

neuroscience↗