Search bioRxiv⌕ Search
Home/Archive/bioRxiv

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2020.03.24.995696

Enhanced mirroring upon mutual gaze: Multimodal evidence from TMS-assessed corticospinal excitability and the EEG mu rhythm

Prinsen, J.·Alaerts, K.
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Eye-to-eye contact is a salient cue for regulating everyday social interaction and communication. Previous research has demonstrated that direct eye contact between actor and observer specifically enhances the mirroring of others actions in the observer, as measured by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)-induced motor evoked potentials (MEPs; an index of motor cortex excitability during action observation). However, it remains unknown whether other markers of mirror system activation, such as suppression of the EEG mu rhythm (i.e. attenuation of neural oscillations in the 8-13 Hz frequency band over the sensorimotor strip), are also susceptible to perceived eye contact. In the current study, a multimodal approach was adopted to assess both TMS-induced MEPs and EEG mu suppression (in separate sessions), while 32 participants (20 men; mean age: 24;8 years) observed a simple hand movement in combination with direct or averted gaze from the live stimulus person. Both indices of mirror system functioning were significantly modulated by perceived eye gaze; showing a significant increase in MEP amplitude and a significant attenuation of the mu rhythm when movement observation was accompanied with direct compared to averted gaze. Importantly, while inter-individual differences in absolute MEP and mu suppression scores were not significantly related, a significant association was identified between gaze-related changes in MEP responses and mu suppression. As such, it appears that while the neurophysiological substrates underlying mu suppression and TMS-induced MEP responses differ, both are similarly affected by the modulatory impact of gaze-related cues. In sum, our results suggest that both EEG mu rhythm and TMS-induced MEPs are sensitive to the social relevance of the observed actions, and that a similar neural substrate may drive gaze-related changes in these distinct markers of mirror system functioning.

Source connections

Explore related subjects

neurosciencePreprint

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Prinsen, J., Alaerts, K.. 2020-03-25. Enhanced mirroring upon mutual gaze: Multimodal evidence from TMS-assessed corticospinal excitability and the EEG mu rhythm. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03.24.995696

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

bioRxiv2026

The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Cell Types in Describing Neuronal Physiological Features

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) captures detailed gene expression profiles at scale, while patch-clamp recordings measure intrinsic neuronal electrophysiological properties. Modeling the relations between these two modalities remains a challenge. Here, we compare how well electrophysiological features can be predicted by traditional transcriptomic cell type classification, representations derived from a foundational model (scGPT) pretrained on large-scale scRNA-seq datasets, ion channel-coding genes, and highly variable genes. Using paired transcriptomic and electrophysiological patch-sequencing data from 495 human neurons from neurosurgical tissue, we find that cluster-level cell type representations consistently outperform highly variable gene selection, ion channel gene selection, and context-enriched scGPT embeddings. Notably, performance varies across model architectures and initializations, and the best results are obtained by combining the outputs of separate cell type and scGPT-based models. Together, these findings suggest that traditional discrete cellular classification is highly effective in predicting physiological features. For maximum performance it can be complemented by pretrained transformer models.

neuroscience↗
bioRxiv2026

A nonlinear inhibition pathway underlying cortical responses to tuned holographic optogenetic perturbations

Optogenetics enables causal manipulation of cortical activity. Perturbation responses can be counterintuitive due to network interactions, making theory essential for predicting them. Existing approaches often rely on linear approximations, which fail for many biologically relevant perturbations. Here we develop a nonlinear theory of responses to holographic perturbations in cell-type-specific recurrent networks with structured connectivity. We fit a nonlinear model to mouse V1 data, which shows cotuned-ensemble suppression: perturbing spatially clustered neurons with similar preferred orientations yields markedly stronger short-range suppression than perturbing untuned ensembles. We show that cotuned-ensemble suppression arises from a feature-tuned, nonlinear inhibition pathway implicating somatostatin-positive (SST) interneurons. The theory predicts that cotuned ensembles suppress parvalbumin-positive (PV) neurons but facilitate SST neurons, and links the degree of cotuned-ensemble suppression or facilitation to the variance of the SST response. This framework identifies mechanisms by which nonlinear inhibition sculpts cortical dynamics and establishes a predictive basis for targeted optogenetic interventions.

neuroscience↗
bioRxiv2026

Proteomic signatures of APOE ε4 across human tissues and cell types in Alzheimers disease

The apolipoprotein E {varepsilon}4 (APOE {varepsilon}4) allele is the strongest genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimers disease (AD). However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. This study included 1691 participants from the Religious Orders Study and Rush Memory and Aging Project (ROSMAP), 1226 participants from the Accelerating Medicines Partnership - Alzheimers Disease (AMP-AD) Diverse Cohorts Study, and 735 participants from the Alzheimers Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). To characterise APOE {varepsilon}4 molecular effects, we analysed proteomic data from plasma, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived astrocytes and neurons, as well as transcriptomic and proteomic data from multiple brain regions. The association of APOE {varepsilon}4 with AD neuropathology was also examined. APOE {varepsilon}4 carriers shared a plasma proteomic signature enriched for immune processes, irrespective of AD diagnosis. A machine learning classifier trained on this signature discriminated APOE {varepsilon}4 carriers from non-carriers in an independent cohort using CSF proteomics. APOE {varepsilon}4 carriage was associated with higher Braak stages and Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimers Disease (CERAD) score. However, only limited APOE {varepsilon}4-associated transcriptomic and proteomic changes were observed in bulk brain tissue, with poor cross-layer concordance. Proteomic analyses of iPSC-derived astrocytes and neurons further revealed cell-type-specific APOE {varepsilon}4-associated changes. APOE {varepsilon}4 is associated with a consistent proteomic signature across plasma and CSF. Its molecular effects in the brain differ across cell types, brain regions and molecular layers. These findings support the need for cell-type-resolved multi-omic studies to elucidate how APOE {varepsilon}4 confers AD risk.

neuroscience↗