DOCSLIB.ORG

Capturing Hypervigilance: Attention Biases in Elevated Trait Anxiety and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Capturing Hypervigilance: Attention Biases in Elevated Trait Anxiety and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by UCL Discovery Capturing Hypervigilance: Attention Biases in Elevated Trait Anxiety and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Lorna H. Stewart University College London Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University College London September 2011 I, Lorna Helen Stewart, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. Signed __________________________ Date __________________________ 2 Abstract The work presented in this thesis aimed to investigate attentional processing of threat in anxious individuals and its relationship to the clinical anxiety symptom of hypervigilance. Four experimental chapters report a total of nine experiments. The first three experiments (chapters 2 and 3) describe a novel paradigm designed to measure attention bias to threat in a way which overcomes limitations of previous paradigms and which differentially measures engagement and disengagement stages of attention bias. No differences in performance were seen between high and low trait- anxious individuals. Instead a general behaviour pattern was seen in which shifting location of attention aids disengagement from negative content . Additionally, adapting the task to a training paradigm demonstrated that both engagement and disengagement processes play causative roles in emotional reactivity. The series of experiments reported in chapter 4 investigated pre-conscious processing of (threat-related) traits in non-emotional faces. Highly trustworthy, untrustworthy and dominant faces (relative to neutral) took longer to reach awareness. Furthermore, the size of this effect was related to observers’ personality traits showing that preconscious evaluation of social dimensions arises from interactions between stimulus features and observer-specific traits. British war veterans showed the same effect for trustworthy faces but altered effects for faces varying in dominance traits. Finally, two eye-tracking experiments reported in chapter 5 captured hypervigilance in war veterans with and without PTSD. Veterans freely viewed photographs of neutral street scenes and a correlation was found between reported severity of hypervigilance and both number of saccades and duration of fixations. In a second experiment PTSD symptom related differences were seen in eye movements recorded whilst veterans walked London streets, although these did not match those see in the laboratory task. Overall, this thesis shows that multiple stages of processing are implicated in threat biases and that such biases in attention extend to traits other than anxiety. Additionally, anxiety-related alterations in behaviour are seen even in the absence of objective threat suggesting that preferential threat processing is only part of the picture. 3 Acknowledgments Warmest thanks to my supervisor Chris Brewin for his excellent guidance, ever-calm presence, and good humour throughout. My collaborators Bahador Bahrami, Amir Javardi, Neil Muggleton, Peter Naish and Lili Tcheang have all shown great tenacity; thank-you for agreeing to get involved. Gabriella Vigliocco bravely stepped into the secondary supervisor breach and provided encouragement in those crucial moments. And thank-you also to all the patients and participants and to students and assistants who helped with data collection as well as to my studentship providers the Medical Research Council and Geraint Rees. No thesis would ever have materialised without the members of my adopted lab, Val Curran and the Psychopharms (Celia, James, Tommy T proofreader-extraordinaire, Ravi, Les, and the many many others you have so warmly welcomed over the years); thank-you for finding space for one more. An especial and enormous thank-you to Celia Morgan and James Bisby whose coffee-fuelled science and collaborative boozing have made research cool and always kept me sane; when I grow up I want to be just like you. Thanks also to fellow thesis-heads Lorelei Howard and James Harris; further proof that every cloud has a silver lining. Too many others to mention have listened patiently, contributed words of encouragement or just passed the rum at the right moment; thank-you seems insufficient - gratitude will be delivered in person since inflicting this tome on you seems unjust returns. Finally, and most importantly, thank-you to my family; dear friends who happen to share some DNA. My little sisters, Rose and Beth, are inspirational in every regard; eldest certainly is not wisest (or tallest). An unpayable debt of gratitude is owed to my mum and dad for nurturing, nourishing, and for turning a blind eye when appropriate. It is to them I owe nearly all of my better qualities but also my foolishness in undertaking large projects and my unwillingness to quit when the going gets rough. 4 Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................. 3 Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................. 4 List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... 9 List of Figures ................................................................................................................. 11 Chapter 1 Literature Review ...................................................................................... 13 1.1 Definitions ....................................................................................................... 14 1.1.1 Anxiety .................................................................................................... 14 1.1.2 Anxiety Disorder ..................................................................................... 15 1.1.3 Attention .................................................................................................. 16 1.2 Anxiety & Attention Biases ............................................................................ 17 1.3 Causal Links between Anxiety and Attention Biases...................................... 18 1.4 Attention Bias Theories of Anxiety ................................................................. 19 1.4.1 Williams, Watts, MacLeod, and Mathews (1988; 1997)......................... 19 1.4.2 Cognitive Motivational Analysis (Mogg & Bradley, 1998) .................... 20 1.4.3 Mathews’ & Mackintosh’s “Threat Evaluation System” ........................ 21 1.4.4 Attention Control Theory (Eysenck et al., 2007) .................................... 22 1.5 Methods for Studying Attention Biases .......................................................... 23 1.5.1 The Emotional Stroop Task ..................................................................... 23 1.5.2 The Dot Probe Task ................................................................................. 24 1.5.3 Posner’s Adapted Spatial Cueing Task ................................................... 25 1.5.4 Visual Search ........................................................................................... 26 1.5.5 Novel Methods for Assessing Attention Bias ......................................... 26 1.6 Stages of Attention Bias .................................................................................. 27 1.6.1 Orientation ............................................................................................... 28 1.6.2 Engagement ............................................................................................. 28 1.6.3 Disengagement ........................................................................................ 29 1.6.4 Avoidance ................................................................................................ 30 1.7 Looking at Causality: Attention Bias Modification ........................................ 31 1.8 Returning to the Clinic: ABM as Treatment ................................................... 33 1.9 Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ......................................................................... 34 1.10 Attentional Disturbance in PTSD .................................................................... 35 1.11 Information Processing Models of PTSD ....................................................... 38 1.12 Summary ......................................................................................................... 39 1.13 Aims and Objectives ....................................................................................... 39 Chapter 2 Attention bias in anxiety: A novel task for differentiating engagement and disengagement processes . ...................................................................................... 41 2.1 Method ............................................................................................................. 47 2.1.1 Participants .............................................................................................. 47 2.1.2 Procedure – experiment 1 ........................................................................ 48 2.1.3 Procedure – experiment 2 ........................................................................ 48 2.1.4 Materials .................................................................................................. 49 Trait Measures ....................................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Gilaie-Dotan, Sharon; Rees, Geraint; Butterworth, Brian and Cappelletti, Marinella
    Gilaie-Dotan, Sharon; Rees, Geraint; Butterworth, Brian and Cappelletti, Marinella. 2014. Im- paired Numerical Ability Affects Supra-Second Time Estimation. Timing & Time Perception, 2(2), pp. 169-187. ISSN 2213-445X [Article] http://research.gold.ac.uk/23637/ The version presented here may differ from the published, performed or presented work. Please go to the persistent GRO record above for more information. If you believe that any material held in the repository infringes copyright law, please contact the Repository Team at Goldsmiths, University of London via the following email address: [email protected]. The item will be removed from the repository while any claim is being investigated. For more information, please contact the GRO team: [email protected] Timing & Time Perception 2 (2014) 169–187 brill.com/time Impaired Numerical Ability Affects Supra-Second Time Estimation Sharon Gilaie-Dotan 1,∗, Geraint Rees 1,2, Brian Butterworth 1 and Marinella Cappelletti 1,3,∗ 1 UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, 17 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR, UK 2 Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, 12 Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK 3 Psychology Department, Goldsmiths College, University of London, UK Received 24 September 2013; accepted 11 March 2014 Abstract It has been suggested that the human ability to process number and time both rely on common magni- tude mechanisms, yet for time this commonality has mainly been investigated in the sub-second rather than longer time ranges. Here we examined whether number processing is associated with timing in time ranges greater than a second. Specifically, we tested long duration estimation abilities in adults with a devel- opmental impairment in numerical processing (dyscalculia), reasoning that any such timing impairment co-occurring with dyscalculia may be consistent with joint mechanisms for time estimation and num- ber processing.
    [Show full text]
  • Neural Correlates of Consciousness
    Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. ISSN 0077-8923 ANNALS OF THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Issue: The Year in Cognitive Neuroscience Neural correlates of consciousness Geraint Rees UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom Address for correspondence: Professor Geraint Rees, UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, 17 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR, UK. [email protected] Jon Driver’s scientific work was characterized by an innovative combination of new methods for studying mental processes in the human brain in an integrative manner. In our collaborative work, he applied this approach to the study of attention and awareness, and their relationship to neural activity in the human brain. Here I review Jon’s scientific work that relates to the neural basis of human consciousness, relating our collaborative work to a broader scientific context. I seek to show how his insights led to a deeper understanding of the causal connections between distant brain structures that are now believed to characterize the neural underpinnings of human consciousness. Keywords: fMRI; vision; consciousness; awareness; neglect; extinction for noninvasive measurement of human brain Introduction activity such as functional magnetic resonance Our awareness of the external world is central to imaging (fMRI), positron emission tomography, our everyday lives. People consistently and univer- electroencephalography (EEG), and magnetoen- sally use verbal and nonverbal reports to indicate cephalography (MEG) can reveal the neural sub- that they have subjective experiences that reflect the strates of sensory processing in the human brain, sensory properties of objects in the world around and together we used these approaches to explore them.
    [Show full text]
  • Phenomenal Consciousness As Scientific Phenomenon? a Critical Investigation of the New Science of Consciousness
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by D-Scholarship@Pitt PHENOMENAL CONSCIOUSNESS AS SCIENTIFIC PHENOMENON? A CRITICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE NEW SCIENCE OF CONSCIOUSNESS by Justin M. Sytsma BS in Computer Science, University of Minnesota, 2003 BS in Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, 1999 MA in Philosophy, University of Pittsburgh, 2008 MA in History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh, 2008 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of School of Arts & Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2010 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Justin M. Sytsma It was defended on August 5, 2010 and approved by Peter Machamer, PhD, Professor, History and Philosophy of Science Anil Gupta, PhD, Distinguished Professor, Philosophy Jesse Prinz, PhD, Distinguished Professor, City University of New York Graduate Center Dissertation Co-Director: Edouard Machery, PhD, Associate Professor, History and Philosophy of Science Dissertation Co-Director: Kenneth Schaffner, PhD, Distinguished University Professor, History and Philosophy of Science ii Copyright © by Justin Sytsma 2010 iii PHENOMENAL CONSCIOUSNESS AS SCIENTIFIC PHENOMENON? A CRITICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE NEW SCIENCE OF CONSCIOUSNESS Justin Sytsma, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2010 Phenomenal consciousness poses something of a puzzle for philosophy of science. This puzzle arises from two facts: It is common for philosophers (and some scientists) to take its existence to be phenomenologically obvious and yet modern science arguably has little (if anything) to tell us about it. And, this is despite over 20 years of work targeting phenomenal consciousness in what I call the new science of consciousness.
    [Show full text]
  • Atypical Intrinsic Neural Timescale in Autism Takamitsu Watanabe1,2*, Geraint Rees1,3, Naoki Masuda4*
    RESEARCH ARTICLE Atypical intrinsic neural timescale in autism Takamitsu Watanabe1,2*, Geraint Rees1,3, Naoki Masuda4* 1Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, United Kingdom; 2RIKEN Centre for Brain Science, Wako, Japan; 3Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom; 4Department of Engineering Mathematics, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom Abstract How long neural information is stored in a local brain area reflects functions of that region and is often estimated by the magnitude of the autocorrelation of intrinsic neural signals in the area. Here, we investigated such intrinsic neural timescales in high-functioning adults with autism and examined whether local brain dynamics reflected their atypical behaviours. By analysing resting-state fMRI data, we identified shorter neural timescales in the sensory/visual cortices and a longer timescale in the right caudate in autism. The shorter intrinsic timescales in the sensory/visual areas were correlated with the severity of autism, whereas the longer timescale in the caudate was associated with cognitive rigidity. These observations were confirmed from neurodevelopmental perspectives and replicated in two independent cross-sectional datasets. Moreover, the intrinsic timescale was correlated with local grey matter volume. This study shows that functional and structural atypicality in local brain areas is linked to higher-order cognitive symptoms in autism. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.42256.001
    [Show full text]
  • A Randomized Controlled Feasibility Study Evaluating Neurofeedback
    Activity or connectivity? A randomized controlled feasibility study evaluating neurofeedback training in Huntington’s disease Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/braincomms/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/braincomms/fcaa049/5824291 by guest on 09 May 2020 Marina Papoutsi PhD* (1), Joerg Magerkurth PhD (2), Oliver Josephs PhD (3), Sophia E Pépés PhD (4), Temi Ibitoye (1), Ralf Reilmann MD, PhD (5, 6), Nigel Hunt FDS, PhD (7), Edwin Payne (7), Nikolaus Weiskopf PhD (3, 8), Douglas Langbehn MD, PhD (9), Geraint Rees MD, PhD† (3, 10), Sarah J Tabrizi MD, PhD † (1, 11) (1) UCL Huntington’s Disease Centre, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, UK, (2) Birkbeck-UCL Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK, (3) Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, UK, (4) University of Oxford, UK, (5) George Huntington Institute and Dept. of Radiology University of Muenster, Germany, (6) Section for Neurodegeneration and Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, University of Tuebingen, Germany, (7) Eastman Dental Institute, University College London, UK, (8) Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany, (9) Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, USA, (10) Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, UK, (11) UK Dementia Research Institute at University College London, UK † Equal senior authors * Corresponding author: Dr Marina Papoutsi Email: [email protected] Address: UCL Huntington’s disease centre, Russell Square House, 10-12 Russell Square, London, WC1B 5EH, UK Running title: Neurofeedback training in Huntington’s disease © The Author(s) (2020). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain.
    [Show full text]
  • The Human Superior Colliculus: Neither Necessary
    Commentary/Merker: Consciousness without a cerebral cortex malformations that may vary with respect to time of onset, patho- genesis, and organization of any cortical remnants that may be present (Halsey 1987); and survival beyond six months is rare (McAbee et al. 2000). In the presently reported cases, the extent of cortical damage is unclear, so the extent to which any behaviors reflect mesodiencephalic structures alone in these individuals is not known. Moreover, responsiveness to the environment is a capacity exhibited by nearly any organism with a central nervous system, and cannot be unambiguously taken as a marker of consciousness. Verbal or manual reports are generally considered the primary criterion that can establish The human superior colliculus: Neither whether a percept is conscious (Weiskrantz 1997). Such beha- necessary, nor sufficient for consciousness? viors, demonstrating intentionality, are not clearly evident in the present observations and many of the reported behaviors could be generated unconsciously or reflexively. This emphasizes DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X0700115X both the difficulty in determining whether an individual unable Susanne Watkins and Geraint Rees or unwilling to give verbal or manual reports is conscious (Owen et al. 2006), and the consequent need to explore the possi- Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging and Institute for Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1 N 3AR, United bility that non-invasive biomarkers of consciousness might be Kingdom. developed to permit such inference. s.watkins@fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk g.rees@fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk Three indirect lines of evidence also suggest that SC activation http://www.fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk/grees in humans may not be necessary, either, for changes in the con- tents of consciousness to occur.
    [Show full text]
  • Decoding the Neural Correlates of Consciousness Rimona S
    Decoding the neural correlates of consciousness Rimona S. Weila,b and Geraint Reesa,b aWellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at UCL, Purpose of review Institute of Neurology, University College London and bUCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University Multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) is an emerging technique for analysing functional College London, London, UK imaging data that is capable of a much closer approximation of neuronal activity than Correspondence to Dr Rimona Weil, Wellcome Trust conventional methods. This review will outline the advantages, applications and Centre for Neuroimaging at UCL, 12 Queen Square, limitations of MVPA in understanding the neural correlates of consciousness. London WC1N 3BG, UK Tel: +44 20 7833 7472; fax: +44 20 7813 1420; Recent findings e-mail: r.weil@fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk MVPA has provided important insights into the processing of perceptual information by Current Opinion in Neurology 2010, 23:649–655 revealing content-specific information at early stages of perceptual processing. It has also shed light on the processing of memories and decisions. In combination with techniques to reconstruct viewed images, MVPA can also be used to reveal the contents of consciousness. Summary The development of multivariate pattern analysis techniques allows content-specific and detailed information to be extracted from functional MRI data. This may lead to new therapeutic applications but also raises important ethical considerations. Keywords consciousness, decoding, fMRI, multivariate pattern analysis Curr Opin Neurol 23:649–655 ß 2010 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 1350-7540 way is not always possible when communication or Introduction insight is limited. Therefore techniques allowing direct Consciousness is the rich, constantly changing internal determination of mental content through measuring experience which makes us who we are.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction the Cognitive Neuroscience of Consciousness
    This article was downloaded by: [Consorci de Biblioteques Universitaries de Catalunya] On: 3 September 2010 Access details: Access Details: [subscription number 907788032] Publisher Psychology Press Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37- 41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Cognitive Neuroscience Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t909559412 The cognitive neuroscience of consciousness Geraint Reesa; Anil K. Sethb a University College London, London, UK b University of Sussex, Brighton, UK Online publication date: 25 August 2010 To cite this Article Rees, Geraint and Seth, Anil K.(2010) 'The cognitive neuroscience of consciousness', Cognitive Neuroscience, 1: 3, 153 — 154 To link to this Article: DOI: 10.1080/17588928.2010.503602 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17588928.2010.503602 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.informaworld.com/terms-and-conditions-of-access.pdf This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, re-distribution, re-selling, loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.
    [Show full text]
  • CURRICULUM VITAE MARIEKE SCHÖLVINCK PHD Nov 2019
    CURRICULUM VITAE MARIEKE SCHÖLVINCK PHD Nov 2019 Ernst Strüngmann Institute for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society Deutschordenstraße 46 60528 Frankfurt am Main Germany tel. +49 69 967 69 516 email: [email protected] Research Statement Neural activity is not only driven by external factors such as sensory stimuli, but to a large extent generated spontaneously. This spontaneous brain activity displays a coherent spatio-temporal structure and interacts with stimulus-driven activity in complex ways. I study spontaneous brain activity and its effect on cognition and behaviour using a variety of techniques, ranging from fMRI in humans and primates, and in vivo electrophysiology in rodents, cats, and primates, to computational modelling. Academic Positions and Education 2019 – present Max Planck Research Group Leader Ernst Strüngmann Institute for Neuroscience, Frankfurt am Main, Germany 2014 - 2019 Postdoctoral research associate with Pascal Fries Ernst Strüngmann Institute for Neuroscience, Frankfurt am Main, Germany 2011 - 2014 HFSP postdoctoral fellow with Pascal Fries Project: The role of spontaneous brain activity in stimulus processing and behaviour Ernst Strüngmann Institute for Neuroscience, Frankfurt am Main, Germany 2009 - 2011 Postdoctoral research associate with Matteo Carandini Project: Trial-to-trial variability in mouse visual cortex University College London, London, United Kingdom 2005 - 2009 Wellcome Trust 4 Year PhD programme in Neuroscience Supervisors: Geraint Rees and Karl Friston Thesis title: Spontaneous fMRI activity in human visual cortex University College London, London, United Kingdom 2008 Research rotation with David Leopold, as part of Ph.D. National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, United States 2004 - 2005 Research assistant with Peter Hagoort Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Nijmegen, Netherlands 2002 - 2004 M.Sc.
    [Show full text]
  • Think Different the Ways in Which Brains Differ from One Another Shows up in the Way Their Owners Perceive the World by Christof Koch
    (consciousness redux) Think Different The ways in which brains differ from one another shows up in the way their owners perceive the world BY CHRISTOF KOCH PERCEPTUAL PSYCHOLOGY and the brain sciences emphasize the communal- ity in the way that people experience re- ality. Leaving aside cases of brain dam- age or mental disease, we all see the sun rise in the east, enjoy the scent of a rose and experience a jolt of fear when we are woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of breaking glass. This is a re- flection of the great similarities of our brains compared with the brains of our close cousins on the evolutionary tree, the great apes. Laboratory science rein- forces this bias by lumping together the performance of its subjects on any one experiment and reporting only the aver- age and the variation around this mean. This conflation is also true for the telltale hot spots that show up in functional magnetic resonance brain images that Consciousness Redux column, I dis- Ponzo perceives the upper bar as larger we are used to seeing in newspapers, in cussed color blindness—the fact that than the lower one, the magnitude of magazines such as this one, on television about 7 percent of men lack one of the this effect differs substantially across in- and in the movies. genes for the retinal photopigments dividuals. (The size of the illusion is es- Yet as we know from our own life, needed to see hue. But what about differ- tablished by asking how much larger the each one of us has his or her own prefer- ences in the brain proper? Do they influ- lower bar has to be to make it look the ences, likes and dislikes.
    [Show full text]
  • Watanbe, T., Rees, G., & Masuda, N. (2019). Atypical Intrinsic Neural
    Watanbe, T., Rees, G., & Masuda, N. (2019). Atypical intrinsic neural timescale in autism. eLife, 8, [e42256]. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.42256 Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record License (if available): CC BY Link to published version (if available): 10.7554/eLife.42256 Link to publication record in Explore Bristol Research PDF-document This is the final published version of the article (version of record). It first appeared online via eLife Sciences at https://elifesciences.org/articles/42256 . Please refer to any applicable terms of use of the publisher. University of Bristol - Explore Bristol Research General rights This document is made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the reference above. Full terms of use are available: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/red/research-policy/pure/user-guides/ebr-terms/ RESEARCH ARTICLE Atypical intrinsic neural timescale in autism Takamitsu Watanabe1,2*, Geraint Rees1,3, Naoki Masuda4* 1Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, United Kingdom; 2RIKEN Centre for Brain Science, Wako, Japan; 3Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom; 4Department of Engineering Mathematics, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom Abstract How long neural information is stored in a local brain area reflects functions of that region and is often estimated by the magnitude of the autocorrelation of intrinsic neural signals in the area. Here, we investigated such intrinsic neural timescales in high-functioning adults with autism and examined whether local brain dynamics reflected their atypical behaviours. By analysing resting-state fMRI data, we identified shorter neural timescales in the sensory/visual cortices and a longer timescale in the right caudate in autism.
    [Show full text]
  • The Francis Crick Institute Limited
    THE FRANCIS CRICK INSTITUTE LIMITED A COMPANY LIMITED BY SHARES ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 March 2020 Charity registration number: 1140062 Company registration number: 6885462 1 The Francis Crick Institute Limited annual report and financial statements 2020 Contents Chairman’s letter 3 Director’s introduction 4 Trustees’ report (incorporating the strategic report and 5 directors’ report) Consolidated statement of financial activities (incorporating 48 the income and expenditure account) Consolidated and Parent entity balance sheets 49 Consolidated cash flow statement 50 Notes to the financial statements 51 2 The Francis Crick Institute Limited annual report and financial statements 2020 Chairman’s letter My most significant memory of the last twelve months is the enormous impact on human lives and livelihoods of the Coronavirus pandemic. The COVID-19 outbreak presented unprecedented challenges across society. As Chairman, I am delighted with the way in which the Crick rose to those challenges. The pivoting of research to address the questions posed by the pandemic, alongside the rapid repurposing of the Institute to set up a COVID testing facility, demonstrated the strengths and merits of the Crick’s collaborative and agile model. It enabled us to build and strengthen clinical links which will stand us in good stead over the long term. Most importantly it reinforced the Crick’s role as a national biomedical research resource. Recent successes give me great confidence that the Crick is making good progress on delivering on its charitable mission to understand the fundamental biology that underlies health and disease. Over 450 papers were published by Crick researchers in the last year, placing us fifth on the 2020 Nature Index for institution outputs in the life sciences by research institutes.
    [Show full text]