Neural overlap between resting state and self-relevant activity in human subcallosal cingulate cortex--single unit recording in an intracranial study.
Nir Lipsman, Takashi Nakao, Noriaki Kanayama, Joachim K Krauss, Adam K. Anderson, Peter Giacobbe, Clement Hamani, William D Hutchison, Jonathan O Dostrovsky, Thilo Womelsdorf, Andres M Lozano, Georg Northoff
Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior November 2014 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2014.09.008 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational single-unit recording study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Human patients undergoing deep brain stimulation surgery, including a group with Parkinson's disease |
| Topics | Default mode network |
| Keywords | Deep brain stimulation Resting state Self-relevance Single-unit recording Subcallosal cingulate cortex |
| Key findings | Firing rates in the subcallosal cingulate cortex did not change during presentation of self-relevant stimuli relative to the preceding resting state, but did change during other names. In contrast, subthalamic nucleus neurons in Parkinson's patients showed increased firing to self-relevant stimuli, which the authors interpret as evidence of a 'rest-self overlap' specific to the subcallosal cingulate cortex. |
Abstract
High activity of the default mode network (DMN) has been proposed to be central in processing self-relevant events. Thus far, this hypothesis of DMN function has not been tested directly using neurophysiological techniques. To test for the link between frontal midline DMN activity and self-relevant processing we measured neuronal activity (single-neurons' firing rates) in human subcallosal cingulate cortex (SCC) in the course of Deep Brain Stimulation surgery. We find that firing rates in SCC did not change during the presentation of specifically self-relevant stimuli when compared to the preceding pre-stimulus resting state level. In contrast, we observed significant changes in firing rates during other names in SCC. Such rest-self overlap seems to be specific for SCC since increase in firing rates in response to self-relevant stimuli were observed in another region, the subthalamic nucleus, in a group of Parkinson patients receiving deep brain stimulation surgery. These results suggest specific relationship between resting state and self-related activity, rest-self overlap, in specifically SCC as core region of the default-mode network.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on default mode network, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| A default mode of brain function Normal adult human brain | 2001 | Observational study | |
| Resting-State Functional Connectivity Reflects Structural Connectivity in the Default Mode Network Healthy subjects | 2008 | Observational cohort | |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| The precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex plays a pivotal role in the default mode network: Evidence from a partial correlation network analysis Healthy subjects | 2008 | Observational study |
Citations in the library
Cited by 7
- Is the self a higher-order or fundamental function of the brain? The "basis model of self-specificity" and its encoding by the brain's spontaneous activity. Cognitive Neuroscience 2016
- The temporal structure of resting-state brain activity in the medial prefrontal cortex predicts self-consciousness Neuropsychologia January 21, 2016
- Is the Sense of Agency in Schizophrenia Influenced by Resting-State Variation in Self-Referential Regions of the Brain? Schizophrenia Bulletin July 28, 2015
- Scale-free dynamics in the core-periphery topography and task alignment decline from conscious to unconscious states Communications Biology May 9, 2023
- Subjectivity of the Anomalous Sense of Self Is Represented in Gray Matter Volume in the Brain. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2017
and 2 more in the library
Cites 3
- A default mode of brain function Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences January 16, 2001
- Attending to the present: mindfulness meditation reveals distinct neural modes of self-reference Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience August 13, 2007
- Two Distinct Neuronal Networks Mediate the Awareness of Environment and of Self Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience June 1, 2010