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Upregulation of the Rostral Anterior Cingulate Cortex can Alter the Perception of Emotions: fMRI-Based Neurofeedback at 3 and 7 T

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Abstract

Recent advances in real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (rt-fMRI) techniques enable online feedback about momentary brain activity from a localized region of interest. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) as a central hub for cognitive and emotional networks and its modulation has been suggested to elicit mood changes. In the presented real-time fMRI neurofeedback experiment at a 3 and a 7 T scanner we enabled participants to regulate ACC activity within one training session. The session consisted of three training runs of 8.5 min where subjects received online feedback about their current ACC activity. Before and after each run we presented emotional prosody. Subjects rated these stimuli according to their emotional valence and arousal, which served as an implicit mood measure. We found increases in ACC activation at 3 T (n = 15) and at 7 T (n = 9) with a higher activation success for the 3 T group. FMRI signal control of the rostral ACC depended on signal quality and predicted a valence bias in the rating of emotional prosody. Real-time fMRI neurofeedback of the ACC is feasible at different magnetic field strengths and can modulate localized ACC activity and emotion perception. It promises non-invasive therapeutic approaches for different psychiatric disorders characterized by impaired self-regulation.

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Acknowledgments

This study has been supported by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG; IRTG 1328, MA 2631/4-1). We gratefully acknowledge the technical assistance of Andreas Krüger and Paul Mols.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

    M. Gröne, M. Dyck, S. Bergert, K. A. Mathiak, E. M. Alawi & K. Mathiak

  2. Interdisciplinary Centre for Clinical Research, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

    M. Gröne, E. M. Alawi & K. Mathiak

  3. Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics CIBM, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland

    Y. Koush

  4. Institute of Bioengineering, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Y. Koush

  5. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

    K. A. Mathiak

  6. Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    M. Elliott

  7. Jülich-Aachen Research Alliance (JARA)-Translational Brain Medicine, Jülich, Aachen, Germany

    K. Mathiak

  8. Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstr. 30, 52074, Aachen, Germany

    M. Gröne

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  1. M. Gröne
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Correspondence to M. Gröne.

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Gröne, M., Dyck, M., Koush, Y. et al. Upregulation of the Rostral Anterior Cingulate Cortex can Alter the Perception of Emotions: fMRI-Based Neurofeedback at 3 and 7 T. Brain Topogr 28, 197–207 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10548-014-0384-4

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