Altered neural processes underlying executive function in occupational burnout-Basis for a novel EEG biomarker.

Introduction: As burnout has become a global pandemic, there is a call for improved understanding and detection of alterations in brain functions related to it. We have previously reported challenges in executive functions (EFs) in daily life, especially in metacognition, in subjects with occupational burnout, along with alterations in cardiac physiology. In the current study, we focused on the impact of burnout on brain physiology during a task requiring EF.

Occupational Burnout Is Linked with Inefficient Executive Functioning, Elevated Average Heart Rate, and Decreased Physical Activity in Daily Life - Initial Evidence from Teaching Professionals.

Burnout is becoming a global pandemic jeopardizing brain health, with a huge impact on quality of life, available workforce, and the economy. Knowledge of the impact of burnout on cognition, physiology, and physical activity (PA) in daily life allows for an improved understanding of the health consequences and everyday ramifications of burnout. Twenty-eight volunteers participated in a three-day recording of daily physiology and PA, including heart rate (HR) and daily steps, with a wearable device.

Emotion-Attention Interaction in the Right Hemisphere.

Hemispheric asymmetries in affective and cognitive functions have been extensively studied. While both cerebral hemispheres contribute to most affective and cognitive processes, neuroscientific literature and neuropsychological evidence support an overall right hemispheric dominance for emotion, attention and arousal. Emotional stimuli, especially those with survival value such as threat, tend to be prioritized in attentional resource competition.

Emotional Modulation of Frontal Alpha Asymmetry - a Novel Biomarker of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Objective findings of brain injury or dysfunction are typically lacking in mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) despite prolonged post-concussion symptoms in some patients. Thus, there is a need for objective biomarkers of MTBI that reflect altered brain physiology underlying subjective symptoms. We have previously reported increased attention to threat-related stimuli in subjects with MTBI, suggesting a physiological vulnerability to depression.

Threat-Modulation of Executive Functions-A Novel Biomarker of Depression?

Alterations in executive functions, emotion regulation, and their interaction are common concomitants of depression. Executive dysfunction frequently lingers after treatment, has adverse effects on daily life, and predisposes to recurrence of depression. Yet, sensitive measures of executive function for reliable assessment of cognitive outcomes are still lacking in clinical practice.

Reduced Frontal Nogo-N2 With Uncompromised Response Inhibition During Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation-More Efficient Cognitive Control?

We have previously shown invasive vagus nerve stimulation to improve attention and working memory and alter emotion-attention interaction in patients with refractory epilepsy, suggesting that VNS might be useful in the treatment of cognitive impairment. The current research focuses on whether non-invasive, transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) has similar effects to VNS. Furthermore, we aimed to assess whether tVNS has an impact on cognitive control in general or on underlying brain physiology in a task that mimics everyday life demands where multiple executive functions are engaged while encountering intervening emotional stimuli.

Executive Functions and Emotion-Attention Interaction in Assessment of Brain Health: Reliability of Repeated Testing With Executive RT Test and Correlation With BRIEF-A Questionnaire.

Executive functions (EF) rely on intact fronto-subcortical networks. An insult, disorder or treatment compromising brain health may impair the functioning of these widespread networks and consequently disrupt EF. Changes in brain health due to treatment or disorder can be assessed by repeating an EF test at different time points, but practice effect may confound the results.

Orbitofrontal Lesion Alters Brain Dynamics of Emotion-Attention and Emotion-Cognitive Control Interaction in Humans.

Patients with lesion to the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) experience challenges in emotional control and emotion-guided behaviors. The OFC is known to participate in executive functions and attentional control of emotion and our previous research suggests OFC lesion alters the balance between voluntary and involuntary attention and cognitive control within the context of emotion. To better understand how OFC lesion affects the dynamics and interaction of these functions, we studied EEG and performance of 12 patients with lesion to the OFC and 11 control subjects with intact OFC in a Go/NoGo visual reaction time (RT) task with neutral targets and intervening threat-related emotional distractors (Executive RT Test).

Frontal Alpha Asymmetry, a Potential Biomarker for the Effect of Neuromodulation on Brain's Affective Circuitry-Preliminary Evidence from a Deep Brain Stimulation Study.

Neuromodulation techniques targeting limbic circuits can be used to treat refractory psychiatric or neurological disorders. However, objective measure for the impact of neuromodulation on affective brain circuits is lacking. Deep brain stimulation at a key node of the limbic circuit, the anterior thalamic nuclei (ANT-DBS), is used to treat refractory epilepsy.

Causal Evidence from Humans for the Role of Mediodorsal Nucleus of the Thalamus in Working Memory.

The mediodorsal nucleus of the thalamus (MD), with its extensive connections to the lateral pFC, has been implicated in human working memory and executive functions. However, this understanding is based solely on indirect evidence from human lesion and imaging studies and animal studies. Direct, causal evidence from humans is missing.

Vagus nerve stimulation improves working memory performance.

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is used for treating refractory epilepsy and major depression. While the impact of this treatment on seizures has been established, its impact on human cognition remains equivocal. The goal of this study is to elucidate the immediate effects of vagus nerve stimulation on attention, cognition, and emotional reactivity in patients with epilepsy.

Greater Attention to Task-Relevant Threat Due to Orbitofrontal Lesion.

Injury to the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is a frequent consequence of head injury and may lead to dysfunctional regulation of emotional and social behavior. Dysfunctional emotional behavior may partly be related to the role of the OFC in emotion-attention interaction, as reported previously. In order to better understand its role in emotion-attention and emotion-cognitive control interactions, we investigated attention allocation to task-relevant and task-irrelevant threat-related emotional stimuli during a task requiring cognitive control in patients with lesion to the OFC.

Improved cognitive flexibility after aortic valve replacement surgery.

Objectives: Aortic valve replacement (AVR) surgery is associated with potential risk to cerebral injury. On the other hand, improved cardiovascular functioning after the surgery may have positive impact on brain health. The aim of this preliminary study was to investigate the impact of AVR surgery on cognition, specifically on higher cognitive control functions, i.

Human Brain Reacts to Transcranial Extraocular Light.

Transcranial extraocular light affects the brains of birds and modulates their seasonal changes in physiology and behavior. However, whether the human brain is sensitive to extraocular light is unknown. To test whether extraocular light has any effect on human brain functioning, we measured brain electrophysiology of 18 young healthy subjects using event-related potentials while they performed a visual attention task embedded with emotional distractors.

Human anterior thalamic nuclei are involved in emotion-attention interaction.

Patients treated with deep brain stimulation (DBS) provide an opportunity to study affective processes in humans with "lesion on demand" at key nodes in the limbic circuitries, such as at the anterior thalamic nuclei (ANT). ANT has been suggested to play a role in emotional control with its connection to the orbitofrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex. However, direct evidence for its role in emotional function in human subjects is lacking.

Enhanced attention capture by emotional stimuli in mild traumatic brain injury.

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) may be associated with compromised executive functioning and altered emotional reactivity. Despite frequent affective and cognitive symptoms in mTBI, objective evidence for brain dysfunction is often lacking. Previously we have reported compromised performance in symptomatic mTBI patients in an executive reaction time (RT) test, a computer-based RT test engaging several executive functions simultaneously.

Low attentional engagement makes attention network activity susceptible to emotional interference.

The aim of this study was to investigate whether emotion-attention interaction depends on attentional engagement. To investigate emotional modulation of attention network activation, we used a functional MRI paradigm consisting of a visuospatial attention task with either frequent (high-engagement) or infrequent (low-engagement) targets and intermittent emotional or neutral distractors. The attention task recruited a bilateral frontoparietal network with no emotional interference on network activation when the attentional engagement was high.

Immediate effects of deep brain stimulation of anterior thalamic nuclei on executive functions and emotion-attention interaction in humans.

Background: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of anterior thalamic nuclei (ANT) is a novel promising therapeutic method for treating refractory epilepsy. Despite reports of subjective memory impairments and mood disturbances in patients with ANT-DBS, little is known of its effects on cognitive and affective processes.

Hypothesis: The anterior thalamus has connections to prefrontal and limbic networks important for cognitive control and emotional reactivity.

Return to work following mild traumatic brain injury.

Objective: To examine factors relating to return to work (RTW) following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).

Participants: One hundred and nine patients (Age: M = 37.4 years, SD = 13.

Outcome from Complicated versus Uncomplicated Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Objective. To compare acute outcome following complicated versus uncomplicated mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) using neurocognitive and self-report measures. Method.

Reliability, validity and clinical usefulness of the BNI fatigue scale in mild traumatic brain injury.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability, validity and clinical usefulness of the Barrow Neurological Institute Fatigue Scale (BNI-FS) in patients with mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBI).

Methods And Procedure: Participants were 125 patients enrolled from the Emergency Department (ED) of Tampere University Hospital, Finland who had sustained an MTBI. The average number of days from injury to the interview and questionnaires was 24.

Threat interferes with response inhibition.

A potential threat, such as a spider, captures attention and engages executive functions to adjust ongoing behavior and avoid danger. We and many others have reported slowed responses to neutral targets in the context of emotional distractors. This behavioral slowing has been explained in the framework of attentional competition for limited resources with emotional stimuli prioritized.

Orbitofrontal cortex biases attention to emotional events.

We examined the role of orbitofrontal (OF) cortex in regulating emotion-attention interaction and the balance between involuntary and voluntary attention allocation. We studied patients with OF lesion applying reaction time (RT) and event-related potential (ERP) measures in a lateralized visual discrimination task with novel task-irrelevant affective pictures (unpleasant, pleasant, or neutral) preceding a neutral target. This allowed for comparing the effects of automatic attention allocation to emotional versus neutral stimuli on subsequent voluntary attention allocation to target stimuli.

Persistent symptoms in mild to moderate traumatic brain injury associated with executive dysfunction.

In order to improve detection of subtle cognitive dysfunction and to shed light on the etiology of persistent symptoms after mild-to-moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI), we employed an experimental executive reaction time (RT) test, standardized neuropsychological tests, and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). The Executive RT-Test, an Executive Composite Score from standardized neuropsychological tests, and DTI-indices in the midbrain differentiated between patients with persistent symptoms from those fully recovered after mild-to-moderate TBI. We suggest that persistent symptoms in mild-to-moderate TBI may reflect disrupted fronto-striatal network involved in executive functioning, and the Executive RT-Test provides an objective and novel method to detect it.