Biology subjects

Dastin-van Rijn, E. M.

Publications and source records attributed to Dastin-van Rijn, E. M..

8 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Prefrontal cortical pathways mediating cognitive control enhancement from internal capsule stimulation

BackgroundDeep brain stimulation (DBS) targeting the ventral internal capsule/ventral striatum (VCVS) is an effective treatment for several psychiatric disorders, but clinical responses often vary amongst patients likely due to an incomplete mechanistic understanding of the brain pathways mediating response. VCVS DBS can improve cognitive control, a core deficit in multiple psychiatric disorders. Here, we investigated which prefrontal cortical pathway(s) in the internal capsule are associated with improving cognitive control during VCVS DBS. MethodsFour participants with bilateral VCVS DBS completed the Multi-Source Interference Task (MSIT) under 27 stimulation settings varying by side (left/right lead), electrode, amplitude, and frequency. Each condition included 100 trials and response time (RT) assessed task performance. Personalized pathway activation models quantified axonal recruitment across 11 segmented prefrontal cortical fiber bundles per brain hemisphere. Associations between pathway activation and task RT were analyzed to identify circuits linked to improved cognitive control performance. ResultsRight-sided VCVS stimulation produced greater improvements in cognitive control (reductions in MSIT RT) than left-sided stimulation. Activation of right dorsal prefrontal cortical pathways connected to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) most strongly predicted faster MSIT RTs, whereas no left-sided pathways were associated with performance changes. ConclusionsThese findings suggest that the effects of VCVS DBS on cognitive control are primarily mediated by right dorsal prefrontal cortical axons projecting from the dlPFC and dmPFC. Targeting these pathways may improve stimulation strategies and outcomes for psychiatric disorders characterized by impaired cognitive control.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2026

mPFC axons drive cognitive control enhancement during striatal stimulation

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the ventral internal capsule/ventral striatum (VCVS) can alleviate symptoms of mental illness and may work in part by improving cognitive control, a feature of healthy decision making. The human VCVS DBS target and its mid-striatum analog in our preclinical rodent model contain both cortical axons and local striatal cell bodies. However, the specific neural components that stimulation acts on to mediate cognitive effects remain unclear. We addressed this by delivering high frequency optogenetic stimulation ("opto-DBS") to either medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) axons or local mid-striatal (midSTR) neurons in a rodent Set-Shift task. Opto-DBS of mPFC axons reduced response times, effectively replicating the cognitive enhancement observed in a previous study that used electrical stimulation. Conversely, we observed cognitive impairment from sustained (>10 min) opto-DBS of midSTR neurons. In addition, the cognitive benefit from axonal opto-DBS exhibited time-dependent declines that were not observed with electrical stimulation. The improvement in response times declined within a session and was associated with attenuated magnitude of local midSTR evoked-response potentials. Across-testing days, we linked this decline to diminished mPFC responsiveness, evidenced by a reduction in the post-DBS functional strength of the circuit, suggesting a neuroplastic-like mechanism. These results demonstrate that mPFC-originating axons, rather than local neurons, are the primary drivers of cognitive control enhancements from electrical stimulation, providing insight into therapeutic mechanisms of VCVS DBS.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Real-time Bayesian optimization of deep brain stimulation for personalized cognitive control enhancement

BackgroundIdentifying effective deep brain stimulation (DBS) parameters for psychiatric disorders has historically been a time-consuming and error prone process due to a lack of an objective and rapid readout of target circuit engagement. Cognitive control may have use as a biomarker of treatment efficacy but it has yet to be shown that DBS parameters can be reliably optimized to produce cognitive control improvements in individual subjects. ObjectiveWe sought to leverage a rat model of DBS-driven cognitive control improvements to determine whether state of the art optimization algorithms could consistently identify effective stimulation amplitudes to enhance cognition. MethodsWe delivered periods of active and inactive DBS-like stimulation at variable parameters while rats performed a Set-Shifting task that we previously showed to be stimulation-sensitive. We tested both predefined settings of interest and settings that were personalized to individual animals using Bayesian Optimization. Measurements of task performance including reaction time and accuracy were compared between acute, optimized, and traditional settings to evaluate effects on cognitive control. ResultsAcute stimulation reduced reaction times without hindering accuracy (N=15), replicating the effects previously observed with chronic stimulation. In a second cohort (N=6), optimization of stimulation amplitude successfully reduced reaction times in all animals with comparable effect size to historically best settings. ConclusionThese findings confirm that optimization techniques can be effective for improving symptomatically-relevant cognitive markers supporting the feasibility of personalized, quantitatively-informed approaches to neuromodulation and target engagement for psychiatric and/or cognitive disorders. HighlightsProving target engagement is a substantial challenge across brain stimulation modalities, and objective, rapid behavioral read-outs may be a solution to that challenge. Reaction times in cognitive control tasks are an example of a behavioral measure that changes rapidly in response to changes in stimulation parameters, and that also may predict clinical outcomes. Individually optimal stimulation amplitudes for reducing reaction time by stimulating corticofugal fibers passing through the striatum can be determined using Bayesian Optimization. Individually optimized settings discovered in an acute preparation demonstrate consistent effects when applied chronically.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Unilateral striatal deep brain stimulation improves cognitive control

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the ventral capsule/ventral striatum (VCVS) can treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and other psychiatric conditions. Yet, optimizing its clinical efficacy is a major challenge, often hindered by incomplete knowledge of how stimulation parameters and targets affect neural activity and behavior. VCVS DBS is thought to work in part by improving cognitive control, an important decision-making component that is impaired in OCD and other illnesses. The magnitude of this cognitive control enhancement was shown to be lateralized, with right-unilateral stimulation being the most effective. Prior work developed a preclinical model of VCVS DBS by leveraging the cognitive control construct, which can be measured in humans and rodents and is modulated by analogous brain circuits. However, this work did not address laterality effects observed in humans or examine left/right stimulation differences. These effects may be critical for maximizing therapeutic benefit while avoiding aversive outcomes. This study aimed to investigate lateralization in the rodent model, where bilateral stimulation of the mid-striatum was previously shown to improve cognitive control. Right and left-unilateral stimulation reduced response times without changing accuracy, replicating the cognitive control improvement from bilateral stimulation. With computational modeling, we show that bilateral and unilateral stimulation modifies the same decision-making variables to drive this behavior change. We also establish that females have the same cognitive control improvement from stimulation as males. These findings increase our understanding of cognitive control circuits and strengthen the validity of the rodent model as a translational platform to study VCVS DBSs therapeutic mechanisms. Significance StatementHere, we demonstrate that stimulating just one side of the brain (e.g. unilaterally) can be as effective as bilateral stimulation for improving cognitive control, the ability to adjust thoughts and decisions in response to environmental changes. These findings in rodents match results from prior human deep brain stimulation (DBS) studies, highlighting the validity of this preclinical model to study DBSs therapeutic mechanisms. We hypothesize that unilateral stimulation may be preferable to maximize cognitive benefits without causing off-target effects, while also reducing surgical invasiveness. Further, we demonstrate that females have the same cognitive control improvement from stimulation as males. Overall, this work answers important outstanding clinical questions regarding laterality and sex in DBS therapies for psychiatric illnesses.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Sex-biased computations underlying differential set shift performance in mice

Cognitive flexibility can be defined as the ability to adaptively shift between choices or strategies based on environmental feedback and it is disrupted in numerous neuropsychiatric conditions. Individual differences in the computations supporting cognitive flexibility are poised to reveal mechanisms of neuropsychiatric risk and resilience. One critical variable well known to influence individual differences in neuropsychiatric risk is sex. While previous research has identified sex differences in value based decision making in mice, whether sex reflects a major source of variation in cognitive flexibility remains unknown. To directly assess sex-biased individual differences in cognitive flexibility, we developed a novel touchscreen Set Shift task that permits robust and continuous testing in mice. Using this task, we discovered that female mice completed significantly more rule shifts with fewer errors than males. We next employed a suite of computational models that revealed sex-biased individual differences in the computations underlying cognitive flexibility. Overall, our results suggest that following rule shifts, female mice learn the new rule faster and commit to exploiting rule choices sooner compared to males - sometimes because they commit to multiple rules simultaneously. This suggests that increased choice stability in female rodents enhances commitment to a strategy during periods of uncertainty and directly contributes to increased rule shifting. This supports the counterintuitive conclusion that a high degree of stable choice is a strong requirement for enhanced cognitive flexibility in the Set Shift task, one of the gold standard cognitive flexibility tasks.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2024

Cross-species modeling and enhancement of cognitive control with striatal brain stimulation

Brain disorders, particularly mental disorders, might be effectively treated by direct electrical brain stimulation, but clinical progress requires understanding of therapeutic mechanisms. Animal models have not helped, because there are no direct animal models of mental illness. We show a path past this roadblock, by leveraging a common ingredient of most mental disorders: impaired cognitive control. We previously showed that deep brain stimulation (DBS) improves cognitive control in humans. We now reverse translate that result, showing that DBS-like stimulation of the mid-striatum improves cognitive control in rats. Using this model, we identify a mechanism, improvement in domain-general cognitive control, and rule out competing hypotheses such as impulsivity. The rat findings explain prior human results and have immediate implications for clinical practice and future trial design. One Sentence Summary: Developing a reliable animal model of a human brain stimulation therapy reveals that this therapy works by enhancing the brains ability to process conflicting pieces of evidence.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2023

OSCAR: an open-source controller for animal research

Operant animal behavior training and monitoring is fundamental to scientific inquiry across fields necessitating evaluation via controlled laboratory tasks. However, current commercial and open-source systems enforce particular hardware and software, limiting reproducibility and technique and data sharing across sites. To address this issue, we developed OSCAR: an open-source controller for animal research that enables flexible control of a variety of industry standard hardware with platform-independent software. OSCAR offers millisecond latency with a flexible array of inputs and outputs at a fraction of the cost of commercial options. These features position OSCAR as a valuable option for improving consistency of behavioral experiments across studies.

bioengineering↗

bioRxiv2020

Uncovering biomarkers during therapeutic neuromodulation with PARRM: Period-based Artifact Reconstruction and Removal Method

Advances in device development have enabled concurrent stimulation and recording at adjacent locations in the central nervous system. However, stimulation artifacts obscure the sensed underlying neural activity. Here, we developed a novel method, termed Period-based Artifact Reconstruction and Removal Method (PARRM), to remove stimulation artifacts from neural recordings by leveraging the exact period of stimulation to construct and subtract a high-fidelity template of the artifact. Benchtop saline experiments, computational simulations, five unique in vivo paradigms across animal and human studies, and an obscured movement biomarker were used for validation. Performance was found to exceed that of state-of-the-art filters in recovering complex signals without introducing contamination. PARRM has several advantages: it is 1) superior in signal recovery; 2) easily adaptable to several neurostimulation paradigms; and 3) low-complexity for future on-device implementation. Real-time artifact removal via PARRM will enable unbiased exploration and detection of neural biomarkers to enhance efficacy of closed-loop therapies. SummaryOnline, real-time artifact removal via PARRM will enable unbiased exploration of neural biomarkers previously obscured by stimulation artifact.

neuroscience↗