Biology subjects

Herman, A. M.

Publications and source records attributed to Herman, A. M..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

Understanding functional brain reorganisation for naturalistic piano playing in novice pianists

Learning to play the piano is a unique complex task, integrating multiple sensory modalities and higher-order cognitive functions. Longitudinal neuroimaging studies on adult novice musicians show training-related functional changes in music perception tasks. The reorganisation of brain activity while actually playing an instrument was studied only on a very short time-frame of a single fMRI session, and longer interventions have not yet been performed. Thus, our aim was to investigate the dynamic complexity of functional brain reorganisation while playing the piano within the first half year of musical training. We scanned twenty-four novice keyboard learners (female, 18-23yo) using fMRI while they played increasingly complex musical pieces after 1, 6, 13 and 26 weeks of training. Playing music evoked responses bilaterally in the auditory, inferior frontal and supplementary motor areas, and the left sensorimotor cortex. The effect of training over time, however, invoked widespread changes encompassing the right sensorimotor cortex, cerebellum, superior parietal cortex, anterior insula and hippocampus, among others. As the training progressed, the activation of these regions decreased while playing music. Post-hoc analysis revealed region-specific time-courses for independent auditory and motor regions of interest. These results suggest that while the primary sensory, motor and frontal regions are associated with playing music, the training decreases the involvement of higher-order cognitive control and integrative regions, and basal ganglia. Moreover, training might affect distinct brain regions in different ways, providing evidence in favour of the dynamic nature of brain plasticity. Significance statementMastering the piano is a unique process requiring a collaboration of multiple brain regions. However, associated brain activation changes are not well understood. Using functional MRI, we showed that playing the piano activated brain areas associated with movement and auditory processing. However, as the novice pianists progressed through their training, the activation of other brain regions, involved in memory retrieval, auditory-motor integration, or the processing of musical syntax, was gradually reduced. Our findings suggest that musical training is an optimisation process, with higher-order cognitive networks being activated more strongly at the beginning and their activity decreasing with increased proficiency.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Neural divergence and convergence for interoceptive and somatosensory attention and detection

Body awareness is constructed by signals originating from within and outside the body. How do these apparently divergent signals converge? We developed a signal detection task to study the neural convergence and divergence of interoceptive and somatosensory signals. Participants focused on either cardiac or tactile events and reported their presence or absence. Beyond some evidence of divergence, we observed a robust overlap in the pattern of activation evoked across both conditions in frontal areas including the insular cortex, as well as parietal and occipital areas, and for both attention and detection of these signals. Psycho-physiological interaction analysis revealed that right insular cortex connectivity was modulated by the conscious detection of cardiac compared to somatosensory sensations, with greater connectivity to occipito-parietal regions when attending to cardiac signals. Our findings speak in favour of the inherent convergence of bodily-related signals and move beyond the apparent antagonism between exteroception and interoception.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2017

A Novel Reporter Allele For Monitoring Dll4 Expression Within The Embryonic And Adult Mouse

Canonical Notch signaling requires the presence of a membrane bound ligand and a corresponding transmembrane Notch receptor. Receptor engagement induces multiple proteolytic cleavage events culminating in the nuclear accumulation of the Notch intracellular domain and its binding to a transcriptional co-factor to mediate gene expression. Notch signaling networks are essential regulators of vascular patterning and angiogenesis, as well as myriad other biological processes. Delta-like 4 (Dll4) encodes the earliest Notch ligand detected in arterial cells, and is enriched in sprouting endothelial tip cells. Dll4 expression has often been inferred by proxy using a lacZ knockin reporter allele. This is problematic, as a single copy of Dll4 is haploinsufficient. Additionally, Notch activity regulates Dll4 transcription, making it unclear whether these reporter lines accurately reflect Dll4 expression. Accordingly, accurately defining Dll4 expression is essential for determining its role in development and disease. To address these limitations, we generated a novel BAC transgenic allele with a nuclear-localized {beta}-galactosidase reporter (Dll4-BAC-nlacZ). Through a comparative analysis, we show the BAC line overcomes previous issues of haploinsufficiency, it recapitulates Dll4 expression in vivo, and allows superior visualization and imaging. As such, this novel Dll4 reporter is an important addition to the growing Notch toolkit.\n\nSummary Statement:\n\nWe have developed a novel reporter line, free from complicating factors associated with previous alleles, for monitoring Dll4 expression, at a cellular resolution, in the developing and adult mouse.

developmental biology↗