Frontiers in Human Neuroscience | New and Recent Articles

IntroductionWe previously investigated color constancy in photorealistic virtual reality (VR) and developed a Deep Neural Network (DNN) that predicts reflectance from rendered images.MethodsWe combine both approaches to compare and study a model and human performance with respect to established color constancy mechanisms: local surround, maximum flux and spatial mean. Rather than evaluating the m…

IntroductionMusic-induced analgesia (MIA) has significant clinical value for patients with fibromyalgia (FM) and serves as a key model for understanding the complex neural mechanisms underlying the effects of music on physical and mental states. However, previous research offers limited interpretation of the broader neural network characteristics underlying pain regulation through music, particul…

Sham transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is essential for causal inference but is commonly implemented as ramp-only protocols that may not ensure physiological inertness and may fail to maintain mid-session blinding. We synthesize evidence on sham blinding integrity and test–retest reliability from January 1, 2010, to August 31, 2024, with a targeted post-search update (September 2024–…

Implicit learning is a fundamental cognitive process whose identification is critical for understanding human cognition and developing innovative training methodologies. We propose a generalizable feature selection and sensor optimization framework using simultaneous EEG and fNIRS to identify these events. Our approach leverages a two-stage optimization process driven by a binary multi-neighbor a…

BackgroundBuilt environments shape navigation, attention, and motor control through continuous brain–body-environment coupling, yet architecture, rehabilitation, and clinical mobility practice still lack a shared quantitative language for this interaction. Architects lack quantitative feedback linking spatial decisions to neural or gait outcomes; clinicians rely on episodic assessments that captu…

BackgroundMutations in the PLA2G6 gene cause a spectrum of neurodegenerative disorders, with autosomal recessive early-onset Parkinson’s disease (AREP) and dystonia-parkinsonism (DP) representing the two primary subtypes of adult-onset PLA2G6-associated neurodegeneration (PLAN).Case presentationWe report a Chinese female patient with parkinsonism caused by compound heterozygous mutations in the P…

IntroductionAn emerging body of evidence suggests that plasma neuropeptide Y (NPY) concentration is positively associated with performance under conditions of psychological stress. However, whether NPY concentrations in saliva are associated with performance under stress remains unknown.MethodsWe collected saliva samples in a high-performance environment and tested the associations between saliva…

Aging is a complex biological process characterized by progressive functional decline and increased vulnerability to age-related diseases, particularly neurodegenerative disorders. At the biological level, aging is characterized by a range of molecular and cellular mechanisms, including genomic instability, telomere attrition, loss of proteostasis, mitochondrial dysfunction, and chronic inflammat…

ContextMajor depressive disorder (MDD) is a prevalent mental illness, and inflammatory processes are considered a pivotal component of the pathogenesis of MDD. This study aims to identify novel biomarkers associated with the development of MDD and to elucidate the underlying immunological mechanisms.MethodsMendelian randomization (MR) studies confirmed that two inflammatory cytokines are related …

BackgroundRepetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has emerged as a promising neuromodulation technique for enhancing motor recovery in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy. However, long-term effects of repeated rTMS courses remain unclear, as existing studies have focused primarily on short-term outcomes following a single treatment course, with limited data on whether benefits de…

BackgroundProlonged disorders of consciousness (pDoC) are conditions with impaired consciousness lasting over 28 days, including coma, vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (VS/UWS), and minimally conscious state (MCS). Existing treatments offer limited benefit. Although thalamic deep brain stimulation (DBS) has shown potential to improve cognitive and behavioral function, its invasi…

Listening to music while studying is common, yet it remains unclear whether self-selected popular music facilitates or interferes with memory performance. This exploratory pilot fMRI study examined whether preferred Japanese pop music (J-Pop), compared with unpleasant sounds and a no-sound baseline, was descriptively associated with differences in visual memory retrieval, subjective focus, and re…

Dual-process theory of the brain distinguishes fast, parallel, late-commitment cognition (System 1) from slow, sequential, early-commitment cognition (System 2), yet lacks a mechanistic explanation for how these modes operate or how the brain switches between them. Quantum cognition research demonstrates that human decision-making follows quantum probability models under low confidence and classi…

Experimental evidence increasingly demonstrates that human brain data can be leveraged to train artificial intelligence models. In this context, neuroimaging data is both valuable, since it can improve model performance and could be prioritized for high-value steps in model training, and open-ended, since future neuroscience discoveries could retroactively identify new neural signals of interest …

Broca’s description of aphemia signals the emergence of aphasiology as a discipline. It also marks the beginning of a long tradition of studies of right-handed patients (“Nous parlons avec l’hémisphère gauche”) with lesions in the inferior frontal gyrus (Broca’s area) displaying production deficits (Broca’s aphasia) in their single, mainly Romance or, as years went by, Germanic language. In moder…

The presence of reward-related neural deficits in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and its microvascular complications has been linked to abnormal striatal function. However, differences in striatal whole-brain functional connectivity (FC) between patients with diabetic retinopathy (DR) and those with T2DM without retinopathy remain unclear. In this study, 30 patients with DR, 30 with T2DM, and 29…

IntroductionIn everyday life we interact with our environment in an indirect way, where there is a mapping between the viewed goal of our action and the required movement (e.g., using a computer mouse). Such tasks require cognitive- motor integration (CMI), where rules dictate the relationship between perception and action. Previous research with primarily young adult male athletes has demonstrat…

IntroductionGlobal obesity rates are rising, necessitating innovative interventions for appetite control. This study investigated whether subjective satiety—referred to as “hunger stress”—can be modulated using frequency-specific acoustic stimulation (neuro-music) designed to target neural markers associated with fullness.MethodsThe research was conducted in two phases. Experiment 1 (N = 22) used…