Inhibitory control modulation represents an important goal in neuromodulation research, with increasing attention to natural approaches such as music. However, personalizing music-based interventions remains challenging. Brain-wave music (BWM) provides personalized auditory stimulation by matching the oscillatory activity of brain waves. In this study, we investigated whether BWM—synthesized from an individual’s own neural oscillations—could effectively enhance inhibitory control. A total of 72 healthy participants participated in the inhibitory control function regulation experiment, with four types of musical stimuli used in the music intervention. The Go/Nogo task and electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings were administered before and after the music intervention to assess changes in inhibitory control function. We showed that a brief exposure to such personalized music enhanced participants’ performance on an inhibitory control task. In contrast, other forms of music intervention showed no significant effect. The intervention modulated theta oscillations in frontal and parietal brain regions, and these neural changes persisted beyond the stimulation period. Time-resolved tracking revealed that frontal attentional control regions guided the entrainment of motor-related areas. Furthermore, the alignment between the music and the individual’s intrinsic neural patterns correlated with behavioral improvement. These outcomes support the potential of BWM as a personalized auditory tool for cognitive enhancement in applied and clinical settings.
Introduction: Hand dexterity is critical for everyday function and involves the coordinated integration of multiple brain networks. However, we know very little about how changes in connectivity across networks facilitate recovery after removal of a pathological brain lesion, like a tumor. Methods: Resting-state functional connectivity and 9-hole peg test (9HPT) times were collected before and after surgical resection in 16 patients with brain tumors. All patients had contrast-enhancing brain lesions (12 glioblastomas, 2 metastases, and 2 radionecrosis). Patients were retrospectively grouped into better or worse recovery based on change in 9HPT scores. Connectivity was assessed between the ipsilesional dorsomedial somatomotor network A (SMN A) with 39 other networks in the brain using partial correlations. Results: Patients with worse recovery of hand function had a decrease in somatomotor connectivity to the rest of the brain (p < 0.05) and a decrease in interhemispheric connectivity to the contralesional SMN A (p < 0.05). Conversely, patients with better recovery had higher ipsilesional SMN A to ventrolateral SMN B connectivity preresection (p < 0.05) and higher ipsilesional SMN A-to-contralesional dorsal attention network B (DAN B) connectivity postresection (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Recovery of hand dexterity from presentation to postoperative follow-up in patients with brain tumors most strongly correlated with ipsilesional SMN A connectivity to the contralesional SMN A, contralesional DAN B, and ipsilesional SMN B. This finding suggests promising neuromodulation targets for postoperative therapies aiming to improve hand dexterity.
Noninvasive brain stimulation (NIBS) techniques rely on distinct mechanisms and engage different neural circuits. For instance, transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) targets cortical networks directly, while transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) influences the brain via peripheral input, reflecting top-down versus bottom-up plasticity pathways. Despite their potentialities in modulating plasticity, reports of intra and inter-subjects variability hamper their reliability as therapeutic approaches for neurorehabilitation. Here, we tested whether sex can represent a possible source of variability. We examined whether tACS and tVNS protocols affect motor learning and explored sex differences among 96 healthy adults, employing a sham-controlled, between-subjects design. A total of 48 participants (24 females) received fronto-cerebellar tACS at an individualized gamma frequency (30-80 Hz), while 48 participants (24 females) underwent tVNS applied to the cymba conchae. Both stimulations were delivered during the performance of a unimanual visuomotor task. Participants used their right index finger to click and drag an object from the center of the screen to a target bin. Analyses were conducted on precision error (PE), the Euclidean distance between the target bin and drop point, and readiness, measured by reaction times (RTs) from paper appearance to click-to-collect. Results showed an influence of sex on tACS effects on PE: on average, female participants improved precision for near targets, whereas male participants improved for far targets, with substantial overlap between groups. This was accompanied by a slowing of RTs in both sexes. tVNS had no significant effect on PE for either sex but showed distinct effects on readiness: slowing RTs in the male participants and speeding them in the female participants. The results highlight the need to consider sex as a critical factor modulating the effects of NIBS and explore the underlying cognitive, neural, and physiological mechanisms.
Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) experience abnormalities in the central nervous system via the gut-brain axis (GBA), leading to changes in brain structure and function. Butyrate has been shown to influence the central nervous system via the GBA, with potential benefits for neurological issues in IBD. However, directly assessing butyrate's impact on the central nervous system in IBD patients is difficult due to confounding factors in human studies. This study employed a mouse model to investigate the effects of sodium butyrate (NaB) on brain structure and function in IBD through multimodal MRI. Fifteen mice were equally divided into three groups: a healthy control group, an IBD group and an IBD + NaB group (NaB group). All three groups underwent scanning with a 9.4T magnetic resonance imaging scanner. The scanning sequences included diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), three-dimensional T2-weighted imaging and functional MRI (fMRI), respectively, to assess alterations in white matter integrity, grey matter nucleus volume and neural activity among the different groups. Compared with the IBD group, the NaB group exhibited reduced inflammation. In both the IBD and NaB groups, the mean diffusivity (MD) values of white matter fibre tracts in the left inferior cerebellar peduncle (restiform body) region were lower than those in the HC group. Differences in nucleus volume were observed among the groups in two regions: an undefined region and the left caudoputamen. Differences in neural activity were observed among the groups in the right pontine reticular nucleus, lateral posterior nucleus of the thalamus, left simple lobule and right midbrain reticular nucleus. Furthermore, alterations in neural local activity coherence were noted in the right nucleus accumbens, left intermediate reticular nucleus, and right hippocampal CA3 region. These results suggest that NaB alleviates the degree of inflammation in IBD mice and induces alterations in brain structure and function via the GBA.
Amblyopia is a neurodevelopmental disorder for which effective treatments in adults are limited due to reduced cortical plasticity. Environmental enrichment (EE) can partially restore this plasticity, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. This study investigated whether the miR-132/HDAC3 pathway is associated with EE-induced visual recovery in adult amblyopic mice. An adult amblyopia model (n = 64) was established via monocular deprivation (MD). Amblyopic mice were assigned to untreated, standard housing (SH), or EE groups, with normal mice as controls. Visual function was assessed using flash visual evoked potentials (fVEP), and molecular analyses of miR-132 and HDAC3 in the primary visual cortex (V1) were performed. In vitro studies included a dual-luciferase assay to verify miR-132-HDAC3 targeting and evaluated the effects of miR-132/HDAC3 overexpression on cortical neurons. Compared to SH, EE-reared amblyopic mice showed (1) increased N1-P2 wave amplitude in fVEP and (2) upregulated miR-132 and downregulated HDAC3 in V1. In vitro, HDAC3 was confirmed as a direct miR-132 target, and miR-132 overexpression suppressed HDAC3 while promoting structural remodeling in visual cortical neurons. These findings suggest that the miR-132/HDAC3 pathway potentially contributes to EE-induced visual restoration in adult amblyopia.
