Effective Connectivity Study Guiding the Neuromodulation Intervention in Figurative Language Comprehension Using Optical Neuroimaging

Abstract

The current study is aimed at establishing links between brain network examination and neural plasticity studies measured by optical neuroimaging. Sixteen healthy subjects were recruited from the University of Macau to test the Granger Prediction Estimation (GPE) method to investigate brain network connectivity during figurative language comprehension. The method is aimed at mapping significant causal relationships across language brain networks, captured by functional near-infrared spectroscopy measurements (fNIRS): (i) definition of regions of interest (ROIs) based on significant channels extracted from spatial activation maps; (ii) inspection of significant causal relationships in temporal resolution, exploring the experimental task agreement; and (iii) early identification of stronger causal relationships that guide neuromodulation intervention, targeting impaired connectivity pathways. Our results propose top-down mechanisms responsible for perceptive-attention engagement in the left anterior frontal cortex and bottom-up mechanism in the right hemispheres during the semantic integration of figurative language. Moreover, the interhemispheric directional flow suggests a right hemisphere engagement in decoding unfamiliar literal sentences and fine-grained integration guided by the left hemisphere to reduce ambiguity in meaningless words. Finally, bottom-up mechanisms seem activated by logographic-semantic processing in literal meanings and memory storage centres in meaningless comprehension. To sum up, our main findings reveal that the Granger Prediction Estimation (GPE) integrated strategy proposes an effective link between assessment and intervention, capable of enhancing the efficiency of the treatment in language disorders and reducing the neuromodulation side effects.

Preserving Trust in the Doctor-Patient Interaction: Unveiling the Interactive Positive Evolutionary Process of Doctor-Patient Trust through fNIRS Evidence

“…The behavioral results showed that identi cation-based trust was signi cantly higher than knowledgebased trust and knowledge-based trust was signi cantly higher than bounded rational trust in all trust dimensions of doctor trust and patient trust. The results of this study are consistent with the ndings of previous studies that doctors try to understand and respect patients' values, needs, and preferences (Mead & Bower, 2000), keep patients informed and involved in decision-making, and provide emotional support in the interpersonal interaction between doctors and patients (Epstein & Street, 2011) ), and the ow path from the left Broca (IFG) to the left Wernicke (MTG) was observed during the semantic integration of language, which emphasizes the relationship between IFG and higher cognitive functions, such as speech and language processing (Benedek, et al, 2014;Couto, et al, 2020). Additionally, it has been shown that IBS is found in the left IFG after dyadic interaction in real couples compared to randomly paired couples, suggesting that the left IFG is related to the processing of emotional information (Azhari et al, 2020;Ferstl et al, 2005;Schirmer et al, 2004).…”