Enhanced attention-related alertness following right anterior insular cortex neurofeedback training
Jeanette Popovova,
Reza Mazloum,
Gianluca Macauda,
Philipp Stämpfli,
Patrik Vuilleumier,
Sascha Frühholz,
Frank Scharnowski,
Vinod Menon,
Lars Michels
Affiliations
Jeanette Popovova
Department of Neuroradiology, University Hospital of Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland; Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, 8050 Zurich, Switzerland; Corresponding author
Reza Mazloum
Department of Neuroradiology, University Hospital of Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland; Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
Gianluca Macauda
Department of Neuroradiology, University Hospital of Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland
Philipp Stämpfli
MR-Center of the Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics and the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychiatric Hospital, University of Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland
Patrik Vuilleumier
Department of Neurosciences and Clinic of Neurology, Laboratory for Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, University of Geneva, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
Sascha Frühholz
Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland; Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, 0851 Oslo, Norway
Frank Scharnowski
Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, 1010 Vienna, Austria
Vinod Menon
Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Department of Neurology & Neurological Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA; Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
Lars Michels
Department of Neuroradiology, University Hospital of Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland; Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland; Corresponding author
Summary: The anterior insular cortex, a central node of the salience network, plays a critical role in cognitive control and attention. Here, we investigated the feasibility of enhancing attention using real-time fMRI neurofeedback training that targets the right anterior insular cortex (rAIC). 56 healthy adults underwent two neurofeedback training sessions. The experimental group received feedback from neural responses in the rAIC, while control groups received sham feedback from the primary visual cortex or no feedback. Cognitive functioning was evaluated before, immediately after, and three months post-training. Our results showed that only the rAIC neurofeedback group successfully increased activity in the rAIC. Furthermore, this group showed enhanced attention-related alertness up to three months after the training. Our findings provide evidence for the potential of rAIC neurofeedback as a viable approach for enhancing attention-related alertness, which could pave the way for non-invasive therapeutic strategies to address conditions characterized by attention deficits.
