title: Self-regulation of inter-hemispheric visual cortex balance through real-time fMRI neurofeedback training.
abstract: Recent advances in neurofeedback based on real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) allow for learning to control spatially localized brain activity in the range of millimeters across the entire brain. Real-time fMRI neurofeedback studies have demonstrated the feasibility of self-regulating activation in specific areas that are involved in a variety of functions, such as perception, motor control, language, and emotional processing. In most of these previous studies, participants trained to control activity within one region of interest (ROI). In the present study, we extended the neurofeedback approach by now training healthy participants to control the interhemispheric balance between their left and right visual cortices. This was accomplished by providing feedback based on the difference in activity between a target visual ROI and the corresponding homologue region in the opposite hemisphere. Eight out of 14 participants learned to control the differential feedback signal over the course of 3 neurofeedback training sessions spread over 3 days, i.e., they produced consistent increases in the visual target ROI relative to the opposite visual cortex. Those who learned to control the differential feedback signal were subsequently also able to exert that control in the absence of neurofeedback. Such learning to voluntarily control the balance between cortical areas of the two hemispheres might offer promising rehabilitation approaches for neurological or psychiatric conditions associated with pathological asymmetries in brain activity patterns, such as hemispatial neglect, dyslexia, or mood disorders.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Behavioral Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center, Geneva, Switzerland; Geneva Neuroscience Center, Geneva, Switzerland. Electronic address: Fabien.Robineau@unige.ch.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Robineau
authors.affiliation: Geneva Neuroscience Center, Geneva, Switzerland; Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Rieger
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Behavioral Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mermoud
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Behavioral Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center, Geneva, Switzerland; Geneva Neuroscience Center, Geneva, Switzerland; Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pichon
authors.affiliation: Geneva Neuroscience Center, Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics, CIBM, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Institute of Bioengineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Koush
authors.affiliation: Geneva Neuroscience Center, Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics, CIBM, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Institute of Bioengineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Van De Ville
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Behavioral Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center, Geneva, Switzerland; Geneva Neuroscience Center, Geneva, Switzerland; Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vuilleumier
authors.affiliation: Geneva Neuroscience Center, Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Radiology and Medical Informatics, CIBM, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Institute of Bioengineering, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Scharnowski
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D059907:Functional Neuroimaging / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D058765:Neurofeedback / Q000502:physiology*; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Brain training; Neurofeedback; Real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI); Self-regulation; Visual attention; Visual imagery