Clinical Research Directory

Brain Networks Involved in Inner World Control

Inner speech (the "little voice" in our heads) plays a central role in our ability to perform complex cognitive tasks such as problem solving, reading, writing, thinking, and self awareness. It is estimated that at least a quarter of our lives is accompanied by inner speech, whether deliberate (mentally making a list) or more spontaneous (mind wandering). Although central to human life, its neural bases remain poorly understood. It has been recently discovered a single region in the human prefrontal cortex absent in nonhuman primates, the prefrontal operculum (PFO), which shows a pattern of functional connectivity with the rest of the brain that could give it a role in controlling inner speech. The aim of this research is to understand how the brain generates and controls inner speech using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Dysfunctions of inner speech, especially when spontaneous and wandering, can lead to severe mental disorders (anxiety disorders, depression, verbal auditory hallucinations). It is therefore crucial to identify the role of the PFO and the networks that involve it, particularly the precuneus, in controlling inner speech across its different manifestations. The first hypothesis is that the PFO and the networks that include it play a key role in the cognitive control of inner speech in participants who experience inner speech. The second hypothesis is that the PFO is hyperactive in participants who lack inner speech (so called aphantasics), preventing the production of inner speech. To test these hypotheses, participants will complete a battery of well established questionnaires to determine whether they can produce inner speech (control participants with typical inner speech) or not (aphantasic participants). These participants will take part in an fMRI study contrasting tasks that recruit inner speech that do or do not require cognitive control. The third hypothesis is that the extent of inner speech depends on the capacity for self representation, and thus on the interaction between the PFO and the precuneus. The investigator hypothesize a positive correlation between inner speech ability and self representation capacity, associated with stronger functional connectivity between the PFO and the precuneus. The investigator predict reduced self representation in aphantasic participants. To test this, participants will complete a battery of well established questionnaires. The investigator will compute correlations between 1) behavioral performance on inner speech tasks and questionnaire scores, and 2) the network measures identified in fMRI (task activation and connectivity) and questionnaire scores.

REALITY MONITORING

Reality-monitoring characterizes the ability to determine whether information was perceived in the environment or only imagined . Impaired reality-monitoring abilities have been associated with hallucinations in patients with schizophrenia and patients with Parkinson's disease. The investigators hypothesize a link between dopaminergic (DA) transmission and reality-monitoring.

Studying the Neuronal Basis of Human Social Cognition

This proposal aims to study the role that the dorsal prefrontal cortex plays in human social cognition.

OPTIMIZATION of ADVANCED MR SEQUENCES

This monocentric methodological study aims at optimizing advanced MR sequences for image quality (reduced artefacts, signal to noise ratio, acquisition time, stability of quantitative measurements) on a new MR unit dedicated to research in clinical and cognitive neuroscience.