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Symmetry
Special Issues
Cognition, Neuroscience and Asymmetry
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Cognition, Neuroscience and Asymmetry

A special issue of Symmetry (ISSN 2073-8994). This special issue belongs to the section "Life Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2023) | Viewed by 17056

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Adriana Sampaio

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Neuropsychophysiology Lab, CIPsi, School of Psychology, University of Minho, 4700-032 Braga, Portugal
Interests: neurodevelopment; developmental cognitive neuroscience; brain imaging
Prof. Dr. Hsien-Yuan Lane

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Psychiatry, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 40402, Taiwan
Interests: neuropsychopharmacology; cognitive neuroscience; precision medicine
Prof. Dr. Ludmiła Zając-Lamparska

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Research on Cognitive Aging, Faculty of Psychology, Kazimierz Wielki University, 85-064 Bydgoszcz, Poland
Interests: cognitive aging; neurocognitive aging; cognitive training; neuroplasticity; cognitive interventions; gerontology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Structural and functional asymmetries are characteristic of biologic systems and are associated with lateralization and cognitive skills. Moreover, asymmetry in cognitive performance is a common phenomenon, associated not only with hemispheric asymmetry and functional lateralization. Asymmetry can be observed in cognitive development when the rate of change for particular cognitive functions varies, in both child development and the aging process. Importantly, atypical patterns of structural and functional asymmetries have also been shown in patients suffering from neurodevelopmental disorders. In addition, these disorders (neurocognitive, neurodevelopmental, mental, and behavioral) do not impair all cognitive functions equally, which is often used in differential diagnosis. Finally, therapeutic cognitive interventions targeting cognitive functioning, such as cognitive training or cognitive rehabilitation, also often manifest asymmetric effectiveness, providing positive changes in only certain areas of cognitive functioning or in only certain subgroups of individuals with a specific characteristic.

However, it is crucial not only to recognize the existence of such asymmetries, but also to understand the underlying mechanisms. Therefore, this Special Issue is aimed at highlighting the explanations for the observed asymmetry in cognitive functioning, with particular emphasis on the explanations that appeal to neural mechanisms. Both research papers that provide empirical evidence for existing and new explanations of cognitive asymmetry, as well as theoretical papers that introduce its new explanations are encouraged. We welcome papers using electrophysiology and neuroimaging techniques, as well as behavioral analyses.

Prof. Dr. Adriana Sampaio
Prof. Dr. Hsien-Yuan Lane
Prof. Dr. Ludmiła Zając-Lamparska
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Symmetry is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • cognition
  • neuroscience
  • asymmetry
  • development
  • disorders
  • cognitive interventions

Published Papers (6 papers)

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14 pages, 1153 KiB  
Article
Frontal Alpha Asymmetry and Negative Mood: A Cross-Sectional Study in Older and Younger Adults
by Catarina Barros, Ana Rita Pereira, Adriana Sampaio, Ana Buján and Diego Pinal
Symmetry 2022, 14(8), 1579; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym14081579 - 01 Aug 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4834
Abstract
Frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) has been associated with emotional processing and affective psychopathology. Negative and withdrawal stimuli and behaviors have been related to high levels of right cortical activity, while positive and approach stimuli and behaviors have been related to increased left cortical [...] Read more.
Frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) has been associated with emotional processing and affective psychopathology. Negative and withdrawal stimuli and behaviors have been related to high levels of right cortical activity, while positive and approach stimuli and behaviors have been related to increased left cortical activity. Inconsistent results in terms of depressive and anxious symptoms and their relationship to FAA have been previously observed, especially at older ages. Additionally, no studies to date have evaluated whether loneliness, a negative feeling, is related to FAA. Therefore, this study aimed (i) to compare FAA between younger and older adults and (ii) to investigate the possible relationships between loneliness, depressive and anxious symptomatology with FAA in young and older adults. Resting electroencephalogram recordings of 39 older (Mage = 70.51, SD = 7.12) and 57 younger adults (Mage = 22.54, SD = 3.72) were analyzed. Results showed greater left than right cortical activity for both groups and higher FAA for older than younger adults. FAA was not predicted by loneliness, depressive or anxious symptomatology as shown by regression analyses. Findings bring clarity about FAA patterns at different ages and open the discussion about the relationship between negative emotional processing and frontal cortical imbalances, especially at older ages. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cognition, Neuroscience and Asymmetry)
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16 pages, 2812 KiB  
Article
Temporal Dynamics of Event-Related Potentials during Inhibitory Control Characterize Age-Related Neural Compensation
by Elizabeth R. Paitel and Kristy A. Nielson
Symmetry 2021, 13(12), 2323; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym13122323 - 04 Dec 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2149
Abstract
Aging is accompanied by frontal lobe and non-dominant hemisphere recruitment that supports executive functioning, such as inhibitory control, which is crucial to all cognitive functions. However, the spatio-temporal sequence of processing underlying successful inhibition and how it changes with age is understudied. Thus, [...] Read more.
Aging is accompanied by frontal lobe and non-dominant hemisphere recruitment that supports executive functioning, such as inhibitory control, which is crucial to all cognitive functions. However, the spatio-temporal sequence of processing underlying successful inhibition and how it changes with age is understudied. Thus, we capitalized on the temporal precision of event-related potentials (ERPs) to assess the functional lateralization of N200 (conflict monitoring) and P300 (inhibitory performance evaluation) in young and healthy older adults during comparably performed successful stop-signal inhibition. We additionally used temporal principal components analysis (PCA) to further interrogate the continuous spatio-temporal dynamics underlying N200 and P300 activation for each group. Young adults demonstrated left hemisphere-dominant N200, while older adults demonstrated overall larger amplitudes and right hemisphere dominance. N200 activation was explained by a single PCA factor in both age groups, but with a more anterior scalp distribution in older adults. The P300 amplitudes were larger in the right hemisphere in young, but bilateral in old, with old larger than young in the left hemisphere. P300 was also explained by a single factor in young adults but by two factors in older adults, including distinct parieto-occipital and anterior activation. These findings highlight the differential functional asymmetries of conflict monitoring (N200) and inhibitory evaluation and adaptation (P300) processes and further illuminate unique age-related spatio-temporal recruitment patterns. Older adults demonstrated lateralized recruitment during conflict processing and bilateral recruitment during evaluation and adaptation, with anterior recruitment common to both processes. These fine-grained analyses are critically important for more precise understanding of age-related compensatory activation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cognition, Neuroscience and Asymmetry)
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11 pages, 1088 KiB  
Article
The Level of Self-Esteem May Influence the Effect of Positive Self-Statements. An EEG Alpha Asymmetry Pilot Study
by Inga Dziembowska, Anna Rasmus, Samad Esmaeilzadeh and Monika Wiłkość-Dębczyńska
Symmetry 2021, 13(10), 1913; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym13101913 - 11 Oct 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1873
Abstract
(1) Background: Affirmative statements are widely recognized as a reliable tool that enhances personal resources to manage life demands, including stress-coping and emotional adaptability. However, recent data suggest that contrary effects can be obtained regarding the global self-esteem level. The current study focused [...] Read more.
(1) Background: Affirmative statements are widely recognized as a reliable tool that enhances personal resources to manage life demands, including stress-coping and emotional adaptability. However, recent data suggest that contrary effects can be obtained regarding the global self-esteem level. The current study focused on an approach for recognizing affirmation-induced responses in electroencephalographic (EEG) alpha asymmetry. (2) Methods: EEG data were collected from a total of 45 males (16–20 years) on a baseline condition and compared to EEG data produced when listening to positive self-statements, regarding self-esteem as a covariate. (3) Results: The study revealed relative left-frontal alpha asymmetry, indicating an approach-related motivational state, and right alpha asymmetry in parieto-temporal regions, indicating lower anxiety. This increased with higher self-esteem scores, with a more prominent moderation effect in experimental conditions. These results support and extend previous reports suggesting an adverse effect of positive self-statements for people with lower global self-esteem. (4) Conclusions: Positive self-statements may produce a differing physiological effect regarding an individual’s global self-esteem level, with an adverse effect for people with lower self-esteem scores. These data highlight the need to consider differentiation of psychological approaches between people with higher and lower self-esteem levels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cognition, Neuroscience and Asymmetry)
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13 pages, 2869 KiB  
Article
A Novel Perspective for Examining and Comparing Real and Virtual Test Tasks Performed by the Dominant and Non-Dominant Hand in Healthy Adults
by Beata Sokołowska
Symmetry 2021, 13(10), 1810; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym13101810 - 28 Sep 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1776
Abstract
This study presents a novel perspective for the study of functional lateralization in a virtual reality environment. In the model study of handedness, the recognition of the dominant and non-dominant hand in real and virtual conditions was assessed using selected tests, such as [...] Read more.
This study presents a novel perspective for the study of functional lateralization in a virtual reality environment. In the model study of handedness, the recognition of the dominant and non-dominant hand in real and virtual conditions was assessed using selected tests, such as a real light exposure test of Piórkowski’s apparatus and classical clinical tests, as well as virtual test tasks, in healthy adults. Statistically significant differences between the dominant and non-dominant hand were observed for tests carried out both in classical conditions and the virtual environment. The results and findings of other studies suggest that the virtual reality approach is a very promising and sensitive tool in the research on functional asymmetries in healthy and disease for motor skills and cognition processes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cognition, Neuroscience and Asymmetry)
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16 pages, 2955 KiB  
Article
Functional Activation and Connectivity of the Left Inferior Frontal Gyrus during Lexical and Phonological Retrieval
by Miguel Ángel Rivas-Fernández, Benxamín Varela-López, Susana Cid-Fernández and Santiago Galdo-Álvarez
Symmetry 2021, 13(9), 1655; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym13091655 - 08 Sep 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2030
Abstract
Being language a paradigm of structural and functional asymmetry in cognitive processing, the left Inferior Frontal Gyrus has been consistently related to speech production. In fact, it has been considered a key node in cortical networks responsible for different components of naming. However, [...] Read more.
Being language a paradigm of structural and functional asymmetry in cognitive processing, the left Inferior Frontal Gyrus has been consistently related to speech production. In fact, it has been considered a key node in cortical networks responsible for different components of naming. However, isolating these components (e.g., lexical, syntactic, and phonological retrieval) in neuroimaging studies is difficult due to the use of different baselines and tasks. In the present study, functional activation and connectivity of the left inferior frontal gyrus was explored using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Participants performed a covert naming task (pressing a button based on a phonological characteristic). Two conditions were compared: drawings of objects and single letters (baseline condition). Differences in activation and functional connectivity were obtained for objects and letters in different areas of the left Inferior Frontal Gyrus. The pars triangularis was involved in the retrieval of lexical-phonological information, showing a pattern of connectivity with temporal areas in the search for the name of objects and with perisylvanian areas for letters. Selection of phonological information seems to involve the pars opercularis both to letters and objects but recruiting supramarginal and superior temporal areas to letters, probably related to orthographic-phonological conversion. The results support the notion of the left Inferior Frontal Gyrus as a buffer forwarding neural information across cortical networks responsible for different components of speech production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cognition, Neuroscience and Asymmetry)
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38 pages, 662 KiB  
Perspective
From Hemispheric Asymmetry through Sensorimotor Experiences to Cognitive Outcomes in Children with Cerebral Palsy
by Iryna Babik
Symmetry 2022, 14(2), 345; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym14020345 - 09 Feb 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2806
Abstract
Recent neuroimaging studies allowed us to explore abnormal brain structures and interhemispheric connectivity in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Behavioral researchers have long reported that children with CP exhibit suboptimal performance in different cognitive domains (e.g., receptive and expressive language skills, reading, mental [...] Read more.
Recent neuroimaging studies allowed us to explore abnormal brain structures and interhemispheric connectivity in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Behavioral researchers have long reported that children with CP exhibit suboptimal performance in different cognitive domains (e.g., receptive and expressive language skills, reading, mental imagery, spatial processing, subitizing, math, and executive functions). However, there has been very limited cross-domain research involving these two areas of scientific inquiry. To stimulate such research, this perspective paper proposes some possible neurological mechanisms involved in the cognitive delays and impairments in children with CP. Additionally, the paper examines the ways motor and sensorimotor experience during the development of these neural substrates could enable more optimal development for children with CP. Understanding these developmental mechanisms could guide more effective interventions to promote the development of both sensorimotor and cognitive skills in children with CP. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cognition, Neuroscience and Asymmetry)
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