Structural and functional connectivity of the subthalamic nucleus during vocal emotion decoding

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Neuroimaging

Background:

• Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) offers insights into its role in emotion.
• Pathological confounds in patient studies necessitate research in healthy populations.
• Understanding STN's function in emotion processing is crucial for neurological and psychiatric disorders.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the structural and functional connectivity of the STN with brain regions involved in vocal emotion processing.
• To provide evidence from healthy participants to clarify the STN's role in emotion.
• To combine diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) for comprehensive analysis.

Main Methods:

• Utilized diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) for structural connectivity analysis.
• Employed psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analysis on high-resolution fMRI data for functional connectivity.
• Focused on a healthy participant cohort to minimize confounds.

Main Results:

• Confirmed functional connectivity between the STN and key emotion-related areas: orbitofrontal cortex, inferior frontal gyrus, auditory cortex, pallidum, and amygdala.
• Probabilistic fiber tracking demonstrated structural connectivity between the left STN, amygdala, and orbitofrontal cortex.
• Results highlight the STN's integration within the brain's vocal emotion network.

Conclusions:

• The subthalamic nucleus (STN) is confirmed to play a significant role in human emotion processing in healthy individuals.
• Established structural and functional links between the STN and the neural network for vocal emotions.
• Findings support the STN's involvement in emotional prosody decoding and regulation.