The goal of this study is to investgate whether individual differences of cognitive control capacity could predict neurofeedback performance and the behavioral effects resulting from successful anterior insula regulation via interoceptive strategy.
Healthy subjects without any past or present psychiatric or neurological disorders
History of brain injury Medical or mental illness and color blindness or weakness.
The presence of metal in the body or claustrophobia.
Single group
Real-time fMRI neurofeedback training
Other interventionReal-time neurofeedback information is computed using the Turbo Brain voyager (TBV) 4.0 software (Brain Innovation, Maastricht, The Netherlands). Functional images are collected and processed in real time based on contrasts of regulation vs. rest conditions. The BOLD signal of the target region is then transformed into visual bars and displayed to participants via the projector screen while participants keep using regulation strategy (heartbeat interoception in our study) to upregulate the target region.
BOLD signal of the anterior insula during neurofeedback training
The anterior insula activity induced by regulation relative to rest blocks in the neurofeedback training task and transfer task.
Behavioral measurements in the cognitive control tasks
Response time and accuracy are recorded in the cognitive control tasks (i.e., the Go/No-Go task, Stroop task, Task-switching, N-back task).
Pain empathy ratings scores
Subjects were required to rate their empathic feeling towards painful pictures on a Likert Scale ranging from 1-9 (1 = not at all and 9 = very painful) after each block.
Strategy efficacy rating scores
Subjects were required to rate the strategy efficacy on a Likert Scale ranging from 1-9 (1 = not at all and 9 = very) after each block.
Intero-ceptive accuracy
The ratio of participants' perceived number of heartbeat relative to the recorded number of heartbeat in the heartbeat counting task.
Confidence rating scores of interoceptive sensitivity
Subjects were asked to rate to what extent they can feel their heartbeat based on a Likert Scale ranging from 1-9 (1 = very low and 9 = very high) in the heartbeat counting task.
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