Using the 10-20 system for TMS positioning is applicable at low cost and may reach desired cortex regions reliably on a larger scale level. For finer grained positioning, possible interindividual differences, and therefore the application of neuroimaging based methods, are to be considered.

In February of 2012, the first international conference on real time functional magnetic resonance imaging (rtfMRI) neurofeedback was held at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ), Switzerland. This review summarizes progress in the field, introduces current debates, elucidates open questions, and offers viewpoints derived from the conference. The review offers perspectives on study design, scientific and clinical applications, rtfMRI learning mechanisms and future outlook

. In the human brain, little is known about the functional anatomy and response properties of subcortical nuclei containing visual maps such as the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) and the pulvinar. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) at 3 tesla (T), collective responses of neural populations in the LGN were measured as a function of stimulus contrast and flicker reversal rate and compared with those obtained in visual cortex. Flickering checkerboard stimuli presented in alternation to the right and left hemifields reliably activated the LGN. The peak of the LGN activation was found to be on average within Ϯ2 mm of the anatomical location of the LGN, as identified on high-resolution structural images. In all visual areas except the middle temporal (MT), fMRI responses increased monotonically with stimulus contrast. In the LGN, the dynamic response range of the contrast function was larger and contrast gain was lower than in the cortex. Contrast sensitivity was lowest in the LGN and V1 and increased gradually in extrastriate cortex. In area MT, responses were saturated at 4% contrast. Response modulation by changes in flicker rate was similar in the LGN and V1 and occurred mainly in the frequency range between 0.5 and 7.5 Hz; in contrast, in extrastriate areas V4, V3A, and MT, responses were modulated mainly in the frequency range between 7.5 and 20 Hz. In the human pulvinar, no activations were obtained with the experimental designs used to probe response properties of the LGN. However, regions in the mediodorsal right and left pulvinar were found to be consistently activated by bilaterally presented flickering checkerboard stimuli, when subjects attended to the stimuli. Taken together, our results demonstrate that fMRI at 3 T can be used effectively to study thalamocortical circuits in the human brain.

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Mindfulness an attentive non-judgmental focus on present experiences is increasingly incorporated in psychotherapeutic treatments as a skill fostering emotion regulation. Neurobiological mechanisms of actively induced emotion regulation are associated with prefrontally mediated downregulation of, for instance, the amygdala. We were interested in neurobiological correlates of a short mindfulness instruction during emotional arousal. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated effects of a short mindfulness intervention during the cued expectation and perception of negative and potentially negative pictures (50% probability) in 24 healthy individuals compared to 22 controls. The mindfulness intervention was associated with increased activations in prefrontal regions during the expectation of negative and potentially negative pictures compared to controls. During the perception of negative stimuli, reduced activation was identified in regions involved in emotion processing (amygdala, parahippocampal gyrus). Prefrontal and right insular activations when expecting negative pictures correlated negatively with trait mindfulness, suggesting that more mindful individuals required less regulatory resources to attenuate emotional arousal. Our findings suggest emotion regulatory effects of a short mindfulness intervention on a neurobiological level.

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The regulation of emotions is an ongoing internal process and often a challenge. Current related neural models concern the intended control of reactions towards external events, mediated by prefrontal cortex regions upon basal emotion processing as in the amygdala. Cognitive strategies to regulate emotions in the context of affective disorders or stress reduction, increasingly applied in clinical practice, are also related to mindfulness techniques. We questioned their effects on neural emotion processing and investigated brain activity during purely internal mental self-referential processes of making current emotions and self-related cognitions aware. Thirty healthy subjects performed a task comprising periods of cognitive self-reflection, of introspection for actual own emotions and feelings, and of a neutral condition, while they were scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging. Brain activations of twenty-seven subjects during emotion-introspection and self-reflection, and also a conjunction of both, were compared with the neutral condition. The conditions of self-reflection and emotion-introspection showed distinguishable activations in medial and ventrolateral prefrontal areas, in parietal regions and in the amygdala. Notably, amygdala activity decreased during emotion-introspection and increased compared to 'neutral' during self-reflection. The results indicate that already the self-referential mental state of making the actual emotional state aware is capable of attenuating emotional arousal. This extends current theories of emotion regulation and has implications for the application of mindfulness techniques as a component of psychotherapeutic strategies in affective disorders and also for possible everyday emotion regulation. AbstractThe regulation of emotions is an ongoing internal process and often a challenge. Current related neural models concern the intended control of reactions towards external events, mediated by prefrontal cortex regions upon basal emotion processing as in the amygdala. Cognitive strategies to regulate emotions in the context of affective disorders or stress reduction, increasingly applied in clinical practice, are also related to mindfulness techniques. We questioned their effects on neural emotion processing and investigated brain activity during purely internal mental selfreferential processes of making current emotions and self-related cognitions aware. Thirty healthy subjects performed a task comprising periods of cognitive self-reflection, of introspection for actual own emotions and feelings, and of a neutral condition, while they were scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging. Brain activations of twenty-seven subjects during emotion-introspection and self-reflection, and also a conjunction of both, were compared with the neutral condition. The conditions of self-reflection and emotion-introspection showed distinguishable activations in medial and ventrolateral prefrontal areas, in parietal regions and in the amygdala. Notably, amygdala activ...

The data do not support previous reports from smaller samples indicating an augmenting or accelerating antidepressant effect of rTMS. Further exploration of the possible efficacy of other stimulation protocols or within selected sub-populations of patients is necessary.