Putamen volume predicts real-time fMRI neurofeedback learning success across paradigms and neurofeedback target regions

• Main Authors: Becker, B. (Author), Chen, H. (Author), Kendrick, K.M (Author), Mathiak, K. (Author), Yao, S. (Author), Zhao, Z. (Author), Zhou, F. (Author), Zhou, X. (Author), Zweerings, J. (Author)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: John Wiley and Sons Inc 2021
• Subjects: adult; Adult; anatomy and histology; article; associative learning; autoregulation; brain cortex; brain morphometry; brain region; Cerebral Cortex; connectome; Connectome; Datasets as Topic; diagnostic imaging; experimental design; female; Female; functional magnetic resonance imaging; functional neuroimaging; Functional Neuroimaging; gray matter volume; human; human experiment; Humans; information processing; instrumental learning; learning; Learning; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; male; Male; meta analysis; morphometry; nerve cell network; Nerve Net; neurofeedback; Neurofeedback; nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; physiology; putamen; Putamen; real-time fMRI; self control; Self-Control; striatum; young adult; Young Adult
• Online Access: View Fulltext in Publisher

 Real-time fMRI guided neurofeedback training has gained increasing interest as a noninvasive brain regulation technique with the potential to modulate functional brain alterations in therapeutic contexts. Individual variations in learning success and treatment response have been observed, yet the neural substrates underlying the learning of self-regulation remain unclear. Against this background, we explored potential brain structural predictors for learning success with pooled data from three real-time fMRI data sets. Our analysis revealed that gray matter volume of the right putamen could predict neurofeedback learning success across the three data sets (n = 66 in total). Importantly, the original studies employed different neurofeedback paradigms during which different brain regions were trained pointing to a general association with learning success independent of specific aspects of the experimental design. Given the role of the putamen in associative learning this finding may reflect an important role of instrumental learning processes and brain structural variations in associated brain regions for successful acquisition of fMRI neurofeedback-guided self-regulation. © 2020 The Authors. Human Brain Mapping published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.