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Higashi H. Dynamics of visual attention in exploration and exploitation for reward-guided adjustment tasks. Conscious Cogn 2024; 123:103724. [PMID: 38996747 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2024.103724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2024] [Revised: 06/24/2024] [Accepted: 06/26/2024] [Indexed: 07/14/2024]
Abstract
The learning process encompasses exploration and exploitation phases. While reinforcement learning models have revealed functional and neuroscientific distinctions between these phases, knowledge regarding how they affect visual attention while observing the external environment is limited. This study sought to elucidate the interplay between these learning phases and visual attention allocation using visual adjustment tasks combined with a two-armed bandit problem tailored to detect serial effects only when attention is dispersed across both arms. Per our findings, human participants exhibited a distinct serial effect only during the exploration phase, suggesting enhanced attention to the visual stimulus associated with the non-target arm. Remarkably, although rewards did not motivate attention dispersion in our task, during the exploration phase, individuals engaged in active observation and searched for targets to observe. This behavior highlights a unique information-seeking process in exploration that is distinct from exploitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroshi Higashi
- Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka, Japan.
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2
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Pan Y, Frisson S, Federmeier KD, Jensen O. Early parafoveal semantic integration in natural reading. eLife 2024; 12:RP91327. [PMID: 38968325 PMCID: PMC11226228 DOI: 10.7554/elife.91327] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Humans can read and comprehend text rapidly, implying that readers might process multiple words per fixation. However, the extent to which parafoveal words are previewed and integrated into the evolving sentence context remains disputed. We investigated parafoveal processing during natural reading by recording brain activity and eye movements using MEG and an eye tracker while participants silently read one-line sentences. The sentences contained an unpredictable target word that was either congruent or incongruent with the sentence context. To measure parafoveal processing, we flickered the target words at 60 Hz and measured the resulting brain responses (i.e. Rapid Invisible Frequency Tagging, RIFT) during fixations on the pre-target words. Our results revealed a significantly weaker tagging response for target words that were incongruent with the previous context compared to congruent ones, even within 100ms of fixating the word immediately preceding the target. This reduction in the RIFT response was also found to be predictive of individual reading speed. We conclude that semantic information is not only extracted from the parafovea but can also be integrated with the previous context before the word is fixated. This early and extensive parafoveal processing supports the rapid word processing required for natural reading. Our study suggests that theoretical frameworks of natural reading should incorporate the concept of deep parafoveal processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yali Pan
- Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
| | - Steven Frisson
- Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
| | - Kara D Federmeier
- Department of Psychology, Program in Neuroscience, and the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of IllinoisChampaignUnited States
| | - Ole Jensen
- Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
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3
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Gagsch F, Valuch C, Albrecht T. Measuring attentional selection of object categories using hierarchical frequency tagging. J Vis 2024; 24:8. [PMID: 38990066 PMCID: PMC11246098 DOI: 10.1167/jov.24.7.8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/12/2024] Open
Abstract
In the present study, we used Hierarchical Frequency Tagging (Gordon et al., 2017) to investigate in electroencephalography how different levels of the neural processing hierarchy interact with category-selective attention during visual object recognition. We constructed stimulus sequences of cyclic wavelet scrambled face and house stimuli at two different frequencies (f1 = 0.8 Hz and f2 = 1 Hz). For each trial, two stimulus sequences of different frequencies were superimposed and additionally augmented by a sinusoidal contrast modulation with f3 = 12.5 Hz. This allowed us to simultaneously assess higher level processing using semantic wavelet-induced frequency-tagging (SWIFT) and processing in earlier visual levels using steady-state visually evoked potentials (SSVEPs), along with their intermodulation (IM) components. To investigate the category specificity of the SWIFT signal, we manipulated the category congruence between target and distractor by superimposing two sequences containing stimuli from the same or different object categories. Participants attended to one stimulus (target) and ignored the other (distractor). Our results showed successful tagging of different levels of the cortical hierarchy. Using linear mixed-effects modeling, we detected different attentional modulation effects on lower versus higher processing levels. SWIFT and IM components were substantially increased for target versus distractor stimuli, reflecting attentional selection of the target stimuli. In addition, distractor stimuli from the same category as targets elicited stronger SWIFT signals than distractor stimuli from a different category indicating category-selective attention. In contrast, for IM components, this category-selective attention effect was largely absent, indicating that IM components probably reflect more stimulus-specific processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian Gagsch
- Georg-Elias-Müller Institute for Psychology, Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Christian Valuch
- Georg-Elias-Müller Institute for Psychology, Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Thorsten Albrecht
- Georg-Elias-Müller Institute for Psychology, Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany
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4
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Oomen D, Wiersema JR, Orgs G, Cracco E. Top-down biological motion perception does not differ between adults scoring high versus low on autism traits. Biol Psychol 2024; 190:108820. [PMID: 38815896 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2024.108820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2023] [Revised: 05/15/2024] [Accepted: 05/17/2024] [Indexed: 06/01/2024]
Abstract
The perception of biological motion is an important social cognitive ability. Models of biological motion perception recognize two processes that contribute to the perception of biological motion: a bottom-up process that binds optic-flow patterns into a coherent percept of biological motion and a top-down process that binds sequences of body-posture 'snapshots' over time into a fluent percept of biological motion. The vast majority of studies on autism and biological motion perception have used point-light figure stimuli, which elicit biological motion perception predominantly via bottom-up processes. Here, we investigated whether autism is associated with deviances in the top-down processing of biological motion. For this, we tested a sample of adults scoring low vs high on autism traits on a recently validated EEG paradigm in which apparent biological motion is combined with frequency tagging (Cracco et al., 2022) to dissociate between two percepts: 1) the representation of individual body postures, and 2) their temporal integration into movements. In contrast to our hypothesis, we found no evidence for a diminished temporal body posture integration in the high-scoring group. We did, however, find a group difference that suggests that adults scoring high on autism traits have a visual processing style that focuses more on a single percept (i.e. either body postures or movements, contingent on saliency) compared to adults scoring low on autism traits who instead seemed to represent the two percepts included in the paradigm in a more balanced manner. Although unexpected, this finding aligns well with the autism literature on perceptual stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danna Oomen
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium; EXPLORA, Ghent University, Belgium; Institute for Management and Organization, Leuphana University, Germany.
| | - Jan R Wiersema
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium; EXPLORA, Ghent University, Belgium
| | - Guido Orgs
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, UK
| | - Emiel Cracco
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Belgium; EXPLORA, Ghent University, Belgium
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5
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Janardhan Reddy T, Ramasubba Reddy M. Narrow band-pass filtered canonical correlation analysis for frequency identification in SSVEP signals. Biomed Phys Eng Express 2024; 10:045047. [PMID: 38861953 DOI: 10.1088/2057-1976/ad567f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2024] [Accepted: 06/11/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024]
Abstract
Steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEP) are generated in the parieto-occipital regions, accompanied by background noise and artifacts. A strong pre-processing method is required to reduce this background noise and artifacts. This study proposed a narrow band-pass filtered canonical correlation analysis (NBPFCCA) to recognize frequency components in SSVEP signals. The proposed method is tested on the publicly available 40 stimulus frequencies dataset recorded from 35 subjects and 4 class in-house dataset acquired from 10 subjects. The performance of the proposed NBPFCCA method is compared with the standard canonical correlation analysis (CCA) and the filter bank CCA (FBCCA). The mean frequency detection accuracy of the standard CCA is 86.21% for the benchmark dataset, and it is improved to 95.58% in the proposed method. Results indicate that the proposed method significantly outperforms the standard canonical correlation analysis with an increase of 9.37% and 17% in frequency recognition accuracy of the benchmark and in-house datasets, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Janardhan Reddy
- Department of Applied Mechanics and Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, 600036, India
| | - M Ramasubba Reddy
- Department of Applied Mechanics and Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, 600036, India
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Liu X, Melcher D, Carrasco M, Hanning NM. Pre-saccadic Preview Shapes Post-Saccadic Processing More Where Perception is Poor. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.05.18.541028. [PMID: 37292871 PMCID: PMC10245755 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.18.541028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The pre-saccadic preview of a peripheral target enhances the efficiency of its post-saccadic processing, termed the extrafoveal preview effect. Peripheral visual performance -and thus the quality of the preview- varies around the visual field, even at iso-eccentric locations: it is better along the horizontal than vertical meridian and along the lower than upper vertical meridian. To investigate whether these polar angle asymmetries influence the preview effect, we asked human participants (to preview four tilted gratings at the cardinals, until a central cue indicated to which one to saccade. During the saccade, the target orientation either remained or slightly changed (valid/invalid preview). After saccade landing, participants discriminated the orientation of the (briefly presented) second grating. Stimulus contrast was titrated with adaptive staircases to assess visual performance. Expectedly, valid previews increased participants' post-saccadic contrast sensitivity. This preview benefit, however, was inversely related to polar angle perceptual asymmetries; largest at the upper, and smallest at the horizontal meridian. This finding reveals that the visual system compensates for peripheral asymmetries when integrating information across saccades, by selectively assigning higher weights to the less-well perceived preview information. Our study supports the recent line of evidence showing that perceptual dynamics around saccades vary with eye movement direction.
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Volfart A, Rossion B. The neuropsychological evaluation of face identity recognition. Neuropsychologia 2024; 198:108865. [PMID: 38522782 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2024.108865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2023] [Revised: 03/14/2024] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 03/26/2024]
Abstract
Facial identity recognition (FIR) is arguably the ultimate form of recognition for the adult human brain. Even if the term prosopagnosia is reserved for exceptionally rare brain-damaged cases with a category-specific abrupt loss of FIR at adulthood, subjective and objective impairments or difficulties of FIR are common in the neuropsychological population. Here we provide a critical overview of the evaluation of FIR both for clinicians and researchers in neuropsychology. FIR impairments occur following many causes that should be identified objectively by both general and specific, behavioral and neural examinations. We refute the commonly used dissociation between perceptual and memory deficits/tests for FIR, since even a task involving the discrimination of unfamiliar face images presented side-by-side relies on cortical memories of faces in the right-lateralized ventral occipito-temporal cortex. Another frequently encountered confusion is between specific deficits of the FIR function and a more general impairment of semantic memory (of people), the latter being most often encountered following anterior temporal lobe damage. Many computerized tests aimed at evaluating FIR have appeared over the last two decades, as reviewed here. However, despite undeniable strengths, they often suffer from ecological limitations, difficulties of instruction, as well as a lack of consideration for processing speed and qualitative information. Taking into account these issues, a recently developed behavioral test with natural images manipulating face familiarity, stimulus inversion, and correct response times as a key variable appears promising. The measurement of electroencephalographic (EEG) activity in the frequency domain from fast periodic visual stimulation also appears as a particularly promising tool to complete and enhance the neuropsychological assessment of FIR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angélique Volfart
- School of Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Australia.
| | - Bruno Rossion
- Centre for Biomedical Technologies, Queensland University of Technology, Australia; Université de Lorraine, CNRS, IMoPA, F-54000, Nancy, France.
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Van Overwalle J, Geusens B, Van der Donck S, Boets B, Wagemans J. Discrimination sensitivity of visual shapes sharpens in autistic adults but only after explicit category learning. Mol Autism 2024; 15:23. [PMID: 38831439 PMCID: PMC11149306 DOI: 10.1186/s13229-024-00604-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2023] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Categorization and its influence on perceptual discrimination are essential processes to organize information efficiently. Individuals with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) are suggested to display enhanced discrimination on the one hand, but also to experience difficulties with generalization and ignoring irrelevant differences on the other, which underlie categorization. Studies on categorization and discrimination in ASC have mainly focused on one process at a time, however, and typically only used either behavioral or neural measures in isolation. Here, we aim to investigate the interrelationships between these perceptual processes using novel stimuli sampled from a well-controlled artificial stimulus space. In addition, we complement standard behavioral psychophysical tasks with frequency-tagging EEG (FT-EEG) to obtain a direct, non-task related neural index of discrimination and categorization. METHODS The study was completed by 38 adults with ASC and 38 matched neurotypical (NT) individuals. First, we assessed baseline discrimination sensitivity by administering FT-EEG measures and a complementary behavioral task. Second, participants were trained to categorize the stimuli into two groups. Finally, participants again completed the neural and behavioral discrimination sensitivity measures. RESULTS Before training, NT participants immediately revealed a categorical tuning of discrimination, unlike ASC participants who showed largely similar discrimination sensitivity across the stimuli. During training, both autistic and non-autistic participants were able to categorize the stimuli into two groups. However, in the initial training phase, ASC participants were less accurate and showed more variability, as compared to their non-autistic peers. After training, ASC participants showed significantly enhanced neural and behavioral discrimination sensitivity across the category boundary. Behavioral indices of a reduced categorical processing and perception were related to the presence of more severe autistic traits. Bayesian analyses confirmed overall results. LIMITATIONS Data-collection occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSIONS Our behavioral and neural findings indicate that adults with and without ASC are able to categorize highly similar stimuli. However, while categorical tuning of discrimination sensitivity was spontaneously present in the NT group, it only emerged in the autistic group after explicit categorization training. Additionally, during training, adults with autism were slower at category learning. Finally, this multi-level approach sheds light on the mechanisms underlying sensory and information processing issues in ASC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaana Van Overwalle
- Department of Brain and Cognition, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, 3000, Belgium.
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Leuven, 3000, Belgium.
| | - Birte Geusens
- Department of Brain and Cognition, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, 3000, Belgium
| | - Stephanie Van der Donck
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, 3000, Belgium
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Leuven, 3000, Belgium
| | - Bart Boets
- Center for Developmental Psychiatry, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, 3000, Belgium
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Leuven, 3000, Belgium
| | - Johan Wagemans
- Department of Brain and Cognition, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, 3000, Belgium
- Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), KU Leuven, Leuven, 3000, Belgium
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De Rosa M, Vignali L, D’Urso A, Ktori M, Bottini R, Crepaldi D. Selective Neural Entrainment Reveals Hierarchical Tuning to Linguistic Regularities in Reading. NEUROBIOLOGY OF LANGUAGE (CAMBRIDGE, MASS.) 2024; 5:528-552. [PMID: 38911459 PMCID: PMC11192515 DOI: 10.1162/nol_a_00145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2024] [Indexed: 06/25/2024]
Abstract
Reading is both a visual and a linguistic task, and as such it relies on both general-purpose, visual mechanisms and more abstract, meaning-oriented processes. Disentangling the roles of these resources is of paramount importance in reading research. The present study capitalizes on the coupling of fast periodic visual stimulation and MEG recordings to address this issue and investigate the role of different kinds of visual and linguistic units in the visual word identification system. We compared strings of pseudo-characters; strings of consonants (e.g., sfcl); readable, but unattested strings (e.g., amsi); frequent, but non-meaningful chunks (e.g., idge); suffixes (e.g., ment); and words (e.g., vibe); and looked for discrimination responses with a particular focus on the ventral, occipito-temporal regions. The results revealed sensitivity to alphabetic, readable, familiar, and lexical stimuli. Interestingly, there was no discrimination between suffixes and equally frequent, but meaningless endings, thus highlighting a lack of sensitivity to semantics. Taken together, the data suggest that the visual word identification system, at least in its early processing stages, is particularly tuned to form-based regularities, most likely reflecting its reliance on general-purpose, statistical learning mechanisms that are a core feature of the visual system as implemented in the ventral stream.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mara De Rosa
- Cognitive Neuroscience Department, International School for Advanced Studies, Trieste, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Vignali
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Mattarello, Trento, Italy
| | - Anna D’Urso
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Mattarello, Trento, Italy
| | - Maria Ktori
- Cognitive Neuroscience Department, International School for Advanced Studies, Trieste, Italy
| | - Roberto Bottini
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), University of Trento, Mattarello, Trento, Italy
| | - Davide Crepaldi
- Cognitive Neuroscience Department, International School for Advanced Studies, Trieste, Italy
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Zhang Y, Valsecchi M, Gegenfurtner KR, Chen J. The execution of saccadic eye movements suppresses visual processing of both color and luminance in the early visual cortex of humans. J Neurophysiol 2024; 131:1156-1167. [PMID: 38690998 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00419.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2023] [Revised: 04/10/2024] [Accepted: 04/28/2024] [Indexed: 05/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Our eyes execute rapid, directional movements known as saccades, occurring several times per second, to focus on objects of interest in our environment. During these movements, visual sensitivity is temporarily reduced. Despite numerous studies on this topic, the underlying mechanism remains elusive, including a lingering debate on whether saccadic suppression affects the parvocellular visual pathway. To address this issue, we conducted a study employing steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) elicited by chromatic and luminance stimuli while observers performed saccadic eye movements. We also employed an innovative analysis pipeline to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio, yielding superior results compared to the previous method. Our findings revealed a clear suppression effect on SSVEP signals during saccades compared to fixation periods. Notably, this suppression effect was comparable for both chromatic and luminance stimuli. We went further to measure the suppression effect across various contrast levels, which enabled us to model SSVEP responses with contrast response functions. The results suggest that saccades primarily reduce response gain without significantly affecting contrast gain and that this reduction applies uniformly to both chromatic and luminance pathways. In summary, our study provides robust evidence that saccades similarly suppress visual processing in both the parvocellular and magnocellular pathways within the human early visual cortex, as indicated by SSVEP responses. The observation that saccadic eye movements impact response gain rather than contrast gain implies that they influence visual processing through a multiplicative mechanism.NEW & NOTEWORTHY The present study demonstrates that saccadic eye movements reduce the processing of both luminance and chromatic stimuli in the early visual cortex of humans. By modeling the contrast response function, the study further shows that saccades affect visual processing by reducing the response gain rather than altering the contrast gain, suggesting that a multiplicative mechanism of visual attenuation affects both parvocellular and magnocellular pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Zhang
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
| | - Matteo Valsecchi
- Dipartimento di Psicologia, Universitá di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Karl R Gegenfurtner
- Abteilung Allgemeine Psychologie, Center for Mind, Brain & Behavior, Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, Gießen, Germany
| | - Jing Chen
- School of Psychology, Research Center for Exercise and Brain Science, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
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11
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Retter TL, Eraßmy L, Schiltz C. Identifying conceptual neural responses to symbolic numerals. Proc Biol Sci 2024; 291:20240589. [PMID: 38919064 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.0589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2023] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024] Open
Abstract
The goal of measuring conceptual processing in numerical cognition is distanced by the possibility that neural responses to symbolic numerals are influenced by physical stimulus confounds. Here, we targeted conceptual responses to parity (even versus odd), using electroencephalogram (EEG) frequency-tagging with a symmetry/asymmetry design. Arabic numerals (2-9) were presented at 7.5 Hz in 50 s sequences; odd and even numbers were alternated to target differential, 'asymmetry' responses to parity at 3.75 Hz (7.5 Hz/2). Parity responses were probed with four different stimulus sets, increasing in intra-numeral stimulus variability, and with two control conditions composed of non-conceptual numeral alternations. Significant asymmetry responses were found over the occipitotemporal cortex to all conditions, even for the arbitrary controls. The large physical-differences control condition elicited the largest response in the stimulus set with the lowest variability (one font). Only in the stimulus set with the highest variability (20 drawn, coloured exemplars/numeral) did the response to parity surpass both control conditions. These findings show that physical differences across small sets of Arabic numerals can strongly influence, and even account for, automatic brain responses. However, carefully designed control conditions and highly variable stimulus sets may be used towards identifying truly conceptual neural responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Talia L Retter
- Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, Institute of Cognitive Science & Assessment, University of Luxembourg , Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
| | - Lucas Eraßmy
- Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, Institute of Cognitive Science & Assessment, University of Luxembourg , Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
| | - Christine Schiltz
- Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, Institute of Cognitive Science & Assessment, University of Luxembourg , Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
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12
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Chen SY, Chang CM, Chiang KJ, Wei CS. SSVEP-DAN: Cross-Domain Data Alignment for SSVEP-Based Brain-Computer Interfaces. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng 2024; 32:2027-2037. [PMID: 38781061 DOI: 10.1109/tnsre.2024.3404432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
Steady-state visual-evoked potential (SSVEP)-based brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) offer a non-invasive means of communication through high-speed speller systems. However, their efficiency is highly dependent on individual training data acquired during time-consuming calibration sessions. To address the challenge of data insufficiency in SSVEP-based BCIs, we introduce SSVEP-DAN, the first dedicated neural network model designed to align SSVEP data across different domains, encompassing various sessions, subjects, or devices. Our experimental results demonstrate the ability of SSVEP-DAN to transform existing source SSVEP data into supplementary calibration data. This results in a significant improvement in SSVEP decoding accuracy while reducing the calibration time. We envision SSVEP-DAN playing a crucial role in future applications of high-performance SSVEP-based BCIs. The source code for this work is available at: https://github.com/CECNL/SSVEP-DAN.
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13
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Szaszkó B, Habeler M, Forstinger M, Pomper U, Scheftner M, Stolte M, Grüner M, Ansorge U. 10 Hz rhythmic stimulation modulates electrophysiological, but not behavioral markers of suppression. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1376664. [PMID: 38831943 PMCID: PMC11144928 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1376664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2024] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024] Open
Abstract
We investigated the role of alpha in the suppression of attention capture by salient but to-be-suppressed (negative and nonpredictive) color cues, expecting a potential boosting effect of alpha-rhythmic entrainment on feature-specific cue suppression. We did so by presenting a rhythmically flickering visual bar of 10 Hz before the cue - either on the cue's side or opposite the cue -while an arrhythmically flickering visual bar was presented on the respective other side. We hypothesized that rhythmic entrainment at cue location could enhance the suppression of the cue. Testing 27 participants ranging from 18 to 39 years of age, we found both behavioral and electrophysiological evidence of suppression: Search times for a target at a negatively cued location were delayed relative to a target away from the cued location (inverse validity effects). In addition, an event-related potential indicative for suppression (the Distractor Positivity, Pd) was observed following rhythmic but not arrhythmic stimulation, indicating that suppression was boosted by the stimulation. This was also echoed in higher spectral power and intertrial phase coherence of EEG at rhythmically versus arrhythmically stimulated electrode sites, albeit only at the second harmonic (20 Hz), but not at the stimulation frequency. In addition, inverse validity effects were not modulated by rhythmic entrainment congruent with the cue side. Hence, we propose that rhythmic visual stimulation in the alpha range could support suppression, though behavioral evidence remains elusive, in contrast to electrophysiological findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bence Szaszkó
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Martin Habeler
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Marlene Forstinger
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ulrich Pomper
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Manuel Scheftner
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Moritz Stolte
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Markus Grüner
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ulrich Ansorge
- Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Research Platform Mediatised Lifeworlds, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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14
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Phangwiwat T, Phunchongharn P, Wongsawat Y, Chatnuntawech I, Wang S, Chunharas C, Sprague TC, Woodman GF, Itthipuripat S. Sustained attention operates via dissociable neural mechanisms across different eccentric locations. Sci Rep 2024; 14:11188. [PMID: 38755251 PMCID: PMC11099062 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-61171-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024] Open
Abstract
In primates, foveal and peripheral vision have distinct neural architectures and functions. However, it has been debated if selective attention operates via the same or different neural mechanisms across eccentricities. We tested these alternative accounts by examining the effects of selective attention on the steady-state visually evoked potential (SSVEP) and the fronto-parietal signal measured via EEG from human subjects performing a sustained visuospatial attention task. With a negligible level of eye movements, both SSVEP and SND exhibited the heterogeneous patterns of attentional modulations across eccentricities. Specifically, the attentional modulations of these signals peaked at the parafoveal locations and such modulations wore off as visual stimuli appeared closer to the fovea or further away towards the periphery. However, with a relatively higher level of eye movements, the heterogeneous patterns of attentional modulations of these neural signals were less robust. These data demonstrate that the top-down influence of covert visuospatial attention on early sensory processing in human cortex depends on eccentricity and the level of saccadic responses. Taken together, the results suggest that sustained visuospatial attention operates differently across different eccentric locations, providing new understanding of how attention augments sensory representations regardless of where the attended stimulus appears.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanagrit Phangwiwat
- Neuroscience Center for Research and Innovation (NX), Learning Institute, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), Bangkok, 10140, Thailand
- Big Data Experience Center (BX), King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), Bangkok, 10600, Thailand
- Department of Computer Engineering, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), Bangkok, 10140, Thailand
| | - Phond Phunchongharn
- Big Data Experience Center (BX), King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), Bangkok, 10600, Thailand
- Department of Computer Engineering, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), Bangkok, 10140, Thailand
| | - Yodchanan Wongsawat
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University, Nakhon Pathom, 73170, Thailand
| | - Itthi Chatnuntawech
- National Nanotechnology Center, National Science and Technology Development Agency, Pathum Thani, 12120, Thailand
| | - Sisi Wang
- Department of Experimental and Applied Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA
| | - Chaipat Chunharas
- Cognitive Clinical and Computational Neuroscience Center of Excellence, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
- Chula Neuroscience Center, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Thai Red Cross Society, Bangkok, 10330, Thailand
| | - Thomas C Sprague
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Geoffrey F Woodman
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA
| | - Sirawaj Itthipuripat
- Neuroscience Center for Research and Innovation (NX), Learning Institute, King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), Bangkok, 10140, Thailand.
- Big Data Experience Center (BX), King Mongkut's University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), Bangkok, 10600, Thailand.
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA.
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15
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Barmpas K, Panagakis Y, Zoumpourlis G, Adamos DA, Laskaris N, Zafeiriou S. A causal perspective on brainwave modeling for brain-computer interfaces. J Neural Eng 2024; 21:036001. [PMID: 38621380 DOI: 10.1088/1741-2552/ad3eb5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2023] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/17/2024]
Abstract
Objective. Machine learning (ML) models have opened up enormous opportunities in the field of brain-computer Interfaces (BCIs). Despite their great success, they usually face severe limitations when they are employed in real-life applications outside a controlled laboratory setting.Approach. Mixing causal reasoning, identifying causal relationships between variables of interest, with brainwave modeling can change one's viewpoint on some of these major challenges which can be found in various stages in the ML pipeline, ranging from data collection and data pre-processing to training methods and techniques.Main results. In this work, we employ causal reasoning and present a framework aiming to breakdown and analyze important challenges of brainwave modeling for BCIs.Significance. Furthermore, we present how general ML practices as well as brainwave-specific techniques can be utilized and solve some of these identified challenges. And finally, we discuss appropriate evaluation schemes in order to measure these techniques' performance and efficiently compare them with other methods that will be developed in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Konstantinos Barmpas
- Department of Computing, Imperial College London, London SW7 2RH, United Kingdom
- Cogitat Ltd, London, United Kingdom
| | - Yannis Panagakis
- Department of Informatics and Telecommunications, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens 15784, Greece
- Archimedes Research Unit, Research Center Athena, Athens 15125, Greece
- Cogitat Ltd, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Dimitrios A Adamos
- Department of Computing, Imperial College London, London SW7 2RH, United Kingdom
- Cogitat Ltd, London, United Kingdom
| | - Nikolaos Laskaris
- School of Informatics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 54124, Greece
- Cogitat Ltd, London, United Kingdom
| | - Stefanos Zafeiriou
- Department of Computing, Imperial College London, London SW7 2RH, United Kingdom
- Cogitat Ltd, London, United Kingdom
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16
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Łabęcki M, Nowicka MM, Wróbel A, Suffczynski P. Frequency-dependent dynamics of steady-state visual evoked potentials under sustained flicker stimulation. Sci Rep 2024; 14:9281. [PMID: 38654008 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-59770-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEP) are electroencephalographic signals elicited when the brain is exposed to a visual stimulus with a steady frequency. We analyzed the temporal dynamics of SSVEP during sustained flicker stimulation at 5, 10, 15, 20 and 40 Hz. We found that the amplitudes of the responses were not stable over time. For a 5 Hz stimulus, the responses progressively increased, while, for higher flicker frequencies, the amplitude increased during the first few seconds and often showed a continuous decline afterward. We hypothesize that these two distinct sets of frequency-dependent SSVEP signal properties reflect the contribution of parvocellular and magnocellular visual pathways generating sustained and transient responses, respectively. These results may have important applications for SSVEP signals used in research and brain-computer interface technology and may contribute to a better understanding of the frequency-dependent temporal mechanisms involved in the processing of prolonged periodic visual stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maciej Łabęcki
- Department of Biomedical Physics, Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, 5 Pasteur St, 02-093, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Maria Małgorzata Nowicka
- Laboratory of Language Neurobiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, 3 Pasteur St, 02-093, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Andrzej Wróbel
- Laboratory of Neuroinformatics, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, 3 Pasteur St, 02-093, Warsaw, Poland
- Department of Epistemology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Warsaw, 3 Krakowskie Przedmiescie St, 00-047, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Piotr Suffczynski
- Department of Biomedical Physics, Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, 5 Pasteur St, 02-093, Warsaw, Poland.
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17
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Andersen SK, Hillyard SA. The time course of feature-selective attention inside and outside the focus of spatial attention. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2309975121. [PMID: 38588433 PMCID: PMC11032453 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2309975121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Research on attentional selection of stimulus features has yielded seemingly contradictory results. On the one hand, many experiments in humans and animals have observed a "global" facilitation of attended features across the entire visual field, even when spatial attention is focused on a single location. On the other hand, several event-related potential studies in humans reported that attended features are enhanced at the attended location only. The present experiment demonstrates that these conflicting results can be explained by differences in the timing of attentional allocation inside and outside the spatial focus of attention. Participants attended to fields of either red or blue randomly moving dots on either the left or right side of fixation with the task of detecting brief coherent motion targets. Recordings of steady-state visual evoked potentials elicited by the flickering stimuli allowed concurrent measurement of the time course of feature-selective attention in visual cortex on both the attended and the unattended sides. The onset of feature-selective attentional modulation on the attended side occurred around 150 ms earlier than on the unattended side. This finding that feature-selective attention is not spatially global from the outset but extends to unattended locations after a temporal delay resolves previous contradictions between studies finding global versus hierarchical selection of features and provides insight into the fundamental relationship between feature-based and location-based (spatial) attention mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Søren K. Andersen
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense MDK-5230, Denmark
- School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen, AberdeenAB24 3FX, United Kingdom
| | - Steven A. Hillyard
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093
- Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg39118, Germany
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18
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Blanpain LT, Cole ER, Chen E, Park JK, Walelign MY, Gross RE, Cabaniss BT, Willie JT, Singer AC. Multisensory flicker modulates widespread brain networks and reduces interictal epileptiform discharges. Nat Commun 2024; 15:3156. [PMID: 38605017 PMCID: PMC11009358 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47263-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Modulating brain oscillations has strong therapeutic potential. Interventions that both non-invasively modulate deep brain structures and are practical for chronic daily home use are desirable for a variety of therapeutic applications. Repetitive audio-visual stimulation, or sensory flicker, is an accessible approach that modulates hippocampus in mice, but its effects in humans are poorly defined. We therefore quantified the neurophysiological effects of flicker with high spatiotemporal resolution in patients with focal epilepsy who underwent intracranial seizure monitoring. In this interventional trial (NCT04188834) with a cross-over design, subjects underwent different frequencies of flicker stimulation in the same recording session with the effect of sensory flicker exposure on local field potential (LFP) power and interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) as primary and secondary outcomes, respectively. Flicker focally modulated local field potentials in expected canonical sensory cortices but also in the medial temporal lobe and prefrontal cortex, likely via resonance of stimulated long-range circuits. Moreover, flicker decreased interictal epileptiform discharges, a pathological biomarker of epilepsy and degenerative diseases, most strongly in regions where potentials were flicker-modulated, especially the visual cortex and medial temporal lobe. This trial met the scientific goal and is now closed. Our findings reveal how multi-sensory stimulation may modulate cortical structures to mitigate pathological activity in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lou T Blanpain
- Department of Neurosurgery, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Graduate Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology & Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Eric R Cole
- Department of Neurosurgery, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology & Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Emily Chen
- Department of Neurosurgery, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - James K Park
- Department of Neurosurgery, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Michael Y Walelign
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Robert E Gross
- Department of Neurosurgery, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Departments of Neurosurgery and Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick and New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, USA
| | - Brian T Cabaniss
- Department of Neurology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Jon T Willie
- Departments of Neurological Surgery, Neurology, Psychiatry, and Biomedical Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA.
| | - Annabelle C Singer
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Graduate Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
- Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology & Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
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19
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Chen Q, Ingram NT, Baudin J, Angueyra JM, Sinha R, Rieke F. Predictably manipulating photoreceptor light responses to reveal their role in downstream visual responses. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.10.20.563304. [PMID: 37961603 PMCID: PMC10634684 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.20.563304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
Computation in neural circuits relies on judicious use of nonlinear circuit components. In many cases, multiple nonlinear components work collectively to control circuit outputs. Separating the contributions of these different components is difficult, and this hampers our understanding of the mechanistic basis of many important computations. Here, we introduce a tool that permits the design of light stimuli that predictably alter rod and cone phototransduction currents - including stimuli that compensate for nonlinear properties such as light adaptation. This tool, based on well-established models for the rod and cone phototransduction cascade, permits the separation of nonlinearities in phototransduction from those in downstream circuits. This will allow, for example, direct tests of how adaptation in rod and cone phototransduction affects downstream visual signals and perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiang Chen
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
| | - Norianne T. Ingram
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
| | - Jacob Baudin
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
| | | | | | - Fred Rieke
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195
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20
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Walsh K, McGovern DP, Dully J, Kelly SP, O'Connell RG. Prior probability cues bias sensory encoding with increasing task exposure. eLife 2024; 12:RP91135. [PMID: 38564237 PMCID: PMC10987094 DOI: 10.7554/elife.91135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
When observers have prior knowledge about the likely outcome of their perceptual decisions, they exhibit robust behavioural biases in reaction time and choice accuracy. Computational modelling typically attributes these effects to strategic adjustments in the criterion amount of evidence required to commit to a choice alternative - usually implemented by a starting point shift - but recent work suggests that expectations may also fundamentally bias the encoding of the sensory evidence itself. Here, we recorded neural activity with EEG while participants performed a contrast discrimination task with valid, invalid, or neutral probabilistic cues across multiple testing sessions. We measured sensory evidence encoding via contrast-dependent steady-state visual-evoked potentials (SSVEP), while a read-out of criterion adjustments was provided by effector-selective mu-beta band activity over motor cortex. In keeping with prior modelling and neural recording studies, cues evoked substantial biases in motor preparation consistent with criterion adjustments, but we additionally found that the cues produced a significant modulation of the SSVEP during evidence presentation. While motor preparation adjustments were observed in the earliest trials, the sensory-level effects only emerged with extended task exposure. Our results suggest that, in addition to strategic adjustments to the decision process, probabilistic information can also induce subtle biases in the encoding of the evidence itself.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin Walsh
- School of Psychological Sciences, Monash UniversityMelbourneAustralia
| | | | - Jessica Dully
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Simon P Kelly
- School of Electrical Engineering, University College DublinDublinIreland
- Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College DublinDublinIreland
| | - Redmond G O'Connell
- Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College DublinDublinIreland
- School of Psychology, Trinity College DublinDublinIreland
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21
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Lochy A, Rossion B, Lambon Ralph M, Volfart A, Hauk O, Schiltz C. Linguistic and attentional factors - Not statistical regularities - Contribute to word-selective neural responses with FPVS-oddball paradigms. Cortex 2024; 173:339-354. [PMID: 38479348 PMCID: PMC10988773 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2024.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2023] [Revised: 11/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/29/2024] [Indexed: 03/27/2024]
Abstract
Studies using frequency-tagging in electroencephalography (EEG) have dramatically increased in the past 10 years, in a variety of domains and populations. Here we used Fast Periodic Visual Stimulation (FPVS) combined with an oddball design to explore visual word recognition. Given the paradigm's high sensitivity, it is crucial for future basic research and clinical application to prove its robustness across variations of designs, stimulus types and tasks. This paradigm uses periodicity of brain responses to measure discrimination between two experimentally defined categories of stimuli presented periodically. EEG was recorded in 22 adults who viewed words inserted every 5 stimuli (at 2 Hz) within base stimuli presented at 10 Hz. Using two discrimination levels (deviant words among nonwords or pseudowords), we assessed the impact of relative frequency of item repetition (set size or item repetition controlled for deviant versus base stimuli), and of the orthogonal task (focused or deployed spatial attention). Word-selective occipito-temporal responses were robust at the individual level (significant in 95% of participants), left-lateralized, larger for the prelexical (nonwords) than lexical (pseudowords) contrast, and stronger with a deployed spatial attention task as compared to the typically used focused task. Importantly, amplitudes were not affected by item repetition. These results help understanding the factors influencing word-selective EEG responses and support the validity of FPVS-EEG oddball paradigms, as they confirm that word-selective responses are linguistic. Second, they show its robustness against design-related factors that could induce statistical (ir)regularities in item rate. They also confirm its high individual sensitivity and demonstrate how it can be optimized, using a deployed rather than focused attention task, to measure implicit word recognition processes in typical and atypical populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aliette Lochy
- Institute of Cognitive Science and Assessment, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg; Psychological Science Institute (IPSY), UCLouvain, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium.
| | - Bruno Rossion
- Université de Lorraine, CNRS, Nancy, France; CHRU-Nancy, Service de Neurologie, Nancy, France
| | | | - Angélique Volfart
- School of Psychology and Counselling, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
| | - Olaf Hauk
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Christine Schiltz
- Institute of Cognitive Science and Assessment, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
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22
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Sun M, Gao X. Rapid color categorization revealed by frequency-tagging-based EEG. Vision Res 2024; 217:108365. [PMID: 38368707 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2024.108365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2023] [Revised: 09/08/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2024]
Abstract
There has been much debate on whether color categories affect how we perceive color. Recent theories have put emphasis on the role of top-down influence on color perception that the original continuous color space in the visual cortex may be transformed into categorical encoding due to top-down modulation. To test the influence of color categories on color perception, we adopted an RSVP paradigm, where color stimuli were presented at a fast speed of 100 ms per stimulus and were forward and backward masked by the preceding and following stimuli. Moreover, no explicit color naming or categorization was required. In theory, backward masking with such a short interval in a passive viewing task should constrain top-down influence from higher-level brain areas. To measure any potentially subtle differences in brain response elicited by different color categories, we embedded a sensitive frequency-tagging-based EEG paradigm within the RSVP stimuli stream where the oddball color stimuli were encoded with a different frequency from the base color stimuli. We showed that EEG responses to cross-category oddball colors at the frequency where the oddball stimuli were presented was significantly larger than the responses to within-category oddball colors. Our study suggested that the visual cortex can automatically and implicitly encode color categories when color stimuli are presented rapidly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengdan Sun
- Department of Psychology, Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| | - Xiaoqing Gao
- Center for Psychological Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
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23
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Gu M, Pei W, Gao X, Wang Y. Optimizing Visual Stimulation Paradigms for User-Friendly SSVEP-Based BCIs. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng 2024; 32:1090-1099. [PMID: 38437148 DOI: 10.1109/tnsre.2024.3372594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/06/2024]
Abstract
In steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP)-based brain-computer interface (BCI) systems, traditional flickering stimulation patterns face challenges in achieving a trade-off in both BCI performance and visual comfort across various frequency bands. To investigate the optimal stimulation paradigms with high performance and high comfort for each frequency band, this study systematically compared the characteristics of SSVEP and user experience of different stimulation paradigms with a wide stimulation frequency range of 1-60 Hz. The findings suggest that, for a better balance between system performance and user experience, ON and OFF grid stimuli with a Weber contrast of 50% can be utilized as alternatives to traditional flickering stimulation paradigms in the frequency band of 1-25 Hz. In the 25-35 Hz range, uniform flicker stimuli with the same 50% contrast are more suitable. In the higher frequency band, traditional uniform flicker stimuli with a high 300% contrast are preferred. These results are significant for developing high performance and user-friendly SSVEP-based BCI systems.
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24
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Marlair C, Lochy A, Crollen V. Frequency-tagging EEG reveals the effect of attentional focus on abstract magnitude processing. Psychon Bull Rev 2024:10.3758/s13423-024-02480-w. [PMID: 38467991 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-024-02480-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/11/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
While humans can readily access the common magnitude of various codes such as digits, number words, or dot sets, it remains unclear whether this process occurs automatically, or only when explicitly attending to magnitude information. We addressed this question by examining the neural distance effect, a robust marker of magnitude processing, with a frequency-tagging approach. Electrophysiological responses were recorded while participants viewed rapid sequences of a base numerosity presented at 6 Hz (e.g., "2") in randomly mixed codes: digits, number words, canonical dot, and finger configurations. A deviant numerosity either close (e.g., "3") or distant (e.g., "8") from the base was inserted every five items. Participants were instructed to focus their attention either on the magnitude number feature (from a previous study), the parity number feature, a nonnumerical color feature or no specific feature. In the four attentional conditions, we found clear discrimination responses of the deviant numerosity despite its code variation. Critically, the distance effect (larger responses when base/deviant are distant than close) was present when participants were explicitly attending to magnitude and parity, but it faded with color and simple viewing instructions. Taken together, these results suggest automatic access to an abstract number representation but highlight the role of selective attention in processing the underlying magnitude information. This study therefore provides insights into how attention can modulate the neural activity supporting abstract magnitude processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cathy Marlair
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute (IPSY), Université Catholique de Louvain, Place Cardinal Mercier 10, 1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
| | - Aliette Lochy
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute (IPSY), Université Catholique de Louvain, Place Cardinal Mercier 10, 1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
- Institute of Cognitive Science and Assessment, Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Social and Educational Sciences, Université du Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
| | - Virginie Crollen
- Psychological Sciences Research Institute (IPSY), Université Catholique de Louvain, Place Cardinal Mercier 10, 1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
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25
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Chen Y, Stephani T, Bagdasarian MT, Hilsmann A, Eisert P, Villringer A, Bosse S, Gaebler M, Nikulin VV. Realness of face images can be decoded from non-linear modulation of EEG responses. Sci Rep 2024; 14:5683. [PMID: 38454099 PMCID: PMC10920746 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-56130-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Accepted: 03/01/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Artificially created human faces play an increasingly important role in our digital world. However, the so-called uncanny valley effect may cause people to perceive highly, yet not perfectly human-like faces as eerie, bringing challenges to the interaction with virtual agents. At the same time, the neurocognitive underpinnings of the uncanny valley effect remain elusive. Here, we utilized an electroencephalography (EEG) dataset of steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEP) in which participants were presented with human face images of different stylization levels ranging from simplistic cartoons to actual photographs. Assessing neuronal responses both in frequency and time domain, we found a non-linear relationship between SSVEP amplitudes and stylization level, that is, the most stylized cartoon images and the real photographs evoked stronger responses than images with medium stylization. Moreover, realness of even highly similar stylization levels could be decoded from the EEG data with task-related component analysis (TRCA). Importantly, we also account for confounding factors, such as the size of the stimulus face's eyes, which previously have not been adequately addressed. Together, this study provides a basis for future research and neuronal benchmarking of real-time detection of face realness regarding three aspects: SSVEP-based neural markers, efficient classification methods, and low-level stimulus confounders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yonghao Chen
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Tilman Stephani
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Anna Hilsmann
- Department of Vision and Imaging Technologies, Fraunhofer HHI, Berlin, Germany
- Visual Computing Group, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Peter Eisert
- Department of Vision and Imaging Technologies, Fraunhofer HHI, Berlin, Germany
- Visual Computing Group, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Arno Villringer
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Clinic of Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- MindBrainBody Institute at the Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Sebastian Bosse
- Department of Vision and Imaging Technologies, Fraunhofer HHI, Berlin, Germany
| | - Michael Gaebler
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- MindBrainBody Institute at the Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Vadim V Nikulin
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
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26
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Grasso PA, Petrizzo I, Coniglio F, Arrighi R. Electrophysiological correlates of temporal numerosity adaptation. Front Neurosci 2024; 18:1349540. [PMID: 38505772 PMCID: PMC10948506 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1349540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Much research has revealed the human visual system is capable to estimate numerical quantities, rapidly and reliably, in both the spatial and the temporal domain. This ability is highly susceptible to short-term plastic phenomena related to previous exposure to visual numerical information (i.e., adaptation). However, while determinants of spatial numerosity adaptation have been widely investigated, little is known about the neural underpinnings of short-term plastic phenomena related to the encoding of temporal numerical information. In the present study we investigated the electrophysiological correlates of temporal numerosity adaptation. Methods Participants were asked to estimate the numerosity of a test sequence of flashes after being exposed to either a high or low numerous adapting sequence. Behavioral results confirmed the expected underestimation of test stimulus when this was preceded by a high numerous sequence as compared to when preceded by a low numerous sequence. Results Electrophysiological data revealed that this behavior was tightly linked to the amplitude of the steady-state visual evoked (ssVEP) response elicited by the test stimulus. When preceded by a high numerous sequence, the test stimulus elicited larger ssVEP responses as compared to when preceded by a low numerous sequence with this pattern being robustly correlated with behavior. Finally, topographical maps showed that this difference was mostly evident across two antero-posterior distributed clusters of electrodes and correlated with changes in functional connectivity. Discussion Taken together, our results suggest that visual plastic phenomena related to the encoding of temporal numerosity information reflect changes in rhythmic evoked activity that are likely related to long range communications between distinct brain regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paolo A. Grasso
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology and Child Health, University of Florence, Florence, Tuscany, Italy
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Irene Petrizzo
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology and Child Health, University of Florence, Florence, Tuscany, Italy
| | - Francesca Coniglio
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology and Child Health, University of Florence, Florence, Tuscany, Italy
| | - Roberto Arrighi
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Pharmacology and Child Health, University of Florence, Florence, Tuscany, Italy
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Carmo JC, Filipe CN. Sub-second timing irregularities in a simple motor task in autism spectrum disorder: Preliminary effects of intermittent light stimulation. J Neuropsychol 2024; 18:190-202. [PMID: 37353990 DOI: 10.1111/jnp.12335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2023] [Revised: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2023] [Indexed: 06/25/2023]
Abstract
Several authors have contributed extensively to the neurocognitive understanding of timing. In Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) on the contrary, internal timing and its functioning is not well understood. In this study, we have adapted a simple finger-tapping motor task, with a timing component, as we aim at understanding whether the processing of time is preserved in this population. We have tested a group of people on the autism spectrum without intellectual disabilities and a control sample recruited from the general population, matched for age, sex, schooling and general cognitive abilities on this task with a learning and testing phase. In the testing phase, we have added two exploratory conditions where participants were exposed to intermittent light stimulation of 4 and 8 Hz. Results show that both in the learning and testing phase, besides troubles in the motor component encountered by the people on the spectrum, their timing component performance was also problematic. This reveals to be especially true for time intervals below the 1 s range, as hypothesized, whereas performance in longer intervals is clearly preserved. It was also observed that the exposure to intermittent light stimulation specifically overcomes the difficulties observed in the autistic group, at the timing components at this millisecond time range. The observed timing difficulties in this group seem to be restricted to the system responsible for the processing of time intervals in the milliseconds range, which helps accommodate disparate findings in the literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joana C Carmo
- Lusófona University/HEI-Lab: Digital Human-Environment Interaction Lab, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Carlos N Filipe
- NOVA Medical School, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
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28
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Swerdlow NR, Gonzalez CE, Raza MU, Gautam D, Miyakoshi M, Clayson PE, Joshi YB, Molina JL, Talledo J, Thomas ML, Light GA, Sivarao DV. Effects of Memantine on the Auditory Steady-State and Harmonic Responses to 40 Hz Stimulation Across Species. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2024; 9:346-355. [PMID: 37683728 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2023.08.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2023] [Revised: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/28/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Click trains elicit an auditory steady-state response (ASSR) at the driving frequency (1F) and its integer multiple frequencies (2F, 3F, etc.) called harmonics; we call this harmonic response the steady-state harmonic response (SSHR). We describe the 40 Hz ASSR (1F) and 80 Hz SSHR (2F) in humans and rats and their sensitivity to the uncompetitive NMDA antagonist memantine. METHODS In humans (healthy control participants, n = 25; patients with schizophrenia, n = 28), electroencephalography was recorded after placebo or 20 mg memantine in a within-participant crossover design. ASSR used 1 ms, 85-dB clicks presented in 250 40/s 500-ms trains. In freely moving rats (n = 9), electroencephalography was acquired after memantine (0, 0.3, 1, 3 mg/kg) in a within-participant crossover design; 65-dB click trains used 5-mV monophasic, 1-ms square waves (40/s). RESULTS Across species, ASSR at 1F generated greater evoked power (EP) than the 2F SSHR. 1F > 2F intertrial coherence (ITC) was also detected in humans, but the opposite relationship (ITC: 2F > 1F) was seen in rats. EP and ITC at 1F were deficient in patients and were enhanced by memantine across species. EP and ITC at 2F were deficient in patients. Measures at 2F were generally insensitive to memantine across species, although in humans the ITC harmonic ratio (1F:2F) was modestly enhanced by memantine, and in rats, both the EP and ITC harmonic ratios were significantly enhanced by memantine. CONCLUSIONS ASSR and SSHR are robust, nonredundant electroencephalography signals that are suitable for cross-species analyses that reveal potentially meaningful differences across species, diagnoses, and drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neal R Swerdlow
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, California; VISN 22 Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, San Diego Veterans Administration Health System, La Jolla, California.
| | - Christopher E Gonzalez
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, California; VISN 22 Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, San Diego Veterans Administration Health System, La Jolla, California
| | - Muhammad Ummear Raza
- Pharmaceutical Sciences, Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee
| | - Deepshila Gautam
- Pharmaceutical Sciences, Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee
| | - Makoto Miyakoshi
- Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio; Department of Psychiatry, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio
| | - Peter E Clayson
- Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida
| | - Yash B Joshi
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, California; VISN 22 Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, San Diego Veterans Administration Health System, La Jolla, California
| | - Juan L Molina
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, California; VISN 22 Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, San Diego Veterans Administration Health System, La Jolla, California
| | - Jo Talledo
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, California
| | - Michael L Thomas
- Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Gregory A Light
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, California; VISN 22 Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, San Diego Veterans Administration Health System, La Jolla, California.
| | - Digavalli V Sivarao
- Pharmaceutical Sciences, Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy, East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, Tennessee
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29
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Wang F, Kaneshiro B, Toomarian EY, Gosavi RS, Hasak LR, Moron S, Nguyen QTH, Norcia AM, McCandliss BD. Progress in elementary school reading linked to growth of cortical responses to familiar letter combinations within visual word forms. Dev Sci 2024; 27:e13435. [PMID: 37465984 DOI: 10.1111/desc.13435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2023] [Revised: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023]
Abstract
Learning to read depends on the ability to extract precise details of letter combinations, which convey critical information that distinguishes tens of thousands of visual word forms. To support fluent reading skill, one crucial neural developmental process is one's brain sensitivity to statistical constraints inherent in combining letters into visual word forms. To test this idea in early readers, we tracked the impact of two years of schooling on within-subject longitudinal changes in cortical responses to three different properties of words: coarse tuning for print, and fine tuning to either familiar letter combinations within visual word forms or whole word representations. We then examined how each related to growth in reading skill. Three stimulus contrasts-words versus pseudofonts, words versus pseudowords, pseudowords versus nonwords-were presented while high-density EEG Steady-State Visual Evoked Potentials (SSVEPs, n = 31) were recorded. Internalization of abstract visual word form structures over two years of reading experience resulted in a near doubling of SSVEP amplitude, with increasing left lateralization. Longitudinal changes (decreases) in brain responses to such word form structural information were linked to the growth in reading skills, especially in rapid automatic naming of letters. No such changes were observed for whole word representation processing and coarse tuning for print. Collectively, these findings indicate that sensitivity to visual word form structure develops rapidly through exposure to print and is linked to growth in reading skill. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Longitudinal changes in cognitive responses to coarse print tuning, visual word from structure, and whole word representation were examined in early readers. Visual word form structure processing demonstrated striking patterns of growth with nearly doubled in EEG amplitude and increased left lateralization. Longitudinal changes (decreases) in brain responses to visual word form structural information were linked to the growth in rapid automatic naming for letters. No longitudinal changes were observed for whole word representation processing and coarse tuning for print.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fang Wang
- Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Blair Kaneshiro
- Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Elizabeth Y Toomarian
- Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
- Synapse School, Menlo Park, California, USA
| | - Radhika S Gosavi
- Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
- Synapse School, Menlo Park, California, USA
| | - Lindsey R Hasak
- Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Suanna Moron
- Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | | | - Anthony M Norcia
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
- Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Bruce D McCandliss
- Graduate School of Education, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
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30
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Yang (杨菁艺) J, Saionz EL, Cavanaugh MR, Fahrenthold BK, Melnick MD, Tadin D, Briggs F, Carrasco M, Huxlin KR. Limited restoration of contrast sensitivity with training after V1 damage in humans. eNeuro 2024; 11:ENEURO.0020-24.2024. [PMID: 38395611 PMCID: PMC10941636 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0020-24.2024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2024] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Stroke damage to the primary visual cortex (V1) causes severe visual deficits, which benefit from perceptual retraining. However, whereas training with high-contrast stimuli can locally restore orientation and motion direction discrimination abilities at trained locations, it only partially restores luminance contrast sensitivity (CS). Recent work revealed that high-contrast discrimination abilities may be preserved in the blind field of some patients early after stroke. Here, we asked if CS for orientation and direction discrimination is similarly preserved inside the blind field, to what extent, and whether it could benefit from a visual training intervention. Thirteen subacute patients (<3 months post-V1-stroke) and 12 chronic patients (>6 months post-V1-stroke) were pre-tested, then trained to discriminate either orientation or motion direction of Gabor patches of progressively lower contrasts as their performance improved. At baseline, more subacute than chronic participants could correctly discriminate the orientation of high-contrast Gabors in their blind field, but all failed to perform this task at lower contrasts, even when 10Hz flicker or motion direction were added. Training improved CS in a greater portion of subacute than chronic participants, but no-one attained normal CS, even when stimuli contained flicker or motion. We conclude that, unlike the near-complete training-induced restoration of high-contrast orientation and motion direction discrimination abilities, V1 damage in adulthood may severely limit the residual visual system's ability to regain normal CS. Our results support the notion that CS involves different neural substrates and computations than those required for orientation and direction discrimination in V1-damaged visual systems.Significance statement Stroke-induced V1 damage in adult humans induces a rapid and severe impairment of contrast sensitivity for orientation and motion direction discrimination in the affected hemifield, although discrimination of high-contrast stimuli can persist for several months. Adaptive training with Gabor patches of progressively lower contrasts improves contrast sensitivity for both orientation and motion discriminations in the blind-field of subacute (<3 months post-stroke) and chronic (>6 months post-stroke) participants; however, it fails to restore normal contrast sensitivity. Nonetheless, more subacute than chronic stroke participants benefit from such training, particularly when discriminating the orientation of static, non-flickering targets. Thus, contrast sensitivity appears critically dependent on processing within V1, with perceptual training displaying limited potential to fully restore it after V1 damage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingyi Yang (杨菁艺)
- Flaum Eye Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York 14642
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York 14642
- Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627
| | - Elizabeth L. Saionz
- Flaum Eye Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York 14642
- Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627
| | - Matthew R. Cavanaugh
- Flaum Eye Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York 14642
- Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627
| | - Berkeley K. Fahrenthold
- Flaum Eye Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York 14642
- Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627
| | - Michael D. Melnick
- Flaum Eye Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York 14642
- Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627
- Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627
| | - Duje Tadin
- Flaum Eye Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York 14642
- Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627
- Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627
| | - Farran Briggs
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York 14642
- Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627
- Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627
| | - Marisa Carrasco
- Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, New York 10003
| | - Krystel R. Huxlin
- Flaum Eye Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York 14642
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York 14642
- Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627
- Department of Brain & Cognitive Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627
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31
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Gu M, Pei W, Gao X, Wang Y. An open dataset for human SSVEPs in the frequency range of 1-60 Hz. Sci Data 2024; 11:196. [PMID: 38351064 PMCID: PMC10864273 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-024-03023-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
A steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP)-based brain-computer interface (BCI) system relies on the photic driving response to effectively elicit characteristic electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. However, traditional visual stimuli mainly adopt high-contrast black-and-white flickering stimulations, which are easy to cause visual fatigue. This paper presents an SSVEP dataset acquired at a wide frequency range from 1 to 60 Hz with an interval of 1 Hz using flickering stimuli under two different modulation depths. This dataset contains 64-channel EEG data from 30 healthy subjects when they fixated on a single flickering stimulus. The stimulus was rendered on an LCD display with a refresh rate of 240 Hz. Initially, the dataset was rigorously validated through comprehensive data analysis to investigate SSVEP responses and user experiences. Subsequently, BCI performance was evaluated through offline simulations of frequency-coded and phase-coded BCI paradigms. This dataset provides comprehensive and high-quality data for studying and developing SSVEP-based BCI systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meng Gu
- Key Laboratory of Solid-State Optoelectronics Information Technology, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100083, China
- College of Materials Science and Opto-Electronic Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Weihua Pei
- Key Laboratory of Solid-State Optoelectronics Information Technology, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100083, China
- School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Xiaorong Gao
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China
| | - Yijun Wang
- Key Laboratory of Solid-State Optoelectronics Information Technology, Institute of Semiconductors, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100083, China.
- School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
- Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, 102206, China.
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32
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Nijhof AD, Catmur C, Brewer R, Coll MP, Wiersema JR, Bird G. Differences in own-face but not own-name discrimination between autistic and neurotypical adults: A fast periodic visual stimulation-EEG study. Cortex 2024; 171:308-318. [PMID: 38070386 PMCID: PMC11068592 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2023.10.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Revised: 09/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2024]
Abstract
Self-related processing is thought to be altered in autism, with several studies reporting that autistic individuals show a diminished neural response relative to neurotypicals for their own name and face. However, evidence remains scarce and is mostly based on event-related potential studies. Here, we used EEG to measure the neural activity of autistic adults (20 for faces, 27 for names) and neurotypical adults (24 for faces, 25 for names) while they were watching rapidly alternating faces and names, through a relatively new technique called Fast Periodic Visual Stimulation. We presented strangers' faces or names at a base frequency of 5.77 Hz, while one's own, a close other's, and a specific stranger's face/name was presented at an oddball frequency of 1.154 Hz. The neurotypical group showed a significantly greater response to their own face than both close other and stranger faces, and a greater response for close other than for stranger faces. In contrast, in the autism group, own and close other faces showed stronger responses than the stranger's face, but the difference between own and close other faces was not significant in a bilateral parieto-occipital cluster. No group differences in the enhanced response to familiar names were found. These results replicate and extend results obtained using traditional electroencephalographic techniques which suggest atypical responses to self-relevant stimuli in autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annabel D Nijhof
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK; Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology. Ghent University, Belgium.
| | - Caroline Catmur
- Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
| | - Rebecca Brewer
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, UK
| | | | - Jan R Wiersema
- Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology. Ghent University, Belgium
| | - Geoffrey Bird
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, UK; School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, UK
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33
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Bánki A, Köster M, Cichy RM, Hoehl S. Communicative signals during joint attention promote neural processes of infants and caregivers. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2024; 65:101321. [PMID: 38061133 PMCID: PMC10754706 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Revised: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 11/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Communicative signals such as eye contact increase infants' brain activation to visual stimuli and promote joint attention. Our study assessed whether communicative signals during joint attention enhance infant-caregiver dyads' neural responses to objects, and their neural synchrony. To track mutual attention processes, we applied rhythmic visual stimulation (RVS), presenting images of objects to 12-month-old infants and their mothers (n = 37 dyads), while we recorded dyads' brain activity (i.e., steady-state visual evoked potentials, SSVEPs) with electroencephalography (EEG) hyperscanning. Within dyads, mothers either communicatively showed the images to their infant or watched the images without communicative engagement. Communicative cues increased infants' and mothers' SSVEPs at central-occipital-parietal, and central electrode sites, respectively. Infants showed significantly more gaze behaviour to images during communicative engagement. Dyadic neural synchrony (SSVEP amplitude envelope correlations, AECs) was not modulated by communicative cues. Taken together, maternal communicative cues in joint attention increase infants' neural responses to objects, and shape mothers' own attention processes. We show that communicative cues enhance cortical visual processing, thus play an essential role in social learning. Future studies need to elucidate the effect of communicative cues on neural synchrony during joint attention. Finally, our study introduces RVS to study infant-caregiver neural dynamics in social contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Bánki
- University of Vienna, Faculty of Psychology, Vienna, Austria.
| | - Moritz Köster
- University of Regensburg, Institute for Psychology, Regensburg, Germany; Freie Universität Berlin, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Berlin, Germany
| | | | - Stefanie Hoehl
- University of Vienna, Faculty of Psychology, Vienna, Austria
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34
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Samonds JM, Szinte M, Barr C, Montagnini A, Masson GS, Priebe NJ. Mammals Achieve Common Neural Coverage of Visual Scenes Using Distinct Sampling Behaviors. eNeuro 2024; 11:ENEURO.0287-23.2023. [PMID: 38164577 PMCID: PMC10860624 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0287-23.2023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Revised: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Most vertebrates use head and eye movements to quickly change gaze orientation and sample different portions of the environment with periods of stable fixation. Visual information must be integrated across fixations to construct a complete perspective of the visual environment. In concert with this sampling strategy, neurons adapt to unchanging input to conserve energy and ensure that only novel information from each fixation is processed. We demonstrate how adaptation recovery times and saccade properties interact and thus shape spatiotemporal tradeoffs observed in the motor and visual systems of mice, cats, marmosets, macaques, and humans. These tradeoffs predict that in order to achieve similar visual coverage over time, animals with smaller receptive field sizes require faster saccade rates. Indeed, we find comparable sampling of the visual environment by neuronal populations across mammals when integrating measurements of saccadic behavior with receptive field sizes and V1 neuronal density. We propose that these mammals share a common statistically driven strategy of maintaining coverage of their visual environment over time calibrated to their respective visual system characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason M Samonds
- Center for Learning and Memory and the Institute for Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin 78712, Texas
| | - Martin Szinte
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone (UMR 7289), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Aix-Marseille Université, 13385 Marseille, France
| | - Carrie Barr
- Center for Learning and Memory and the Institute for Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin 78712, Texas
| | - Anna Montagnini
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone (UMR 7289), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Aix-Marseille Université, 13385 Marseille, France
| | - Guillaume S Masson
- Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone (UMR 7289), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Aix-Marseille Université, 13385 Marseille, France
| | - Nicholas J Priebe
- Center for Learning and Memory and the Institute for Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin 78712, Texas
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35
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Chai X, Cao T, He Q, Wang N, Zhang X, Shan X, Lv Z, Tu W, Yang Y, Zhao J. Brain-computer interface digital prescription for neurological disorders. CNS Neurosci Ther 2024; 30:e14615. [PMID: 38358054 PMCID: PMC10867871 DOI: 10.1111/cns.14615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2023] [Revised: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Neurological and psychiatric diseases can lead to motor, language, emotional disorder, and cognitive, hearing or visual impairment By decoding the intention of the brain in real time, the Brain-computer interface (BCI) can first assist in the diagnosis of diseases, and can also compensate for its damaged function by directly interacting with the environment; In addition, provide output signals in various forms, such as actual motion, tactile or visual feedback, to assist in rehabilitation training; Further intervention in brain disorders is achieved by close-looped neural modulation. In this article, we envision the future BCI digital prescription system for patients with different functional disorders and discuss the key contents in the prescription the brain signals, coding and decoding protocols and interaction paradigms, and assistive technology. Then, we discuss the details that need to be specially included in the digital prescription for different intervention technologies. The third part summarizes previous examples of intervention, focusing on how to select appropriate interaction paradigms for patients with different functional impairments. For the last part, we discussed the indicators and influencing factors in evaluating the therapeutic effect of BCI as intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoke Chai
- Brain Computer Interface Transitional Research Center, Beijing Tiantan HospitalCapital Medical UniversityBeijingChina
- China National Center for Neurological DisordersBeijingChina
- Translation Laboratory of Clinical MedicineChinese Institute for Brain Research & Beijing Tiantan HospitalBeijingChina
| | - Tianqing Cao
- Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan HospitalCapital Medical UniversityBeijingChina
- China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological DiseasesBeijingChina
| | - Qiheng He
- Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan HospitalCapital Medical UniversityBeijingChina
- China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological DiseasesBeijingChina
| | - Nan Wang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan HospitalCapital Medical UniversityBeijingChina
- China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological DiseasesBeijingChina
| | - Xuemin Zhang
- National Research Center for Rehabilitation Technical AidsBeijingChina
| | - Xinying Shan
- National Research Center for Rehabilitation Technical AidsBeijingChina
| | - Zeping Lv
- National Research Center for Rehabilitation Technical AidsBeijingChina
| | - Wenjun Tu
- Translation Laboratory of Clinical MedicineChinese Institute for Brain Research & Beijing Tiantan HospitalBeijingChina
- Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan HospitalCapital Medical UniversityBeijingChina
| | - Yi Yang
- Brain Computer Interface Transitional Research Center, Beijing Tiantan HospitalCapital Medical UniversityBeijingChina
- China National Center for Neurological DisordersBeijingChina
- Translation Laboratory of Clinical MedicineChinese Institute for Brain Research & Beijing Tiantan HospitalBeijingChina
- Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan HospitalCapital Medical UniversityBeijingChina
- China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological DiseasesBeijingChina
- National Research Center for Rehabilitation Technical AidsBeijingChina
- Beijing Institute of Brain DisordersBeijingChina
- Chinese Institute for Brain ResearchBeijingChina
| | - Jizong Zhao
- Brain Computer Interface Transitional Research Center, Beijing Tiantan HospitalCapital Medical UniversityBeijingChina
- China National Center for Neurological DisordersBeijingChina
- Translation Laboratory of Clinical MedicineChinese Institute for Brain Research & Beijing Tiantan HospitalBeijingChina
- Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan HospitalCapital Medical UniversityBeijingChina
- China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological DiseasesBeijingChina
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Moratti S, Gundlach C, de Echegaray J, Müller MM. Distinct patterns of spatial attentional modulation of steady-state visual evoked magnetic fields (SSVEFs) in subdivisions of the human early visual cortex. Psychophysiology 2024; 61:e14452. [PMID: 37787386 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2023] [Revised: 08/23/2023] [Accepted: 09/15/2023] [Indexed: 10/04/2023]
Abstract
In recent years, steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) became an increasingly valuable tool to investigate neural dynamics of competitive attentional interactions and brain-computer interfaces. This is due to their good signal-to-noise ratio, allowing for single-trial analysis, and their ongoing oscillating nature that enables to analyze temporal dynamics of facilitation and suppression. Given the popularity of SSVEPs, it is surprising that only a few studies looked at the cortical sources of these responses. This is in particular the case when searching for studies that assessed the cortical sources of attentional SSVEP amplitude modulations. To address this issue, we used a typical spatial attention task and recorded neuromagnetic fields (MEG) while presenting frequency-tagged stimuli in the left and right visual fields, respectively. Importantly, we controlled for attentional deployment in a baseline period before the shifting cue. Subjects either attended to a central fixation cross or to two peripheral stimuli simultaneously. Results clearly showed that signal sources and attention effects were restricted to the early visual cortex: V1, V2, hMT+, precuneus, occipital-parietal, and inferior-temporal cortex. When subjects attended to central fixation first, shifting attention to one of the peripheral stimuli resulted in a significant activation increase for the to-be-attended stimulus with no activation decrease for the to-be-ignored stimulus in hMT+ and inferio-temporal cortex, but significant SSVEF decreases from V1 to occipito-parietal cortex. When attention was first deployed to both rings, shifting attention away from one ring basically resulted in a significant activation decrease in all areas for the then-to-be-ignored stimulus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephan Moratti
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Center for Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Javier de Echegaray
- Wilhelm Wundt Institute for Psychology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Matthias M Müller
- Wilhelm Wundt Institute for Psychology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
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Yan W, He Q, Chen M, Zhang S, Chen T, Zhang L, Wang H. SSFVEP as a potential electrophysiological examination for evaluating visual function of fundus diseases with vitreous hemorrhages: a clinical study. Sci Rep 2024; 14:2378. [PMID: 38287026 PMCID: PMC10825178 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-47714-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2024] Open
Abstract
To investigate the sensitivity and potential application of steady-state flash visual evoked potentials (SSFVEP) in assessing the visual function of fundus diseases with vitreous hemorrhage. 18 patients diagnosed with monocular vitreous hemorrhages in the fundus were examined the flash visual evoked potentials (FVEP) and SSFVEP in both eyes. The difference in the P2-wave amplitude of FVEP and the average amplitude of SSFVEP waveform between the diseased eyes and those without vitreous hemorrhage were statistically compared. There was no significant difference in the waveform of FVEP between both eyes. The amplitude of P2-wave from FVEP of the diseased eye was slightly lower than that without vitreous hemorrhage. However, the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.111). The waveform of SSFVEP in the eye without vitreous hemorrhage showed a towering shape, while that of the diseased eye was flat. The average amplitude of SSFVEP in the diseased eye was statistically lower than that without vitreous hemorrhage (P = 0.036). The difference ratio of SSFVEP amplitude between both eyes was significantly greater than that of FVEP amplitude (P = 0.028). In some fundus diseases with vitreous hemorrhage, SSFVEP had a higher sensitivity than FVEP, providing a novel potential application for visual function assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weiming Yan
- The Shaanxi Eye Hospital, Xi'an People's Hospital (Xi'an Fourth Hospital), Xi'an, China
- The Third Hospital of Zhangzhou, Zhangzhou, China
- Fuzong Clinical Medical College of Fujian Medical University, Dongfang Hopsital Affiliated to Xiamen University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Qiurui He
- The Third Hospital of Zhangzhou, Zhangzhou, China
| | - Meizhu Chen
- Fuzong Clinical Medical College of Fujian Medical University, Dongfang Hopsital Affiliated to Xiamen University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Sheng Zhang
- Fuzong Clinical Medical College of Fujian Medical University, Dongfang Hopsital Affiliated to Xiamen University, Fuzhou, China
| | - Tao Chen
- Center of Clinical Aerospace Medicine, Air Force Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
| | - Lei Zhang
- The Shaanxi Eye Hospital, Xi'an People's Hospital (Xi'an Fourth Hospital), Xi'an, China
| | - Haiyan Wang
- The Shaanxi Eye Hospital, Xi'an People's Hospital (Xi'an Fourth Hospital), Xi'an, China.
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Otero M, Prieur-Coloma Y, El-Deredy W, Weinstein A. A High-Resolution LED Stimulator for Steady-State Visual Stimulation: Customizable, Affordable, and Open Source. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 24:678. [PMID: 38276370 PMCID: PMC10819381 DOI: 10.3390/s24020678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2023] [Revised: 01/16/2024] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
Visually evoked steady-state potentials (SSVEPs) are neural responses elicited by visual stimuli oscillating at specific frequencies. In this study, we introduce a novel LED stimulator system explicitly designed for steady-state visual stimulation, offering precise control over visual stimulus parameters, including frequency resolution, luminance, and the ability to control the phase at the end of the stimulation. The LED stimulator provides a personalized, modular, and affordable option for experimental setups. Based on the Teensy 3.2 board, the stimulator utilizes direct digital synthesis and pulse width modulation techniques to control the LEDs. We validated its performance through four experiments: the first two measured LED light intensities directly, while the last two assessed the stimulator's impact on EEG recordings. The results demonstrate that the stimulator can deliver a stimulus suitable for generating SSVEPs with the desired frequency and phase resolution. As an open source resource, we provide comprehensive documentation, including all necessary codes and electrical diagrams, which facilitates the system's replication and adaptation for specific experimental requirements, enhancing its potential for widespread use in the field of neuroscience setups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mónica Otero
- Facultad de Ingeniería, Arquitectura y Diseño, Universidad San Sebastián, Santiago de Chile 8420000, Chile;
- Centro BASAL Ciencia & Vida, Universidad San Sebastián, Santiago de Chile 8580000, Chile
| | - Yunier Prieur-Coloma
- Brain Dynamics Laboratory, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2340000, Chile; (Y.P.-C.); (W.E.-D.)
- Escuela de Ingeniería Civil Biomédica, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2340000, Chile
| | - Wael El-Deredy
- Brain Dynamics Laboratory, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2340000, Chile; (Y.P.-C.); (W.E.-D.)
- Escuela de Ingeniería Civil Biomédica, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2340000, Chile
- Advanced Center for Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Valparaíso 2340000, Chile
| | - Alejandro Weinstein
- Escuela de Ingeniería Civil Biomédica, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2340000, Chile
- Advanced Center for Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Valparaíso 2340000, Chile
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O'Hare L, Wan CL. No Evidence of Cross-Orientation Suppression Differences in Migraine with Aura Compared to Healthy Controls. Vision (Basel) 2024; 8:2. [PMID: 38391083 PMCID: PMC10885099 DOI: 10.3390/vision8010002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2023] [Revised: 01/11/2024] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024] Open
Abstract
It has been suggested that there may be an imbalance of excitation and inhibitory processes in the visual areas of the brain in people with migraine aura (MA). One idea is thalamocortical dysrhythmia, characterized by disordered oscillations, and thus disordered communication between the lateral geniculate nucleus and the cortex. Cross-orientation suppression is a visual task thought to rely on inhibitory processing, possibly originating in the lateral geniculate nucleus. We measured both resting-state oscillations and cross-orientation suppression using EEG over occipital areas in people with MA and healthy volunteers. We found evidence of cross-orientation suppression in the SSVEP responses, but no evidence of any group difference. Therefore, inhibitory processes related to cross-orientation suppression do not appear to be impaired in MA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louise O'Hare
- Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, 50 Shakespeare Street, Nottingham NG1 4FQ, UK
| | - Choi Lam Wan
- Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, 50 Shakespeare Street, Nottingham NG1 4FQ, UK
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40
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van den Hoek TC, Perenboom MJL, Terwindt GM, Tolner EA, van de Ruit M. Bi-sinusoidal light stimulation reveals an enhanced response power and reduced phase coherence at the visual cortex in migraine. Front Neurol 2024; 14:1274059. [PMID: 38348113 PMCID: PMC10860712 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1274059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Migraine is associated with enhanced visual sensitivity during and outside attacks. Processing of visual information is a highly non-linear process involving complex interactions across (sub)cortical networks. In this exploratory study, we combined electroencephalography with bi-sinusoidal light stimulation to assess non-linear features of visual processing in participants with migraine. Methods Twenty participants with migraine (10 with aura, 10 without aura) and ten non-headache controls were measured (outside attacks). Participants received bi-sinusoidal 13 + 23 Hz red light visual stimulation. Electroencephalography spectral power and multi-spectral phase coherence were compared between groups at the driving stimulation frequencies together with multiples and combinations of these frequencies (harmonic and intermodulation frequencies) caused by non-linearities. Results Only at the driving frequency of 13 Hz higher spectral power was found in migraine with aura participants compared with those with migraine without aura and controls. Differences in phase coherence were present for 2nd, 4th, and 5th-order non-linearities in those with migraine (migraine with and without aura) compared with controls. Bi-sinusoidal light stimulation revealed evident non-linearities in the brain's electroencephalography response up to the 5th order with reduced phase coherence for higher order interactions in interictal participants with migraine. Discussion Insight into interictal non-linear visual processing may help understand brain dynamics underlying migraine attack susceptibility. Future research is needed to determine the clinical value of the results.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Gisela M. Terwindt
- Department of Neurology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Else A. Tolner
- Department of Neurology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
- Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Mark van de Ruit
- Department of Neurology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands
- Department of Biomechanical Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
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41
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Wang J, Song F, He X, Bao M. Negligible contribution of adaptation of ocular opponency neurons to the effect of short-term monocular deprivation. Front Psychol 2024; 14:1282113. [PMID: 38274682 PMCID: PMC10809396 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1282113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Modeling work on binocular rivalry has described how ocular opponency neurons represent interocular conflict. These neurons have recently been considered to mediate an ocular dominance shift to the eye that has viewed a backward movie for long during which time the other eye is presented with a regular movie. Unlike typical short-term monocular deprivation, the visual inputs are comparable across eyes in that "dichoptic-backward-movie" paradigm. Therefore, it remains unclear whether the ocular opponency neurons are also responsible for the short-term monocular deprivation effect which is prevalently explained by the homeostatic compensation theory. We designed two experiments from distinct perspectives to investigate this question. Methods In Experiment 1, we mitigated the imbalance in the activity of opponency neurons between the two eyes during monocular deprivation by presenting video stimuli alternately. In Experiment 2, we directly evaluated the response of opponency neurons before and after monocular deprivation using SSVEP techniques. Results Consistent with each other, both experiments failed to provide reliable evidence supporting the involvement of ocular opponency neurons in the short-term monocular deprivation effect. Discussion Our results suggest that ocular opponency neurons may not play an essential role in the short-term monocular deprivation effect, potentially due to interference from the homeostatic plasticity mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jue Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Fangxing Song
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xin He
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Min Bao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Beijing, China
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42
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Calce RP, Rekow D, Barbero FM, Kiseleva A, Talwar S, Leleu A, Collignon O. Voice categorization in the four-month-old human brain. Curr Biol 2024; 34:46-55.e4. [PMID: 38096819 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.11.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Revised: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024]
Abstract
Voices are the most relevant social sounds for humans and therefore have crucial adaptive value in development. Neuroimaging studies in adults have demonstrated the existence of regions in the superior temporal sulcus that respond preferentially to voices. Yet, whether voices represent a functionally specific category in the young infant's mind is largely unknown. We developed a highly sensitive paradigm relying on fast periodic auditory stimulation (FPAS) combined with scalp electroencephalography (EEG) to demonstrate that the infant brain implements a reliable preferential response to voices early in life. Twenty-three 4-month-old infants listened to sequences containing non-vocal sounds from different categories presented at 3.33 Hz, with highly heterogeneous vocal sounds appearing every third stimulus (1.11 Hz). We were able to isolate a voice-selective response over temporal regions, and individual voice-selective responses were found in most infants within only a few minutes of stimulation. This selective response was significantly reduced for the same frequency-scrambled sounds, indicating that voice selectivity is not simply driven by the envelope and the spectral content of the sounds. Such a robust selective response to voices as early as 4 months of age suggests that the infant brain is endowed with the ability to rapidly develop a functional selectivity to this socially relevant category of sounds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberta P Calce
- Crossmodal Perception and Plasticity Laboratory, Institute of Research in Psychology (IPSY) and Institute of Neuroscience (IoNS), Université Catholique de Louvain, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
| | - Diane Rekow
- Development of Olfactory Communication and Cognition Lab, Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Université de Bourgogne, CNRS, Inrae, Institut Agro Dijon, 21000 Dijon, France; Biological Psychology and Neuropsychology, University of Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Francesca M Barbero
- Crossmodal Perception and Plasticity Laboratory, Institute of Research in Psychology (IPSY) and Institute of Neuroscience (IoNS), Université Catholique de Louvain, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Anna Kiseleva
- Development of Olfactory Communication and Cognition Lab, Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Université de Bourgogne, CNRS, Inrae, Institut Agro Dijon, 21000 Dijon, France
| | - Siddharth Talwar
- Crossmodal Perception and Plasticity Laboratory, Institute of Research in Psychology (IPSY) and Institute of Neuroscience (IoNS), Université Catholique de Louvain, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Arnaud Leleu
- Development of Olfactory Communication and Cognition Lab, Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l'Alimentation, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Université de Bourgogne, CNRS, Inrae, Institut Agro Dijon, 21000 Dijon, France
| | - Olivier Collignon
- Crossmodal Perception and Plasticity Laboratory, Institute of Research in Psychology (IPSY) and Institute of Neuroscience (IoNS), Université Catholique de Louvain, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; School of Health Sciences, HES-SO Valais-Wallis, The Sense Innovation and Research Center, 1007 Lausanne & Sion, Switzerland.
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Adamian N, Andersen SK. Attentional Modulation in Early Visual Cortex: A Focused Reanalysis of Steady-state Visual Evoked Potential Studies. J Cogn Neurosci 2024; 36:46-70. [PMID: 37847846 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_02070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2023]
Abstract
Steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) are a powerful tool for investigating selective attention. Here, we conducted a combined reanalysis of multiple studies employing this technique in a variety of attentional experiments to, first, establish benchmark effect sizes of attention on amplitude and phase of SSVEPs and, second, harness the power of a large data set to test more specific hypotheses. Data of eight published SSVEP studies were combined, in which human participants (n = 135 in total) attended to flickering random dot stimuli based on their defining features (e.g., location, color, luminance, or orientation) or feature conjunctions. The reanalysis established that, in all the studies, attention reliably enhanced amplitudes, with color-based attention providing the strongest effect. In addition, the latency of SSVEPs elicited by attended stimuli was reduced by ∼4 msec. Next, we investigated the modulation of SSVEP amplitudes in a subset of studies where two different features were attended concurrently. Although most models assume that attentional effects of multiple features are combined additively, our results suggest that neuronal enhancement provided by concurrent attention is better described by multiplicative integration. Finally, we used the combined data set to demonstrate that the increase in trial-averaged SSVEP amplitudes with attention cannot be explained by increased synchronization of single-trial phases. Contrary to the prediction of the phase-locking account, the variance across trials of complex Fourier coefficients increases with attention, which is more consistent with boosting of a largely phase-locked signal embedded in non-phase-locked noise.
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Ash RT, Nix KC, Norcia AM. Stability of steady-state visual evoked potential contrast response functions. Psychophysiology 2024; 61:e14412. [PMID: 37614220 PMCID: PMC10871127 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2022] [Revised: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 06/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/25/2023]
Abstract
Repetitive sensory stimulation has been shown to induce neuroplasticity in sensory cortical circuits, at least under certain conditions. We measured the plasticity-inducing effect of repetitive contrast-reversal-sweep steady-state visual-evoked potential (ssVEP) stimuli, hoping to employ the ssVEP's high signal-to-noise electrophysiological readout in the study of human visual cortical neuroplasticity. Steady-state VEP contrast-sweep responses were measured daily for 4 days (four 20-trial blocks per day, 20 participants). No significant neuroplastic changes in response amplitude were observed either across blocks or across days. Furthermore, response amplitudes were stable within-participant, with measured across-block and across-day coefficients of variation (CV = SD/mean) of 15-20 ± 2% and 22-25 ± 2%, respectively. Steady-state VEP response phase was also highly stable, suggesting that temporal processing delays in the visual system vary by at most 2-3 ms across blocks and days. While we fail to replicate visual stimulation-dependent cortical plasticity, we show that contrast-sweep steady-state VEPs provide a stable human neurophysiological measure well suited for repeated-measures longitudinal studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan T Ash
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Kerry C Nix
- Neuroscience Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Anthony M Norcia
- Department of Psychology and Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
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45
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Aslanidou A, Andreatta M, Wong AHK, Wieser MJ. No influence of threat uncertainty on fear generalization. Psychophysiology 2024; 61:e14423. [PMID: 37623276 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2023] [Revised: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
Fear overgeneralization and perceived uncertainty about future outcomes have been suggested as risk factors for clinical anxiety. However, little is known regarding how they influence each other. In this study, we investigated whether different levels of threat uncertainty influence fear generalization. Three groups of healthy participants underwent a differential fear conditioning protocol followed by a generalization test. All groups learned to associate one female face (conditioned stimulus, CS+) with a female scream (unconditioned stimulus, US), whereas the other face (CS-) was not associated with the scream. In order to manipulate threat uncertainty, one group (low uncertainty, n = 26) received 80%, the second group (moderate uncertainty, n = 32) received 60%, and the third group (high uncertainty, n = 30) 40% CS-US contingency. In the generalization test, all groups saw CS+ and CS- again along with four morphs resembling the CSs in steps of 20%. Subjective (expectancy, valence, and arousal ratings), psychophysiological (skin conductance response, SCR), and visuocortical (steady-state visual evoked potentials, ssVEPs) indices of fear were registered. Participants expected the US according to their reinforcement schedules and the discriminative responses to CS+/CS- increased with more uncertainty in skin conductance. However, acquisition of conditioned fear was not evident in ssVEPs. During the generalization test, we found no effect of threat uncertainty in any of the measured variables, but the strength of generalization for threat expectancy ratings was positively correlated with dispositional intolerance of uncertainty. This study suggests that mere threat uncertainty does not modulate fear generalization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asimina Aslanidou
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Marta Andreatta
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Alex H K Wong
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Matthias J Wieser
- Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
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Fakche C, Dugué L. Perceptual Cycles Travel Across Retinotopic Space. J Cogn Neurosci 2024; 36:200-216. [PMID: 37902594 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_02075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2023]
Abstract
Visual perception waxes and wanes periodically over time at low frequencies (theta: 4-7 Hz; alpha: 8-13 Hz), creating "perceptual cycles." These perceptual cycles can be induced when stimulating the brain with a flickering visual stimulus at the theta or alpha frequency. Here, we took advantage of the well-known organization of the visual system into retinotopic maps (topographic correspondence between visual and cortical spaces) to assess the spatial organization of induced perceptual cycles. Specifically, we tested the hypothesis that they can propagate across the retinotopic space. A disk oscillating in luminance (inducer) at 4, 6, 8, or 10 Hz was presented in the periphery of the visual field to induce perceptual cycles at specific frequencies. EEG recordings verified that the brain responded at the corresponding inducer frequencies and their first harmonics. Perceptual cycles were assessed with a concurrent detection task-target stimuli were displayed at threshold contrast (50% detection) at random times during the inducer. Behavioral results confirmed that perceptual performance was modulated periodically by the inducer at each frequency. We additionally manipulated the distance between the target and the inducer (three possible positions) and showed that the optimal phase, that is, moment of highest target detection, shifted across target distance to the inducer, specifically when its flicker frequency was in the alpha range (8 and 10 Hz). These results demonstrate that induced alpha perceptual cycles travel across the retinotopic space in humans at a propagation speed of 0.3-0.5 m/sec, consistent with the speed of unmyelinated horizontal connections in the visual cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camille Fakche
- Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center, Paris, France
| | - Laura Dugué
- Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center, Paris, France
- Institut Universitaire de France
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Macedo-Lima M, Hamlette LS, Caras ML. Orbitofrontal Cortex Modulates Auditory Cortical Sensitivity and Sound Perception. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.12.18.570797. [PMID: 38187685 PMCID: PMC10769262 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.18.570797] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
Sensory perception is dynamic, quickly adapting to sudden shifts in environmental or behavioral context. Though decades of work have established that these dynamics are mediated by rapid fluctuations in sensory cortical activity, we have a limited understanding of the brain regions and pathways that orchestrate these changes. Neurons in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) encode contextual information, and recent data suggest that some of these signals are transmitted to sensory cortices. Whether and how these signals shape sensory encoding and perceptual sensitivity remains uncertain. Here, we asked whether the OFC mediates context-dependent changes in auditory cortical sensitivity and sound perception by monitoring and manipulating OFC activity in freely moving animals under two behavioral contexts: passive sound exposure and engagement in an amplitude modulation (AM) detection task. We found that the majority of OFC neurons, including the specific subset that innervate the auditory cortex, were strongly modulated by task engagement. Pharmacological inactivation of the OFC prevented rapid context-dependent changes in auditory cortical firing, and significantly impaired behavioral AM detection. Our findings suggest that contextual information from the OFC mediates rapid plasticity in the auditory cortex and facilitates the perception of behaviorally relevant sounds. Significance Statement Sensory perception depends on the context in which stimuli are presented. For example, perception is enhanced when stimuli are informative, such as when they are important to solve a task. Perceptual enhancements result from an increase in the sensitivity of sensory cortical neurons; however, we do not fully understand how such changes are initiated in the brain. Here, we tested the role of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in controlling auditory cortical sensitivity and sound perception. We found that OFC neurons change their activity when animals perform a sound detection task. Inactivating OFC impairs sound detection and prevents task-dependent increases in auditory cortical sensitivity. Our findings suggest that the OFC controls contextual modulations of the auditory cortex and sound perception.
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48
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Hu J, Chen J, Ku Y, Yu M. Reduced interocular suppression after inverse patching in anisometropic amblyopia. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1280436. [PMID: 38152718 PMCID: PMC10752599 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1280436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 12/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Purpose Recent investigations observed substantial enhancements in binocular balance, visual acuity, and stereovision among older children and adults with amblyopia by patching the amblyopic eye (i.e., inverse patching) for 2 h daily over 2 months. Despite these promising findings, the precise neural mechanisms underlying inverse patching remain elusive. This study endeavors to delve deeper into the neural alterations induced by inverse patching, focusing on steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs). We specifically investigate the changes in SSVEPs following monocular deprivation of either the fellow eye or the amblyopic eye in older amblyopic children and adults. Method Ten participants (17.60 ± 2.03 years old; mean ± SEM), clinically diagnosed with anisometropic amblyopia, were recruited for this study. Each participant underwent a 120 min patching session on their fellow eye on the first day, followed by a similar session on their amblyopic eye on the second day. Baseline steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) measurements were collected each day prior to patching, with post-patching SSVEPs measurements obtained immediately after the patching session. The experimental design incorporated a binocular rivalry paradigm, utilizing SSVEPs measurements. Results The results revealed that inverse patching induced a heightened influence on neural plasticity, manifesting in a reduction of interocular suppression from the fellow eye to the amblyopic eye. In contrast, patching the fellow eye demonstrated negligible effects on the visual cortex. Furthermore, alterations in interocular suppression subsequent to inverse patching exhibited a correlation with the visual acuity of the amblyopic eye. Conclusion Inverse patching emerges as a promising therapeutic avenue for adolescents and adults grappling with severe anisometropic amblyopia that proves refractory to conventional interventions. This innovative approach exhibits the potential to induce more robust neural plasticity within the visual cortex, thereby modulating neural interactions more effectively than traditional amblyopia treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingyi Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jing Chen
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
| | - Yixuan Ku
- Center for Brain and Mental Wellbeing, Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
- Peng Cheng Laboratory, Shenzhen, China
| | - Minbin Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
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Tan Q, Sasaki Y, Watanabe T. Geometric-relationship specific transfer in visual perceptual learning. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.12.07.570648. [PMID: 38106111 PMCID: PMC10723461 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.07.570648] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
Visual perceptual learning (VPL) is defined as long-term improvement on a visual task as a result of visual experience. In many cases, the improvement is highly specific to the location where the target is presented, which refers to location specificity. In the current study, we investigated the effect of a geometrical relationship between the trained location and an untrained location on transfer of VPL. We found that significant transfer occurs either diagonally or along a line passing the fixation point. This indicates that whether location specificity or location transfer occurs at least partially depends on the geometrical relationship between trained location and an untrained location.
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Köster M, Brzozowska A, Bánki A, Tünte M, Ward EK, Hoehl S. Rhythmic visual stimulation as a window into early brain development: A systematic review. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2023; 64:101315. [PMID: 37948945 PMCID: PMC10663747 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2023] [Revised: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Rhythmic visual stimulation (RVS), the periodic presentation of visual stimuli to elicit a rhythmic brain response, is increasingly applied to reveal insights into early neurocognitive development. Our systematic review identified 69 studies applying RVS in 0- to 6-year-olds. RVS has long been used to study the development of the visual system and applications have more recently been expanded to uncover higher cognitive functions in the developing brain, including overt and covert attention, face and object perception, numeral cognition, and predictive processing. These insights are owed to the unique benefits of RVS, such as the targeted frequency and stimulus-specific neural responses, as well as a remarkable signal-to-noise ratio. Yet, neural mechanisms underlying the RVS response are still poorly understood. We discuss critical challenges and avenues for future research, and the unique potentials the method holds. With this review, we provide a resource for researchers interested in the breadth of developmental RVS research and hope to inspire the future use of this cutting-edge method in developmental cognitive neuroscience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moritz Köster
- University of Regensburg, Institute of Psychology, Germany.
| | | | - Anna Bánki
- University of Vienna, Faculty of Psychology, Austria
| | - Markus Tünte
- University of Vienna, Faculty of Psychology, Austria
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