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Front Hum Neurosci 2021 25;15:647908. Epub 2021 Mar 25.

Université Côte d'Azur, Inria, France.

In a Mental Imagery Brain-Computer Interface the user has to perform a specific mental task that generates electroencephalography (EEG) components, which can be translated in commands to control a BCI system. The development of a high-performance MI-BCI requires a long training, lasting several weeks or months, in order to improve the ability of the user to manage his/her mental tasks. This works aims to present the design of a MI-BCI combining mental imaginary and cognitive tasks for a severely motor impaired user, involved in the BCI race of the Cybathlon event, a competition of people with severe motor disability. Read More

Int J Psychophysiol 2021 Feb 26;164:71-86. Epub 2021 Feb 26.

Laboratory of Vision Science and Optometry, Faculty of Physics, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland; Laboratory of Vision and Neuroscience, NanoBiomedical Center, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland.

Results of several neuroimaging studies support the functional equivalence model, which states that motor imagery (MI) and motor execution (ME) involve the same processes, except for the final execution component. In contrast, the motor-cognitive model implies that MI additionally involves frontal executive control processes. However, according to some authors MI may actually be more comparable to motor preparation (MP). Read More

Sci Rep 2021 Feb 17;11(1):3949. Epub 2021 Feb 17.

Neurosciences and Mental Health, Hospital for Sick Children, 686 Bay Street, Toronto, ON, M5G 0A4, Canada.

A left perisylvian network is known to support language in healthy adults. Low-beta (13-23 Hz) event-related desynchrony (ERD) has been observed during verb generation, at approximately 700-1200 ms post-stimulus presentation in past studies; the signal is known to reflect increased neuronal firing and metabolic demand during language production. In contrast, concurrent beta event-related synchrony (ERS) is thought to reflect neuronal inhibition but has not been well studied in the context of language. Read More

Neuroimage Clin 2021 Jan 19;30:102569. Epub 2021 Jan 19.

Children's Neurosciences Department, Evelina London Children's Hospital, Guy's and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust, London SE1 7EH, United Kingdom. Electronic address:

Dystonia is a disorder of sensorimotor integration associated with abnormal oscillatory activity within the basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical networks. Event-related changes in spectral EEG activity reflect cortical processing but are sparsely investigated in relation to sensorimotor processing in dystonia. This study investigates modulation of sensorimotor cortex EEG activity in response to a proprioceptive stimulus in children with dystonia and dystonic cerebral palsy (CP). Read More

J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn 2021 Feb 4. Epub 2021 Feb 4.

Parenting and Special Education Research Unit.

There is broad consensus on the assumption that adults solve single-digit multiplication problems almost exclusively by fact retrieval from memory. In contrast, there has been a long-standing debate on the cognitive processes involved in solving single-digit addition problems. This debate has evolved around two theoretical accounts. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 Jan 22;11(1):2119. Epub 2021 Jan 22.

Concordia Institute for Information Systems Engineering, Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada.

Many neurocognitive studies endeavor to understand neural mechanisms of basic creative activities in strictly controlled experiments. However, little evidence is available regarding the neural mechanisms of interactions between basic activities underlying creativity in such experiments. Moreover, strictly controlled experiments might limit flexibility/freedom needed for creative exploration. Read More

Brain Sci 2020 Dec 31;11(1). Epub 2020 Dec 31.

Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering IAO, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany.

Affect monitoring is being discussed as a novel strategy to make adaptive systems more user-oriented. Basic knowledge about oscillatory processes and functional connectivity underlying affect during naturalistic human-computer interactions (HCI) is, however, scarce. This study assessed local oscillatory power entrainment and distributed functional connectivity in a close-to-naturalistic HCI-paradigm. Read More

J Neural Eng 2021 Jan 4. Epub 2021 Jan 4.

Academic Unit of Neurology, Trinity College Dublin Academic Unit of Neurology, 152-160 Pearse St., Dublin, D02 R590, IRELAND.

Objective: To characterize the cortical oscillations associated with performance of the sustained attention to response task (SART) and their disruptions in the neurodegenerative condition amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Approach: A randomised SART was undertaken by 24 ALS patients and 33 healthy controls during 128-channel electroencephalography. Complex Morlet wavelet transform was used to quantify non-phase-locked oscillatory activity in event-related spectral perturbations associated with performing the SART. Read More

Front Neurosci 2020 18;14:575081. Epub 2020 Dec 18.

Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.

Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) are systems that allow users to control devices using brain activity alone. However, the ability of participants to command BCIs varies from subject to subject. About 20% of potential users of sensorimotor BCIs do not gain reliable control of the system. Read More

Neuroimage 2020 Dec 15;231:117641. Epub 2020 Dec 15.

Neural Engineering and Translation Labs, Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA. Electronic address:

A fundamental set of cognitive abilities enable humans to efficiently process goal-relevant information, suppress irrelevant distractions, maintain information in working memory, and act flexibly in different behavioral contexts. Yet, studies of human cognition and their underlying neural mechanisms usually evaluate these cognitive constructs in silos, instead of comprehensively in-tandem within the same individual. Here, we developed a scalable, mobile platform, "BrainE" (short for Brain Engagement), to rapidly assay several essential aspects of cognition simultaneous with wireless electroencephalography (EEG) recordings. Read More

Sensors (Basel) 2020 Nov 26;20(23). Epub 2020 Nov 26.

Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21287-7713, USA.

Anxiety disorders impose substantial costs upon public health and productivity in the USA and worldwide. At present, these conditions are quantified by self-report questionnaires that only apply to behaviors that are accessible to consciousness, or by the timing of responses to fear- and anxiety-related words that are indirect since they do not produce fear, e.g. Read More

IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng 2020 12 28;28(12):3051-3062. Epub 2021 Jan 28.

Motor Imagery (MI)-based Brain Computer Interface (BCI) system is a potential technology for active neurorehabilitation of stroke patients by complementing the conventional passive rehabilitation methods. Research to date mainly focused on classifying left vs. right hand/foot MI of stroke patients. Read More

Hum Brain Mapp 2021 Mar 17;42(4):1153-1166. Epub 2020 Nov 17.

Department of Experimental Medicine, Section of Human Physiology, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.

Working memory (WM) performance is very often measured using the n-back task, in which the participant is presented with a sequence of stimuli, and required to indicate whether the current stimulus matches the one presented n steps earlier. In this study, we used high-density electroencephalography (hdEEG) coupled to source localization to obtain information on spatial distribution and temporal dynamics of neural oscillations associated with WM update, maintenance and readout. Specifically, we a priori selected regions from a large fronto-parietal network, including also the insula and the cerebellum, and we analyzed modulation of neural oscillations by event-related desynchronization and synchronization (ERD/ERS). Read More

Brain Sci 2020 Nov 6;10(11). Epub 2020 Nov 6.

Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Neurology, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung City 404, Taiwan.

Robot-assisted gait training (RAGT) systems offer the advantages of standard rehabilitation and provide precise and quantifiable control of therapy. We examined the clinical outcome of RAGT and analyzed the correlations between gait analysis data and event-related desynchronization (ERD) and event-related synchronization (ERS) in patients with chronic stroke. We applied the Berg balance scale (BBS) and analyzed gait parameters and the ERD and ERS of self-paced voluntary leg movements performed by patients with chronic stroke before and after undergoing RAGT. Read More

Brain Sci 2020 Oct 17;10(10). Epub 2020 Oct 17.

IRCCS Centro Neurolesi Bonino Pulejo, SS113 C.da Casazza, 98124 Messina, Italy.

Background: advanced paraclinical approaches using functional neuroimaging and electroencephalography (EEG) allow identifying patients who are covertly aware despite being diagnosed as unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS). Bedside detection of covert awareness employing motor imagery tasks (MI), which is a universally accepted clinical indicator of awareness in the absence of overt behavior, may miss some of these patients, as they could still have a certain level of awareness. We aimed at assessing covert awareness in patients with UWS using a visuomotor-guided motor imagery task (VMI) during EEG recording. Read More

Int J Psychophysiol 2020 Dec 17;158:201-214. Epub 2020 Oct 17.

Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien Tübingen, Germany; Department of Cognitive Psychology and Media Psychology, University of Tübingen, Germany.

Using and combining eye-tracking and EEG frequency band power as process measures, in the current study we were interested in the mental processing demands during learning of text-picture combinations that either enabled or prohibited text-picture integration (TPI). In the mismatch condition, the textual and pictorial information being dissimilar, TPI was not possible, whereas in the match and the partial-match condition, the textual and pictorial information being identical respective complementary, TPI was possible. We expected mental processing demands to be higher in the mismatch condition, when pictorial and textual information had to be processed and memorized as separate representations, compared to the match and partial-match conditions when TPI was possible. Read More

Cereb Cortex 2021 Jan;31(2):1077-1089

Laboratory for Symbolic Cognitive Development, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kobe, 650-0047, Japan.

During primate arboreal locomotion, substrate orientation modifies body axis orientation and biomechanical contribution of fore- and hindlimbs. To characterize the role of cortical oscillations in integrating these locomotor demands, we recorded electrocorticographic activity from left dorsal premotor, primary motor, and supplementary motor cortices of three common marmosets moving across a branch-like small-diameter pole, fixed horizontally or vertically. Animals displayed behavioral adjustments to the task, namely, the horizontal condition mainly induced quadrupedal walk with pronated/neutral forelimb postures, whereas the vertical condition induced walk and bound gaits with supinated/neutral postures. Read More

Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc 2020 07;2020:3027-3030

The identification of specific components in EEG signals is often key when designing EEG-based brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), and a good understanding of the factors that elicit such components can be helpful when it comes to precise, energy-efficient and time-accurate actuation of exoskeletons. CNVs (Contingent Negative Variations), ERDs or ERSs (Event-Related Desynchronizations/Synchronizations) as well as ErrPs (Error-Related Potentials) are particularly important components can be identified during motor tasks and related to specific events in a Coincident Timing (CT) task. This work investigates offline EEG signals acquired during an upper limb CT task and analyzes the task protocol with the purpose of correlating the aforementioned EEG features to movement onset. Read More

Front Syst Neurosci 2020 18;14:61. Epub 2020 Aug 18.

CUNY School of Medicine, The City University of New York, New York, NY, United States.

Beta oscillations (13.5-25 Hz) over the sensorimotor areas are characterized by a power decrease during movement execution (event-related desynchronization, ERD) and a sharp rebound after the movement end (event-related synchronization, ERS). In previous studies, we demonstrated that movement-related beta modulation depth (peak ERS-ERD) during reaching increases within 1-h practice. Read More

Eur J Radiol Open 2020 8;7:100253. Epub 2020 Sep 8.

Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Institute of Biomedical Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Japan.

Objectives: In this phantom- and cadaver study we investigated the differences of coronary artery calcium (CAC) volume on ultra-high-resolution computed tomography (U-HRCT) scans and conventional CT.

Methods: We scanned a coronary calcium phantom and the coronary arteries of five cadavers using U-HRCT in normal- and super-high resolution (NR, SHR) mode. The NR mode was similar to conventional CT; 896 detector channels, a matrix size of 512, and a slice thickness of 0. Read More

Sci Rep 2020 09 14;10(1):14993. Epub 2020 Sep 14.

Department of Neurological Diagnosis and Restoration, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Osaka, Japan.

Event-related synchronisation (ERS) and event-related desynchronisation (ERD) have been observed via magnetoencephalography (MEG) in the language-dominant hemisphere. However, the relationship between ERS/ERD and clinical language indices is unclear. Therefore, the present study evaluated brain activity utilising MEG during a verb generation task in 36 subjects and determined ERS/ERD power values in θ, α, β, low γ and high γ frequency bands. Read More

Psychophysiology 2020 11 29;57(11):e13643. Epub 2020 Jul 29.

Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science of Ministry of Education, Research Center for Learning Science, School of Biological Science & Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.

According to the load theory of attention, increased working memory load impairs selective attention, resulting in greater distractor interference during inhibitory control processing. However, the EEG signatures correlated with this modulation effect of working memory on inhibitory control remain unclear. In present study, 25 healthy human participants performed a flanker task in a low and high working memory load conditions, while behavioral and electroencephalography (EEG) data were recorded. Read More

Brain Stimul 2020 Sep - Oct;13(5):1370-1380. Epub 2020 Jul 10.

Brain and Mental Health Research Hub, School of Psychological Sciences and Monash Biomedical Imaging, Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Monash University, Clayton, Australia. Electronic address:

Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been shown to improve working memory (WM) performance in healthy individuals, however effects tend to be modest and variable. Transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS) can be delivered with a direct-current offset (DC-offset) to induce equal or even greater effects on cortical excitability than tDCS. To-date, no research has directly compared the effects of these techniques on WM performance or underlying neurophysiological activity. Read More

Reproduction 2020 10;160(4):501-509

Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA.

Exosomes facilitate cell-to-cell communication by transferring regulatory molecules such as miRNA from donor to recipient cells, for example, miR-21-5p and miR-30d promote placentation. Exosomes and their miRNA cargos are not exclusively obtained from endogenous synthesis but may also be absorbed from dietary sources, such as milk. This study assessed the effects of milk exosomes and miRNA cargos on embryo development and fertility in C57BL/6 mice. Read More

Comput Methods Programs Biomed 2020 Oct 24;195:105550. Epub 2020 May 24.

Institute of Sound and Vibration and Research, University of Southampton, Southampton, Hampshire, UK. Electronic address:

Background And Objective: There are many phenomena that lead to changes in the power spectrum of a given signal, and their detection has been a challenge that has received considerable attention over the years. Objective Response Detection (ORD) techniques are a set of tools that perform automated tests for such a task, allowing thus to automatically track changes in the spectrum. The performance of these detectors is affected by the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the recorded signal as well as the length of the available data. Read More

Clin Neurophysiol 2020 Jul 23;131(7):1548-1555. Epub 2020 Apr 23.

Department of Neurophysiopathology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy.

Objective: In patients with spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 or 2 (SCA1 or SCA2) and in their asymptomatic gene-positive relatives (AsyRs) we investigated the event-related desynchronization and synchronisation (ERD/ERS) on magnetoencephalographic signals to assess the changes occurring before manifest ataxia, by comparing the results obtained in AsyRs and in their gene-negative healthy relatives (HRs).

Methods: Twenty-four patients (12 SCA1, 12 SCA2), 24 AsyRs (13 SCA1, 11 SCA2) and 17 HRs performed a visually cued Go/No-go task. We evaluated the ERD/ERS in regions of interest corresponding to the frontal, central and parietal cortices. Read More

Neurorehabil Neural Repair 2020 05 23;34(5):450-462. Epub 2020 Apr 23.

Institute of Brain Science, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.

. Recovery of upper limb function post-stroke can be partly predicted by initial motor function, but the mechanisms underpinning these improvements have yet to be determined. Here, we sought to identify neural correlates of post-stroke recovery using longitudinal magnetoencephalography (MEG) assessments in subacute stroke survivors. Read More

Comput Methods Programs Biomed 2020 Sep 27;193:105464. Epub 2020 Mar 27.

State Key Laboratory for Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Systems Engineering Institute, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.

Background And Objective: Brain-computer interfaces build a communication pathway from the human brain to a computer. Motor imagery-based electroencephalogram (EEG) classification is a widely applied paradigm in brain-computer interfaces. The common spatial pattern, based on the event-related desynchronization (ERD)/event-related synchronization (ERS) phenomenon, is one of the most popular algorithms for motor imagery-based EEG classification. Read More

Clin EEG Neurosci 2020 Sep 6;51(5):339-347. Epub 2020 Apr 6.

Department of Medicine, Surgery and Health Sciences, Clinical Neurology Unit, Cattinara University Hospital, Trieste, Italy.

Assessment of consciousness following severe brain-injury is challenging. Our hypothesis is that electroencephalography (EEG) can provide information on awareness, in terms of oscillatory activity and network task-related modifications, in people with disorders of consciousness. Similar results were obtained with neuroimaging techniques; we aim at demonstrating the use of EEG, which is low cost and routinely implemented, to the same goal. Read More

J Neural Eng 2020 Apr 1. Epub 2020 Apr 1.

Systems Design Engineering, University of Waterloo Faculty of Engineering, Waterloo, Ontario, CANADA.

Different visual stimuli might have different effects on the brain, e.g. the change of brightness, non-biological movement and biological movement. Read More