27 januari 2009
26 januari 2009
25 januari 2009
Shocking news
If there is one blog that never ceases to amaze me it is the very stimulating blog of dr Shock.
he did it again: an amazing link to the nec plus ultra of anatomy (that includes neuroanatomy of course). The anatomyarcade. Go there now....
24 januari 2009
Prefrontal cortex in action
Q: HOW WE DECIDE draws from the latest research in neuroscience yet also analyzes some crucial moments in the lives of a variety of "deciders," from the football star Tom Brady to a soap opera director. Why did you take this approach?
A: Herbert Simon, the Nobel Prize-winning psychologist, famously compared our mind to a pair of scissors. One blade, he said, represented the brain. The other blade was the specific environment in which our brain was operating. If you want to understand the function of scissors, Simon said, then you have to look at both blades simultaneously. What I wanted to do in HOW WE DECIDE was venture out of the lab and into the real world so that I could see the scissors at work. I discuss some ingenious experiments in this book, but let's face it: the science lab is a startlingly artificial place. And so, wherever possible, I tried to explore these scientific theories in the context of everyday life. Instead of just writing about hyperbolic discounting and the feebleness of the prefrontal cortex, I spent time with a debt counselor in the Bronx. When I became interested in the anatomy of insight⎯where do our good ideas come from?⎯I interviewed a pilot whose epiphany in the cockpit saved hundreds of lives. That's when you really begin to appreciate the power of this new science--when you can use its ideas to explain all sorts of important phenomena, such as the risky behavior of teenagers, the amorality of psychopaths, and the tendency of some athletes to choke under pressure.
21 januari 2009
A BOLD mismatch
Although a tight relationship between neuronal cortical activity and regional blood flow in response to its metabolic demand is tacitly accepted as the base for fMRI BOLD signals it is known that this relationship is not always very quantitatively linear and often dependent on local circumstances. However Sirotin and Das have taken this to a new extreme by showing increase in blood flow in anticipation of a stimulus that is not deliverd (no activation in neural activity).
A fascinating story this week in nature. Read a summary here....
The Berger experience: make Your own EEG
Scot Olsen published his EEG amplifier wiring. Battery charge here
20 januari 2009
We Most Proudly Present
ANT supports the ERP Boot camp
Support for the UC-Davis ERP Bootcamp
The UC-Davis ERP Boot Camp is generously supported by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health.
ERP recording activities use the Biosemi ActiveTwo system, with support provided by Biosemi and their U.S. distributor Cortech Solutions
Data analysis activities use BrainVision Analyzer 2, which was graciously provided at no cost by Brain Products.
Support has also been provided by EasyCap and Advanced Neuro Technology.Lucky's Boot Camp
The ERP Boot Camp is a workshop series on ERP methods that is organized and led by Steve Luck. It is designed for beginning and intermediate ERP researchers--at any career stage--who would like to obtain a firm grasp of the fundamentals of ERP research.
The ERP Boot Camp takes two forms, the UC-Davis ERP Boot Camp and the Mini ERP Boot Camp. - The UC-Davis ERP Boot Camp is a 10-day summer workshop that is held each year at the UC-Davis Center for Mind & Brain. It includes lectures by several ERP experts, structured discussions, individual consultations, and a substantial laboratory component. The next UC-Davis ERP Boot Camp will be held July 20-29, 2009, and the application is now available.
- The Mini ERP Boot Camp is a 2-day or 3-day short course that is initiated and hosted by a university, research center, laboratory, corporation, or conference. It consists primarily of lectures but may also include group discussions, individual consultations, and laboratory visits. Mini ERP Boot Camps are particularly useful for groups who have recently acquired an ERP system and would like to learn the "tricks of the trade."
More information on the ERP Bootcamp
18 januari 2009
not so Lucky
We all know that ESP and telepathy are just bogus. But this guy wanted to find out for himself. Brave he was, stupid to call him, we will...
Farewell to Joseph Zbilut: a truly bright man.
| Joseph P. Zbilut | ||
|
Joseph P. Zbilut, age 60, of Skokie, beloved husband of Barbara, nee Wesley; loving father of Joe and Anna (David) Verdier; fond brother of Wally. Visitation Tuesday 3 to 9 p.m. at Haben Funeral Home & Crematory, 8057 Niles Center Rd., Skokie. Funeral Wednesday, 10:15 a.m. from the funeral home, for Mass, 10:30 a.m., at St. Peter Church, Skokie. Interment private. Memorial contributions may be made to Rush University College of Nursing, c/o Rush University Medical Center, Office of Philanthropy, 1700 W. Van Buren, Suite 250, Chicago, IL 60612. Funeral Info: 847-673-6111. | ||
Give me a call ?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nokQBjk1s_8&eurl=mhtml:mid://00002863/&feature=player_embedded
England from above !! Waking call.
15 januari 2009
14 januari 2009
The BCI guide to the galaxy
They offer this guide as a resource for anyone who is curious about brain-computer interfaces, or BCIs, as an example of the promise of technology to bring out the best in each of us.
WPA
The WPA has a section psychophysiology. Joint it !!
Forms are here...
The activity of the WPA Section on Psychophysiology is aimed to favour the development and dissemination of psychophysiological techniques in the study of neurobiological bases of psychiatric syndromes and to promote the collaboration among different groups actively involved in this research field.
A renewed attention to psychophysiological methods in psychiatric research has been brought about by recent theories proposing that psychopathological phenomena do not result from a dysfunction of one or more brain regions, but from the failure to integrate the activity of different areas involved in cognitive processes. In this perspective, neurobiogical research should tap the dynamics of complex interactions over time among cerebral regions involved in the poorly integrated cognitive processes. The pursuit of this goal reqires the use of techniques with high sensitivity to the smoothest deviation in complex and integrated processes that last fractions of seconds. Techniques with these characteristics might also contribute to our understanding of psychotropic drugs effects on the central nervous system. It is increasingly acknowledged that psychotropic drugs act modifying the connectivity within largely distributed cortico-subcortical neural circuits. Therefore, brain imaging studies on receptor occupancy or modifications of cerebral blood flow or metabolism should be complemented by psychophysiological indices of integrated brain processes.
10 januari 2009
Pen's end ! Future of medical note taking
Livescribe has seamlessly fused the intelligence of a computer with the intuitive form of a pen and developed the first “smartpen,” a Montblanc-size computer that records and syncs audio to what you write, so you never miss a word. The Pulse smartpen features a high-contrast OLED display, audio jack for 3D long-distance recording, microphone to record clear sound, built-in speaker to play back recorded audio, USB connector to transfer notes, and audio and infrared camera to track everything written. Livescribe’s platform is comprised of a smartpen, dot paper, and desktop and web software. It uses a sophisticated dot positioning system (DPS) on paper to capture and synchronize audio with handwritten notes. A simple tap on your notes provides immediate access and recall. The dot paper effectively acts like a computer screen; draw a calculator that works, or write an English word or phrase to hear or read the Spanish translation instantly. The Pulse smartpen also features a thriving online community that allows users to upload notes and “pencasts,” Flash movies authored with smartpen and paper. Most recently, Livescribe unveiled Mac compatibility for the Pulse smartpen and announced MyScript for Livescribe, handwriting-to-text software for Windows users. The Livescribe Smart Pen will be available in March for either $149 for the 1GB version or $199 for the 2GB model. The pens record approximately 100 or 200 hours of audio respectively. Pros: Apparently, 87 percent of students that have used this product plan to keep using it through the remainder of their studies, and it is easy to see why. It adds multiple dimensions to the written word, whether taking notes in class or at meetings. You can synch the audio of an event to your notes and share them within your own community or through Facebook. It’s a product that belies its sophistication in its simplicity of application.
IRCA in Kobe
Brain-Machine Interfaces encompass a growing and increasing community that merges researchers and industry with the objective of creating applications and solutions to ameliorate the quality of life of human beings. This challenging research area involves a tight cooperation of neuroscience, computer science, and biomedical engineering among others. With the understanding of the human brain and the rapid development of the instrumentation, signal processing and machine learning; brain machine interfaces are reaching real rehabilitation applications that require robotics developments. The neurocontrol of devices is certainly an interesting and promising research area that is only at the beginning of scientific and practical exploration.
In response to this growing interest in neurosignal actuated devices, several initiatives are starting to pave the path toward a full series of neurodevices. Researchers are investigating the neural correlates concerning the human perception and motion to create a direct interface between the brain and a prosthetic device, in virtually, the same way that we humans proceed. Other researches are applying brain machine learning technology to directly interact with autonomous mobile robots in applications like intelligent wheelchairs or teleoperation between remote scenarios.
Individuals with severe neuromuscular impairments and those involved in rehabilitation therapy are potential beneficiaries of assistive technology, not only for improved mobility but also for improved outcomes in recovery. In addition, this research is starting to find a new path in the amusement arena.
Between the ears
Tracking the input of each ear separately in biaural hearing to the auditory cortex. Impossible ? read on
Binaural cortical responses are mixtures of inputs from both ears. We introduce here a novel method that allows, for the first time, to selectively follow these inputs in humans up to the cortex during binaural hearing. We recorded neuromagnetic cortical responses to amplitude-modulated continuous tones, with different modulation frequencies at each ear. During binaural hearing, the left- and right-ear inputs competed strongly in both auditory cortices: the right-hemisphere responses were symmetrically suppressed, compared with monaural stimulation, for sounds of both ears, whereas the left-hemisphere responses were suppressed significantly more for ipsilateral than contralateral sounds, thereby intensifying the right-ear dominance of the left auditory cortex. This type of hemisphere- and ear-selective information on cortical binaural interaction could have important applications in human auditory neuroscience.
R R R R R R R R all in paRallel
A parallel network for R code.
PS My good friend Geert DB will love this.
Microarray analysis allows the simultaneous measurement of thousands to millions of genes or sequences across tens to thousands of different samples. The analysis of the resulting data tests the limits of existing bioinformatics computing infrastructure. A solution to this issue is to use High Performance Computing (HPC) systems, which contain many processors and more memory than desktop computer systems. Many biostatisticians use R to process the data gleaned from microarray analysis and there is even a dedicated group of packages, Bioconductor, for this purpose. However, to exploit HPC systems, R must be able to utilise the multiple processors available on these systems. There are existing modules that enable R to use multiple processors, but these are either difficult to use for the HPC novice or cannot be used to solve certain classes of problems. A method of exploiting HPC systems, using R, but without recourse to mastering parallel programming paradigms is therefore necessary to analyse genomic data to its fullest.
Good cooperation Tool
Show Document couldn’t be much easier for uploading a document and then having multiple people — in real time — editing it and using a chatboard to communicate.
No registration is necessary — just upload, get a code number, send it to others, and then you’re all working together.
Sensorial overload
Hyperreactivity to "normal" sensations ?? Does it exists ? Can it be diagnosed and what treatment is available ?
Find out in march (New York) at this conference. There is a special entry for EEG and ERP and talks about test / retest reliability. I really enjoy sturdy EBM and RCT based data !!
No crap but hard data and proven efficacy facts.
Patients have the right to be correctly informed without the hype and fantasy of new agers.
Take a look at the speakers list. A cast that will "Rock" Your senses and shake your emotions !!
08 januari 2009
10 Hz
There is growing interest in the functional meaning of rhythmical brain activity. For oscillatory brain activity around 10 Hz in the human electroencephalogram (EEG) it is discussed whether it is associated with the level of cortical excitation. However, it is not clear whether the relation between 10 Hz EEG oscillatory activity and cortical excitability is a global, locally very unspecific phenomenon or whether focal 10 Hz oscillations in the human brain are a highly specific correlate of the cortical excitation level. To determine this open question, multichannel EEG was combined with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) applied to the primary motor cortex in this study. The present data showed that a motor evoked potentialwas elicited more easily when alpha power immediately preceding the magnetic pulsewas low, and vice versa. Interestingly, this effect was only found for very local EEG alpha activity at sites overlying the cortical motor areas to which the TMS pulseswere applied. Thiswas verified using source localization in 3D space. These data provide evidence that the magnitude of motor cortical excitability is determined by the amount of topographically specific alpha oscillations in the sensorimotor cortex.
07 januari 2009
Men vs Monkey
At last we have (almost) at egality with our spitting biological image Mr. Monkey. 3D BCI is the name of our game and we can do it without those sticky acupuncturesqie pesky needles that scientists in our cage call deep brain electrodes, in our cerebral cortex. How about that, Mr monkey !!
Thanks to Dieter D. for pointing this one out
.
Control of a two-dimensional movement signal by a noninvasive brain–computer interface in humans
Jonathan R. Wolpaw* and Dennis J. McFarland
Laboratory of Nervous System Disorders, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health and State University of New York,
Albany, NY 12201-0509
Edited by Emilio Bizzi, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, and approved November 2, 2004 (received for review May 17, 2004)
Abstract
Brain-computer interface (BCI) technology can restore communication and
control to people who are severely paralyzed (Clin. Neurophysiol.
113:767-791, 2002 for review). BCIs use brain signals recorded from the
scalp (EEG), the cortical surface (ECoG), or within the cortex. Despite
strong evidence to the contrary (PNAS 101:17849-17854, 2004), it has
been widely assumed that only intracortical signals can control complex
movements. The present study shows that scalp-recorded EEG can provide
humans with three-dimensional (3-D) movement control, which has not yet
been achieved in humans even with intracortical signals.
To date, four adults (one with a spinal cord injury) have mastered this
control. They developed three independent EEG control signals (i.e., one
for vertical movement, one for horizontal movement, and one for movement
in depth) and used these signals simultaneously to move a cursor to a
target located in one of the eight corners of a virtual 3D cube on a
video screen.
Each person achieved impressive control of three independent control
signals. They moved to the target in median times of 1.6-4.9 s and
completed 56-93% of trials. They performed as well when the cursor
started at variable positions as they did when it always started in the
center. Their EEG control could not be accounted for by concurrent EMG
activity. The 3-D performance of the best user was comparable to that of
the best monkey in Taylor et al. (Science 296:1829-1832, 2002), which
used intracortical electrodes.
The results imply that noninvasive EEG-based BCIs can support the
complex operations of robotic arms or neuroprostheses. Thus, people with
severe disabilities should be able to control such devices without
needing to have electrodes implanted in their brains.
05 januari 2009
Clinical neurophysiology
Neurophysiologie Clinique
Rédacteur en chef : Jean-Michel Guérit
Rédacteur associé : Salvatore Campanella
Rédacteur associé : Jean-Pascal Lefaucheur
Rédacteur associé : Marc Rey
Une revue européenne majeure en neurosciences, organe d'expression de la Société de neurophysiologie clinique de langue française. Neurophysiologie clinique / Clinical Neurophysiology publie 6 fois par an, après avis de lecteurs français et étrangers, des travaux en français et en anglais (40% des articles, révision stylistique garantie par l'éditeur) - articles originaux, revues générales, mises au point, communications brèves, lettres à la rédaction - portant sur l'investigation neurophysiologique du système nerveux central, périphérique et du muscle chez l'homme normal, le malade et chez l'animal.La revue s'intéresse aux principaux domaines de la neurophysiologie clinique : EEG et épilepsie, potentiels évoqués sensoriels et moteurs, ERP cognitifs, sommeil, EMG/réflexologie, imagerie fonctionnelle.Neurophysiologie Clinique/Clinical Neurophysiology delivers the most recent and prominent developments in neurophysiologic investigations of the central and peripheral nervous system, and of the muscle of normal or ill human beings and animals. Regular sections include original research, general reviews, short communications and a correspondence section which increase knowledge, provide guidelines and stimulate research in the field. Articles are published in English or in French.Readers are also kept informed of the latest events in neurophysiology through abstracts of the Society's conference meetings, analyses of scientific articles and book reviews, all of which are published in the journal. Neurophysiologie Clinique/Clinical Neurophysiology addresses all researchers and clinicians in the field of the nervous system: classical and numerical, dipole source localisation, evoked potentials, sleep and neuromuscular electrophysiology.The journal is published under the auspices of the French speaking Society of Clinical Neurophysiology.
04 januari 2009
Meet Ringo
Will this be the future of Vista ??? Not impressive ? Click to see the video !!
WHAW !!!!
Amazing concept. Practical applications will be a bit more complex though. Yet thought provoking...
Abonneren op:
Posts (Atom)