I see artifacts: ICA-based EEG artifact removal does not improve deep network decoding across three BCI tasks.

In this paper, we conduct a detailed investigation on the effect of independent component (IC)-based noise rejection methods in neural network classifier-based decoding of electroencephalography (EEG) data in different task datasets.We apply a pipeline matrix of two popular different independent component (IC) decomposition methods (Infomax and Adaptive Mixture Independent Component Analysis (AMICA)) with three different component rejection strategies (none, ICLabel, and multiple artifact rejection algorithm [MARA]) on three different EEG datasets (motor imagery, long-term memory formation, and visual memory). We cross-validate processed data from each pipeline with three architectures commonly used for EEG classification (two convolutional neural networks and one long short-term memory-based model.

Decoding visual fatigue in a visual search task selectively manipulated via myopia-correcting lenses.

Introduction: Visual fatigue resulting from sustained, high-workload visual activities can significantly impact task performance and general wellbeing. So far, however, little is known about the underlying brain networks of visual fatigue. This study aimed to identify such potential networks using a unique paradigm involving myopia-correcting lenses known to directly modulate subjectively-perceived fatigue levels.

An EEG Dataset of Neural Signatures in a Competitive Two-Player Game Encouraging Deceptive Behavior.

Studying deception is vital for understanding decision-making and social dynamics. Recent EEG research has deepened insights into the brain mechanisms behind deception. Standard methods in this field often rely on memory, are vulnerable to countermeasures, yield false positives, and lack real-world relevance.

Decoding the dynamic perception of risk and speed using naturalistic stimuli: A multivariate, whole-brain analysis.

Time-resolved decoding of speed and risk perception in car driving is important for understanding the perceptual processes related to driving safety. In this study, we used an fMRI-compatible trackball with naturalistic stimuli to record dynamic ratings of perceived risk and speed and investigated the degree to which different brain regions were able to decode these. We presented participants with first-person perspective videos of cars racing on the same course.

Visuo-haptic processing of unfamiliar shapes: Comparing children and adults.

The question of how our sensory perception abilities develop has been an active area of research, establishing trajectories of development from infancy that last well into late childhood and even adolescence. In this context, several studies have established changes in sensory processing of vision and touch around the age of 8 to 9 years. In this experiment, we explored the visual and haptic perceptual development of elementary school children of ages 6-11 in similarity-rating tasks of unfamiliar objects and compared their performance to adults.

Dynamic measurements of speed and risk perception during driving: Evidence of speed misestimation from continuous ratings and video analysis.

Investigating the factors underlying perceived speed and risk is crucial to ensure safe driving. However, existing studies on this topic usually measure speed and risk perception indirectly after a driving session, which makes it difficult to trace dynamic effects and time points of potential misestimates. To address this problem, we developed and validated a novel continuous method for dynamically measuring risk and speed perceptions.

Relationship between virtual reality balloon analogue risk task and risky decision-making.

The balloon analogue risk task (BART) is widely used to assess risk-taking tendencies on behavioral tests. However, biases or unstable results are sometimes reported, and there are concerns about whether the BART can predict risk behavior in the real world. To address this problem, the present study developed a virtual reality (VR) BART to enhance the reality of the task and narrow the gap between performance on the BART and risk behavior in the real world.

Learning to Feel Textures: Predicting Perceptual Similarities From Unconstrained Finger-Surface Interactions.

Whenever we touch a surface with our fingers, we perceive distinct tactile properties that are based on the underlying dynamics of the interaction. However, little is known about how the brain aggregates the sensory information from these dynamics to form abstract representations of textures. Earlier studies in surface perception all used general surface descriptors measured in controlled conditions instead of considering the unique dynamics of specific interactions, reducing the comprehensiveness and interpretability of the results.

Putting Vision and Touch into Conflict: Results From a Multimodal Mixed Reality Setup.

What happens if we put vision and touch into conflict? Which modality "wins"? Although several previous studies have addressed this topic, they have solely focused on integration of vision and touch for low-level object properties (such as curvature, slant, or depth). In the present study, we introduce a multimodal mixed-reality setup based on real-time hand-tracking, which was used to display real-world, haptic exploration of objects in a virtual environment through a head-mounted-display (HMD). With this setup we studied multimodal conflict situations of objects varying along higher-level, parametrically-controlled global shape properties.

Predicting driving speed from psychological metrics in a virtual reality car driving simulation.

Why do some people tend to drive faster than others? Personality characteristics such as the evaluation of risk to oneself or to others, impulsivity, adherence to norms, but also other personal factors such as gender, age, or driving experience all may play a role in determining how fast people drive. Since driving speed is a critical factor underlying accident prevalence, identifying the psychological metrics to predict individual driving speed is an important step that could aid in accident prevention. To investigate this issue, here, we used an immersive virtual reality driving simulation to analyze average driving speed.

Myopia-correcting lenses decrease eye fatigue in a visual search task for both adolescents and adults.

The steady, world-wide increase in myopia prevalence in children over the past decades has raised concerns. As an early intervention for axial-length-related myopia, correcting lenses have been developed (such as Defocus Incorporated Multiple Segment (DIMS) lenses), which have been shown to be effective in slowing myopia progression. Beyond this direct effect, however, it is not known whether such lenses also affect other aspects important to the wearer, such as eye fatigue, and how such effects may differ across age, as these lenses so far are typically only tested with adolescents.

Predominance of eyes and surface information for face race categorization.

Faces can be categorized in various ways, for example as male or female or as belonging to a specific biogeographic ancestry (race). Here we tested the importance of the main facial features for race perception. We exchanged inner facial features (eyes, mouth or nose), face contour (everything but those) or texture (surface information) between Asian and Caucasian faces.

Operant and classical learning principles underlying mind-body interaction in pain modulation: a pilot fMRI study.

The operant conditioning has been less studied than the classical conditioning as a mechanism of placebo-like effect, and two distinct learning mechanisms have never been compared to each other in terms of their neural activities. Twenty-one participants completed cue-learning based pain rating tasks while their brain responses were measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging. After choosing (instrumental) or viewing (classical) one of three predictive cues (low- and high-pain cues with different level of certainty), they received painful stimuli according to the selected cues.

Enhanced bodily states of fear facilitates bias perception of fearful faces.

We investigated whether enhanced interoceptive bodily states of fear would facilitate recognition of the fearful faces. Participants performed an emotional judgment task after a bodily imagery task inside a functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner. In the bodily imagery task, participants were instructed to imagine feeling the bodily sensations of two specific somatotopic patterns: a fear-associated bodily sensation (FBS) or a disgust-associated bodily sensation (DBS).

EEG-Based Prediction of Successful Memory Formation During Vocabulary Learning.

Previous Electroencephalography (EEG) and neuroimaging studies have found differences between brain signals for subsequently remembered and forgotten items during learning of items - it has even been shown that single trial prediction of memorization success is possible with a few target items. There has been little attempt, however, in validating the findings in an application-oriented context involving longer test spans with realistic learning materials encompassing more items. Hence, the present study investigates subsequent memory prediction within the application context of foreign-vocabulary learning.

Facial Expression Processing Is Not Affected by Parkinson's Disease, but by Age-Related Factors.

The question whether facial expression processing may be impaired in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients so far has yielded equivocal results - existing studies, however, have focused on testing expression processing in recognition tasks with static images of six standard, emotional facial expressions. Given that non-verbal communication contains both emotional and non-emotional, conversational expressions and that input to the brain is usually dynamic, here we address the question of potential facial expression processing differences in a novel format: we test a range of conversational and emotional, dynamic facial expressions in three groups - PD patients ( = 20), age- and education-matched older healthy controls ( = 20), and younger adult healthy controls ( = 20). This setup allows us to address both effects of PD and age-related differences.

Decoding spatial location of perceived pain to acupuncture needle using multivoxel pattern analysis.

The present study applied multivoxel pattern analysis to decode spatial discrimination in pain perception to acupuncture needle from brain functional magnetic resonance image. Fourteen participants were stimulated by acupuncture needles at two adjacent body parts on their left forearm (PC6 vs. HT7).

A Preliminary Study for Translation and Validation of the Korean Version of The Cognitive, Affective, and Somatic Empathy Scale in Young Adults.

Objective: The cognitive, Affective, and Somatic Empathy Scale (CASES) suggests novel three components structure of empathy. Although CASES developed to assess the trait empathy of both children and adult, the validation in adult sample is not yet conducted. This study developed Korean version of CASES (CASES-K) and examined the psychometric properties in young adult for first time.

Correction: Voluntary and spontaneous facial mimicry toward other's emotional expression in patients with Parkinson's disease.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Voluntary and spontaneous facial mimicry toward other's emotional expression in patients with Parkinson's disease.

A "masked face", that is, decreased facial expression is considered as one of the cardinal symptoms among individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD). Both spontaneous and voluntary mimicry toward others' emotional expressions is essential for both social communication and emotional sharing with others. Despite many studies showing impairments in facial movements in PD in general, it is still unclear whether voluntary, spontaneous, or both types of mimicry are affected and how the impairments affect the patients' quality of life.

To Brake or Not to Brake? Personality Traits Predict Decision-Making in an Accident Situation.

Many situations require decisions to be made in very little time-in emergency or accident situations such decisions will carry potentially harmful consequences. Can we predict how people react in such situations from their personality traits alone? Since experimental tests of accident situations are not possible in the real world, existing studies usually employ text-based surveys or post-situation assessments, making predictions and generalization difficult. In the present study, we used virtual reality to create a more life-like situation in order to study decision-making under controlled circumstances.

You or Me? Personality Traits Predict Sacrificial Decisions in an Accident Situation.

Emergency situations during car driving sometimes force the driver to make a sudden decision. Predicting these decisions will have important applications in updating risk analyses in insurance applications, but also can give insights for drafting autonomous vehicle guidelines. Studying such behavior in experimental settings, however, is limited by ethical issues as it would endanger peoples' lives.

Manipulating and decoding subjective gaming experience during active gameplay: a multivariate, whole-brain analysis.

A large number of perceptual and cognitive processes are instantiated during active gameplay, culminating in what is termed the overall "gaming experience", which encapsulates multiple, subjective dimensions of how one feels about the game. Although some research has been conducted into the neural mechanisms underlying the gaming experience, previous studies so far have relied on commercial games that provide little control over key aspects of gameplay and also have focused only on a few individual dimensions of the gaming experience. Here, we used a custom-made, immersive driving car game in four different gameplay versions (baseline, obstacle increase, goal decrease, speed increase) to assess and modulate the subjective gameplay experience while participants underwent a fMRI scan.