Triboelectric Bending Sensors for AI-Enabled Sign Language Recognition.

Human-machine interfaces and wearable electronics, as fundamentals to achieve human-machine interactions, are becoming increasingly essential in the era of the Internet of Things. However, contemporary wearable sensors based on resistive and capacitive mechanisms demand an external power, impeding them from extensive and diverse deployment. Herein, a smart wearable system is developed encompassing five arch-structured self-powered triboelectric sensors, a five-channel data acquisition unit to collect finger bending signals, and an artificial intelligence (AI) methodology, specifically a long short-term memory (LSTM) network, to recognize signal patterns.

Nighttime color constancy using robust gray pixels.

Color constancy is a basic step for achieving stable color perception in both biological visual systems and the image signal processing (ISP) pipeline of cameras. So far, there have been numerous computational models of color constancy that focus on scenes under normal light conditions but are less concerned with nighttime scenes. Compared with daytime scenes, nighttime scenes usually suffer from relatively higher-level noise and insufficient lighting, which usually degrade the performance of color constancy methods designed for scenes under normal light.

Effect of the Aperiodic Electrical Stimulation on the Visual Cortical Neuronal Response.

In patients with retinal degenerative illnesses such as retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration, retinal prosthesis shows the potential to restore partial vision. The natural stimuli are the aperiodic events distributed across a short time span. However, most studies commonly used periodic stimulation.

Advances in transcorneal electrical stimulation: From the eye to the brain.

The mammalian brain is reported to contain about 10-10 neurons linked together to form complex networks. Physiologically, the neuronal networks interact in a rhythmic oscillatory pattern to coordinate the brain's functions. Neuromodulation covers a broad range of techniques that can alter neuronal network activity through the targeted delivery of electrical or chemical stimuli.

Neuromodulation in the developing visual cortex after long-term monocular deprivation.

Neural dynamics are altered in the primary visual cortex (V1) during critical period monocular deprivation (MD). Synchronization of neural oscillations is pertinent to physiological functioning of the brain. Previous studies have reported chronic disruption of V1 functional properties such as ocular dominance, spatial acuity, and binocular matching after long-term monocular deprivation (LTMD).

Transcorneal electrical stimulation enhances cognitive functions in aged and 5XFAD mouse models.

Dementia is a major burden on global health for which there are no effective treatments. The use of noninvasive visual stimulation to ameliorate cognitive deficits is a novel concept that may be applicable for treating dementia. In this study, we investigated the effects of transcorneal electrical stimulation (TES) on memory enhancement using two mouse models, in aged mice and in the 5XFAD model of Alzheimer's disease.

Neuronal Oscillatory Signatures in the Developing Mouse Visual Cortex After Short-Term Monocular Deprivation.

Development and maturation in cortical networks depend on neuronal activity. For stabilization and pruning of connections, synchronized oscillations play a crucial role. A fundamental mechanism that enables coordinated activity during brain functioning is formed of synchronized neuronal oscillations in low- (delta and theta) and high- (gamma) frequency bands.

Antidepressant-like effects of transcorneal electrical stimulation in rat models.

Background: Given that visual impairment is bi-directionally associated with depression, we examined whether transcorneal electrical stimulation (TES), a non-invasive treatment for visual disorders, can ameliorate depressive symptoms.

Objective: The putative antidepressant-like effects of TES and the underlying mechanisms were investigated in an S334ter-line-3 rat model of retinal degeneration and a rat model of chronic unpredictable stress (CUS).

Methods: TES was administered daily for 1 week in S334ter-line-3 and CUS rats.

Transcorneal Electrical Stimulation Induces Long-Lasting Enhancement of Brain Functional and Directional Connectivity in Retinal Degeneration Mice.

To investigate neuromodulation of functional and directional connectivity features in both visual and non-visual brain cortices after short-term and long-term retinal electrical stimulation in retinal degeneration mice. We performed spontaneous electrocorticography (ECoG) in retinal degeneration (rd) mice following prolonged transcorneal electrical stimulation (pTES) at varying currents (400, 500 and 600 μA) and different time points (transient or day 1 post-stimulation, 1-week post-stimulation and 2-weeks post-stimulation). We also set up a sham control group of rd mice which did not receive any electrical stimulation.

Phase-amplitude modulation during critical period plasticity in mouse visual cortex.

Much of our understanding of experience-dependent plasticity originates from the level of single cells and synapses through the well-established techniques of whole-cell recording and calcium imaging. The study of cortical plasticity of neural oscillatory networks remains largely unexplored. Cross-frequency coupling has become an emerging tool to study the underlying mechanisms for synchronization and interaction between local and global processes of cortical networks.

Monitoring Cortical Response and Electrode-Retina Impedance Under Epiretinal Stimulation in Rats.

Retinal prosthesis can restore partial vision in patients with retinal degenerative diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration. Epiretinal prosthesis is one of three therapeutic approaches, which received regulatory approval several years ago. The thresholds of an epiretinal stimulation is partly determined by the size of the physical gap between the electrode and the retina after implantation.

Excitation of the Pre-frontal and Primary Visual Cortex in Response to Transcorneal Electrical Stimulation in Retinal Degeneration Mice.

Retinal degeneration (rd) is one of the leading causes of blindness in the modern world today. Various strategies including electrical stimulation are being researched for the restoration of partial or complete vision. Previous studies have demonstrated that the effectiveness of electrical stimulation in somatosensory, frontal and visual cortices is dependent on stimulation parameters including stimulation frequency and brain states.

Residual contrast response in primary visual cortex of rats with inherited retinal degeneration.

Rhodopsin S334ter-3 retinal degeneration rats have been widely used to investigate degenerative diseases of the retina. In this model, morphological and electrophysiological changes have been observed in the retina, superior colliculus and primary visual cortex (V1). However, no study so far has examined rhodopsin S334ter-3 rats with regards to their contrast response in V1 - a fundamental property of visual information processing.

Penetrating the Blood-Brain Barrier by Self-Assembled 3D DNA Nanocages as Drug Delivery Vehicles for Brain Cancer Therapy.

The development of biocompatible drug delivery vehicles for cancer therapy in the brain remains a big challenge. In this study, we designed self-assembled DNA nanocages functionalized with or without blood-brain barrier (BBB)-targeting ligands, d and we investigated their penetration across the BBB. Our DNA nanocages were not cytotoxic and they were substantially taken up in brain capillary endothelial cells and Uppsala 87 malignant glioma (U-87 MG) cells.

Monocular Visual Deprivation and Ocular Dominance Plasticity Measurement in the Mouse Primary Visual Cortex.

Monocular visual deprivation is an excellent experimental paradigm to induce primary visual cortical response plasticity. In general, the response of the cortex to the contralateral eye to a stimulus is much stronger than the response of the ipsilateral eye in the binocular segment of the mouse primary visual cortex (V1). During the mammalian critical period, suturing the contralateral eye will result in a rapid loss of responsiveness of V1 cells to contralateral eye stimulation.

Responsive Neural Activities in the Primary Visual Cortex of Retina-Degenerated Rats.

To study the responsive neural activities in the primary visual cortex (V1) of retinal degeneration (RD) models, experiments involving the wild-type (WT) and RD rats were conducted. The neural responses in the V1 were recorded extracellularly, while a visual stimulus with varied light intensity was given to the subjects. First, the firing rate and its relationship with light intensity were compared between the WT and RD groups.

Temporal Neuromodulation of Retinal Ganglion Cells by Low-Frequency Focused Ultrasound Stimulation.

Significant progress has been made recently in treating neurological blindness using implantable visual prostheses. However, implantable medical devices are highly invasive and subject to many safety, efficacy, and cost issues. The discovery that ultrasound (US) may be useful as a noninvasive neuromodulation tool has aroused great interest in the field of acoustic retinal prostheses (ARPs).

Neural Probes with Integrated Temperature Sensors for Monitoring Retina and Brain Implantation and Stimulation.

Gold (Au) resistive temperature sensors were integrated on flexible polyimide-based neural probes to monitor temperature changes during neural probe implantation and stimulation. Temperature changes were measured as neural probes were implanted to infer the positions of the neural probes, and as the retina or the deep brain region was stimulated electrically. The temperature sensor consisted of a serpentine Au resistor and surrounded by four Au electrodes with 200 and [Formula: see text] diameter (dia.

Simulation Study of an Ultrasound Retinal Prosthesis With a Novel Contact-Lens Array for Noninvasive Retinal Stimulation.

Millions of people around the world suffer from varying degrees of vision loss (including complete blindness) because of retinal degenerative diseases. Artificial retinal prosthesis, which is usually based on electrical neurostimulation, is the most advanced technology for different types of retinal degeneration. However, this technology involves placing a device into the eyeball, and such a highly invasive procedure is inevitably highly risk and expensive.

Acute Exposure to Pacific Ciguatoxin Reduces Electroencephalogram Activity and Disrupts Neurotransmitter Metabolic Pathways in Motor Cortex.

Ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) is a common human food poisoning caused by consumption of ciguatoxin (CTX)-contaminated fish affecting over 50,000 people worldwide each year. CTXs are classified depending on their origin from the Pacific (P-CTXs), Indian Ocean (I-CTXs), and Caribbean (C-CTXs). P-CTX-1 is the most toxic CTX known and the major source of CFP causing an array of neurological symptoms.

Electrophysiology Alterations in Primary Visual Cortex Neurons of Retinal Degeneration (S334ter-line-3) Rats.

The dynamic nature of the brain is critical for the success of treatments aimed at restoring vision at the retinal level. The success of these treatments relies highly on the functionality of the surviving neurons along the entire visual pathway. Electrophysiological properties at the retina level have been investigated during the progression of retinal degeneration; however, little is known about the changes in electrophysiological properties that occur in the primary visual cortex (V1) during the course of retinal degeneration.