A multimodal dataset for authoring and editing multimedia content: The MAMEM project.

We present a dataset that combines multimodal biosignals and eye tracking information gathered under a human-computer interaction framework. The dataset was developed in the vein of the MAMEM project that aims to endow people with motor disabilities with the ability to edit and author multimedia content through mental commands and gaze activity. The dataset includes EEG, eye-tracking, and physiological (GSR and Heart rate) signals collected from 34 individuals (18 able-bodied and 16 motor-impaired).

Causal analysis of cortical networks involved in reaching to spatial targets.

The planning of goal-directed movement towards targets in different parts of space is an important function of the brain. Such visuo-motor planning and execution is known to involve multiple brain regions, including visual, parietal, and frontal cortices. To understand how these brain regions work together to both plan and execute goal-directed movement, it is essential to describe the dynamic causal interactions among them.

Neurocognitive stages of spatial cognitive mapping measured during free exploration of a large-scale virtual environment.

Using a novel, fully mobile virtual reality paradigm, we investigated the EEG correlates of spatial representations formed during unsupervised exploration. On day 1, subjects implicitly learned the location of 39 objects by exploring a room and popping bubbles that hid the objects. On day 2, they again popped bubbles in the same environment.

Resting-state fMRI activity predicts unsupervised learning and memory in an immersive virtual reality environment.

In the real world, learning often proceeds in an unsupervised manner without explicit instructions or feedback. In this study, we employed an experimental paradigm in which subjects explored an immersive virtual reality environment on each of two days. On day 1, subjects implicitly learned the location of 39 objects in an unsupervised fashion.

EEG gamma band oscillations differentiate the planning of spatially directed movements of the arm versus eye: multivariate empirical mode decomposition analysis.

The neural dynamics underlying the coordination of spatially-directed limb and eye movements in humans is not well understood. Part of the difficulty has been a lack of signal processing tools suitable for the analysis of nonstationary electroencephalographic (EEG) signals. Here, we use multivariate empirical mode decomposition (MEMD), a data-driven approach that does not employ predefined basis functions.

EEG activity during movement planning encodes upcoming peak speed and acceleration and improves the accuracy in predicting hand kinematics.

The relationship between movement kinematics and human brain activity is an important and fundamental question for the development of neural prosthesis. The peak velocity and the peak acceleration could best reflect the feedforward-type movement; thus, it is worthwhile to investigate them further. Most related studies focused on the correlation between kinematics and brain activity during the movement execution or imagery.

NAD(P)H-independent asymmetric C=C bond reduction catalyzed by ene reductases by using artificial co-substrates as the hydrogen donor.

To develop a nicotinamide-independent single flavoenzyme system for the asymmetric bioreduction of C=C bonds, four types of hydrogen donor, encompassing more than 50 candidates, were investigated. Six highly potent, cheap, and commercially available co-substrates were identified that (under the optimized conditions) resulted in conversions and enantioselectivities comparable with, or even superior to, those obtained with traditional two-enzyme nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAD(P)H)-recycling systems.

EEG theta and Mu oscillations during perception of human and robot actions.

The perception of others' actions supports important skills such as communication, intention understanding, and empathy. Are mechanisms of action processing in the human brain specifically tuned to process biological agents? Humanoid robots can perform recognizable actions, but can look and move differently from humans, and as such, can be used in experiments to address such questions. Here, we recorded EEG as participants viewed actions performed by three agents.

Simultaneous neural and movement recording in large-scale immersive virtual environments.

Virtual reality (VR) allows precise control and manipulation of rich, dynamic stimuli that, when coupled with on-line motion capture and neural monitoring, can provide a powerful means both of understanding brain behavioral relations in the high dimensional world and of assessing and treating a variety of neural disorders. Here we present a system that combines state-of-the-art, fully immersive, 3D, multi-modal VR with temporally aligned electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings. The VR system is dynamic and interactive across visual, auditory, and haptic interactions, providing sight, sound, touch, and force.

Dopamine function and the efficiency of human movement.

To sustain successful behavior in dynamic environments, active organisms must be able to learn from the consequences of their actions and predict action outcomes. One of the most important discoveries in systems neuroscience over the last 15 years has been about the key role of the neurotransmitter dopamine in mediating such active behavior. Dopamine cell firing was found to encode differences between the expected and obtained outcomes of actions.

The role of proprioceptive feedback in Parkinsonian resting tremor.

In this paper we use a closed-loop force feedback system to investigate the effect of altering proprioceptive feedback on EEG and resting tremor in Parkinson's Disease. A velocity dependent counterforce simulating viscous friction was provided by haptic robots with simultaneous recording of kinematics, EMG and EEG while a patient was on and off dopaminergic medication' We were able to reduce the amplitude of the tremor. We also showed that force feedback shifts the center of EEG-EMG coherence posteriorly toward the somatosensory regions, which may have ramifications for noninvasive therapies.

Human cortical θ during free exploration encodes space and predicts subsequent memory.

Spatial representations and walking speed in rodents are consistently related to the phase, frequency, and/or amplitude of θ rhythms in hippocampal local field potentials. However, neuropsychological studies in humans have emphasized the importance of parietal cortex for spatial navigation, and efforts to identify the electrophysiological signs of spatial navigation in humans have been stymied by the difficulty of recording during free exploration of complex environments. We resolved the recording problem and experimentally probed brain activity of human participants who were fully ambulant.

Adaptation of a haptic robot in a 3T fMRI.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) provides excellent functional brain imaging via the BOLD signal with advantages including non-ionizing radiation, millimeter spatial accuracy of anatomical and functional data, and nearly real-time analyses. Haptic robots provide precise measurement and control of position and force of a cursor in a reasonably confined space. Here we combine these two technologies to allow precision experiments involving motor control with haptic/tactile environment interaction such as reaching or grasping.