Mental rotation ability and spontaneous brain activity: a magnetoencephalography study.

We performed experiments using magnetoencephalography to clarify the relationship between three-dimensional visuospatial abilities and spontaneous visual thinking characteristics. Subjects were divided into two groups based on the rate of correct answers to mental rotation tasks: those with good performances (Group G) and those with bad performances (Group B). We found the followings: (1) in the mental rotation tasks, the 25-35 Hz lower γ band activities in the superior parietal lobule/intraparietal sulcus regions and in the occipitotemporal region were significantly larger in Group G than in Group B and (2) in the spontaneous mental imagery tasks, the 20-Hz band activity in the left premotor cortex and the 35-Hz band activity in the supplementary motor area were significantly larger in Group G.

Preference for Dynamic Human Images and Gaze-Following Abilities in Preterm Infants at 6 and 12 Months of Age: An Eye-Tracking Study.

Preterm children are reported to be at higher risk of social communication problems such as autism spectrum disorder compared with full-term infants. Although previous studies have suggested that preference for social stimuli in infancy is a possible indicator of later social communication development, little is known about this relation in preterm infants. We examined the gaze behavior of low-risk preterm and full-term infants at 6 and 12 months' corrected ages using two types of eye-tracking tasks, which measured 1) preference for social stimuli by biological motion and human geometric preference and 2) ability to follow another's gaze direction.

Dynamic interactions of the cortical networks during thought suppression.

Objectives: Thought suppression has spurred extensive research in clinical and preclinical fields, particularly with regard to the paradoxical aspects of this behavior. However, the involvement of the brain's inhibitory system in the dynamics underlying the continuous effort to suppress thoughts has yet to be clarified. This study aims to provide a unified perspective for the volitional suppression of internal events incorporating the current understanding of the brain's inhibitory system.

Brain activities of visual thinkers and verbal thinkers: A MEG study.

In this study we measured activation patterns in the primary visual cortex and the frontal language areas and compared them in individuals with strong and weak capacities to mentally visualize information during spontaneous thinking. Subjects were first administered a 5-item questionnaire to assess their ability to create mental pictures, and were divided into two groups (strong and weak visualizers) on this basis. They then performed tasks requiring visual imagery and verbal recollection, and their local neural activities were measured, using magnetoencephalography (MEG).