Improving P300 Spelling Rate using Language Models and Predictive Spelling.

The P300 Speller Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) provides a means of communication for those suffering from advanced neuromuscular diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Recent literature has incorporated language-based modelling, which uses previously chosen characters and the structure of natural language to modify the interface and classifier. Two complementary methods of incorporating language models have previously been independently studied: predictive spelling uses language models to generate suggestions of complete words to allow for the selection of multiple characters simultaneously, and language model-based classifiers have used prior characters to create a prior probability distribution over the characters based on how likely they are to follow.

Changes in subjective experience elicited by direct stimulation of the human orbitofrontal cortex.

Objective: We applied direct cortical stimulation (DCS) to the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) in neurosurgical patients implanted with intracranial electrodes to probe, with high anatomic precision, the causal link between the OFC and human subjective experience.

Methods: We administered 272 instances of DCS at 172 OFC sites in 22 patients with intractable focal epilepsy (from 2011 to 2017), none of whom had seizures originating from the OFC.

Results: Our observations revealed a rich variety of affective, olfactory, gustatory, and somatosensory changes in the subjective domain.

The macula densa prorenin receptor is essential in renin release and blood pressure control.

The prorenin receptor (PRR) was originally proposed to be a member of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS); however, recent work questioned their association. The present paper describes a functional link between the PRR and RAS in the renal juxtaglomerular apparatus (JGA), a classic anatomical site of the RAS. PRR expression was found in the sensory cells of the JGA, the macula densa (MD), and immunohistochemistry-localized PRR to the MD basolateral cell membrane in mouse, rat, and human kidneys.

Morphological Spectra of Adult Human Stellate Ganglia: Implications for Thoracic Sympathetic Denervation.

Cardiac sympathetic denervation (CSD) to treat ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) requires transection at the middle or lower third of stellate (cervicothoracic) ganglia (SG). However, the morphological appearance of the adult SG and distribution of neuronal somata within it are not well described. To determine the morphology of left and right SG (LSG and RSG) and the distribution of somata within.

Online BCI Typing using Language Model Classifiers by ALS Patients in their Homes.

The P300 speller is a common brain-computer interface system that can provide a means of communication for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Recent studies have shown that incorporating language information in signal classification can improve system performance, but they have largely been tested on healthy volunteers in a laboratory setting. The goal of this study was to demonstrate the functionality of the P300 speller system with language models when used by ALS patients in their homes.