A cynomolgus monkey urinary tract infection model confirms efficacy of new FimH vaccine candidates.

The increase in urinary tract infections (UTI) caused by antibiotic-resistant requires the development of new therapeutic agents and prophylactic vaccines. To evaluate the efficacy of new lead candidates, we implemented a cynomolgus macaque UTI challenge model that mimics human uncomplicated cystitis in response to transurethral challenge with a multidrug-resistant (MDR) serotype O25b ST131 isolate. fimbrial adhesin FimH and O-antigens are separately under clinical evaluation by others as vaccine candidates to prevent UTI and invasive urosepsis disease, respectively.

Individual differences in everyday multitasking behavior and its relation to cognition and personality.

Our ability to multitask-focus on multiple tasks simultaneously-is one of the most critical functions of our cognitive system. This capability has shown to have relations to cognition and personality in empirical studies, which have received much attention recently. This review article integrates the available findings to examine how individual differences in multitasking behavior are linked with different cognitive constructs and personality traits to conceptualize what multitasking behavior represents.

Transfer of Tactile Learning from Trained to Untrained Body Parts Supported by Cortical Coactivation in Primary Somatosensory Cortex.

A pioneering study by Volkmann (1858) revealed that training on a tactile discrimination task improved task performance, indicative of tactile learning, and that such tactile learning transferred from trained to untrained body parts. However, the neural mechanisms underlying tactile learning and transfer of tactile learning have remained unclear. We trained groups of human subjects (female and male) in daily sessions on a tactile discrimination task either by stimulating the palm of the right hand or the sole of the right foot.

Heading for Personalized rTMS in Tinnitus: Reliability of Individualized Stimulation Protocols in Behavioral and Electrophysiological Responses.

Background: Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation tool potentially modulating pathological brain activity. Its clinical effectiveness is hampered by varying results and characterized by inter-individual variability in treatment responses. RTMS individualization might constitute a useful strategy to overcome this variability.

Gray Bananas and a Red Letter A - From Synesthetic Sensation to Memory Colors.

Grapheme-color synesthesia is a condition in which objectively achromatic graphemes induce concurrent color experiences. While it was long thought that the colors emerge during perception, there is growing support for the view that colors are integral to synesthetes' cognitive representations of graphemes. In this work, we review evidence for two opposing theories positing either a perceptual or cognitive origin of concurrent colors: the cross-activation theory and the conceptual-mediation model.

Neural dynamics of breaking continuous flash suppression.

Sensory input to the human visual system often becomes accessible to cognition and overt report during processing. We investigated neural precursors of conscious vision using EEG recordings and the popular breaking continuous flash suppression (bCFS) paradigm. In this technique, a mask consisting of high-contrast dynamic patterns is presented to one eye, predominating over a target stimulus presented to the other eye.

Time-based expectations entail preparatory motor activity.

Human behavior is guided by expectations that facilitate perception of upcoming events or reaction to them. In natural settings expectations are often implicitly based on time, e.g.

Do graphemes attract spatial attention in grapheme-color synesthesia?

Grapheme-color synesthetes perceive concurrent colors for some objectively achromatic graphemes (inducers). Using oscillatory responses in the electroencephalogram, we tested the hypothesis that inducers automatically attract spatial attention and, thus, favor a conscious experience of color. Achromatic inducers and real-colored non-inducers were presented to the left or to the right visual hemifield and orientation judgments were required for subsequently presented Gabor patches.

Spatial Mnemonic Encoding: Theta Power Decreases and Medial Temporal Lobe BOLD Increases Co-Occur during the Usage of the Method of Loci.

The method of loci is one, if not the most, efficient mnemonic encoding strategy. This spatial mnemonic combines the core cognitive processes commonly linked to medial temporal lobe (MTL) activity: spatial and associative memory processes. During such processes, fMRI studies consistently demonstrate MTL activity, while electrophysiological studies have emphasized the important role of theta oscillations (3-8 Hz) in the MTL.

Combined EMD-sLORETA Analysis of EEG Data Collected during a Contour Integration Task.

Lately, Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD) techniques receive growing interest in biomedical data analysis. Event-Related Modes (ERMs) represent features extracted by an EEMD from electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings. We present a new approach for source localization of EEG data based on combining ERMs with inverse models.

Probing the causal role of prestimulus interregional synchrony for perceptual integration via tACS.

The phase of prestimulus oscillations at 7-10 Hz has been shown to modulate perception of briefly presented visual stimuli. Specifically, a recent combined EEG-fMRI study suggested that a prestimulus oscillation at around 7 Hz represents open and closed windows for perceptual integration by modulating connectivity between lower order occipital and higher order parietal brain regions. We here utilized brief event-related transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) to specifically modulate this prestimulus 7 Hz oscillation, and the synchrony between parietal and occipital brain regions.

Spurious correlations in simultaneous EEG-fMRI driven by in-scanner movement.

Simultaneous EEG-fMRI provides an increasingly attractive research tool to investigate cognitive processes with high temporal and spatial resolution. However, artifacts in EEG data introduced by the MR scanner still remain a major obstacle. This study, employing commonly used artifact correction steps, shows that head motion, one overlooked major source of artifacts in EEG-fMRI data, can cause plausible EEG effects and EEG-BOLD correlations.

Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition Analysis of EEG Data Collected during a Contour Integration Task.

We discuss a data-driven analysis of EEG data recorded during a combined EEG/fMRI study of visual processing during a contour integration task. The analysis is based on an ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) and discusses characteristic features of event related modes (ERMs) resulting from the decomposition. We identify clear differences in certain ERMs in response to contour vs noncontour Gabor stimuli mainly for response amplitudes peaking around 100 [ms] (called P100) and 200 [ms] (called N200) after stimulus onset, respectively.

Electrophysiological correlates of voice learning and recognition.

Listeners can recognize familiar human voices from variable utterances, suggesting the acquisition of speech-invariant voice representations during familiarization. However, the neurocognitive mechanisms mediating learning and recognition of voices from natural speech are currently unknown. Using electrophysiology, we investigated how representations are formed during intentional learning of initially unfamiliar voices that were later recognized among novel voices.

Brain networks supporting perceptual grouping and contour selection.

The human visual system groups local elements into global objects seemingly without effort. Using a contour integration task and EEG source level analyses, we tested the hypothesis that perceptual grouping requires a top-down selection, rather than a passive pooling, of neural information that codes local elements in the visual image. The participants were presented visual displays with or without a hidden contour.

Right-hemisphere specialization for contour grouping.

Previous studies often revealed a right-hemisphere specialization for processing the global level of compound visual stimuli. Here we explore whether a similar specialization exists for the detection of intersected contours defined by a chain of local elements. Subjects were presented with arrays of randomly oriented Gabor patches that could contain a global path of collinearly arranged elements in the left or in the right visual hemifield.

Prestimulus oscillatory phase at 7 Hz gates cortical information flow and visual perception.

Although we have the impression that visual information flows continuously from our sensory channels, recent studies indicate that this is likely not the case. Rather, we sample visual stimuli rhythmically, oscillating at 5-10 Hz. Electroencephalography (EEG) studies have demonstrated that this rhythmicity is reflected by the phase of ongoing brain oscillations in the same frequency.

Electrophysiological correlates of visual adaptation and sensory competition.

The face-sensitive evoked N170 component of the event related potential (ERP) is reduced if another face is presented before when compared to the previous presentation of a low-level control stimulus (phase-scrambled face). This effect is thought to reflect category-specific adaptation processes. Similarly, presenting two faces concurrently also reduces the N170, suggesting that stimuli compete for neural representations in the occipito-temporal cortex as early as 170 ms.

Short- and long-range neural synchrony in grapheme-color synesthesia.

Grapheme-color synesthesia is a perceptual phenomenon where single graphemes (e.g., the letter "E") induce simultaneous sensations of colors (e.

Top-down control in contour grouping.

Human observers tend to group oriented line segments into full contours if they follow the Gestalt rule of 'good continuation'. It is commonly assumed that contour grouping emerges automatically in early visual cortex. In contrast, recent work in animal models suggests that contour grouping requires learning and thus involves top-down control from higher brain structures.

Neural mechanisms of selective exposure: an EEG study on the processing of decision-consistent and inconsistent information.

Decision makers tend to prefer decision-consistent information and/or neglect decision-inconsistent information (selective exposure). In the present EEG study the neural mechanisms of the classic selective exposure effect were examined by investigating oscillatory brain responses to consistent vs. inconsistent information.

Prefrontally driven downregulation of neural synchrony mediates goal-directed forgetting.

Neural synchronization between distant cell assemblies is crucial for the formation of new memories. To date, however, it remains unclear whether higher-order brain regions can adaptively regulate neural synchrony to control memory processing in humans. We explored this question in two experiments using a voluntary forgetting task.

Paired associative stimulation of the auditory system: a proof-of-principle study.

Background: Paired associative stimulation (PAS) consisting of repeated application of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) pulses and contingent exteroceptive stimuli has been shown to induce neuroplastic effects in the motor and somatosensory system. The objective was to investigate whether the auditory system can be modulated by PAS.

Methods: Acoustic stimuli (4 kHz) were paired with TMS of the auditory cortex with intervals of either 45 ms (PAS(45 ms)) or 10 ms (PAS(10 ms)).