Brain-computer interface for alertness estimation and improving

Fractal analysis research in psychology is based on the ideas and methods of fractal geometry of B. Mandelbrot. There exist theoretical and empirical reasons for genetic factors serving as a significant source of individual differences in visual perception of fractal stimuli. The present study concerned polymorphisms of MAOA and DRD2 genes, which have been associated with a number of important psychological traits, and possibly influence the peculiar features of visual perception of fractals. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the influence of MAOA and DRD2 genes on individual aesthetic preferences in perception of stimuli with different fractal dimensions. Sample: 124 people, aged 17–32 (M=19, SD=1.45). The method has been developed for the purpose of the study: the subjects ranked 20 flat images of different fractal dimensions (FD between 1.086–1.751) according to their subjective perception of these images’ attractiveness. The genetic analysis revealed carriers of MAOA and DRD2 allele genes that formed different subgroups. Methods of comparing the means: H-Kruskal–Wallis, ANOVA. Statistically significant differences were revealed among groups of respondents (0.006 p 0.050). The results of the study demonstrate the influence of polymorphisms of MAOA and DRD2 genes on aesthetic preferences in perception of visual stimuli with fractal properties.

The processing and perception of visual stimuli are greatly dependent on the context in which those stimuli are presented. While this is not always (and indeed is probably not supposed to be) evident when viewing real-world scenes, the abundance of contextual effects is revealed for example by the vast number of different visual illusions. Context can profoundly change the way the visual system processes single visual stimuli. In contrast masking, surround suppression, and crowding, distracting stimuli impair the observer's ability to detect, identify, and make other judgements about visual stimuli. These perceptual phenomena presumably reflect the operation of neural mechanisms that adjust the operating range of the visual system according to the prevailing conditions, or act to reduce responses to redundant stimulus features. This work first investigates the relationship between masking, which is caused by stimuli that are spatially superimposed on a target stimulus, and surround suppression, which is caused by spatially displaced stimuli. This was done using a temporal masking paradigm and measuring the time-courses of masking and surround suppression. The results reveal how the effects of these suppressive interactions are delicately dependent on stimulus timing and suggest that surround suppression acts extremely fast, having an effect on the early part of the neural response. Finally, contextual effects such as surround suppression and crowding are often considered to be automatic processes that occur over fixed areas in the visual field. The final part of this work shows how changing the spatial layout, and consequently the perceptual organization, of the stimuli can dramatically reduce surround suppression and crowding effects, even in conditions where the current models would predict strong effects. Surround suppression and crowding seem to operate only within perceptually homogeneous areas, while stimuli that are perceptually separate, the ones that stand out, are not affected.

The article proposes an algorithm of a Brain Computer Interface (BCI) for implementation of interaction between a human and a model of an industrial cyberphysical system. The interface facilitates selecting a conceived tool on the basis of the classification of evoked responses of a test person’s encephalogram to visual stimuli (tool images). To conduct the study there has been designed a software system operated with a web-server, a controller, and a user BCI. The cerebral bioelectrical activity of a test person has been constantly registered with the encephalograph produced by LLC MITSAR followed by online signal processing conducted by the designed original software system. The stored evoked responses to stimuli have been classified in a variety of ways — peak-based selection, a support vector machine, and a neural net. There has been proved that accuracy of the classification of evoked potentials both with the help of a neural net and a support vector machine are approximately equal and these algorithms can be implemented in the online mode. Analysis of the experiments performed has shown that the proposed algorithm makes it possible to classify presented visual stimuli in neural interfaces in the online mode. The results show how it is possible to organize a ‘deeply integrated’ interaction between a human and an equipment through an impact of commands based on the processed signals of bioelectrical brain activity of a human on a 3D model of a production site.

Brain Computer Interface (BCI) is useful as an interface to operate a computer and external equipment using brain activities. A Steady-State Visual Evoked Potential (SSVEP) is known as the powerful tool to achieve BCI systems. A user of BCI focuses on the visual stimulus which produces brain activities used as an input of BCI. On the other hand, the user needs to pay own attention to surrounding situation for avoiding accidents. This means that the user should turn own attention to both the environment and the visual stimulus. The practical SSVEP based BCI often places visual stimuli around a fixation point which displays the surrounding situation captured by a camera. In addition, the visual stimulus equipped with moving vehicles has a slight movement due to our body movement and vehicle movement. This fact shows that the visual stimulus is moving at the side of user's vision. However, the relation of a SSVEP and a place and moving of visual stimulus has not been discussed. In this paper, we measure and analyze SSVEP for visual stimulus located on the surrounding area of fixation point, and a moving visual stimulus.

The dynamic clamp technology to implement artificial membrane or synaptic conductances is one of the most successful examples of closed-loop interactions with the nervous system for observation and control purposes (for a review see [1]). We recently proposed a generalization of the dynamic clamp concept to design goal-driven closed-loop interactions with biological systems beyond electrical stimulation and recording in the context of in vitro electrophysiology and animal ethology [2]. Following the same activity-dependent stimulation approach, we designed an assisted closed-loop (ACL) to optimize the efficiency of brain-computer interfaces (BCI) based on steady state visually evoked potentials (SSVEP) [3]. SSVEP based BCIs use multiple visual stimuli such as LEDs or regions on a screen flickering at different frequencies. A subject's brain generates electrical activity at the same fundamental frequency as the visual stimulus on which the subject has focused his/her attention. The ACL consists in the delivery of online information with regard to the control over the given BCI goal both to the human subject and to the system, resulting in an online adaptation of BCI stimuli properties, in this first proof of concept study the combination of the employed flicker frequencies (Figure ​(Figure1).1). The optimization process is realized by first performing a real-time closed-loop search for the best set of stimulation frequencies to achieve the given BCI goal, which informs the system about the most effective flicker frequencies to produce SSVEPs in a given subject. Secondly, a continuous auditory feedback informs the subject about the actual distance to a predefined detection threshold. Figure 1 The assisted closed-loop (ACL) provides online information to the system about the most effective flicker frequencies and to the human subject about the actual distance to the pre-defined SSVEP detection threshold by a continuous auditory feedback (speaker ... Our results show that this shared online information leads to an enhanced BCI efficiency, as compared to classic BCI protocols, by helping them to reach the BCI goal in their interaction. The analysis also shows that the ACL protocol takes into account interindividual variabilities. In particular, baseline resting state EEG measures seem to predict subjects' BCI performances, which indicates that the ACL based BCIs might be expanded to innovative new diagnostic/therapeutic tools for clinical contexts and as new paradigms for basic research. Taking all together, these results illustrate that assisted closed-loop protocols can reveal dynamics otherwise hidden under traditional stimulation techniques, provide control of regular and pathological states, induce learning processes, bridge between distinct levels of analysis and lead to automation of experiments. The proposed approach might have a large impact for applied uses, such as computer control and biomedical or prosthetic uses, but also in novel paradigms for neuroscientific and biomedical research.

ABSTRACT
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\nPutri, Anita Kurnia. 2020. “Analisis Kontrastif Adverbia Tinkatan Penanda Negasi dalam Bahasa Jepang dan Bahasa Jepang”. Thesis, department of Japanese Language and Culture, Faculty of Humanities, Diponegoro University. The Advisor: Lina Rosliana, S.S., M.Hum.
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\nThe problems that will be discussed in this thesis include: 1. What is the structure and meaning of the adverb in the level of negation markers in Japanese sentences? 2. What is the structure and meaning of the adverb at the level of the negation marker in Indonesian sentences? 3. How are the adverbs of the level of negation markers similar and different in Japanese and Indonesian sentences?
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\nMeanwhile, the purpose of this study is to describe the structure and meaning of adverbs in Japanese and Indonesian sentences. After knowing the structure and meaning, we will examine the similarities and differences in the structure and meaning of the adverbial levels of the negation markers of the two languages.
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\nIn analyzing the data, this study used the agih method followed by contrastive techniques. The data were obtained from the Japanese language website and news articles in Indonesian. Then the data is presented in words or descriptive.
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\nBased on the research, the structural similarities are both followed by verbs, adjectives. While the difference, adverbs in Japanese can be followed by phrases or clauses and negative forms, Indonesian adverbial followed by nouns. In meaning, the adverbs of the level of negation markers in Japanese and Indonesian indicates the meaning of the situation, the action is under adequate. And in terms of meaning it has 7 differences.
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\nKeywords : contrastive, adverbs, teido no fukushi
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Physical principles of brain–computer interfaces and their applications for rehabilitation, robotics and control of human brain states

A growing body of evidence indicates that the perception of visual stimuli is altered when they occur near the observer's hands, relative to other locations in space (see Brockmole, Davoli, Abrams, & Witt, 2013, for a review). Several accounts have been offered to explain the pattern of performance across different tasks. These have typically focused on attentional explanations (attentional prioritization and detailed attentional evaluation of stimuli in near-hand space), but more recently, it has been suggested that near-hand space enjoys enhanced magnocellular (M) input. Here we differentiate between the attentional and M-cell accounts, via a task that probes the roles of position consistency and color consistency in determining dynamic object correspondence through occlusion. We found that placing the hands near the visual display made observers use only position consistency, and not color, in determining object correspondence through occlusion, which is consistent with the fact that M cells are relatively insensitive to color. In contrast, placing observers' hands far from the stimuli allowed both color and position contribute. This provides evidence in favor of the M-cell enhancement account of altered vision near the hands.

The perception of visual stimuli has been a major area of inquiry in sensory ecology, and much of this work has focused on coloration. However, for visually oriented organisms, the process of visual motion detection is often equally crucial to survival and reproduction. Despite the importance of motion detection to many organisms' daily activities, the degree of interspecific variation in the perception of visual motion remains largely unexplored. Furthermore, the factors driving this potential variation (e.g., ecology or evolutionary history) along with the effects of such variation on behavior are unknown. We used a behavioral assay under laboratory conditions to quantify the visual motion detection systems of three species of Puerto RicanAnolislizard that prefer distinct structural habitat types. We then compared our results to data previously collected for anoles from Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Central America. Our findings indicate that general visual motion detection parameters are similar across species, regardless of habitat preference or evolutionary history. We argue that these conserved sensory properties may drive the evolution of visual communication behavior in this clade.

A new dual-frequency stimulation method to increase the number of visual stimuli for multi-class SSVEP-based brain–computer interface (BCI)

The research area of “brain control” includes different innovative systems based on brain computer interface (BCI) technology and it is implemented, integrated, studied and tested at universities and research institutes. Using this technology, in this research a complex system has been developed that is suitable to observe EEG signals based on the observation of brain activity, the electric and magnetic signals of neural activity. Furthermore, based on the processing of the measured EEG signals, it is also suitable to implement EEG-based control and testing. Calculating the brain waves of brain activity by using quantitative EEG analysis, the developed test system can control answering and rejecting mobile phone calls. The results of this research can give the basis of helping disabled people or complete limb amputees to establish contacts with others.

Acute cerebrovascular accident (ACVA) is one of the leading causes of morbidity, mortality and disability not only in the Russian Federation, but throughout the world. Various movement disorders often occur after ACVA. Recently, there has been a significant amount of interest in high-tech hardware rehabilitation methods, which can be introduced into standard recovery programs for post-stroke rehabilitation of patients with motor disorders. These methods maximize the neuroplasticity processes, ensure active involvement of patients and high-intensity trainings during various recovery periods, reducing healthcare personnel burdens. Brain-computer neural interfaces for rehabilitation and improving patients’ quality of life is a promising and rapidly developing trend. The paper describes the modern pathophysiological picture of post-stroke motor disorder development, neuroplasticity mechanisms and motor rehabilitation effects. Great attention is paid to brain-computer neural interfaces as a means of patient-hardware communication. Technological devices make such communication possible as they use signals of human brain activity, and the patient receives feedback in the form of visual or tactile information. The paper presents current data on the possibilities of this technology in the post-stroke rehabilitation of patients with motor disorders. The authors describe the results of the studies conducted with the help of brain-computer neural interfaces. The theoretical and clinical efficacy of this technology was determined. Keywords: neuroplasticity, rehabilitation, motor disorders, stroke, brain-computer interface.

An auditory brain–computer interface (BCI)

We present a novel approach for providing people with severe impairment the possibility of collecting feedbacks and communication prompts using a Brain Computer Interface (BCI). In particular we implemented an experimental apparatus, based on MindWave; the latter is a low cost and well known BCI device released by NeuroSky®, based on a dry single electrode and designed for enhancing Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), especially for videogames [8]. Even if BCI is an emerging research area and appears to be still relatively immature, the expected future impact on HCI is really considerable. The experimental apparatus allows users to interact with the computer only through their brain biological signals, without the need for using muscles. The BCI system is based on the Steady—State Visual Evoked Potential (SSVEP). The SSVEP is generated in presence of a repetitive visual stimuli; in our experiment two different visual stimuli are available: when the patient looks at one of the stimuli the SVVEP signal is generated and she/he can express a decision or respond to a question. Even if the experiment has been tested only on a very limited patient set, the results are extremely promising.

Enhancing the Social Impact of Contemporary Music with Neurotechnology