Semi-automatic annotation of eye-tracking recordings in terms of human torso, face and hands

status: publishe

Gazing at the partner in musical trios: a mobile eye-tracking study

Few investigations into the nonverbal communication in ensemble playing have focused on gaze behaviour up to now. In this study, the gaze behaviour of musicians playing in trios was recorded using the recently developed technique of mobile eye-tracking. Four trios (clarinet, violin, piano) were recorded while rehearsing and while playing several runs through the same musical fragment. The current article reports on an initial exploration of the data in which we describe how often gazing at the partner occurred. On the one hand, we aim to identify possible contrasting cases. On the other, we look for tendencies across the run-throughs. We discuss the quantified gaze behaviour in relation to the existing literature and the current research design

Sustained synchronized neuronal network activity in a human astrocyte co-culture system

Impaired neuronal network function is a hallmark of neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders such as autism, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's disease and is typically studied using genetically modified cellular and animal models. Weak predictive capacity and poor translational value of these models urge for better human derived in vitro models. The implementation of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) allows studying pathologies in differentiated disease-relevant and patient-derived neuronal cells. However, the differentiation process and growth conditions of hiPSC-derived neurons are non-trivial. In order to study neuronal network formation and (mal) function in a fully humanized system, we have established an in vitro co-culture model of hiPSC-derived cortical neurons and human primary astrocytes that recapitulates neuronal network synchronization and connectivity within three to four weeks after final plating. Live cell calcium imaging, electrophysiology and high content image analyses revealed an increased maturation of network functionality and synchronicity over time for co-cultures compared to neuronal monocultures. The cells express GABAergic and glutamatergic markers and respond to inhibitors of both neurotransmitter pathways in a functional assay. The combination of this co-culture model with quantitative imaging of network morphofunction is amenable to high throughput screening for lead discovery and drug optimization for neurological diseases

« Ce n’est pas très beau ce que vous avez dit ! » The activation of resonance in French parliamentary debates

Speakers who engage in the joint activity of a conversation tend to align their utterances with those of their interlocutors by reusing, reinterpreting, hence playing with co-present linguistic material. One dimension of alignment is the activation of resonance, as recently developed within the model of ‘dialogic syntax’ (Du Bois, 2001). When speakers establish cross-turn parallelisms in the form of structural mapping relations, they engage with the form of other speakers’ utterances and activate resonance. The present paper focuses on resonance activation in one particular discourse genre: dialogic sequences evolving around interruptive comments in French parliamentary debates. In line with recent observations within the cognitive-functional context of dialogic syntax (Du Bois, 2001; Sakita, 2006; Zima et al, submitted) and psycholinguistic research on interactive alignment (Pickering & Garrod, 2004, 2006), we demonstrate that resonance can be activated both through explicit repetition of linguistic form and implicit echoing of semantic-pragmatic meaning. With regard to the specific discourse genre of parliamentary debates, we argue that parallelisms at all levels of linguistic organization are witti(ng)ly exploited to serve dissociative pragmatic purposes whereby socio-political positions and power relations are negotiated.      Les locuteurs engagés dans la coordination de l’interaction ont tendance à aligner leurs énoncés en (ré)utilisant ou en réinterprétant ludiquement les matériaux linguistiques introduits par leurs interlocuteurs. Une dimension de l’alignement concerne l’activation de la résonance, concept développé récemment en ‘syntaxe dialogique’ (Du Bois, 2001). Le concept en question réfère à l’effet évoqué entre tours alternatifs par l’établissement de parallélismes sous forme de relations de projection structurelles dans un setting dialogique. La présente contribution se concentre sur la résonance dans un genre discursif particulier: les séquences dialogiques comprenant des les commentaires interruptifs dans les débats parlementaires français. Conformément aux observations récentes dans le contexte cognitivo-fonctionnel de la syntaxe dialogique (Du Bois, 2001; Sakita, 2006; Zima et al., sous presse) et à la recherche psycholinguistique sur l’alignement interactif (Pickering & Garrod, 2004, 2006), nous démontrons que les relations structurelles entre éléments comparables peuvent s’établir et interagir au niveau de la syntaxe, du lexique, de la morphologie, comme sur le plan de la prosodie. Nous montrons en outre que les effets de résonance ne sont pas limités aux parallélismes formels mais sont potentiellement activés par la répétition implicite de segments aux niveaux sémantique ou pragmatique. En ce qui concerne le genre spécifique du débat parlementaire, nous avancerons l’idée que les parallélismes à tous les niveaux d’organisation sont finement exploités en vue d’une série d’objectifs pragmatiques par lesquels sont négociées positions politiques et relations de pouvoir