Increased motor cortex excitability during motor imagery in brain-computer interface trained subjects

Background: Motor imagery (MI) is the mental performance of movement without muscle activity. It is generally accepted that MI and motor performance have similar physiological mechanisms. Purpose: To investigate the activity and excitability of cortical motor areas during MI in subjects who were previously trained with an MI-based brain-computer interface (BCI). Subjects and Methods: Eleven healthy volunteers without neurological impairments (mean age, 36 years; range: 24–68 years) were either trained with an MI-based BCI (BCI-trained, n = 5) or received no BCI training (n = 6, controls). Subjects imagined grasping in a blocked paradigm task with alternating rest and task periods. For evaluating the activity and excitability of cortical motor areas we used functional MRI and navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (nTMS). Results: fMRI revealed activation in Brodmann areas 3 and 6, the cerebellum, and the thalamus during MI in all subjects. The primary motor cortex was activated only in BCI-trained subjects. The associative zones of activation were larger in non-trained subjects. During MI, motor evoked potentials recorded from two of the three targeted muscles were significantly higher only in BCI-trained subjects. The motor threshold decreased (median = 17%) during MI, which was also observed only in BCI-trained subjects. Conclusion: Previous BCI training increased motor cortex excitability during MI. These data may help to improve BCI applications, including rehabilitation of patients with cerebral palsy.Web of Science7art. no. 0016

Physics of the interior of a black hole with an exotic scalar matter

We use a numerical code to consider the nonlinear processes arising when a Reissner-Nordstrom black hole is irradiated by an exotic scalar field (modelled as a free massless scalar field with an opposite sign for its energy-momentum tensor). These processes are quite different from the processes arising in the case of the same black hole being irradiated by a pulse of a normal scalar field. In our case, we did not observe the creation of a spacelike strong singularity in the T-region of the space-time. We investigate the antifocusing effects in the gravity field of the exotic scalar field with the negative energy density and the evolution of the mass function. We demonstrate the process of vanishing of the black hole when it is irradiated by a strong pulse of an exotic scalar field.Comment: 16 pages, 16 figures. Text has been rewritten and restructured, Penrose diagrams have been added, appendix with convergence tests has been added. Co-author has been added. Conclusions are unchange

Spherically Symmetric and Rotating Wormholes Produced by Lightlike Branes

Lightlike p-branes (LL-branes) with dynamical (variable) tension allow simple and elegant Polyakov-type and dual to it Nambu-Goto-like world-volume action formulations. Here we first briefly describe the dynamics of LL-branes as test objects in various physically interesting gravitational backgrounds of black hole type, including rotating ones. Next we show that LL-branes are the appropriate gravitational sources that provide proper matter energy momentum tensors in the Einstein equations of motion needed to generate traversable wormhole solutions, in particular, self-consistent cylindrical rotating wormholes, with the LL-branes occupying their throats. Here a major role is being played by the dynamical LL-brane tension which turns out to be negative but may be of arbitrary small magnitude. As a particular solution we obtain traversable wormhole with Schwarzschild geometry generated by a LL-brane positioned at the wormhole throat, which represents the correct consistent realization of the original Einstein-Rosen "bridge" manifold.Comment: 27 pages; important clarifications regarding the meaning of the original Einstein-Rosen "bridge" construction; an important addition to the Appendix; acknowledgments adde

Fractal Scales in a Schwarzschild Atmosphere

Recently, Glass and Krisch have extended the Vaidya radiating metric to include both a radiation fluid and a string fluid [1999 Class. Quantum Grav. vol 16, 1175]. Mass diffusion in the extended Schwarzschild atmosphere was studied. The continuous solutions of classical diffusive transport are believed to describe the envelope of underlying fractal behavior. In this work we examine the classical picture at scales on which fractal behavior might be evident.Comment: to appear in Class. Quantum Gra

Russian-German collaboration in the arctic environmental research

The overview of the 20-years joint Russian-German multidisciplinary researches in the Arctic are represented in this article. Data were obtained during numerous marine and terrestrial expeditions, all-year-round measurements and observations. On the basis of modern research methods including satellite observation, radiocarbon (AMS 14C) dating of the Arctic sea sediments, isotope, biochemical and other methods, the new unique records were obtained. Special emphasis devoted to the latest data concerning modern sea-ice, ocean and sedimentation processes, evolution of the permafrost and paleoenvironments in the Laptev Sea System

Statistical Properties and Predictability of Extreme Epileptic Events

The use of extreme events theory for the analysis of spontaneous epileptic brain activity is a relevant multidisciplinary problem. It allows deeper understanding of pathological brain functioning and unraveling mechanisms underlying the epileptic seizure emergence along with its predictability. The latter is a desired goal in epileptology which might open the way for new therapies to control and prevent epileptic attacks. With this goal in mind, we applied the extreme event theory for studying statistical properties of electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings of WAG/Rij rats with genetic predisposition to absence epilepsy. Our approach allowed us to reveal extreme events inherent in this pathological spiking activity, highly pronounced in a particular frequency range. The return interval analysis showed that the epileptic seizures exhibit a highly-structural behavior during the active phase of the spiking activity. Obtained results evidenced a possibility for early (up to 7 s) prediction of epileptic seizures based on consideration of EEG statistical properties

Electrical, Hemodynamic, and Motor Activity in BCI Post-stroke Rehabilitation: Clinical Case Study

The goal of the paper is to present an example of integrated analysis of electrical, hemodynamic, and motor activity accompanying the motor function recovery in a post-stroke patient having an extensive cortical lesion. The patient underwent a course of neurorehabilitation assisted with the hand exoskeleton controlled by brain-computer interface based on kinesthetic motor imagery. The BCI classifier was based on discriminating covariance matrices of EEG corresponding to motor imagery. The clinical data from three successive 2 weeks hospitalizations with 4 and 8 month intervals, respectively were under analysis. The rehabilitation outcome was measured by Fugl-Meyer scale and biomechanical analysis. Both measures indicate prominent improvement of the motor function of the paretic arm after each hospitalization. The analysis of brain activity resulted in three main findings. First, the sources of EEG activity in the intact brain areas, most specific to motor imagery, were similar to the patterns we observed earlier in both healthy subjects and post-stroke patients with mild subcortical lesions. Second, two sources of task-specific activity were localized in primary somatosensory areas near the lesion edge. The sources exhibit independent mu-rhythm activity with the peak frequency significantly lower than that of mu-rhythm in healthy subjects. The peculiarities of the detected source activity underlie changes in EEG covariance matrices during motor imagery, thus serving as the BCI biomarkers. Third, the fMRI data processing showed significant reduction in size of areas activated during the paretic hand movement imagery and increase for those activated during the intact hand movement imagery, shifting the activations to the same level. This might be regarded as the general index of the motor recovery. We conclude that the integrated analysis of EEG, fMRI, and motor activity allows to account for the reorganization of different levels of the motor system and to provide a comprehensive basis for adequate assessment of the BCI+ exoskeleton rehabilitation efficiency

Towards a Stringy Resolution of the Cosmological Singularity

We study cosmological solutions to the low-energy effective action of heterotic string theory including possible leading order $\alpha'$ corrections and a potential for the dilaton. We consider the possibility that including such stringy corrections can resolve the initial cosmological singularity. Since the exact form of these corrections is not known the higher-derivative terms are constructed so that they vanish when the metric is de Sitter spacetime. The constructed terms are compatible with known restrictions from scattering amplitude and string worldsheet beta-function calculations. Analytic and numerical techniques are used to construct a singularity-free cosmological solution. At late times and low-curvatures the metric is asymptotically Minkowski and the dilaton is frozen. In the high-curvature regime the universe enters a de Sitter phase.Comment: 6 pages, 2 Figures; minor revisions; references added; REVTeX 4; version to appear in Phys. Rev.

Relic gravitational waves from light primordial black holes

The energy density of relic gravitational waves (GWs) emitted by primordial black holes (PBHs) is calculated. We estimate the intensity of GWs produced at quantum and classical scattering of PBHs, the classical graviton emission from the PBH binaries in the early Universe, and the graviton emission due to PBH evaporation. If nonrelativistic PBHs dominated the cosmological energy density prior to their evaporation, the probability of formation of dense clusters of PBHs and their binaries in such clusters would be significant and the energy density of the generated gravitational waves in the present day universe could exceed that produced by other known mechanisms. The intensity of these gravitational waves would be maximal in the GHz frequency band of the spectrum or higher and makes their observation very difficult by present detectors but also gives a rather good possibility to investigate it by present and future high frequency gravitational waves electromagnetic detectors. However, the low frequency part of the spectrum in the range $f\sim 0.1-10$ Hz may be detectable by the planned space interferometers DECIGO/BBO. For sufficiently long duration of the PBH matter dominated stage the cosmological energy fraction of GWs from inflation would be noticeably diluted.Comment: 32 pages, 4 figures; according to the referee comments some inaccurate statements are corrected and high frequency detectors of gravitational waves are briefly discusse

High-Throughput Fingerprinting of Rhizobial Free Fatty Acids by Chemical Thin-Film Deposition and Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Fatty acids (FAs) represent an important class of metabolites, impacting on membrane building blocks and signaling compounds in cellular regulatory networks. In nature, prokaryotes are characterized with the most impressing FA structural diversity and the highest relative content of free fatty acids (FFAs). In this context, nitrogen-fixing bacteria (order Rhizobiales), the symbionts of legumes, are particularly interesting. Indeed, the FA profiles influence the structure of rhizobial nodulation factors, required for successful infection of plant root. Although FA patterns can be assessed by gas chromatography—(GC-) and liquid chromatography—mass spectrometry (LC-MS), sample preparation for these methods is time-consuming and quantification suffers from compromised sensitivity, low stability of derivatives and artifacts. In contrast, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) represents an excellent platform for high-efficient metabolite fingerprinting, also applicable to FFAs. Therefore, here we propose a simple and straightforward protocol for high-throughput relative quantification of FFAs in rhizobia by combination of Langmuir technology and MALDI-TOF-MS featuring a high sensitivity, accuracy and precision of quantification. We describe a step-by-step procedure comprising rhizobia culturing, pre-cleaning, extraction, sample preparation, mass spectrometric analysis, data processing and post-processing. As a case study, a comparison of the FFA metabolomes of two rhizobia species—Rhizobium leguminosarum and Sinorhizobium meliloti, demonstrates the analytical potential of the protocol