Near-infrared spectrometry for the measurement of central nervous system activation: a brief demonstration of an emerging behavioral assessment tool

Behavior analysts are familiar with the use of electrodermal activity as a dependent measure of central nervous system activation. In addition, behavior analysts have increasingly turned to direct measures of brain activation, such as electroencephalography and event-related potentials. Recent developments in the field of bioengineering, however, have produced a new and exciting brain-activation recording device known as near infrared spectrometry, or NIRS. The current paper reports a demonstration of its use in a traditional respondent conditioning paradigm. Specifically, a male volunteer was exposed to a conditioning paradigm designed to produce both an eliciting stimulus for fear and a relief stimulus. Conditioning effects were assessed using electrodermal activation as well as blood volume changes in the frontal lobe, recorded by NIRS. The results of the demonstration show that both electrodermal and NIRS measures can successfully identify conditioning effects without necessarily tracking each other on a trial-by-trial basis. It is suggested that NIRS is an inexpensive, non-invasive technique for the assessment of learning and behavior at the neural level

Augmenting the Reality of Phantom Limbs: Three Case Studies Using an Augmented Mirror Box Procedure

Phantom sensation and phantom pain are common after limb amputation. Previous research documents increased motor control of phantom limbs and alleviation of phantom limb pain through exposure to the “mirror box illusion.” This approach centers on the potential for vision and sensorimotor interactions to alter phantom limb perception. The applicability and flexibility of this intervention is limited by methodological constraints inherent in the use of conventional mirrors. This article reports the application of an "augmented reality" intervention that seeks to overcome these constraints. Three case studies are presented, and it is argued that augmented reality technology offers a promising new approach to the investigation of phantom experience and potentially to the treatment of phantom pain

Stability Of Biorthogonal Wavelet Bases

this paper is to develop a simpler, but equivalent, set of conditions which permit more rapid numerical testing. Towards this end we make two observations concerning condition E in the case of finite filters satisfying some minor restrictions which we elucidate below: (i) Condition E holds for a generalised Lawton matrix if and only if it holds for a generally constructible matrix of about half the size. Below we call the eigenvalues of this reduced order matrix the symmetric eigenvalues of the generalised Lawton matrix. As a result of this observation the numerical e#ort involved in testing condition E can be essentially halved. (ii) If the generalised Lawton matrix depends continuously on some parameters then condition E first fails for values of these parameters for which the reduced order matrix of observation (i) has an eigenvalue at one of multiplicity greater than one. One would expect from the nature of condition E that it first fails when the generalised Lawton matrix acquires a second eigenvalue of modulus one. Not so, according to observation (ii). The mechanism by which condition E can first fail is far more specific, it first fails when the matrix acquires a second eigenvalue equal to one and moreover, this eigenvalue is symmetric. Whereas the lifting scheme in general contains many free parameters we essentially reformulate it in terms of a single parameter in order to exploit the previous observations concerning condition E. The principle contribution of the present work is the observation that for real, finite filters this single-parameter reformulation of the lifting scheme generates biorthogonal filter banks having associated wavelets in L 2 (R) provided the single parameter lies in an open interval containing zero. Moreover, we provide an algorithm fo..

A vocalisation-based drawing interface for disabled children

<span style="font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: &quot;Calibri&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;" lang="EN-GB">In our work with disabled children at Ireland's National Rehabilitation Hospital, a problem we have experienced in the facilitation of art activities is that traditional art materials and standard computer drawing programs sometimes prove inaccessible. In this paper, an original system, called "PaintMyVoice" is presented which facilitates the creation of two or three-dimensional images using a variety of novel input modalities. In particular, vocalisations can be used to create original images of a variety of objects, including trees, flowers and landscape elements. Additional input to the system can optionally be provided via mouse, keyboard, switch interface or digital camera depending on the abilities of the user. Here, the program' user interface is described, with an emphasis on accessibility features. The signal processing techniques used to measure various vocal characteristic including intensity, pitch and other spectral characteristic are outlined. </span

Augmenting the Reality of Phantom Limbs: Three Case Studies Using an Augmented Mirror Box Procedure

Phantom sensation and phantom pain are common after limb amputation. Previous research documents increased motor control of phantom limbs and alleviation of phantom limb pain through exposure to the “mirror box illusion.” This approach centers on the potential for vision and sensorimotor interactions to alter phantom limb perception. The applicability and flexibility of this intervention is limited by methodological constraints inherent in the use of conventional mirrors. This article reports the application of an "augmented reality" intervention that seeks to overcome these constraints. Three case studies are presented, and it is argued that augmented reality technology offers a promising new approach to the investigation of phantom experience and potentially to the treatment of phantom pain

Augmenting the Reality of Phantom Limbs: Three Case Studies Using an Augmented Mirror Box Procedure

Phantom sensation and phantom pain are common after limb amputation. Previous research documents increased motor control of phantom limbs and alleviation of phantom limb pain through exposure to the “mirror box illusion.” This approach centers on the potential for vision and sensorimotor interactions to alter phantom limb perception. The applicability and flexibility of this intervention is limited by methodological constraints inherent in the use of conventional mirrors. This article reports the application of an "augmented reality" intervention that seeks to overcome these constraints. Three case studies are presented, and it is argued that augmented reality technology offers a promising new approach to the investigation of phantom experience and potentially to the treatment of phantom pain

Near-infrared spectrometry for the measurement of central nervous system activation: a brief demonstration of an emerging behavioral assessment tool

Behavior analysts are familiar with the use of electrodermal activity as a dependent measure of central nervous system activation. In addition, behavior analysts have increasingly turned to direct measures of brain activation, such as electroencephalography and event-related potentials. Recent developments in the field of bioengineering, however, have produced a new and exciting brain-activation recording device known as near infrared spectrometry, or NIRS. The current paper reports a demonstration of its use in a traditional respondent conditioning paradigm. Specifically, a male volunteer was exposed to a conditioning paradigm designed to produce both an eliciting stimulus for fear and a relief stimulus. Conditioning effects were assessed using electrodermal activation as well as blood volume changes in the frontal lobe, recorded by NIRS. The results of the demonstration show that both electrodermal and NIRS measures can successfully identify conditioning effects without necessarily tracking each other on a trial-by-trial basis. It is suggested that NIRS is an inexpensive, non-invasive technique for the assessment of learning and behavior at the neural level