Electrical Stimulation Modulates High γ Activity and Human Memory Performance.

Direct electrical stimulation of the brain has emerged as a powerful treatment for multiple neurological diseases, and as a potential technique to enhance human cognition. Despite its application in a range of brain disorders, it remains unclear how stimulation of discrete brain areas affects memory performance and the underlying electrophysiological activities. Here, we investigated the effect of direct electrical stimulation in four brain regions known to support declarative memory: hippocampus (HP), parahippocampal region (PH) neocortex, prefrontal cortex (PF), and lateral temporal cortex (TC). Intracranial EEG recordings with stimulation were collected from 22 patients during performance of verbal memory tasks. We found that high γ (62-118 Hz) activity induced by word presentation was modulated by electrical stimulation. This modulatory effect was greatest for trials with poor memory encoding. The high γ modulation correlated with the behavioral effect of stimulation in a given brain region: it was negative, i.e., the induced high γ activity was decreased, in the regions where stimulation decreased memory performance, and positive in the lateral TC where memory enhancement was observed. Our results suggest that the effect of electrical stimulation on high γ activity induced by word presentation may be a useful biomarker for mapping memory networks and guiding therapeutic brain stimulation

Collision geometry scaling of Au+Au pseudorapidity density from sqrt(s_NN) = 19.6 to 200 GeV

The centrality dependence of the midrapidity charged particle multiplicity in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 19.6 and 200 GeV is presented. Within a simple model, the fraction of hard (scaling with number of binary collisions) to soft (scaling with number of participant pairs) interactions is consistent with a value of x = 0.13 +/- 0.01(stat) +/- 0.05(syst) at both energies. The experimental results at both energies, scaled by inelastic p(pbar)+p collision data, agree within systematic errors. The ratio of the data was found not to depend on centrality over the studied range and yields a simple linear scale factor of R_(200/19.6) = 2.03 +/- 0.02(stat) +/- 0.05(syst).Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted to PRC-R

Transverse Momentum and Rapidity Dependence of HBT Correlations in Au+Au Collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 62.4 and 200 GeV

Two-particle correlations of identical charged pion pairs from Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 62.4 and 200 GeV were measured by the PHOBOS experiment at RHIC. Data for the 15% most central events were analyzed with Bertsch-Pratt and Yano-Koonin-Podgoretskii parameterizations using pairs with rapidities of 0.4 < y_{\pi\pi} < 1.3 and transverse momenta 0.1 < k_T < 1.4 GeV/c. The Bertsch-Pratt radii R_o and R_l decrease as a function of pair transverse momentum, while R_s is consistent with a weaker dependence. R_o and R_s are independent of collision energy, while R_l shows a slight increase. The source rapidity y_{ykp} scales roughly with the pair rapidity y_{\pi\pi}, indicating strong dynamical correlations.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Forward-Backward Multiplicity Correlations in sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV Gold-Gold Collisions

Forward-backward correlations of charged-particle multiplicities in symmetric bins in pseudorapidity are studied in order to gain insight into the underlying correlation structure of particle production in Au+Au collisions. The PHOBOS detector is used to measure integrated multiplicities in bins centered at eta, defined within |eta|<3, and covering intervals Delta-eta. The variance sigma^2_C of a suitably defined forward-backward asymmetry variable C is calculated as a function of eta, Delta-eta, and centrality. It is found to be sensitive to short range correlations, and the concept of "clustering'' is used to interpret comparisons to phenomenological models.Comment: 5 Pages, 5 Figures, submitted to Physical Review C -- Rapid Communication

Energy dependence of elliptic flow over a large pseudorapidity range in Au+Au collisions at RHIC

This paper describes the measurement of the energy dependence of elliptic flow for charged particles in Au+Au collisions using the PHOBOS detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). Data taken at collision energies of $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}} =$ 19.6, 62.4, 130 and 200 GeV are shown over a wide range in pseudorapidity. These results, when plotted as a function of $\eta'=|\eta|-y_{beam}$, scale with approximate linearity throughout $\eta'$, implying no sharp changes in the dynamics of particle production as a function of pseudorapidity or increasing beam energy.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Phobos results on charged particle multiplicity and pseudorapidity distributions in Au+Au, Cu+Cu, d+Au, and p+p collisions at ultra-relativistic energies

Pseudorapidity distributions of charged particles emitted in $Au+Au$, $Cu+Cu$, $d+Au$, and $p+p$ collisions over a wide energy range have been measured using the PHOBOS detector at RHIC. The centrality dependence of both the charged particle distributions and the multiplicity at midrapidity were measured. Pseudorapidity distributions of charged particles emitted with $|\eta|<5.4$, which account for between 95% and 99% of the total charged-particle emission associated with collision participants, are presented for different collision centralities. Both the midrapidity density, $dN_{ch}/d\eta$, and the total charged-particle multiplicity, $N_{ch}$, are found to factorize into a product of independent functions of collision energy, $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$, and centrality given in terms of the number of nucleons participating in the collision, $N_{part}$. The total charged particle multiplicity, observed in these experiments and those at lower energies, assumes a linear dependence of $(\ln s_{_{NN}})^2$ over the full range of collision energy of $\sqrt{s_{_{NN}}}$=2.7-200 GeV.Comment: 25 pages, 29 figures, 8 table

Identified particles in Au+Au collisions at sqrt{s_NN} = 200 GeV

The yields of identified particles have been measured at RHIC for Au+Au collisions at sqrt{s_NN} = 200 GeV using the PHOBOS spectrometer. The ratios of antiparticle to particle yields near mid-rapidity are presented. The first measurements of the invariant yields of charged pions, kaons and protons at very low transverse momenta are also shown.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, Contribution to Quark Matter 2002, Nantes, France, July 200

Pseudorapidity and centrality dependence of the collective flow of charged particles in Au+Au collisions at sqrt{s_NN} = 130 GeV

This paper describes the measurement of collective flow for charged particles in Au+Au collisions at sqrt{s_NN}} = 130 GeV using the PHOBOS detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). An azimuthal anisotropy is observed in the charged particle hit distribution in the PHOBOS multiplicity detector. This anisotropy is presented over a wide range of pseudorapidity (eta) for the first time at this energy. The size of the anisotropy (v_{2}) is thought to probe the degree of equilibration achieved in these collisions. The result here,averaged over momenta and particle species, is observed to reach 7% for peripheral collisions at mid-rapidity, falling off with centrality and increasing |eta|. Data are presented as a function of centrality for |eta|<1.0 and as a function of eta, averaged over centrality, in the angular region -5.0<eta<5.3. These results call into question the common assumption of longitudinal boost invariance over a large region of rapidity in RHIC collisions.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letter

Universal Behavior of Charged Particle Production in Heavy Ion Collisions

The PHOBOS experiment at RHIC has measured the multiplicity of primary charged particles as a function of centrality and pseudorapidity in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 19.6, 130 and 200 GeV. Two kinds of universal behavior are observed in charged particle production in heavy ion collisions. The first is that forward particle production, over a range of energies, follows a universal limiting curve with a non-trivial centrality dependence. The second arises from comparisons with pp/pbar-p and e+e- data. N_tot/(N_part/2) in nuclear collisions at high energy scales with sqrt(s) in a similar way as N_tot in e+e- collisions and has a very weak centrality dependence. This feature may be related to a reduction in the leading particle effect due to the multiple collisions suffered per participant in heavy ion collisions.Comment: 4 Pages, 5 Figures, contributed to the Proceedings of Quark Matter 2002, Nantes, France, 18-24 July 200