The neural correlates of phonological short-term memory: A repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation study

Neuropsychological reports and activation studies by means of positron emission tomography anti functional magnetic resonance imaging have suggested that the neural correlates of phonological short-term memory are located in the left hemisphere, with Brodmann's area (BA) 40 being, responsible for short-term storage and BA 44 for articulatory rehearsal. However, a careful review of the literature on the role of left BA 40 shows that the data are equivocal. We tested We hypotheses by means of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). Participants performed four tasks: two phonological judgements, thought to require only articulatory rehearsal Without the contribution of short-term storage digit span, which involves both short-term storage and articudlatory rehearsal: and a pattern span, this last heing the control task. The sites of stimulation were left BA 40. left BA 44 anti the electrode location V-W plus a baseline without TMS. Reaction times increased and accuracy decreased in the case of the phonological judgement and digit span after stimulation of both left sites, suggesting that BA 40, in addition to BA 44. is involved in phonological judgements. Possible explanations are discussed, namely, the possibility that (i) the neural correlates of rehearsal are not limited to BA and (ii) phonological judgements invlove processes other than rehearsal. We also consider the effects of using different tasks and responses to resolve some of the descrepancies in the literature

Constraining axion-nucleon coupling constants from measurements of effective Casimir pressure by means of micromachined oscillator

Stronger constraints on the pseudoscalar coupling constants of an axion to a proton and a neutron are obtained from an indirect measurement of the effective Casimir pressure between two Au-coated plates by means of micromechanical torsional oscillator. For this purpose, the additional effective pressure due to two-axion exchange is calculated. The role of boundary effects and the validity region of the proximity force approximation in application to forces of axion origin are determined. The obtained constraints are up to factors of 380 and 3.15 stronger than those found recently from other laboratory experiments and are relevant to axion masses from $10^{-3}$eV to 15eV.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, 2 tables; several additions have been made in accordance with version accepted for publication in Eur. Phys. J.

Evidences of evanescent Bloch waves in Phononic Crystals

We show both experimentally and theoretically the evanescent behaviour of modes in the Band Gap (BG) of finite Phononic Crystal (PC). Based on experimental and numerical data we obtain the imaginary part of the wave vector in good agreement with the complex band structures obtained by the Extended Plane Wave Expansion (EPWE). The calculated and measured acoustic field of a localized mode out of the point defect inside the PC presents also evanescent behaviour. The correct understanding of evanescent modes is fundamental for designing narrow filters and wave guides based on Phononic Crystals with defects.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure