Understanding communicative actions:A repetitive TMS study

Previous work has shown that the right posterior superior temporal sulcus (RpSTS) is involved in inferring both instrumental goals and communicative intentions of observed actions (1, 2), using previous knowledge to generate perceptual and/or conceptual inferences (3, 4). Here, we disturb neural activity in RpSTS to test whether this region is necessary for understanding the meaning of novel communicative actions. Thirteen subjects received two 20 min sessions of low-frequency (1 Hz) repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), either over RpSTS (50,-42,14) or over a control region (area MT+, -43,-70,10), before performance of a communicative game and a control task. The game involved controlled non-verbal communicative interactions between pairs of subjects (40 trials). Each pair was asked to jointly create a goal configuration of two geometrical tokens, using the movements of the tokens on a gameboard as the only available communicative channel (5). One participant (a confederate) knew the goal configuration, and she moved her token on the gameboard to inform an addressee (a participant) where and how to position his token. The control task was a visual search paradigm that involved the same stimuli, responses, joint attention, and inter-subjects dependencies, but no communicative necessities. Performance was indexed by Task Efficiency, defined as the number of correct responses per unit of planning time, and by Efficiency Rate, defined as the rate of change (across trials) in Task Efficiency. After rTMS over RpSTS, but not left MT+, the Efficiency Rate of the addresses was reduced in the communicative game, but not in the visual search. In contrast, after rTMS over left MT+, subjects were not able to benefit from experience gained during the previous trials of the visual search task (Task X Site interaction, p<0.05). There were no corresponding interactions between tasks and site of rTMS intervention on the Task Efficiency parameter. These findings qualify how RpSTS contributes to understanding the meaning of non-verbal communicative actions. Repetitive TMS over RpSTS did not disrupt the ability of addressees to interpret novel communicative actions. Rather, this region appears to be necessary for incorporating previous knowledge, accumulated during interactions with a communicative partner, to constrain the inferential process that leads to action understanding

Identification of regulatory variants associated with genetic susceptibility to meningococcal disease

Non-coding genetic variants play an important role in driving susceptibility to complex diseases but their characterization remains challenging. Here, we employed a novel approach to interrogate the genetic risk of such polymorphisms in a more systematic way by targeting specific regulatory regions relevant for the phenotype studied. We applied this method to meningococcal disease susceptibility, using the DNA binding pattern of RELA - a NF-kB subunit, master regulator of the response to infection - under bacterial stimuli in nasopharyngeal epithelial cells. We designed a custom panel to cover these RELA binding sites and used it for targeted sequencing in cases and controls. Variant calling and association analysis were performed followed by validation of candidate polymorphisms by genotyping in three independent cohorts. We identified two new polymorphisms, rs4823231 and rs11913168, showing signs of association with meningococcal disease susceptibility. In addition, using our genomic data as well as publicly available resources, we found evidences for these SNPs to have potential regulatory effects on ATXN10 and LIF genes respectively. The variants and related candidate genes are relevant for infectious diseases and may have important contribution for meningococcal disease pathology. Finally, we described a novel genetic association approach that could be applied to other phenotypes

MoodRadar-DAVID: providing caretakers with real-time, personalized insight in electrodermal activity of clients who show severely challenging behavior

In our project we focused on measuring changes in skin conductance of people with severe mental disabilities, who also consistently showed challenging behaviour such as aggressive acts and self-injurious behaviour. Caretakers often report being surprised by these outbursts and explicitly express a need for additional tools to gain insight in the arousal levels of their clients. The aim of our project was to investigate the potential value of ambulatory physiological measurements in bringing this insight to the caretakers. The MoodRadar-DAVID project is a design and research project consisting of the following stages: (1) we established that skin conductance of the clients could reliably be measured for long periods of times (weeks) during their normal lives, and that relevant parameters could be extracted. (2) We investigated whether the introduction of the wearable technology would not distress the clients even more, making the project immediately counter-productive relative to its aims. (3) We created a suitable algorithm for aggregating and visualizing the skin conductance data. (4) We built a first prototype following UserCentred Design principles. (5) We are carrying out a first implementation study on the effectiveness of the system to alleviate the problems that lay at the foundation of the project

Communicating spatial information from verbal descriptions

Communication between people is difficult. A well-known example of this premise stems from asking directions in an unknown city. This can result in elaborate stories in which the narrator gives detailed and correct information concerning turns that need to be taken and landmarks that will be encountered. Yet, when left alone, the person who needs to find his way is clueless whether to turn left or right at the first crossing. These types of problems in (spatial) communication gives rise to certain questions, which are addressed in the present thesis. Are people actually able to imagine route descriptions? Or more general, how do people represent spatial information when it is "only" communicated through language? The research that is described in this thesis examines both simple spatial sentences that describe a single spatial relations and complex spatial descriptions such as a route description. Several findings from the behavioral and neuroimaging (fMRI and EEG) studies presented here support the idea that people can form spatial representations on the basis of verbal descriptions

Mrs. Herz's letter to Ignaz Goldziher

User experience research has made considerable progress in understanding subjective experience with interactive technology. Nevertheless, we argue, some blind spots have remained: individual differences are frequently ignored, the prevalent measures of self-report rarely undergo verification, and overly focus is on utilitarian and hedonic dimensions of experience. A Stroop priming experiment was constructed to assess what people implicitly associate with a picture of a computing device. Three categories of target words were presented: hedonic, utilitarian and "geek" words. Longer response times were interpreted as stronger associations. Need-for-cognition and subject of undergraduate study (computer science vs. psychology) were taken as predictors for a hypothetical geek personality. The results suggest that persons with a geek predisposition tend to think of computers as objects of intellectual challenge and play, rather than tools or extensions of the self

Keep an eye on your hands: on the role of visual mechanisms

The present paper reviews research on a haptic orientation processing. Central is a task in which a test bar has to be set parallel to a reference bar at another location. Introducing a delay between inspecting the reference bar and setting the test bar leads to a surprising improvement. Moreover, offering visual background information also elevates performance. Interestingly, (congenitally) blind individuals do not or to a weaker extent show the improvement with time, while in parallel to this, they appear to benefit less from spatial imagery processing. Together this strongly points to an important role for visual processing mechanisms in the perception of haptic inputs

Keep an eye on your hands: on the role of visual mechanisms

The present paper reviews research on a haptic orientation processing. Central is a task in which a test bar has to be set parallel to a reference bar at another location. Introducing a delay between inspecting the reference bar and setting the test bar leads to a surprising improvement. Moreover, offering visual background information also elevates performance. Interestingly, (congenitally) blind individuals do not or to a weaker extent show the improvement with time, while in parallel to this, they appear to benefit less from spatial imagery processing. Together this strongly points to an important role for visual processing mechanisms in the perception of haptic inputs