Functional MRI characteristics in visual cortex (BA 17, 18 and 19) corresponding to the visual field of normal, glaucoma suspect (GS) and primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) patients

The purpose of this study was to characterize, differentiate and correlate visual field and brain activation in visual cortex for normal, glaucoma suspect (GS) and primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) participants using Standard Automated Perimetry (SAP) and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) respectively. The fMRI scans and SAP test were both carried out in Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (PPUKM). Two types of black-and-white checkerboard pattern were displayed to the participants during the fMRI scans. The fMRI data were analyzed using WFU pickatlas toolbox targeting visual cortex area. The results showed that there was no significant difference in number of activated voxel between the three groups in visual cortex (BA 17, 18 and 19) while viewing all the given stimuli (p > 0.05). The pattern standard deviation (PSD) of SAP for visual field also revealed no significant differences (p > 0.05) in all groups of participants. However, negative correlation between PSD and fMRI activation was observed. The PSD values increased with a decrease in fMRI activation. With reference to visual field analysis, the results suggest that glaucomatous neuropathy of POAG patients has led to a gradual decrease in visual cortex activation and a gradual increase in PSD

The Effect of Colour Overlays on Reading Achievement among The Children with Irlen Syndrome

This study aims to determine the effectiveness of blue colour overlays among children with learning disabilities with Irlen Syndrome symptoms. 20 subjects aged between 7 to 12 years old from Special Need's Class at Sekolah Kebangsaan Dato Haji Musa, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia involved in this study. A quasi-experimental design of pre and post-test was conducted to compare the findings between the application of blue colour overlays and without colour overlays in terms of reading score and reading time. The findings through the paired samples t-test analysis found the significant differences for reading score, t (19) = 3.923, p = 0.001 and reading time t (19) = 4.081, p = 0.001. The findings indicated a significant improvement in reading score and reading time as shown in children with learning disabilities with the symptoms of Irlen Syndrome while using blue colour overlays. This study disclosed that blue colour overlays could help increase reading comfort in children with learning disabilities who experienced Irlen Syndrome symptoms

Exploring Background Noise During Learning : A Neurofeedback Study

Distinguishing effective background noise during learning is crucial for students. This study was conducted to determine the effective noise background during learning. Two healthy female subjects were recruited for this experiment. They were put in separate brainwave recording sessions for learning tasks without noise and with background noise. Their theta and alpha brainwave readings showed higher activity while learning with background noise. The finding indicated that both brainwaves represented insight and alertness were more dominant during active learning tasks than without noise. However, there was no statistically significant difference in both learning conditions for theta (p = 0.09) and alpha (p = 0.07) brainwaves. The higher activity level during the learning process with background noise could be interpreted as a sign of enhanced cognitive insight and alertness. Nonetheless, the magnitude of the difference observed did not reach a statistically significant level, thus necessitating further investigation and analysis

Signal change in BA17, 18 and 19: A comparative study of normal, glaucoma suspects and POAGpatients

Magnetic resonance signal change is expected to be different between normal, glaucoma suspect (GS) and Primary Open Angle Glaucoma (POAG) subjects. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technique was employed to investigate the differences. This multiple subject studies were carried out to characterize the percentage of signal change (PSC) in Brodmann Area (BA) 17, 18 and 19 of the visual cortex. The block designed fMRI was implemented. The subjects were requested to focus on the black and white checkerboard stimulus of the visual world (A, B and CD), visual field (EF) and visual area (G). The data were analysed using Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM8) via Matlab platform. results showed that GS subjects have the highest PSC, followed by normal and POAG subjects. However, no significant difference was observed in PSC between BA17, 18 and 19 for normal, GS and POAG groups with p = 0.0869, p = 0.0688 and p = 0.2690, respectively. In conclusion, none of the BA can be suggested to be the most dominant area in responding to the visual stimuli used in this study

A QEEG Study on the Usage of Yellow Overlays for Reading among Autism Spectrum Disorder Children with Irlen Syndrome Symptoms

This research was carried out in order to compare the difference of brainwaves with and without using yellow overlays when reading among ASD children with the symptoms of Irlen Syndrome. The population from this research consists of sixteen children with chronological ages between six to fourteen years old from Kota Samarahan and Kuching, Sarawak. Quasiexperiments one group pre-test and post-test design was applied in this research. The participants completed the reading task using yellow and without yellow overlays. Subsequently, the QEEG was used to record and analyses the electrical activity in the Region of Interest (frontal and temporal). The analysis results on the paired sample t-test indicated the significant differences for beta brainwaves at frontal t (15) = -2.791, p = 0.014, and temporal area t (15) = -2.218, p = 0.042 while using yellow overlays. However, only the frontal area found significant differences for the alpha brainwaves when using yellow overlays t (15) = -2.428, p = 0.028. Apparently, the results of this research show that yellow overlays can help improve reading achievements and produce extra attention when reading more than without using yellow overlays among ASD children with the Irlen Syndrome symptom

Brainwaves Activities during Resting State: A Neurofeedback Case Study

Neurofeedback training (NFT) on a healthy participant was used to analyse brainwave activity during resting state. Electrodes were placed on the prefrontal cortex and at reference sites to conduct the experiment. The patient was asked to remain still and rest by sitting in a chair. The technology was then used to record the electrical waves emitted by brain activities. After ten cycles with a break interval, theta, alpha, and high beta brainwaves were discovered. There were statistically significant brainwaves in the prefrontal cortex. Remarkably, the ascending high beta oscillation range was the highest, while the alpha wave was the lowest, contradicting earlier results. Anxiety, excitement, and focus were thought to be associated with the highest range of high beta waves

Comparison of Resting-State Brain Activation between Healthy Normal and Low Auditory-Verbal Working Memory Capacity Participants

Working memory (WM) capacity is the ability to maintain attention and store information briefly in the mind. However, each individual has a limited WM capacity that varies from one person to another. An individual can be categorized as having either normal or low WM capacity. This study aimed to evaluate and compare brain activations of healthy individuals with low and normal auditory-verbal WM capacity. A total of 39 healthy male young adults were recruited from local universities for this study. They were categorized into the normal and low auditory-verbal WM capacity group based on their score in the Malay Version of Auditory Verbal Learning Test (MVAVLT). All participants underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scans. The functional data were analyzed using Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) and Wake Forest University (WFU) Pickatlas softwares. Brain activations and resting-state amplitude fluctuation (RsAF) were contrasted between groups to determine whether there were any significant differences caused by the different auditory-verbal WM capacity. The findings indicated that the low auditory-verbal WM capacity group showed significantly higher cortical activations in the left lingual gyrus, bilateral middle temporal gyrus, left calcarine, left superior frontal gyrus, and left precuneus as compared to normal auditory-verbal WM capacity group. It is suggested that the higher activation of these brain areas in low verbal-auditory WM capacity participants was attributed to the lower neural adaptability of the brain at rest

Functional MRI Characteristics in Visual Cortex (BA 17, 18 and 19) Corresponding to the Visual Field of Normal, Glaucoma Suspect (GS) and Primary Open Angle Glaucoma (POAG) Patients

The purpose of this study was to characterize, differentiate and correlate visual field and brain activation in visual cortex for normal, glaucoma suspect (GS) and primary open angle glaucoma (POAG) participants using Standard Automated Perimetry (SAP) and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) respectively. The fMRI scans and SAP test were both carried out in Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (PPUKM). Two types of black-and-white checkerboard pattern were displayed to the participants during the fMRI scans. The fMRI data were analyzed using WFU pickatlas toolbox targeting visual cortex area. The results showed that there was no significant difference in number of activated voxel between the three groups in visual cortex (BA 17, 18 and 19) while viewing all the given stimuli (p > 0.05). The pattern standard deviation (PSD) of SAP for visual field also revealed no significant differences (p > 0.05) in all groups of participants. However, negative correlation between PSD and fMRI activation was observed. The PSD values increased with a decrease in fMRI activation. With reference to visual field analysis, the results suggest that glaucomatous neuropathy of POAG patients has led to a gradual decrease in visual cortex activation and a gradual increase in PS

Brain activation in response to randomized visual stimulation as obtained from conjunction and differential analysis: an fMRI study

The objective of this multiple-subjects functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study was to identify the common brain areas that are activated when viewing black-and-white checkerboard pattern stimuli of various shapes, pattern and size and to investigate specific brain areas that are involved in processing static and moving visual stimuli. Sixteen participants viewed the moving (expanding ring, rotating wedge, flipping hour glass and bowtie and arc quadrant) and static (full checkerboard) stimuli during an fMRI scan. All stimuli have black-and-white checkerboard pattern. Statistical parametric mapping (SPM) was used in generating brain activation. Differential analyses were implemented to separately search for areas involved in processing static and moving stimuli. In general, the stimuli of various shapes, pattern and size activated multiple brain areas mostly in the left hemisphere. The activation in the right middle temporal gyrus (MTG) was found to be significantly higher in processing moving visual stimuli as compared to static stimulus. In contrast, the activation in the left calcarine sulcus and left lingual gyrus were significantly higher for static stimulus as compared to moving stimuli. Visual stimulation of various shapes, pattern and size used in this study indicated left lateralization of activation. The involvement of the right MTG in processing moving visual information was evident from differential analysis, while the left calcarine sulcus and left lingual gyrus are the areas that are involved in the processing of static visual stimulus

Pengaktifan Otak yang Disebabkan oleh Stimulus Penglihatan Pelbagai: Satu Kajian Rintis Menggunakan Analisis Kesan Malar ke Atas Subjek Sihat

Keabnormalan okular mempunyai kesan ketara ke atas pengaktifan otak. Walau bagaimanapun, data pengimejan neuro mengenai ciri okular subjek sihat masih berkurangan untuk dibandingkan dengan data bagi pesakit yang mengalami patologi okular. Objektif kajian pengimejan resonans magnet kefungsian (fMRI) subjek berbilang ini adalah untuk menyelidiki ciri pengaktifan otak subjek sihat apabila mereka melihat stimulus pelbagai bentuk, corak dan saiz,. Semasa imbasan fMRI, subjek memerhati stimulus cincin membesar, baji berputar, fl ip jam pasir/bow tie, arka kuadran dan corak dam penuh. Kesemua stimulus mempunyai unsur corak dam hitam-putih.Pemetaan statistik berparameter (SPM) digunakan dalam penjanaan pengaktifan otak melalui analisis kesan malar (FFX) dan konjunksi. Stimulus yang pelbagai bentuk, corak dan saiz menghasilkan pengaktifan otak yang berbeza dengan pengaktifan yang lebih banyak tertumpu di hemisfera kiri. Keputusan ini disokong oleh analisis konjunksi yang mendapati girus presentral, possentral, superior temporal dan oksipital kiri serta korteks singulat kiri terlibat semasa subjek melihat setiap stimulus penglihatan yang diberikan. Analisis pengaktifan pembezaan menunjukkan pengaktifan dengan kekhususan yang tinggi di kawasan oksipital akibat stimulus pelbagai bentuk, corak dan saiz. Pengaktifan pada girus temporal tengah kanan didapati lebih tinggi secara bererti untuk stimulus penglihatan bergerak berbanding dengan stimulus pegun.Ini mengesahkan penglibatan girus temporal tengah kanan dalam pemerhatian kepada pergerakan. Stimulus corak dam hitam-putih pelbagai bentuk, corak dan saiz, pegun dan juga bergerak didapati telah 1) mengaktifkan korteks penglihatan dan juga korteks lain di lobus temporal dan parietal, 2) menyebabkan ketaksimetrian kefungsian otak dan 3) menunjukkan ciri persepaduan kefungsian beberapa kawasan otak