614 research outputs found
The Reading Difficulty of Parent Education Materials
It is not necessary to emphasize the fact that reading plays an important part in the education of parents. A more significant problem is that of discovering the characteristics of materials that fall at different levels of difficulty. A solution of this problem would make possible a more effective selection and preparation of materials suitable to the widely differing reading abilities that one finds among adults. The purpose of this investigation is to determine the factors that are associated with difficulty and to learn what the characteristics of materials are at the various levels. To carry out this study the reading difficulty of a series of sixteen selections was determined experimentally and the variation of numerous factors with difficulty was analyzed
Visualization-Based Mapping of Language Function in the Brain
Cortical language maps, obtained through intraoperative electrical stimulation studies, provide a rich source of information for research on language organization. Previous studies have shown interesting correlations between the distribution of essential language sites and such behavioral indicators as verbal IQ and have provided suggestive evidence for regarding human language cortex as an organization of multiple distributed systems. Noninvasive studies using ECoG, PET, and functional MR lend support to this model; however, there as yet are no studies that integrate these two forms of information. In this paper we describe a method for mapping the stimulation data onto a 3-D MRI-based neuroanatomic model of the individual patient. The mapping is done by comparing an intraoperative photograph of the exposed cortical surface with a computer-based MR visualization of the surface, interactively indicating corresponding stimulation sites, and recording 3-D MR machine coordinates of the indicated sites. Repeatability studies were performed to validate the accuracy of the mapping technique. Six observers—a neurosurgeon, a radiologist, and four computer scientists, independently mapped 218 stimulation sites from 12 patients. The mean distance of a mapping from the mean location of each site was 2.07 mm, with a standard deviation of 1.5 mm, or within 5.07 mm with 95% confidence. Since the surgical sites are accurate within approximately 1 cm, these results show that the visualization-based approach is accurate within the limits of the stimulation maps. When incorporated within the kind of information system envisioned by the Human Brain Project, this anatomically based method will not only provide a key link between noninvasive and invasive approaches to understanding language organization, but will also provide the basis for studying the relationship between language function and anatomical variability
Unsupervised decoding of long-term, naturalistic human neural recordings with automated video and audio annotations
Fully automated decoding of human activities and intentions from direct
neural recordings is a tantalizing challenge in brain-computer interfacing.
Most ongoing efforts have focused on training decoders on specific, stereotyped
tasks in laboratory settings. Implementing brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) in
natural settings requires adaptive strategies and scalable algorithms that
require minimal supervision. Here we propose an unsupervised approach to
decoding neural states from human brain recordings acquired in a naturalistic
context. We demonstrate our approach on continuous long-term
electrocorticographic (ECoG) data recorded over many days from the brain
surface of subjects in a hospital room, with simultaneous audio and video
recordings. We first discovered clusters in high-dimensional ECoG recordings
and then annotated coherent clusters using speech and movement labels extracted
automatically from audio and video recordings. To our knowledge, this
represents the first time techniques from computer vision and speech processing
have been used for natural ECoG decoding. Our results show that our
unsupervised approach can discover distinct behaviors from ECoG data, including
moving, speaking and resting. We verify the accuracy of our approach by
comparing to manual annotations. Projecting the discovered cluster centers back
onto the brain, this technique opens the door to automated functional brain
mapping in natural settings
The Application of Psychological Classification of Changes Effected through Learning to Problems of Curriculum Construction
Descriptions of the objectives of education have varied from general, all-inclusive statements, to extended lists of details. The inadequacy of general statements has been recognized by curriculum makers and several attempts have been made to develop more detailed classifications. The best-known classifications have used a mixture of general and specific abilities, or of general and specific activities
Molecular characterization of microbiota in cerebrospinal fluid from patients with CSF shunt infections using whole genome amplification followed by shotgun sequencing
Understanding the etiology of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt infections and reinfections requires detailed characterization of associated microorganisms. Traditionally, identification of bacteria present in the CSF has relied on culture methods, but recent studies have used high throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA genes. Here we evaluated the method of shotgun DNA sequencing for its potential to provide additional genomic information. CSF samples were collected from 3 patients near the beginning and end of each of 2 infection episodes. Extracted total DNA was sequenced by: (1) whole genome amplification followed by shotgun sequencing (WGA) and (2) high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA V4 region (16S). Taxonomic assignments of sequences from WGA and 16S were compared with one another and with conventional microbiological cultures. While classification of bacteria was consistent among the 3 approaches, WGA provided additional insights into sample microbiological composition, such as showing relative abundances of microbial versus human DNA, identifying samples of questionable quality, and detecting significant viral load in some samples. One sample yielded sufficient non-human reads to allow assembly of a high-qualit
L2-Proficiency-Dependent Laterality Shift in Structural Connectivity of Brain Language Pathways
Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and a longitudinal language learning approach were applied to investigate the relationship between the achieved second language (L2) proficiency during L2 learning and the reorganization of structural connectivity between core language areas. Language proficiency tests and DTI scans were obtained from German students before and after they completed an intensive 6-week course of the Dutch language. In the initial learning stage, with increasing L2 proficiency, the hemispheric dominance of the Brodmann area (BA) 6-temporal pathway (mainly along the arcuate fasciculus) shifted from the left to the right hemisphere. With further increased proficiency, however, lateralization dominance was again found in the left BA6-temporal pathway. This result is consistent with reports in the literature that imply a stronger involvement of the right hemisphere in L2 processing especially for less proficient L2 speakers. This is the first time that an L2 proficiency-dependent laterality shift in the structural connectivity of language pathways during L2 acquisition has been observed to shift from left to right and back to left hemisphere dominance with increasing L2 proficiency. The authors additionally find that changes in fractional anisotropy values after the course are related to the time elapsed between the two scans. The results suggest that structural connectivity in (at least part of) the perisylvian language network may be subject to fast dynamic changes following language learning
Cortical Topography of Error-Related High-Frequency Potentials During Erroneous Control in a Continuous Control Brain–Computer Interface
Brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) benefit greatly from performance feedback, but current systems lack automatic, task-independent feedback. Cortical responses elicited from user error have the potential to serve as state-based feedback to BCI decoders. To gain a better understanding of local error potentials, we investigate responsive cortical power underlying error-related potentials (ErrPs) from the human cortex during a one-dimensional center-out BCI task, tracking the topography of high-gamma (70–100 Hz) band power (HBP) specific to BCI error. We measured electrocorticography (ECoG) in three human subjects during dynamic, continuous control over BCI cursor velocity. Subjects used motor imagery and rest to move the cursor toward and subsequently dwell within a target region. We then identified and labeled epochs where the BCI decoder incorrectly moved the cursor in the direction opposite of the subject’s expectations (i.e., BCI error). We found increased HBP in various cortical areas 100–500 ms following BCI error with respect to epochs of correct, intended control. Significant responses were noted in primary somatosensory, motor, premotor, and parietal areas and generally regardless of whether the subject was using motor imagery or rest to move the cursor toward the target. Parts of somatosensory, temporal, and parietal areas exclusively had increased HBP when subjects were using motor imagery. In contrast, only part of the parietal cortex near the angular gyrus exclusively had an increase in HBP during rest. This investigation is, to our knowledge, the first to explore cortical fields changes in the context of continuous control in ECoG BCI. We present topographical changes in HBP characteristic specific to the generation of error. By focusing on continuous control, instead of on discrete control for simple selection, we investigate a more naturalistic setting and provide high ecological validity for characterizing error potentials. Such potentials could be considered as design elements for co-adaptive BCIs in the future as task-independent feedback to the decoder, allowing for more robust and individualized BCIs
Quantifying interictal intracranial EEG to predict focal epilepsy
Intracranial EEG (IEEG) is used for 2 main purposes, to determine: (1) if
epileptic networks are amenable to focal treatment and (2) where to intervene.
Currently these questions are answered qualitatively and sometimes differently
across centers. There is a need for objective, standardized methods to guide
surgical decision making and to enable large scale data analysis across centers
and prospective clinical trials.
We analyzed interictal data from 101 patients with drug resistant epilepsy
who underwent presurgical evaluation with IEEG. We chose interictal data
because of its potential to reduce the morbidity and cost associated with ictal
recording. 65 patients had unifocal seizure onset on IEEG, and 36 were
non-focal or multi-focal. We quantified the spatial dispersion of implanted
electrodes and interictal IEEG abnormalities for each patient. We compared
these measures against the 5 Sense Score (5SS), a pre-implant estimate of the
likelihood of focal seizure onset, and assessed their ability to predict the
clinicians choice of therapeutic intervention and the patient outcome.
The spatial dispersion of IEEG electrodes predicted network focality with
precision similar to the 5SS (AUC = 0.67), indicating that electrode placement
accurately reflected pre-implant information. A cross-validated model combining
the 5SS and the spatial dispersion of interictal IEEG abnormalities
significantly improved this prediction (AUC = 0.79; p<0.05). The combined model
predicted ultimate treatment strategy (surgery vs. device) with an AUC of 0.81
and post-surgical outcome at 2 years with an AUC of 0.70. The 5SS, interictal
IEEG, and electrode placement were not correlated and provided complementary
information.
Quantitative, interictal IEEG significantly improved upon pre-implant
estimates of network focality and predicted treatment with precision
approaching that of clinical experts.Comment: 25 pages, 4 Figures, 1 tabl
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