Mind over chatter: plastic up-regulation of the fMRI alertness network by EEG neurofeedback

EEG neurofeedback (NFB) is a brain-computer interface (BCI) approach used to shape brain oscillations by means of real-time feedback from the electroencephalogram (EEG), which is known to reflect neural activity across cortical networks. Although NFB is being evaluated as a novel tool for treating brain disorders, evidence is scarce on the mechanism of its impact on brain function. In this study with 34 healthy participants, we examined whether, during the performance of an attentional auditory oddball task, the functional connectivity strength of distinct fMRI networks would be plastically altered after a 30-min NFB session of alpha-band reduction (n=17) versus a sham-feedback condition (n=17). Our results reveal that compared to sham, NFB induced a specific increase of functional connectivity within the alertness/salience network (dorsal anterior and mid cingulate), which was detectable 30 minutes after termination of training. Crucially, these effects were significantly correlated with reduced mind-wandering 'on-task' and were coupled to NFB-mediated resting state reductions in the alpha-band (8-12 Hz). No such relationships were evident for the sham condition. Although group default-mode network (DMN) connectivity was not significantly altered following NFB, we observed a positive association between modulations of resting alpha amplitude and precuneal connectivity, both correlating positively with frequency of mind-wandering. Our findings demonstrate a temporally direct, plastic impact of NFB on large-scale brain functional networks, and provide promising neurobehavioral evidence supporting its use as a noninvasive tool to modulate brain function in health and disease

The German Young Olympic Athletes' Lifestyle and Health Management Study (GOAL Study): design of a mixed-method study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In order to perform at top levels, elite athletes have to both protect and risk their health at the same time. Adolescent elite athletes have the additional challenge of coping with substantial physical, psychological and social transformations. The contradictory phenomenon of protecting and risking the adolescent athletes' health in sports challenges the development of health promotion and protection strategies. The GOAL Study (German Young Olympic Athletes' Lifestyle and Health Management Study) analyzes the individual and organizational management of health in adolescent elite sports.</p> <p>Methods/design</p> <p>We combine quantitative and qualitative approaches in a mixed-method study. This allows us to gather a broad range of representative information on squad athletes from all Olympic disciplines as well as in-depth information on four selected Olympic disciplines (artistic gymnastics, biathlon, handball and wrestling). Within the quantitative section we attempt to identify the young athletes' health and nutrition behavior, their subjective health state and their lay health representations, health-related social networks, and structures of medical attendance. 1138 national team level athletes born between 1992 and 1995 from 51 Olympic disciplines responded to the questionnaire (response rate: 61,75%). The qualitative section investigates the meaning and relevance of health and nutrition within the athletes' sports specific surroundings, the impact of biographic backgrounds on individual health behavior, and sports specific cultures of health, nutrition and risk. We interviewed 24 athletes and 28 coaching and medical experts, and carried out 14 multi-day participant observations at training sessions and competitions.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The studies' results will serve as the basis for developing tailored health promotion strategies to be in cooperation with German elite sports associations.</p

Chapter 17 Sound maps: Music and sound in cybercartography

As cartographic objects and processes are increasingly understood as multimodal in character, sound needs to be conceived as an integral element of any cartographic project. Arguing against simple notions of the sonification of data at the level of form, this essay suggests that a more thoroughgoing strategy of "sound design" needs to be pursued. Properly understood, sound design requires that voices, sounds and music, as well as silence, spatial location, signal processing, and interactivity be considered as part of the overall design process and related to other cartographic elements at the level of structure and theme. Furthermore, sounds need to be considered as not simply formal elements but as cultural objects, replete with meanings and associations. Drawing on the literature of sound in cinema and new media, the chapter builds on previous theories of image-sound relations and explores possibilities for new ways of integrating and manipulating sound within an interactive, multimedia context

The network studio: Historical and technological paths to a new ideal in music making

In recent years, various forces within and outside the music industry -record producers, hardware and software suppliers, and Internet service providers -have created techniques and tools that allow recording studios in remote locations to be networked in ever more complex and intimate ways. The effort behind the creation of the 'network studio' is, in part, the result of an overall progression in the historical development of the tools, architectures and practices of the contemporary recording studio. Studios do not exist in a musical or cultural vacuum, however: traditionally, music scenes, session musicians, and local aesthetics and practices have played an important role in the development of specific approaches to recording and have had an influence on the resulting sounds. But the rise of the network studio raises fundamental questions about such relationships and about the role of space and place in sound recording and, in this regard, can be considered as an expression of larger tendencies described within various theories of globalization. This paper addresses how the emergence of the network studio, with its emphasis on standardized technologies and practices and its reliance on the virtual space of network communications, may have an impact upon and/or work alongside conventional recording studio practices

No Easy Path: A Ground-Penetrating Radar Investigation of the Historic Penfield Cemetery.

Numerous historic cemeteries in the rural American South currently face deterioration due to natural and human elements. Those founded by enslaved African American communities are particularly vulnerable due to historical inequities, and to events affecting Black populations after emancipation. Rediscovery of these sites prompts inquiries into best practices for their preservation and revitalization. Tools such as Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR), have proven valuable in addressing preliminary questions essential for effective cemetery preservation efforts. This thesis employs GPR to assess the number and distribution of burials in the historically segregated African American section of the Penfield Cemetery in Greene County, Georgia. Following archaeological praxis, the study emphasizes collaboration with diverse stakeholders invested in safeguarding this valuable resource as a part of a broader initiative to conserve and revive the cemetery. Findings will be integrated into a publicly accessible digital database, fostering engagement with the results among community members, the public, and future researchers

Technology, creative practice and copyright

The Burden of History The origins of music copyright law are rooted in a particular, restrictive notion of the musical work (defined as a combination of melody and harmony) and its fixation in graphic form (the musical score). Thus, from the outset, copyright law valorised composition (and by extension, the composer) over performance as a form of musical practice. Initially, this ‘strategy of forms’ (Mosher 1989) was perhaps understandable, given that performance, ephemeral in nature and lacking a means of fixation and reproduction, did not lend itself to the evolving economic system based on fixed commodities and exclusive property rights. But it was not inevitable: it was the interests of composers and publishers that prevailed in the formation of early copyright law and, as a result, many forms of music not based in notation - including various types of folk music, jazz, and indigenous people’s music - have not been well served by copyright. It is not that these musics are lacking in a sense of ownership as is often assumed: in the music and dance of various indigenous peoples, for example, forms of individual and collective ownership can be seen to operate (see Harrison 2002).1 But the protocols associated with such ownership are often incompatible with the particular notions of fixation, assignable rights, and other premises upon which the exploitation of property rights in the world of music publishing are based

DIGGING DEEP WITH A PHOTON SHOVEL: ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS OF ANCIENT ANDEAN CERAMICS

In the pre-Hispanic Andes, ceramic pottery served utilitarian, ritual, and political roles. During the era of Tiwanaku state authority (the Middle Horizon, circa AD 500-1000), ceramic vessels were produced in specialized workshops and traded between the Tiwanaku heartland in Bolivia to Tiwanaku outposts, including those in the Moquegua valley, some 300km to the southwest. However, Archaeological data suggests that when the Tiwanaku state collapsed (circa AD 1000), post-collapse communities in the Moquegua Valley had reduced access to imported ceramic materials. Furthermore, increased heterogeneity in the composition of locally produced pottery has been documented in Moquegua Valley ceramics during the two centuries after the collapse of the Tiwanaku state, suggesting that ceramic production shifted to less centralized workshops (Sharratt et al, 2015). The existing research into the impact of Tiwanaku state collapse on ceramic production and trade is based on a small sample of ceramic sherds, all from funerary contexts at one site. This sample was analyzed for elemental composition using Laser Ablation Induction-Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), a minimally-destructive process which required the export of ceramic samples to the United States. With an REU grant from the National Science Foundation, I was able to travel to Peru in 2017 to collect additional data on the elemental composition of over 200 ceramic fragments from two post-Tiwanaku Moquegua Valley refugee civilizations. As an alternative to LA-ICP-MS, I was able to utilize a handheld portable X-Ray Fluorescence instrument (pXRF) in Peru, to obtain an elemental profile for each sherd or vessel. Significantly, this sample is not only larger than in the earlier study but comes from a range of contexts (funerary, domestic, and ritual) from two different sites (Tumilaca la Chimba and Santa Rita la Chica). In this poster, I draw on the robust data set derived from my pXRF analyses to test the hypotheses that 1) post-collapse communities had limited access to imported ceramic material, and instead relied upon local clay sources for the majority of ceramic production and 2) that ceramic production became less standardized in the communities of Tumilaca la Chimba and Santa Rita la Chicha respectively than during the height of state authority, as production shifted from centralized workshops to household or individual contexts. I also explore the compositional data to identify patterns in production related to the context and site from which pottery was recovered

Pitfalls of applying adaptive management to a wolf population in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario

We examined adaptive management (AM), applied as a science with testable and falsifiable hypothesis, in the context of a large carnivore population, specifically to wolf (Canis lupus lycaon) management in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. Evidence of a population decline was based upon 12 years of data on 137 different radiocollared wolves. Because human killing accounted for an average of 66% of deaths, and most killing occurred adjacent to the park, a management prescription of complete protection for wolves around the park for 30 months was initiated in January 2001. We evaluated the probability of being able to test the null hypothesis, that protecting wolves adjacent to the park for 30 months would not result in a positive population response. Using preceding variances in population change, yearling recruitment, and mortality rates, we conducted this evaluation in two ways, the former involving a power analysis, the latter involving modeling. Both approaches showed the falsifiability of the hypothesis to be low. The reason, inherent in the application of AM to issues of population biology, especially of large carnivores, was stochasticity of the ecological system and time constraints of the human system. We discuss the political background that led up to the management prescription, and ways to avoid misapplication of a scientific approach to AM in such situations. For the latter, the merit of adjusting the relative probability levels of making Type I or Type II errors are discussed, along with recommendations that in the interests of conservation, avoiding a Type II error holds precedence. © 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc