1,331 research outputs found
Bayesian log-Gaussian Cox process regression: applications to meta-analysis of neuroimaging working memory studies
Working memory (WM) was one of the first cognitive processes studied with
functional magnetic resonance imaging. With now over 20 years of studies on WM,
each study with tiny sample sizes, there is a need for meta-analysis to
identify the brain regions that are consistently activated by WM tasks, and to
understand the interstudy variation in those activations. However, current
methods in the field cannot fully account for the spatial nature of
neuroimaging meta-analysis data or the heterogeneity observed among WM studies.
In this work, we propose a fully Bayesian random-effects metaregression model
based on log-Gaussian Cox processes, which can be used for meta-analysis of
neuroimaging studies. An efficient Markov chain Monte Carlo scheme for
posterior simulations is presented which makes use of some recent advances in
parallel computing using graphics processing units. Application of the proposed
model to a real data set provides valuable insights regarding the function of
the WM
Dissociating Neural Correlates of Action Monitoring and Metacognition of Agency
Judgments of agency refer to people's self-reflective assessments concerning their own control: their assessments of the extent to which they themselves are responsible for an action. These self-reflective metacognitive judgments can be distinguished from action monitoring, which involves the detection of the divergence (or lack of divergence) between observed states and expected states. Presumably, people form judgments of agency by metacognitively reflecting on the output of their action monitoring and then consciously inferring the extent to which they caused the action in question. Although a number of previous imaging studies have been directed at action monitoring, none have assessed judgments of agency as a potentially separate process. The present fMRI study used an agency paradigm that not only allowed us to examine the brain activity associated with action monitoring but that also enabled us to investigate those regions associated with metacognition of agency. Regarding action monitoring, we found that being âout of controlâ during the task (i.e., detection of a discrepancy between observed and expected states) was associated with increased brain activity in the right TPJ, whereas being âin controlâ was associated with increased activity in the pre-SMA, rostral cingulate zone, and dorsal striatum (regions linked to self-initiated action). In contrast, when participants made self-reflective metacognitive judgments about the extent of their own control (i.e., judgments of agency) compared with when they made judgments that were not about control (i.e., judgments of performance), increased activity was observed in the anterior PFC, a region associated with self-reflective processing. These results indicate that action monitoring is dissociable from people's conscious self-attributions of control
The Brain Basis of Positive and Negative Affect: Evidence from a Meta-Analysis of the Human Neuroimaging Literature
The ability to experience pleasant or unpleasant feelings or to represent objects as âpositiveâ or ânegativeâ is known as representing hedonic âvalence.â Although scientists overwhelmingly agree that valence is a basic psychological phenomenon, debate continues about how to best conceptualize it scientifically. We used a meta-analysis of 397 functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography studies (containing 914 experimental contrasts and 6827 participants) to test 3 competing hypotheses about the brain basis of valence: the bipolarity hypothesis that positive and negative affect are supported by a brain system that monotonically increases and/or decreases along the valence dimension, the bivalent hypothesis that positive and negative affect are supported by independent brain systems, and the affective workspace hypothesis that positive and negative affect are supported by a flexible set of valence-general regions. We found little evidence for the bipolar or bivalent hypotheses. Findings instead supported the hypothesis that, at the level of brain activity measurable by fMRI, valence is flexibly implemented across instances by a set of valence-general limbic and paralimbic brain regions
New zebrafish models of neurodegeneration
In modern biomedicine, the increasing need to develop experimental models to further our understanding of disease conditions and delineate innovative treatments has found in the zebrafish (Danio rerio) an experimental model, and indeed a valuable asset, to close the gap between in vitro and in vivo assays. Translation of ideas at a faster pace is vital in the field of neurodegeneration, with the attempt to slow or prevent the dramatic impact on the society's welfare being an essential priority. Our research group has pioneered the use of zebrafish to contribute to the quest for faster and improved understanding and treatment of neurodegeneration in concert with, and inspired by, many others who have primed the study of the zebrafish to understand and search for a cure for disorders of the nervous system. Aware of the many advantages this vertebrate model holds, here, we present an update on the recent zebrafish models available to study neurodegeneration with the goal of stimulating further interest and increasing the number of diseases and applications for which they can be exploited. We shall do so by citing and commenting on recent breakthroughs made possible via zebrafish, highlighting their benefits for the testing of therapeutics and dissecting of disease mechanisms
Advocacy in the tail: Exploring the implications of âclimategateâ for science journalism and public debate in the digital age
This paper explores the evolving practices of science journalism and public debate in the digital age. The vehicle for this study is the release of digitally stored email correspondence, data and documents from the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia in the weeks immediately prior to the United Nations Copenhagen Summit (COP-15) in December 2009. Described using the journalistic shorthand of âclimategateâ, and initially promoted through socio-technical networks of bloggers, this episode became a global news story and the subject of several formal reviews. âClimategateâ illustrates that media literate critics of anthropogenic explanations of climate change used digital tools to support their cause, making visible selected, newsworthy aspects of scientific information and the practices of scientists. In conclusion, I argue that âclimategateâ may have profound implications for the production and distribution of science news, and how climate science is represented and debated in the digitally-mediated public sphere
Ultrabroadband Density of States of Amorphous In-Ga-Zn-O
The sub-gap density of states of amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide
(-IGZO) is obtained using the ultrabroadband photoconduction (UBPC) response
of thin-film transistors (TFTs). Density functional theory simulations classify
the origin of the measured sub-gap density of states peaks as a series of
donor-like oxygen vacancy states and acceptor-like Zn vacancy states. Donor
peaks are found both near the conduction band and deep in the sub-gap, with
peak densities of cmeV. Two deep acceptor-like
metal vacancy peaks with peak densities in the range of
cmeV and lie adjacent to the valance band Urbach tail region at
2.0 to 2.5 eV below the conduction band edge. By applying detailed charge
balance, we show increasing the density of metal vacancy deep-acceptors
strongly shifts the -IGZO TFT threshold voltage to more positive values.
Photoionization (h > 2.0 eV) of metal vacancy acceptors is one cause of
transfer curve hysteresis in -IGZO TFTs owing to longer recombination
lifetimes as they get captured into acceptor-like vacancies.Comment: 31 pages, 5 figures, supplementary section include
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Evaluation of outreach services for primary care and mental health; assessing the impact
Objectives: This paper reports an evaluation, carried out for London Health Libraries, of the impact of outreach services to primary care and mental health workers in thirteen different settings. The main aims of the project were to identify the impact being made by the service, and to produce best practice guidelines for outreach services in this kind of âdifficultâ community setting.
Methods: Methods used were: analysis of documents (all 13 services); analysis of any evaluation already performed by or for the service (all 13 services); interviews with outreach librarians (11 services); questionnaire survey of a representative sample of users (8 services, with 66 returned questionnaires, 35% response rate). The services evaluated were very diverse, in terms of setting, structure, functions and activities, and extent and nature of self-evaluation and reporting. The evaluation was therefore largely qualitative, in order to deal with the lack of a consistent âtemplateâ for analysis. Emphasis was placed on trying to identify critical incidents , where it could be shown unambiguously that the outreach services made a difference to practice.
Study limitations included the difficulty of summarising and comparing very different situations and diverse services, difficulty in identifying critical incidents, and an inability to study ânon-usersâ.
Findings: Service recipients felt better informed, more up-
to-date, more aware of resources, more confident and supported in their work, and saved time. Services contributed to a richer information environment. Direct impacts, demonstrably improved patient care, cost savings etc., were more difficult to establish
Hemodynamic-informed parcellation of fMRI data in a Joint Detection Estimation framework
International audienceIdentifying brain hemodynamics in event-related functional MRI (fMRI) data is a crucial issue to disentangle the vascular response from the neuronal activity in the BOLD signal. This question is usually addressed by estimating the so-called Hemodynamic Response Function (HRF). Voxelwise or region-/parcelwise inference schemes have been proposed to achieve this goal but so far all known contributions commit to pre-specified spatial supports for the hemodynamic territories by defining these supports either as individual voxels or a priori fixed brain parcels. In this paper, we introduce a Joint Parcellation-Detection-Estimation (JPDE) procedure that incorporates an adaptive parcel identification step based upon local hemodynamic properties. Efficient inference of both evoked activity, HRF shapes and supports is then achieved using variational approximations. Validation on synthetic and real fMRI data demonstrate the JPDE performance over standard detection estimation schemes and suggest it as a new brain exploration tool
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Electroluminescence thermal quenching in SrS:Cu thin-film electroluminescent devices
Electroluminesence (EL) thermal quenching refers a reduction in luminance, concomitant with a reduction in transferred charge, when an alternating-current thin-film electroluminescent (ACTFEL) device is operated at an elevated temperature. EL thermal quenching is found to be significant in SrS:Cu ACTFEL devices operated above ~60-80 °C. Maximum transferred charge-maximum applied voltage (Qmax-Vmax) and transferred charge capacitance (i.e., dQmax /dVmax vs Vmax) measurements as a function of temperature in conjunction with ACTFEL device simulation are employed in order to establish that EL thermal quenching arises from a thermally activated annihilation of positive space charge and a corresponding increase in the threshold voltage
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