Creating a Virtual Mirror for Motor Learning in Virtual Reality

Waltemate T. Creating a Virtual Mirror for Motor Learning in Virtual Reality. Bielefeld: Universität Bielefeld; 2018

Realizing a Low-latency Virtual Reality Environment for Motor Learning

Waltemate T, Hülsmann F, Pfeiffer T, Kopp S, Botsch M. Realizing a Low-latency Virtual Reality Environment for Motor Learning. In: Proceedings of the 21st ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology. VRST '15. New York, NY, USA: ACM; 2015: 139-147.Virtual Reality (VR) has the potential to support motor learning in ways exceeding beyond the possibilities provided by real world environments. New feedback mechanisms can be implemented that support motor learning during the performance of the trainee and afterwards as a performance review. As a consequence, VR environments excel in controlled evaluations, which has been proven in many other application scenarios. However, in the context of motor learning of complex tasks, including full-body movements, questions regarding the main technical parameters of such a system, in particular that of the required maximum latency, have not been addressed in depth. To fill this gap, we propose a set of requirements towards VR systems for motor learning, with a special focus on motion capturing and rendering. We then assess and evaluate state-of-the-art techniques and technologies for motion capturing and rendering, in order to provide data on latencies for different setups. We focus on the end-to-end latency of the overall system, and present an evaluation of an exemplary system that has been developed to meet these requirements

The ICSPACE Platform: A Virtual Reality Setup for Experiments in Motor Learning

Hülsmann F, Waltemate T, Pfeiffer T, et al. The ICSPACE Platform: A Virtual Reality Setup for Experiments in Motor Learning. Presented at the Virtual Environments: Current Topics in Psychological Research (VECTOR), Tübingen, Germany

The Impact of Latency on Perceptual Judgments and Motor Performance in Closed-loop Interaction in Virtual Reality

Waltemate T, Senna I, Hülsmann F, et al. The Impact of Latency on Perceptual Judgments and Motor Performance in Closed-loop Interaction in Virtual Reality. In: Proceedings of ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology. New York: ACM; 2016: 27-35

Demonstrating the Dialogue System of the Intelligent Coaching Space

de Kok I, Hough J, Hülsmann F, et al. Demonstrating the Dialogue System of the Intelligent Coaching Space. In: Howes C, Larsson S, eds. Proceedings of the 19th Workshop on the Semantics and Pragmatics of Dialogue. Proceedings (SemDial). Gothenburg: University of Gothenburg; 2015: 168-169

Neural processing of emotional facial stimuli in specific phobia: An fMRI study

Background Patients with specific phobia (SP) show altered brain activation when confronted with phobia-specific stimuli. It is unclear whether this pathogenic activation pattern generalizes to other emotional stimuli. This study addresses this question by employing a well-powered sample while implementing an established paradigm using nonspecific aversive facial stimuli. Methods N = 111 patients with SP, spider subtype, and N = 111 healthy controls (HCs) performed a supraliminal emotional face-matching paradigm contrasting aversive faces versus shapes in a 3-T magnetic resonance imaging scanner. We performed region of interest (ROI) analyses for the amygdala, the insula, and the anterior cingulate cortex using univariate as well as machine-learning-based multivariate statistics based on this data. Additionally, we investigated functional connectivity by means of psychophysiological interaction (PPI). Results Although the presentation of emotional faces showed significant activation in all three ROIs across both groups, no group differences emerged in all ROIs. Across both groups and in the HC > SP contrast, PPI analyses showed significant task-related connectivity of brain areas typically linked to higher-order emotion processing with the amygdala. The machine learning approach based on whole-brain activity patterns could significantly differentiate the groups with 73% balanced accuracy. Conclusions Patients suffering from SP are characterized by differences in the connectivity of the amygdala and areas typically linked to emotional processing in response to aversive facial stimuli (inferior parietal cortex, fusiform gyrus, middle cingulate, postcentral cortex, and insula). This might implicate a subtle difference in the processing of nonspecific emotional stimuli and warrants more research furthering our understanding of neurofunctional alteration in patients with SP.Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659Peer Reviewe

The Intelligent Coaching Space: A Demonstration

de Kok I, Hülsmann F, Waltemate T, et al. The Intelligent Coaching Space: A Demonstration. In: Beskow J, Peters C, Castellano G, O'Sullivan C, Leite I, Kopp S, eds. Intelligent Virtual Agents: 17th International Conference on Intelligent Virtual Agents from August 27th to 30th in Stockholm, Sweden. Lecture Notes in Computer Science. Vol 10498. Cham: Springer; 2017: 105-108

In vivo hippocampal subfield volumes in bipolar disorder—A mega-analysis from The Enhancing Neuro Imaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis Bipolar Disorder Working Group

The hippocampus consists of anatomically and functionally distinct subfields that may be differentially involved in the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder (BD). Here we, the Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta‐Analysis Bipolar Disorder workinggroup, study hippocampal subfield volumetry in BD. T1‐weighted magnetic resonance imaging scans from 4,698 individuals (BD = 1,472, healthy controls [HC] = 3,226) from 23 sites worldwide were processed with FreeSurfer. We used linear mixed‐effects models and mega‐analysis to investigate differences in hippocampal subfield volumes between BD and HC, followed by analyses of clinical characteristics and medication use. BD showed significantly smaller volumes of the whole hippocampus (Cohen's d = −0.20), cornu ammonis (CA)1 (d = −0.18), CA2/3 (d = −0.11), CA4 (d = −0.19), molecular layer (d = −0.21), granule cell layer of dentate gyrus (d = −0.21), hippocampal tail (d = −0.10), subiculum (d = −0.15), presubiculum (d = −0.18), and hippocampal amygdala transition area (d = −0.17) compared to HC. Lithium users did not show volume differences compared to HC, while non‐users did. Antipsychotics or antiepileptic use was associated with smaller volumes. In this largest study of hippocampal subfields in BD to date, we show widespread reductions in nine of 12 subfields studied. The associations were modulated by medication use and specifically the lack of differences between lithium users and HC supports a possible protective role of lithium in BD

Supplemental Material for Thesis 'Creating a Virtual Mirror for Motor Learning in Virtual Reality'

Waltemate T. Supplemental Material for Thesis 'Creating a Virtual Mirror for Motor Learning in Virtual Reality'. Bielefeld University; 2018

Supplemental Material for Thesis 'Creating a Virtual Mirror for Motor Learning in Virtual Reality'

Waltemate T. Supplemental Material for Thesis 'Creating a Virtual Mirror for Motor Learning in Virtual Reality'. Bielefeld University; 2018