Phase diagram of the isotropic spin-3/2 model on the z=3 Bethe lattice

We study an SU(2) symmetric spin-3/2 model on the z=3 Bethe lattice using the infinite Time Evolving Block Decimation (iTEBD) method. This model is shown to exhibit a rich phase diagram. We compute the expectation values of several order parameters which allow us to identify a ferromagnetic, a ferrimagnetic, a anti-ferromagnetic as well as a dimerized phase. We calculate the entanglement spectra from which we conclude the existence of a symmetry protected topological phase that is characterized by S=1/2 edge spins. Details of the iTEBD algorithm used for the simulations are included

TEST OF MICROBIAL TRANSFORMATION OF FLOTATION TAILINGS TO CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL

The use and recycling of secondary raw materials increases resource efficiency. An interesting option would be the use of flotation tailings in the production of building materials. One of challenges is the content of mobilizable metals in the residues for ecological quality reasons of building material. Since flotation residues contain low metal concentration they are suitable for bioleaching approaches

Anterior Prefrontal Involvement in Implicit Contextual Change Detection

Anterior prefrontal cortex is usually associated with high level executive functions. Here, we show that the frontal pole, specifically left lateral frontopolar cortex, is involved in signaling change in implicitly learned spatial contexts, in the absence of conscious change detection. In a variant of the contextual cueing paradigm, participants first learned contingencies between distractor contexts and target locations implicitly. After learning, repeated distractor contexts were paired with new target locations. Left lateral frontopolar [Brodmann area (BA) 10] and superior frontal (BA9) cortices showed selective signal increase for this target location change in repeated displays in an event-related fMRI experiment, which was most pronounced in participants with high contextual facilitation before the change. The data support the view that left lateral frontopolar cortex is involved in signaling contextual change to posterior brain areas as a precondition for adaptive changes of attentional resource allocation. This signaling occurs in the absence of awareness of learned contingencies or contextual change

Repeated Contextual Search Cues Lead to Reduced BOLD-Onset Times in Early Visual and Left Inferior Frontal Cortex

Repetition of context can facilitate search for targets in distractor-filled displays. This contextual cueing goes along with enhanced event-related brain potentials in visual cortex, as previously demonstrated with depth electrodes in the human brain. However, modulation of the BOLD-response in striate and peristriate cortices has, to our knowledge, not yet been reported as a consequence of contextual cueing. Here, we report a selective reduction of the BOLD onset latency for repeated distractor configurations in these areas. In addition, the same onset latency reduction was observed in posterior inferior frontal cortex, a potential source area for feedback signals to early visual areas

Feature-Based Attentional Weighting and Re-weighting in the Absence of Visual Awareness

Published: 29 January 2021.Visual attention evolved as an adaptive mechanism allowing us to cope with a rapidly changing environment. It enables the facilitated processing of relevant information, often automatically and governed by implicit motives. However, despite recent advances in understanding the relationship between consciousness and visual attention, the functional scope of unconscious attentional control is still under debate. Here, we present a novel masking paradigm in which volunteers were to distinguish between varying orientations of a briefly presented, masked grating stimulus. Combining signal detection theory and subjective measures of awareness, we show that performance on unaware trials was consistent with visual selection being weighted towards repeated orientations of Gabor patches and reallocated in response to a novel unconsciously processed orientation. This was particularly present in trials in which the prior feature was strongly weighted and only if the novel feature was invisible. Thus, our results provide evidence that invisible orientation stimuli can trigger the reallocation of history-guided visual selection weights.The project was funded in part by DFG-grant SFB1436-C02 to SP. DS acknowledges support from project grant PSI2016-76443-P from the Spanish Ministry of Science and the “Severo Ochoa” Programme for Centres/Units of Excellence in R & D (SEV-2015-490)

Statistical Learning Analysis in Neuroscience: Aiming for Transparency

Encouraged by a rise of reciprocal interest between the machine learning and neuroscience communities, several recent studies have demonstrated the explanatory power of statistical learning techniques for the analysis of neural data. In order to facilitate a wider adoption of these methods, neuroscientific research needs to ensure a maximum of transparency to allow for comprehensive evaluation of the employed procedures. We argue that such transparency requires “neuroscience-aware” technology for the performance of multivariate pattern analyses of neural data that can be documented in a comprehensive, yet comprehensible way. Recently, we introduced PyMVPA, a specialized Python framework for machine learning based data analysis that addresses this demand. Here, we review its features and applicability to various neural data modalities

Retinotopic Activation in Response to Subjective Contours in Primary Visual Cortex

Objects in our visual environment are arranged in depth and hence there is a considerable amount of overlap and occlusion in the image they generate on the retina. In order to properly segment the image into figure and background, boundary interpolation is required even across large distances. Here we study the cortical mechanisms involved in collinear contour interpolation using fMRI. Human observers were asked to discriminate the curvature of interpolated boundaries in Kanizsa figures and in control configurations, which contained identical physical information but did not generated subjective shapes. We measured a spatially precise spin-echo BOLD signal and found stronger responses to subjective shapes than non-shapes at the subjective boundary locations, but not at the inducer locations. The responses to subjective contours within primary visual cortex were retinotopically specific and analogous to that to real contours, which is intriguing given that subjective and luminance-defined contours are physically fundamentally different. We suggest that in the absence of retinal stimulation, the observed activation changes in primary visual cortex are driven by intracortical interactions and feedback, which are revealed in the absence of a physical stimulus

Frontal cortex differentiates between free and imposed target selection in multiple-target search

Cognitive control can involve proactive (preparatory) and reactive (corrective) mechanisms. Using a gaze-contingent eye tracking paradigm combined with fMRI, we investigated the involvement of these different modes of control and their underlying neural networks, when switching between different targets in multiple-target search. Participants simultaneously searched for two possible targets presented among distractors, and selected one of them. In one condition, only one of the targets was available in each display, so that the choice was imposed, and reactive control would be required. In the other condition, both targets were present, giving observers free choice over target selection, and allowing for proactive control. Switch costs emerged only when targets were imposed and not when target selection was free. We found differential levels of activity in the frontoparietal control network depending on whether target switches were free or imposed. Furthermore, we observed core regions of the default mode network to be active during target repetitions, indicating reduced control on these trials. Free and imposed switches jointly activated parietal and posterior frontal cortices, while free switches additionally activated anterior frontal cortices. These findings highlight unique contributions of proactive and reactive control during visual search