Dynamic theta-alpha inter-brain model during mother-preschooler cooperation.

The interaction between mothers and young children is a highly dynamic process neurally characterized by inter-brain synchrony (IBS) at θ and/or α rhythms. However, their establishment, dynamic changes, and roles in mother-child interactions remain unknown. In this study, through a simultaneous dynamic analysis of inter-brain EEG synchrony, intra-brain EEG power, and interactive behaviors from 40 mother-preschooler dyads during turn-taking cooperation, we constructed a dynamic inter-brain model that θ-IBS and α-IBS alternated with interactive behaviors, with EEG frequency-shift as a prerequisite for IBS transitions.

Characterizing consciousness states: EEG microstate dynamics in patients with disorders of consciousness during naturalistic movie-viewing.

Consciousness assessment in disorders of consciousness (DoC) patients remains clinically challenging. Dynamic brain activities responsive to sensory stimulations have been suggested to contain consciousness-related information. However, primary sensory processing can occur unconsciously, necessitating evaluation of residual higher-order cognitive functions for effective assessment.

Low-Intensity Transcranial Ultrasound Stimulation Promotes Recovery in Blood Flow and Movement Following Prolonged Anesthesia.

General anesthesia is a routine operation before surgical and diagnostic procedures. However, delayed emergence from anesthesia can lead to various complications. Researchers have sought to use transcranial ultrasound stimulation to promote motor and cognitive function recovery after short-period anesthesia (<60 min).

Mismatch negativity deficits in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Objectives: Numerous studies have demonstrated mismatch negativity (MMN) deficits in schizophrenia (SCZ), and growing evidence suggests similar deficits in bipolar disorder (BPD). However, no large-scale MMN study has been conducted on Chinese patients with SCZ and BPD. This study aims to validate the presence of MMN deficits in SCZ patients and assess whether BPD patients exhibit similar deficits, using a large-scale Chinese cohort.

Mirror therapy reduces excessive variability of motor network in stroke patients: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Mirror therapy (MT) has been demonstrated as an effective intervention for promoting motor recovery post-stroke. Existing neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that the efficacy of MT is associated with its effect to increase the strength of brain activity and functional connectivity in the bilateral M1. However, its modulation on brain dynamics, which also hold physiological significance, remains unknown.

Test-retest reliability of pre-cue and anticipatory alpha activity in visual spatial attention.

Alpha-band activity over the parietal-occipital cortex is a canonical neural marker of visual spatial attention. However, the ongoing debate surrounds whether this activity represents as an active mechanism in gating visual information processing or if it merely reflects an epiphenomenal consequence of anticipatory attentional shifts. Despite this debate, the temporal stability of alpha activity in visual spatial attention, an essential aspect for this discussion, remains ambiguous.

A potential diagnostic biomarker for schizophrenia based on local functional connectivity using dynamic regional phase synchrony.

Objectives: Though schizophrenia (SZ) has the well-established diagnostic criteria, the clinical conundrum of diagnostic inaccuracies still exists for its symptomatic overlap with other mental diseases like bipolar disorder (BD). Researchers have been looking for more specific and objective neuroimaging markers for SZ.

Methods: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and T1 data from a total of 931 participants (SZ: 300; BD: 145; and healthy controls (HC): 486) were collected from two centers.

Functional Reorganization of White Matter Supporting the Transhemispheric Mechanism of Mirror Therapy After Stroke: A Multimodal MRI Study.

Mirror therapy (MT) is an effective approach in stroke recovery, but its impact on subcortical neural reorganization remains unclear. Thus, we aimed to investigate the neuroplastic effects on white matter due to MT. In this study, thirty-three participants with stroke were recruited and randomly assigned into the MT group (n = 16) or the control group (n = 17) for a 4-week intervention.

Baseline alpha wave predicts post-cue alpha during visual spatial attention with linear mixed model.

Electroencephalography alpha-band (8-13 Hz) activity following spatial cues during visual attention has been extensively studied. However, its functional role remains unclear, possibly due to individual differences or contributing factors. Our recent study showed that post-cue alpha activity depended on baseline alpha by splitting participants based on their median baseline alpha, which, however, ignored the difference in baseline alpha within the subgroups.

Gamma-band inter-brain synchrony during shared emotional stimulation in romantic relationship.

Shared emotional stimulation contributes to fostering robust interpersonal relationships such as romantic relationship. While romantic couples share the emotional states of their partner through empathy, the neural processing and the effect of empathy during shared emotional stimulation remain unclear. Utilizing a naturalistic co-viewing paradigm and electroencephalography (EEG) hyperscanning technique, we investigated the inter-brain synchrony in romantic couples while watching a positive movie clip.

State-dependent neurovascular modulation induced by transcranial ultrasound stimulation.

Previous studies reported baseline state-dependent effects on neural and hemodynamic responses to transcranial ultrasound stimulation. However, due to neurovascular coupling, neither neural nor hemodynamic baseline alone can fully explain the ultrasound-induced responses. In this study, using a general linear model, we aimed to investigate the roles of both neural and hemodynamic baseline status as well as their interactions in ultrasound-induced responses.

Willed Attentional Selection of Visual Features: An EEG Study.

Visual selective attention studies generally tend to apply cuing paradigms to instructively direct observers' attention to certain locations, features or objects. However, in real situations, attention in humans often flows spontaneously without any specific instructions. Recently, a concept named "willed attention" was raised in visuospatial attention, in which participants are free to make volitional attention decisions.

Evidence of mirror therapy for recruitment of ipsilateral motor pathways in stroke recovery: A resting fMRI study.

Mirror therapy (MT) has been proposed to promote motor recovery post-stroke through activation of mirror neuron system, recruitment of ipsilateral motor pathways, or/and increasing attention toward the affected limb. However, neuroimaging evidence for these mechanisms is still lacking. To uncover the underlying mechanisms, we designed a randomized controlled study and used a voxel-based whole-brain analysis of resting-state fMRI to explore the brain reorganizations induced by MT.

The Effect of Mirror Visual Feedback Therapy on the Hand Mental Rotation in Stroke Patients: An ERP study.

Mirror visual feedback (MVF) intervention is an adjunctive approach for motor recovery after stroke. It has been hypothesized that MVF can increase visual perception, motor imagery, and attention of/to the hands. However, neuroimaging evidence for this hypothesis is still lacking.

Vascular Response to Low-intensity Ultrasound Stimulation.

Low-intensity ultrasound stimulation (LIUS) is an emerging neuro- and vascular-modulation technique. Studies on humans and animals have shown that LIUS could induce changes in neuronal oscillations or blood flow. However, it is still inconclusive whether the hemodynamic response to LIUS is due to neurovascular coupling (NVC), direct ultrasound-vessel interactions, or both.

Comparing the Signal-to-Noise Ratio Estimates for Event-Related Potentials: A Simulation Study.

Event-related potential (ERP) is one of the commonly used electrophysiologic measures for brain activity with millisecond time resolution, which has been widely applied to psychology and neuroscience research. Conventionally, ERP is obtained by grand-averaging EEG recordings across multiple trials to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Reliable quantitative analysis of the amplitude or latency of ERP requires sufficient SNR.

Changes in choroidal hemodynamics of form-deprivation myopia in Guinea pigs.

Purpose: We studied changes in the choroid, particularly variation in blood flow, during the development of myopia. The hemodynamic mechanism in play remains unclear. We evaluated blood flow by quantitating indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence in a guinea pig model of form-deprivation myopia.

The effects of pre-cue alpha and cueing strategy on age-related deficits in post-cue alpha activity and target processing during visual spatial attention.

Electroencephalography alpha-band (8-13 Hz) activity during visual spatial attention declines in normal aging. We recently reported the impacts of pre-cue baseline alpha and cueing strategy on post-cue anticipatory alpha activity and target processing in visual spatial attention (Wang et al., Cerebral Cortex, 2023).

EEG correlates of anticipatory attention and target processing in children and adults during visual spatial attention.

The ability of attentional orienting has been suggested to keep developing throughout childhood. Electroencephalography (EEG) studies have shown that 6-10 year old children exhibit lateralized alpha-band (8-13 Hz) activity and event-related potentials (ERPs) that are classic markers of spatial attentional orienting in adults. However, the lack of a direct comparison of these EEG correlates between children and adults in the same experiment made it difficult to evaluate developmental effects on neural activity throughout attentional stages.

Neuroimaging prognostic factors for treatment response to motor imagery training after stroke.

The efficacy of motor imagery training for motor recovery is well acknowledged, but with substantial inter-individual variability in stroke patients. To help optimize motor imagery training therapy plans and screen suitable patients, this study aimed to explore neuroimaging biomarkers explaining variability in treatment response. Thirty-nine stroke patients were randomized to a motor imagery training group (n = 22, received a combination of conventional rehabilitation therapy and motor imagery training) and a control group (n = 17, received conventional rehabilitation therapy and health education) for 4 weeks of interventions.

Deep-learning-based 3D blood flow reconstruction in transmissive laser speckle imaging.

Transmissive laser speckle imaging (LSI) is useful for monitoring large field-of-view (FOV) blood flow in thick tissues. However, after longer transmissions, the contrast of the transmitted speckle images is more likely to be blurred by multiple scattering, resulting in decreased accuracy and spatial resolution of deep vessels. This study proposes a deep-learning-based strategy for high spatiotemporal resolution three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction from a single transilluminated laser speckle contrast image, providing more structural and functional details without multifocus two-dimensional (2D) imaging or 3D optical imaging with point/line scanning.