Evaluating correlations between reading ability and psychophysical measurements of dynamic visual information processing in Japanese adults.

The reading ability of English readers has been shown to correlate with psychophysical measurements of dynamic visual information processing. This study investigated the relationship between reading ability and dynamic visual information processing in healthy adult native Japanese readers (n = 46). Reading ability was assessed using three different tests: the Japanese Adult Reading Test (JART), transposed-letter detection task, and oral reading.

Cybernetic avatars: Teleoperation technologies from in-body monitoring to social interaction.

Cybernetic avatars integrate physical and virtual avatars to enhance human capabilities in diverse scales and contexts.

Dopamine-induced relaxation of spike synchrony diversifies burst patterns in cultured hippocampal networks.

The intricate interplay of neurotransmitters orchestrates a symphony of neural activity in the hippocampus, with dopamine emerging as a key conductor in this complex ensemble. Despite numerous studies uncovering the cellular mechanisms of dopamine, its influence on hippocampal neural networks remains elusive. Combining in vitro electrophysiological recordings of rat embryonic hippocampal neurons, pharmacological interventions, and computational analyses of spike trains, we found that dopamine induces a relaxation in network synchrony.

Revealing single-neuron and network-activity interaction by combining high-density microelectrode array and optogenetics.

The synchronous activity of neuronal networks is considered crucial for brain function. However, the interaction between single-neuron activity and network-wide activity remains poorly understood. This study explored this interaction within cultured networks of rat cortical neurons.

[How Can We Reconstruct Mental Imagery from Brain Activities?].

Advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) have enabled the extraction of information such as perception and motor intention from neural activities, which is called neural decoding. A recent study demonstrated that mental imagery can be reconstructed from brain activity measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging. This article describes the method of mental image reconstruction and the underlying technologies that support it.

Broadband generation and tomography of non-Gaussian states for ultra-fast optical quantum processors.

Quantum information processors benefit from high clock frequencies to fully harness quantum advantages before they are lost to decoherence. All-optical systems offer unique benefits due to their inherent 100-THz carrier frequency, enabling the development of THz-clock frequency processors. However, the bandwidth of quantum light sources and measurement devices has been limited to the MHz range, with nonclassical state generation rates in the kHz range.

Unprecedented NO production by nitrate-ammonifying with distinctive NO isotopocule signatures.

Dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA), driven by nitrate-ammonifying bacteria, is an increasingly appreciated nitrogen-cycling pathway in terrestrial ecosystems. This process reportedly generates nitrous oxide (NO), a strong greenhouse gas with ozone-depleting effects. However, it remains poorly understood how NO is produced by environmental nitrate-ammonifiers and how to identify DNRA-derived NO.

Neural Transformation from Retinotopic to Background-Centric Coordinates in the Macaque Precuneus.

Visual information is initially represented in retinotopic coordinates and later in craniotopic coordinates. Psychophysical evidence suggests that visual information is further represented in more general coordinates related to the external world; however, the neural basis of nonegocentric coordinates remains elusive. This study investigates the automatic transformation from egocentric to nonegocentric coordinates in the macaque precuneus (two males, one female), identified by a functional imaging study as a key area for nonegocentric representation.

Optogenetic estimation of synaptic connections in brain slices.

Background: Detection of synaptic connections is essential for understanding neural circuits. By using optogenetics, current injection, and glutamate uncaging to activate presynaptic cells and simultaneously recording the subsequent response of postsynaptic cells, the presence of synaptic connections can be confirmed. However, these methods present throughput challenges, such as the need for simultaneous multicellular patch-clamp recording and two-photon microscopy.

Effects of website-based risk communication of radio-frequency electromagnetic fields on general public.

Background: Radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) are utilized in communications and appliances and are indispensable in daily life. However, some people have concerns about the adverse health effects of RF-EMFs; therefore, effective risk communication (RC) is needed in this field.

Objective: In this study, we investigate public attitudes towards RF-EMFs and examine the impact of RC via a website on these attitudes and objective knowledge.

Bistable perception of symbolic numbers.

Numerals, that is, semantic expressions of numbers, enable us to have an exact representation of the amount of things. Visual processing of numerals plays an indispensable role in the recognition and interpretation of numbers. Here, we investigate how visual information from numerals is processed to achieve semantic understanding.

Brain activities in the auditory area and insula represent stimuli evoking emotional response.

Cinema, a modern titan of entertainment, holds power to move people with the artful manipulation of auditory and visual stimuli. Despite this, the mechanisms behind how sensory stimuli elicit emotional responses are unknown. Thus, this study evaluated which brain regions were involved when sensory stimuli evoke auditory- or visual-driven emotions during film viewing.

The impact of data imputation on air quality prediction problem.

With rising environmental concerns, accurate air quality predictions have become paramount as they help in planning preventive measures and policies for potential health hazards and environmental problems caused by poor air quality. Most of the time, air quality data are time series data. However, due to various reasons, we often encounter missing values in datasets collected during data preparation and aggregation steps.

Vibration-Induced Illusory Movement Task Can Induce Functional Recovery in Patients With Subacute Stroke.

In recent years, mental practice (MP), which involves repetitive motor imagery (MI), has been applied in rehabilitation to actively enhance exercise performance. MP is a method that involves repetitive MI, consciously evoking the intentions and content of the exercise without actual exercise. Combining actual exercise with MP promotes the development of exercise skills.

Diffusion model-based image generation from rat brain activity.

Brain-computer interface (BCI) technology has gained recognition in various fields, including clinical applications, assistive technology, and human-computer interaction research. BCI enables communication, control, and monitoring of the affective/cognitive states of users. Recently, BCI has also found applications in the artistic field, enabling real-time art composition using brain activity signals, and engaging performers, spectators, or an entire audience with brain activity-based artistic environments.

Control limitations in the null-space of the wrist muscle system.

The redundancy present within the musculoskeletal system may offer a non-invasive source of signals for movement augmentation, where the set of muscle activations that do not produce force/torque (muscle-to-force null-space) could be controlled simultaneously to the natural limbs. Here, we investigated the viability of extracting movement augmentation control signals from the muscles of the wrist complex. Our study assessed (i) if controlled variation of the muscle activation patterns in the wrist joint's null-space is possible; and (ii) whether force and null-space cursor targets could be reached concurrently.

Roadmap on computational methods in optical imaging and holography [invited].

Unlabelled: Computational methods have been established as cornerstones in optical imaging and holography in recent years. Every year, the dependence of optical imaging and holography on computational methods is increasing significantly to the extent that optical methods and components are being completely and efficiently replaced with computational methods at low cost. This roadmap reviews the current scenario in four major areas namely incoherent digital holography, quantitative phase imaging, imaging through scattering layers, and super-resolution imaging.

X-ray diffraction recording from a small amount of fibrous protein materials oriented by a micro shear-flow cell.

This paper describes a method for recording X-ray diffraction patterns from a small amount of fibrous protein materials while being oriented by using a micro shear-flow cell. This cell consists of two concentrically arranged glass tubes. The inner tube is stationary, while the outer one rotates at a high speed.

Homogenization of word relationships in schizophrenia: Topological analysis of cortical semantic representations.

Aim: Patients with schizophrenia typically exhibit symptoms of disorganized thought and display concreteness and over-inclusion in verbal reports, depending on the level of abstraction. While concreteness and over-inclusion may appear contradictory, the underlying psychopathology that explains these symptoms remains unclear. In the current study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging with an encoding modeling approach to examine how concepts of various words, represented as brain activity, are anomalously connected at different levels of abstraction in patients with schizophrenia.

Dynamic predictive templates in perception.

Hallucinations are vivid and transient experiences of objects, such as images or sounds, that occur in the absence of a corresponding stimulus. To understand the neurocomputational mechanisms of hallucinations, cognitive neuroscience has focused on experiments that induce false alarms (FAs) in healthy participants, psychosis-prone individuals, and patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. FAs occur when participants make decisions about difficult-to-detect stimuli and indicate the presence of a signal that was, in fact, not presented.