Right prefrontal laterality of Chinese boys during a Chinese high conflict Stroop task measured by multi-channel near-infrared spectroscopy imaging

Some studies have shown that native Chinese speakers have different laterality in matched Stroop tasks from native English speakers.Recently,many imaging data,which show left laterality of English-matched Stroop interference,have been reported.And a few functional imaging studies have been conducted to investigate the phenomenon of the Chinese version of Stroop task.In this study,functional activity in the lateral prefrontal cortex of a group of normal Chinese boys with functional near-infrared imaging during a Stroop color-word task was measured to show different Stroop interferences in the prefrontal cortex.The results show obvious fluctuation of the cerebral blood volume in the right prefrontal cortex in all boys,which agrees with the finding of previous studies,that is,Chinese native boys have right laterality in their brain when the Chinese version of Stroop color-word task is applied.     

Resting state brain default network in patients with motor aphasia resulting from cerebral infarction

To explore the brain default mode network （DMN） in patients with motor aphasia resulting from cere- bral infarction, we used resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging （fMRI） to investigate the possible neural mechanism. Thirteen patients with motor aphasia resulting from cerebral infarction and ten matched controls were selected in this study. All subjects were examined using resting state fMRI. We chose the posterior cingulate cortex as the region of interest and then used functional connectivity analysis to calculate the DMN functional connectivity and analyze differences in the functional connectivity between the two groups. Compared with normal controls, aphasia patient group showed a significantly decreased functional connectivity in bilateral medial frontal gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, precuneus and cuneus. The aphasia patient group showed increased functional connectivity mainly in bilateral medial frontal gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, precentral gyrus, insula. The DMN in cerebral infarction motor aphasia patients showed significantly decreased functional connectivity in the resting state. The DMN most likely plays an important role in motor aphasia resulting from cerebral infarction. Furthermore, functional connectivity inthe brain regions surrounding the left and right Broca＇s areas was significantly enhanced due to compensatory mecha- nisms. This may be helpful for the recovery of language function in cerebral infarction patients with motor aphasia.     

Involvement of the crebellum in sequential finger movement learning： Evidence from functional magnetic resonance imaging

Whether the cerebellum is involved in voluntary motor learning or motor performance is the subject of a new debate. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging （fMRI）, we examined cerebellar activation in eight voluntecrs before and after an extended period of training. Activation volume on both sides of cerebellum after learning was significantly reduced compared to that before learning even under the same motor frequency. Remarkably, while motor frequency for the training sequence was significantly higher than the control sequence after 41 d of learning, activation in the cerebellum for both sequences, with respect to activation loci and volumes, was very similar. These results suggest that the cerebellum was involved in motor learning but not motor performance. Changes of cerebellar activation from training thus appear to be associated with learning but not with improvement on task performance.     

Modulation of human global／local perception by low spatial frequency filtering

We investigated the effect of low spatial frequency (SF) filtering on neural substrates underlying global and local processing in the peripheral vision by measuring hemodynamic responses with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Subjects identified global or local shapes of compound letters that were either broadband in spatialfrequency spectrum or contrast balanced (CB) to removed low SFs and displayed randomly in the left or right visual fields. Attention to both broadband and CB global shapes generated stronger activation over the medial occipital cortex relative to local attention. Lateralized activations in association with global processing were observed over the right temporal-parietal junction for broadband stimuli whereas over the right fusiform gyrns for CB stimuli. Attention to CB local shapes resulted in activations in the medial frontal cortex, bilateral inferior frontal and superior temporal cortices.The results were discussed in terms of the competition between global and local information in determining brain activations in association with global/local processing of compound stimuli.     

Early scale effect and hemisphere superiority on the visual spatial attention: From the electrophysiological evidence of ERP

The visual attention mechanism in the brain was studied among 16 young subjects through the precue-target visual search paradigm using the event-related potentials (ERPs) technique, with the attentive ranges cued with different scales of Chinese words. The results showed that the response time was shortened as the cue scale was reduced, while the amplitudes of the P1 and N1 components of the ERPs increased. These results not only provided the electrophysiological evidence supporting the spotlight theory, but also indicated that the spotlight effect occurred during the early period of the selected attention. Two kinds of separation in the P2 effect were observed. One separation was between the P1 effect and P2 effect, which meant that additional computation was needed when the spatial scale of attention was enlarged; the other was between the left and right hemisphere of the P2 effect, which indicates that the attentive processing of the cue range mainly occurred in the left hemisphere.     

fMRI-constrained source analysis of visual P300 in Landolt ring task

An fMRI-constrained source analysis was applied to investigate visual P300 in the Landolt ring task. To study the localization and relative activation timing of P300 generators, we implemented simultaneous EEG/fMRI to identify BOLD signal changes and record 64-channel EEG in 10 subjects during a Landolt ring task inside a 1.5-T fMRI scanner using an MR-compatible EEG recording system. MRI artifact subtraction software was applied to obtain continuous EEG data. Then, the simultaneous collecting of EEG and fMRI was validated in preserving relevant ERPs. The fMRI-constrained source analysis resulted in an 8-dipole solution. The bilateral middle frontal and the right inferior parietal dipole waveforms showed a short latency peak corresponding to the early P300 activity, while the four parietal and the anterior cingulate dipole waveforms showed a long latency peak corresponding to the late P300 activity. The longest latency peak of the anterior cingulate dipole agrees with its role in initiation of motor response after successful target recognition. Target detection in the Landolt ring task produces the strongest and most extensive parietal activation （especially superior parietal activation）, which might be due to its particular visual attention switching.     

Involvement of secondary motor areas in externally-triggered single-finger movements of dominant and non-dominant hands

Abstract Whether the secondary motor areas are involved in simple voluntary movements remains controversial. Differences in the neural substrates of movements with the dominant and the non-dominant hands have not been well documented. In the present study, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to investigate the hemodynamic response in the primary motor cortex (M1), supple-mentary motor area (SMA) and premotor cortex (PMC) in six healthy right-handed subjects while performing a visually-guided finger-tapping task with their dominant or non-dominant hands. Significant activation was observed in M1, SMA and PMC during this externally triggered simple voluntary movement task. While dominant hand movements only activated contralateral motor areas, non-domi-nant hand movements also activated ipsilateral SMA and PMC. The results provide strong evidence for the involvement of the secondary motor areas in simple voluntarymovements, and also suggest that movements of the dominant hand primarily engage the contralateral secondary motor areas, whereas movements of the non-dominant hand engage bilateral secondary motor areas.     

A dynamic finite element model of human cervical spine with in vivo kinematic validation

Most previous cervical spine finite element （FE） models were validated using in vitro cadaver mea- surement data from literatures. Although in vitro mea- surement can provide valuable data for model verification, the in vivo mechanical and physiological conditions of the cervical spine during its natural motions cannot be reproduced in vitro. In this study, a human FE model of skull （CO） and spinal vertebrae （C1-T1） was developed. The in vivo kinematic characteristics of head and neck were obtained from optoelectronic system, and used for the validation of the FE model. The simulation resu]ts showed good agreement with the measured data in left/right lateral bending and left/right axial rotation, while discrepancy existed during flexion. The predicted segmental cervical vertebral angles were compared against data from previous in vivo experiment, too. Furthermore, the skin shift data from previous study was used to compensate the experimental measurement during flexion and left/right lateral bending. The results showed the model was successfully validated with the in vivo experimental data.     

A New Process and Technology for Rapid Prototyping of A μ-Micro Motor

A new process and technology of rapid prototyping for a μ-micro motor is presented as a nontraditional machining and an advanced manufacturing technology (AMT) to be realized by using masks, including the operation principle of the motor, structure design, technique, driven circuit, and quality examination with Raman spectrum. The μ-micro motor is fabricated by the micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) process, the structure design must be considered to fabricate or assembly the parts during machining the motor in the meantime. The research proved that integration of IC (integrated circuit) process and MEMS using masks is effective in obtaining the rapid prototyping manufacturing of the μ-micro motor. With the mature technique to fabricate the motor, there are advantages to produce the motor in short time and with lower cost than before. The motor is a common power source of micro machines in military and civilian applications, for example, applied to micro robot, micro bio medicine, and micro machine. The size of the motor is 190 μm in maximum diameter by 125 μm in height that is bulk machined in array with the number of hundreds of micro motors on a substrate.     

Right prefrontal laterality of Chinese boys during a Chinese high conflict Stroop task measured by multi-channel near-infrared spectroscopy imaging

Some studies have shown that native Chinese speakers have different laterality in matched Stroop tasks from native English speakers. Recently, many imaging data, which show left laterality of English-matched Stroop interference, have been reported. And a few functional imaging studies have been conducted to investigate the phenomenon of the Chinese version of Stroop task. In this study, functional activity in the lateral prefrontal cortex of a group of normal Chinese boys with functional near-infrared imaging during a Stroop color-word task was measured to show different Stroop interferences in the prefrontal cortex. The results show obvious fluctuation of the cerebral blood volume in the right prefrontal cortex in all boys, which agrees with the finding of previous studies, that is, Chinese native boys have right laterality in their brain when the Chinese version of Stroop color-word task is applied.     

海南猕猴行为偏好性研究

对偏好性行为的研究,有助于了解脑功能不对称性对行为的影响,而吸乳以及携抱偏好,同时也是母婴关系的重要组成部分.本研究对海南猕猴利手,母猴携抱偏好、婴猴吸乳偏好进行了研究.共记录63只个体利手,28对母婴中母猴携抱偏好,以及35对母婴的婴猴吸乳偏好.结果发现,虽然个体层面上,证实了利手、吸乳和携抱偏好的存在,但是群体水平上没有显示出统一的偏好方向.成年雄性偏向左利手,成年雌性偏向右利手.初产母猴可能存在左侧携抱的偏好.母猴的携抱偏好与婴猴的吸乳偏好不存在相关性.     

Relation of neurons in the nonprimary motor cortex to bilateral hand movement

In the primate cerebral cortex there are at least two somatotopically organized, nonprimary motor fields rostral to the primary motor area. To understand the functions of these multiple motor representations we have compared the neuronal activity in each of these fields while monkeys performed a trained motor task, using right, left or both hands. In the nonprimary motor cortex, activity in a number of neurons was related to the movement the animal chose and performed, whereas in the primary motor cortex, changes in the firing of most neurons were simply related to activity in the contralateral muscles. This result indicates that the nonprimary motor cortex is involved in higher-order coding of the laterality of the motor response, implying that it exerts its motor control function at a higher hierarchical level than its counterpart in the primary motor cortex.     

Neuroanatomy: brain asymmetry and long-term memory

The asymmetrical positioning of neural structures on the left or right side of the brain in vertebrates and in invertebrates may be correlated with brain laterality, which is associated with cognitive skills. But until now this has not been illustrated experimentally. Here we describe an asymmetrically positioned brain structure in the fruitfly Drosophila and find that the small proportion of wild-type flies that have symmetrical brains with two such structures lack a normal long-term memory, although their short-term memory is intact. Our results indicate that brain asymmetry may be required for generating or retrieving long-term memory.     

基于相关指数分析增强的功能近红外光谱脑机接口

 由于对运动伪迹不敏感、适合特殊人群和可穿戴式检测等优势,功能近红外光谱技术（fNIRS）在脑机接口（BCI）、心理认知等领域发挥着日益重要的作用。肢体运动想象是BCI在残疾人康复训练等领域应用的重要范式,伴随穿戴式fNIRS的发展,有望帮助残疾人在家庭或社区开展长期脑康复训练。本文针对目前基于fNIRS的运动想象任务分类准确率普遍不高这一现状,应用基于Pearson积差相关系数的相关指数R²,对被试进行个性化参数优化,期望改善运动想象的分类结果。实验采集了17名被试的左、右手运动想象任务期间大脑皮层主运动区的血红蛋白浓度变化数据,并采用支持向量机（SVM）分类。结果表明,经过R²参数优化之后,分类准确率相对无优化情况显著提升,分类准确率在60%以上的被试比例由原本的58.8%提高到了94%,分类准确率在65%以上的被试比例由原本的41.2%提升到了64.7%。     

Localization of a human system for sustained attention by positron emission tomography

Positron emission tomographic (PET) studies of human attention have begun to dissect isolable components of this complex higher brain function, including a midline attentional system in a region of the anterior cingulate cortex. The right hemisphere may play a special part in human attention; neglect, an important phenomenon associated with damage to attentional systems, is more severe, extensive and long-lasting after lesions to the right hemisphere. Here we use PET measurements of brain blood flow in healthy subjects to identify changes in regional brain activity during simple visual and somatosensory tasks of sustained attention or vigilance. We find localized increases in blood flow in the prefrontal and superior parietal cortex primarily in the right hemisphere, regardless of the modality or laterality of sensory input. The anterior cingulate was not activated during either task. These data localize the vigilance aspects of normal human attention to sensory stimuli, thereby clarifying the biology underlying asymmetries of attention to such stimuli that have been reported in clinical lesions.     

利手与注意偏向对双耳分听汉字大脑功能优势的影响

对24名左利手和24名右利手被试在三种注意条件（刺激驱动、注意左耳和注意右耳）下进行双耳分听汉字测验,检查中国人利手与汉字听觉词汇加工大脑两半球功能优势的关系,同时考察被试的注意偏向对优势效应的影响.结果表明：（1）汉语母语左利手被试加工汉字听觉词汇的大脑功能偏侧化组织明显不同于右利手;（2）右利手被试在刺激驱动条件下的右耳（左半球）优势易受注意偏向的调节出现明显波动;（3）注意偏向对左利手被试的影响主要表现为优势的左耳（右半球）成绩的下降与非优势的右耳（左半球）成绩的提高,这暗示汉语母语左利手者可能存在汉字听觉词汇加工的潜在两半球表征.