In this report, Kogenemaru et al examined whether neurofeedback about the amplitude of motor evoked potentials could lead participants to modulate the excitability of intracortical circuits within M1. They showed that the group receiving neurofeedback had a greater change in SICI than the control group. This apparent change in the excitability of intracortical circuits also resulted in shorter reaction times in a choice task. The study is interesting but I have a few issues with the paper in its current form (see below). Major comments: 1) It is not clearly described in the manuscript how the ratios were calculated. Change rate = (post0/pre)-1. Are post0 and pre values of the MEPs obtained with paired-pulses or the ratios? If they are ratios, …show more content…
Less inhibition should result in positive rates of change. Given the instruction is to make circles smaller, the authors asked them to inhibit more, is that correct? If you have more intracortical inhibition, why are RTs faster? For example, anodal tDCS shortens RT (Hummel et al. 2006, BMC Neuroscience) and decreases SICI (inducing larger MEP ratios, Kidgell et al. 2013, Neural Plasticity). Assuming participants can change intracortical excitability at will and this method is perhaps equivalent to using non-invasive stimulation (anodal tDCS), it would be expected that RT would become larger. 5) Participants are allegedly learning how to control intracortical activity within M1, thus some measure of performance during acquisition would be good (e.g. change in circle size over time). 6) It would be important to show the exact RT values for both groups before and after the intervention. In addition, the percentage of trials with incorrect responses should be analysed formally so that the RT data can be more meaningfully interpreted. For example, are there less errors for the intervention group in comparison to the control group? If you have more inhibition, I would expect less errors. Also, it was not clear in the results that improvement in RT was specific to the left-hand, but this mentioned in the discussion (line …show more content…
However, an inspection of Figure 3b suggests a qualitative similar pattern of results. I would suggest that the authors conduct a non-parametric permutational anova or one of the robust methods put forward by Wilcox (2012) to analyse the data. Because we are looking at ratios here, I wouldn’t be surprised if the non-significant results turned-out significant when you analyse the data with methods that are more robust to deal with extreme values and departures from normality. This could change the interpretation and discussion of the
Schacter, D. L., Gilbert, D. T., & Wegner, D. M. (2010). Psychology. (2nd ed., p. 600). New York: Worth Pub.
...arches, exposing rats to context box repeatedly helps to minimize interference caused by contextual information (Kim, 2014). Kim also suggests that after treatment of bicuculline, increasing of spatial memory and contextual learning interfere with encoding information, therefore, alter the recollection process.
increased even more to be at 381 bpm. The Daphnia magna were then put in a
Overall this was a great book. I have a great deal of interest in the brain. It is a truly amazing and fascinating organ. Its complexity bewilders not only researchers, and many neuroscientists but me as well. I also have somewhat of a passion for fitness and to learn how beneficial exercise can be, not only to our body’s health but the brain as well. It gives me a new understanding about a “workout”. The author did a great job explaining all of the very complicated processes that are involved in exercise’s wondrous benefits. Even though some of the information may have been boring, the way it was presented was not. This book was a great read and overall I would recommend it to any interested in exercise or the brain.
The purpose of this paper is to inform the reader about Wilder Penfield and his research over electric brain stimulation. This essay will give a brief biography of Wilder Penfield, a description of his research, and finally discuss the insight his experiments provided and the influence they had on our body and behavior in general.
Figure 1. Predicted average intensity scores for each treatment group across total experiment duration. Males are predicted to exhibit the highest intensity scores in the 3:1 Male : Female group. The 1:1 Male : Female control group is expected to display the lowest average intensity score.
Healy and Mc Namara (1996) explain how the Atkinson & Shiffrin model involves the transfer of information from short-term memory to Long-term memory...
Kanske, P., Heissler, J., Schönfelder, S., Forneck, J., & Wessa, M. (2013). Neural correlates of
Scientist believe the activity in the frontal lobes is depressed in people with ADD. Studies also show, a decrease in the...
Depression. Alzheimer’s. Autism. Stroke. Each of these words correlates with negative connotations. They afflict the mind, snatching away members of society like a ghost in the wind, leaving empty, damaged shells in their wake. Days drag into a dull grey blur, mental capacities weakening with each moment. For decades, medical researchers, working tireless hours with stark determination, have committed themselves to finding the cures to these and many more diseases that affect the brain. These scientists leapt over obstacles, ducking under impossibilities to see the clear picture, the clear goal. They refused to stop before discovering treatments that took the form of chemical drugs. Despite this, these treatments come riddled with side effects, strong chemicals alleviating some symptoms while bringing more into play. So research continued. Now, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has risen as a potential treatment for various mental disorders. Although many chemical drugs have spelled relief for countless victims of depression and bipolar disorder, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation stands strong as the most effective treatment for mental disorders because of its influential effect on multiple disorders, minimal display of side effects, low potential for weaponization, and high capacity to surpass chemical drugs.
The experimental design of the research involves the organization of an experiment to effectively test the study’s hypothesis. In addition, it involves setting up proper manipulations and measurements of an experiment. To test this specific hypothesis, the researcher will need significant resources, such as direct scanners, to test and analyze the variables. The variables in the study will include the plasticity of the human brain during different life stages and the age differences between individuals. The experimental design includes independent and dependent variables, which the researcher will thoroughly test and
19. CNS knows whether a stimulus is weak or strong by the frequency of signals that arrive from the PNS. More frequent means more strength.
In the field of cognitive neuroscience a memory study usually involves a combination of behavioral tasks and a machine that permits t...
13-Christos E. Vasios, Leonardo M. Angelone, Patrick L. Purdon, Jyki Ahveninen, John W. Belliveau, and Giorgio Bonmassar. EEG/(f)MRI measurements at 7 Tesla using a new EEG cap (''InkCap''). NeuroImage 33 (2006) 1082-1092.
Boyd, D., Wood, E.G., Wood, S.E. (2014, 2011, 2008). Mastering the world of psychology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc. 128-129, 329-330, 335-340. Print.