Name: transferring cognitive tasks between brain imaging modalities: implications for task design and results interpretation in fmri studies
Uploaded: 2014-09-22T14:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Transferring Cognitive Tasks Between Brain Imaging Modalities: Implications for Task Design and Results Interpretation in fMRI Studies at JoVE.com

NOTE: The study protocol was approved by the local Human Subjects Review Board at RWTH Aachen University and was carried out in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.
1. Task Design
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	<li>Choose an appropriate task to investigate the cognitive/psychological construct of interest. Use the visual oddball task (Figure 1) to measure target detection responses and the effects of attention on target detection. This allows investigation of the influence of task manipulati...

<ol>
	<li>Squires, N. K., Squires, K. C., Hillyard, S. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Two+varieties+of+long-latency+positive+waves+evoked+by+unpredictable+auditory+stimuli+in+man.">Two varieties of long-latency positive waves evoked by unpredictable auditory stimuli in man.</a> Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology. 38, 387-401 (1975).</li><li>Polich, J., Criado, J. R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Neuropsychology+and+neuropharmacology+of+P3a+and+P3b.">Neuropsychology and neuropharmacology of P3a and P3b.</a> International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology. 60, 172-185 (2006).</li><li>Turetsky, B. I., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Neurophysiological+endophenotypes+of+schizophrenia:+the+viability+of+selected+candidate+measures.">Neurophysiological endophenotypes of schizophrenia: the viability of selected candidate measures.</a> Schizophrenia bulletin. 33, 69-94 (2007).</li><li>Mobascher, A., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+P300+event-related+potential+and+smoking--a+population-based+case-control+study.">The P300 event-related potential and smoking--a population-based case-control study.</a> International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology. 77, 166-175 (2010).</li><li>Li, L., Gratton, C., Fabiani, M., Knight, R. T. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Age-related+frontoparietal+changes+during+the+control+of+bottom-up+and+top-down+attention:+an+ERP+study.">Age-related frontoparietal changes during the control of bottom-up and top-down attention: an ERP study.</a> Neurobiology of aging. 34, 477-488 (2013).</li><li>Kirino, E., Belger, A., Goldman-Rakic, P., McCarthy, G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Prefrontal+activation+evoked+by+infrequent+target+and+novel+stimuli+in+a+visual+target+detection+task:+An+event-related+functional+magnetic+resonance+imaging+study.">Prefrontal activation evoked by infrequent target and novel stimuli in a visual target detection task: An event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging study.</a> Journal of Neuroscience. 20, 6612-6618 (2000).</li><li>Warbrick, T., Reske, M., Shah, N. J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Do+EEG+paradigms+work+in+fMRI?+Varying+task+demands+in+the+visual+oddball+paradigm:+Implications+for+task+design+and+results+interpretation.">Do EEG paradigms work in fMRI? Varying task demands in the visual oddball paradigm: Implications for task design and results interpretation.</a> Neuroimage. 77, 177-185 (2013).</li><li>Warbrick, T., Arrubla, J., Boers, F., Neuner, I., Shah, N. J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Attention+to+Detail:+Why+Considering+Task+Demands+Is+Essential+for+Single-Trial+Analysis+of+BOLD+Correlates+of+the+Visual+P1+and+N1.">Attention to Detail: Why Considering Task Demands Is Essential for Single-Trial Analysis of BOLD Correlates of the Visual P1 and N1.</a> J Cogn Neurosci. 26, 529-542 (2014).</li><li>Huettel, S. A., Song, A. W., McCarthy, G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> Functional magnetic resonance imaging. , (2008).</li><li>Miezin, F. M., Maccotta, L., Ollinger, J. M., Petersen, S. E., Buckner, R. L. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Characterizing+the+hemodynamic+response:+effects+of+presentation+rate,+sampling+procedure,+and+the+possibility+of+ordering+brain+activity+based+on+relative+timing.">Characterizing the hemodynamic response: effects of presentation rate, sampling procedure, and the possibility of ordering brain activity based on relative timing.</a> Neuroimage. 11, 735-759 (2000).</li><li>Jezzard, P., Matthews, P. M., Smith, S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=.">.</a> Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging: An Introduction to Methods. , (2001).</li></ol>

We show that manipulating the task demands in the visual oddball task results in different patterns of BOLD activation in the count and respond conditions. The functional roles of some of the regions implicated in each condition would have been inappropriately assigned had data from the three versions of the task not been available for comparison. This ambiguity in data interpretation would not necessarily have been the case in the EEG P300 field where the task has its origin, highlighting the need for ...

As cognitive neuroscience methods develop, established experimental tasks are used with emerging brain imaging modalities. This is a logical progression since most neuropsychological concepts (e.g., distinct memory sub-components) have been investigated in the behavioral domain and appropriate experimental tasks for probing specific functions have been developed and tested. As new technology emerges evidence for the neural underpinnings of these behavioral observations is sought with the new brain imaging methods. While it may be tempting to simply draw on well-studied behavioral tasks for imaging studies, several important caveats have to be taken into account. One crucial, though frequently neglected, consideration is the use of the most appropriate imaging technique to further probe the behavioral evidence. In terms of cognitive neuroscience and psychology there are many brain imaging methods available to enhance our understanding of the neural activity underlying concepts of interest; for example electroencephalography (EEG), magnetoencephalography (MEG), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET). All of these methods have their advantages, disadvantages and appropriate applications. Here transferring a paradigm with a long history of behavioral and EEG experiments to an fMRI experiment is considered. EEG has been used for decades to investigate neural responses associated with perceptual and cognitive processes. As such, many paradigms have been developed for use with this method and have evolved over time. Functional MRI is a technique that emerged more recently in cognitive neuroscience and this has led to some paradigms developed in EEG research being used in fMRI. To build on the knowledge base from EEG experiments with the new techniques is a logical step but nonetheless some important points may be neglected in the transfer. The techniques are very different and tasks need to be designed accordingly. This requires knowledge of how the method works and, in particular, how potential modulations of the paradigm used will influence the measures taken. For further information on the design of fMRI experiments the interested reader is directed to the following link <a href="http://imaging.mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk/imaging/DesignEfficiency">http://imaging.mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk/imaging/DesignEfficiency</a>. Task design will be considered in the context of transferring a paradigm developed for EEG research to the fMRI environment. The aims of this paper are: i) to briefly describe fMRI and when its use is appropriate in cognitive neuroscience; ii) to illustrate how task design can influence the results of an fMRI experiment, particularly when that task is borrowed from another imaging modality; and iii) to explain the practical aspects of performing an fMRI experiment.
Functional MRI is now a widely available technique and as such is a common method used in cognitive neuroscience. In order to make a decision as to whether the technique is appropriate for a particular experiment the advantages and disadvantages of fMRI must be considered in relation to other available techniques. A disadvantage of the method is that it is not a direct measure of neural activity, rather it is a correlate of neural activity in that the metabolic response (oxygen requirement) convolved with the haemodynamic response. Thus its temporal resolution is poor in comparison to electrophysiology, for example, where the measured electrical signal is closer to the underlying neural activity rather than a metabolic response. EEG has a temporal resolution in the order of milliseconds compared to a resolution in the order of seconds in fMRI. However, the main advantage of fMRI is that the spatial resolution of the technique is excellent. Furthermore, it is noninvasive and thus subjects do not have to ingest substances such as contrast agents or be exposed to radiation as would be the case in positron emission tomography (PET). Therefore, fMRI is a suitable technique for experiments investigating which brain regions are involved in perception, cognition, and behavior.
In this paper the visual oddball paradigm is taken as an example for the transfer of a well-established EEG-task to fMRI (see Figure 1 for details). It should be noted that the issues discussed could also influence results and data interpretation when other paradigms are used and should technically be considered in the design of all fMRI experiments. The oddball paradigm is frequently used in psychology and cognitive neuroscience to assess attention and target detection performance. The paradigm was developed in EEG research, specifically event related potentials (ERPs), for investigating the so called P300 component1. The P300 represents target detection and is elicited upon recognition of an infrequent target stimulus1. The P300 is used in studies across a number of cognitive and clinical domains2 e.g., patients with schizophrenia and their relatives3, heavy smokers4 and the aging population5. Given that the oddball paradigm (and the P300 elicited by the paradigm) is robust and is also modulated by different disease states, its transfer across different imaging modalities was inevitable.
The widespread activation seen in the brain during an oddball fMRI measurement is known to be the result of multiple cognitive functions, as shown by numerous fMRI studies probing other cognitive concepts. This widespread nature of the activation pattern makes it difficult to determine which brain regions are more (or less) active due to the specific task manipulations or group differences that the experimenter is interested in. Specifically, it is not certain whether observed differences in activation are related to target detection itself, to attention related processes, or whether they are related to other task demands such as ongoing working memory processes or processes related to the production of a motor response. The process of assigning function to the measured activity is easier in the EEG domain where the cognitive component of interest (target detection) is measured in clear cerebral response to the oddball task (P300). Nevertheless, neuroscientists tend to interpret their findings in favor of their own hypothesis and experiment, rather than putting in the effort to rule out alternative explanations. Most experiments, however, will not be able to solve these important questions inherently &#8211; scan time is costly &#8211; which is why we argue for thorough planning and pilot testing of paradigms.
Besides this difficulty in establishing a direct link between brain regions and cognitive components, the nature of the oddball paradigm also presents other possible methodological issues when being transferred to fMRI. For example, the detection of a target stimulus is usually indicated by pressing a response button. This allows the experimenter to record the accuracy and speed of responses but this response may also impact on the fMRI BOLD response to target stimuli. The motor action required for the button press impacts on stimulus-locked fMRI activation given that it happens just a few hundred milliseconds after the presentation of the target stimulus. This can also influence interpretation of that activation, for example brain regions involved in preparing for the motor response might wrongly be assumed to be involved in the detection of the target stimulus, and vice versa. This has led to methodological modifications whereby indirect measures of target detection, not relying on motor responses, are taken. For example, counting target stimuli has been proposed6 as a way to make sure subjects maintain attention on the task; the number of trials missed can indicate how inattentive a subject was. Reporting the number of stimuli counted at the end of the task also means that the experimenter can check whether the subject performed the task correctly. A third alternative is to use a fully passive task design where the subject is given no instructions on how to respond and the novelty of a target stimulus is assumed to inherently elicit a target detection-like response. Despite these versions of the task using the same type of stimuli and basic design, the activation pattern resulting from each variation of the task will be different because the cognitive and motor demands of the tasks are different7,8. For example, there will be working memory processes involved in counting target stimuli e.g., holding the current number of target stimuli in mind, that will not be required during passive viewing. Here these 3 versions of the oddball task, passive, count ,and respond are used to show how careful task design and implementation can account for these changes in task requirements and allow appropriate interpretation of the results.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="573">
	<tbody>
		<tr height="42">
			<td height="42" style="height:42px;width:216px;">Name of Material/ Equipment</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Company</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">Catalog Number</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">Comments/Description</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="105">
			<td height="105" style="height:105px;">Magnetom Tim Trio 3T MRI scanner</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Siemens Medical Solutions, Erlangen, Germany&#160;</td>
			<td style="width:119px;"></td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="105">
			<td height="105" style="height:105px;width:216px;">Presentation version 14.8</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Neurobehavioural system, Albany, CA, USA</td>
			<td style="width:119px;"></td>
			<td style="width:167px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="126">
			<td height="126" style="height:126px;width:216px;">Lumitouch device</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Photon Control Inc, Burnaby, BC, Canada</td>
			<td style="width:119px;"></td>
			<td style="width:167px;">This device is no longer produced by the manufacturer. Alternative MR compatible response devices are available</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="147">
			<td height="147" style="height:147px;width:216px;">TFT display</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">Apple, Cupertino, CA, USA</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">30inch cinema display</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">The screen was custom modified in-house to be MR compatible. However, a number of MR compatible screens are available on the market</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="105">
			<td height="105" style="height:105px;width:216px;">optseq</td>
			<td style="width:71px;"></td>
			<td style="width:119px;">surfer.nmr.mgh.harvard.edu/optseq</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">program for determining optimal stimulus timing for rapid event related designs</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="105">
			<td height="105" style="height:105px;width:216px;">FMRIB software library (FSL)</td>
			<td style="width:71px;">FMRIB, Oxford</td>
			<td style="width:119px;">http://fsl.fmrib.ox.ac.uk/fsl/fslwiki/</td>
			<td style="width:167px;">Other software tools are available for analysing fMRI data, for example SPM, AFNI and Brain Voyager&#160;</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

transferring cognitive tasks between brain imaging modalities: implications for task design and results interpretation in fmri studies

As cognitive neuroscience methods develop, established experimental tasks are used with emerging brain imaging modalities. Here transferring a paradigm (the visual oddball task) with a long history of behavioral and electroencephalography (EEG) experiments to a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment is considered. The aims of this paper are to briefly describe fMRI and when its use is appropriate in cognitive neuroscience; illustrate how task design can influence the results of an fMRI experiment, particularly when that task is borrowed from another imaging modality; explain the practical aspects of performing an fMRI experiment. It is demonstrated that manipulating the task demands in the visual oddball task results in different patterns of blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) activation. The nature of the fMRI BOLD measure means that many brain regions are found to be active in a particular task. Determining the functions of these areas of activation is very much dependent on task design and analysis. The complex nature of many fMRI tasks means that the details of the task and its requirements need careful consideration when interpreting data. The data show that this is particularly important in those tasks relying on a motor response as well as cognitive elements and that covert and overt responses should be considered where possible. Furthermore, the data show that transferring an EEG paradigm to an fMRI experiment needs careful consideration and it cannot be assumed that the same paradigm will work equally well across imaging modalities. It is therefore recommended that the design of an fMRI study is pilot tested behaviorally to establish the effects of interest and then pilot tested in the fMRI environment to ensure appropriate design, implementation and analysis for the effects of interest.

The stimulation and analysis method elicited BOLD activation in brain regions associated with a visual oddball task. The target &#62; non-target contrast revealed no activation for the passive condition but did reveal activation in both the count and respond (Figure 3). The data presented in Figure 3 is a qualitative comparison of the count and respond conditions and shows how the activation patterns would look if each version of the task was performed in isolation.
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Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Transferring Cognitive Tasks Between Brain Imaging Modalities: Implications for Task Design and Results Interpretation in fMRI Studies at JoVE.com

Transferring Cognitive Tasks Between Brain Imaging Modalities: Implications for Task Design and Results Interpretation in fMRI Studies

Transferring a paradigm with a history of use in EEG experiments to an fMRI experiment is considered. It is demonstrated that manipulating the task demands in the visual oddball task resulted in different patterns of BOLD activation and illustrated how task design is crucial in fMRI experiments.

As cognitive neuroscience methods develop, established experimental tasks are used with emerging brain imaging modalities. Here transferring a paradigm ...

transferring-cognitive-tasks-between-brain-imaging-modalities

Research

JoVE Journal

Behavior

The Crossmodal Congruency Task as a Means to Obtain an Objective Behavioral Measure in the Rubber Hand Illusion Paradigm

The rubber hand illusion (RHI) is a popular experimental paradigm. Participants view touch on an artificial rubber hand while the participants' own hidden hand is touched. If the viewed and felt touches are given at the same time then this is sufficient to induce the compelling experience that the rubber hand is one's own hand. The RHI can be used to investigate exactly how the brain constructs distinct body representations for one's own body. Such representations are crucial for successful interactions with the external world. To obtain a subjective measure of the RHI, researchers typically ask participants to rate statements such as "I felt as if the rubber hand were my hand". Here we demonstrate how the crossmodal congruency task can be used to obtain an objective behavioral measure within this paradigm.
The variant of the crossmodal congruency task we employ involves the presentation of tactile targets and visual distractors. Targets and distractors are spatially congruent (i.e. same finger) on some trials and incongruent (i.e. different finger) on others. The difference in performance between incongruent and congruent trials - the crossmodal congruency effect (CCE) - indexes multisensory interactions. Importantly, the CCE is modulated both by viewing a hand as well as the synchrony of viewed and felt touch which are both crucial factors for the RHI.
The use of the crossmodal congruency task within the RHI paradigm has several advantages. It is a simple behavioral measure which can be repeated many times and which can be obtained during the illusion while participants view the artificial hand. Furthermore, this measure is not susceptible to observer and experimenter biases. The combination of the RHI paradigm with the crossmodal congruency task allows in particular for the investigation of multisensory processes which are critical for modulations of body representations as in the RHI.

We demonstrate how an objective measure can be employed in the widely employed rubber hand illusion paradigm. This measure is obtained by modifying the well-established crossmodal congruency task. This task allows the investigation of multisensory processes which are critical for modulations of body representations as in the rubber hand illusion.

The rubber hand illusion (RHI) is a popular experimental paradigm. Participants view touch on an artificial rubber hand while the participants' own hidden ...

Measurement of Fronto-limbic Activity Using an Emotional Oddball Task in Children with Familial High Risk for Schizophrenia

Adolescence is a critical developmental period where the early symptoms of schizophrenia frequently emerge. First-degree relatives of people with schizophrenia who are at familial high risk (FHR) may show similar cognitive and emotional changes. However, the neurological changes underlying the emergence of these symptoms remain unclear. This study sought to identify differences in frontal, striatal, and limbic regions in children and adolescents with FHR using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Groups of 21 children and adolescents at FHR and 21 healthy controls completed an emotional oddball task that relied on selective attention and the suppression of task-irrelevant emotional information. The standard oddball task was modified to include aversive and neutral distractors in order to examine potential group differences in both emotional and executive processing. This task was designed specifically to allow for children and adolescents to complete by keeping the difficulty and emotional image content age-appropriate. Furthermore, we demonstrate a technique for suitable fMRI registration for children and adolescent participants. This paradigm may also be applied in future studies to measure changes in neural activity in other populations with hypothesized developmental changes in executive and emotional processing.

This paper describes how to use the emotional oddball task and fMRI to measure brain activation in children and adolescents at familial high risk for schizophrenia (FHR).&#160;FMRI was used to measure differences in fronto-striato-limbic regions during an emotional oddball task. Children with FHR exhibited abnormal functional activation during adolescence.

Adolescence is a critical developmental period where the early symptoms of schizophrenia frequently emerge. First-degree relatives of people with ...

Uncovering Beat Deafness: Detecting Rhythm Disorders with Synchronized Finger Tapping and Perceptual Timing Tasks

A set of behavioral tasks for assessing perceptual and sensorimotor timing abilities in the general population (i.e., non-musicians) is presented here with the goal of uncovering rhythm disorders, such as beat deafness. Beat deafness is characterized by poor performance in perceiving durations in auditory rhythmic patterns or poor synchronization of movement with auditory rhythms (e.g., with musical beats). These tasks include the synchronization of finger tapping to the beat of simple and complex auditory stimuli and the detection of rhythmic irregularities (anisochrony detection task) embedded in the same stimuli. These tests, which are easy to administer, include an assessment of both perceptual and sensorimotor timing abilities under different conditions (e.g., beat rates and types of auditory material) and are based on the same auditory stimuli, ranging from a simple metronome to a complex musical excerpt. The analysis of synchronized tapping data is performed with circular statistics, which provide reliable measures of synchronization accuracy (e.g., the difference between the timing of the taps and the timing of the pacing stimuli) and consistency. Circular statistics on tapping data are particularly well-suited for detecting individual differences in the general population. Synchronized tapping and anisochrony detection are sensitive measures for identifying profiles of rhythm disorders and have been used with success to uncover cases of poor synchronization with spared perceptual timing. This systematic assessment of perceptual and sensorimotor timing can be extended to populations of patients with brain damage, neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., Parkinson&#8217;s disease), and developmental disorders (e.g., Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).

Behavioral tasks that allow for the assessment of perceptual and sensorimotor timing abilities in the general population (i.e., non-musicians) are presented. Synchronization of finger tapping to the beat of an auditory stimuli and detecting rhythmic irregularities provides a means of uncovering rhythm disorders.

A set of behavioral tasks for assessing perceptual and sensorimotor timing abilities in the general population (i.e., non-musicians) is presented here ...

fMRI Validation of fNIRS Measurements During a Naturalistic Task

We present a method to compare brain activity recorded with near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in a dance video game task to that recorded in a reduced version of the task using fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging). Recently, it has been shown that fNIRS can accurately record functional brain activities equivalent to those concurrently recorded with functional magnetic resonance imaging for classic psychophysical tasks and simple finger tapping paradigms. However, an often quoted benefit of fNIRS is that the technique allows for studying neural mechanisms of complex, naturalistic behaviors that are not possible using the constrained environment of fMRI. Our goal was to extend the findings of previous studies that have shown high correlation between concurrently recorded fNIRS and fMRI signals to compare neural recordings obtained in fMRI procedures to those separately obtained in naturalistic fNIRS experiments. Specifically, we developed a modified version of the dance video game Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) to be compatible with both fMRI and fNIRS imaging procedures. In this methodology we explain the modifications to the software and hardware for compatibility with each technique as well as the scanning and calibration procedures used to obtain representative results. The results of the study show a task-related increase in oxyhemoglobin in both modalities and demonstrate that it is possible to replicate the findings of fMRI using fNIRS in a naturalistic task. This technique represents a methodology to compare fMRI imaging paradigms which utilize a reduced-world environment to fNIRS in closer approximation to naturalistic, full-body activities and behaviors. Further development of this technique may apply to neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson&#8217;s disease, late states of dementia, or those with magnetic susceptibility which are contraindicated for fMRI scanning.

We present a method to compare functional brain activity recorded during a naturalistic task using fNIRS with activity recorded during fMRI.

We present a method to compare brain activity recorded with near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in a dance video game task to that recorded in a reduced ...

Practical Methodology of Cognitive Tasks Within a Navigational Assessment

This paper describes an approach for measuring navigation accuracy relative to cognitive skills. The methodology behind the assessment will thus be clearly outlined in a step-by-step manner. Navigational skills are important when trying to find symbols within a speech-generating device (SGD) that has a dynamic screen and taxonomical organization. The following skills have been found to impact children&#8217;s ability to find symbols when navigating within the levels of an SGD: sustained attention, categorization, cognitive flexibility, and fluid reasoning1,2. According to past studies, working memory was not correlated with navigation1,2.
The materials needed for this method include a computerized tablet, an augmentative and alternative communication application, a booklet of symbols, and the Leiter International Performance Scale-Revised (Leiter-R)3. This method has been used in two previous studies. Robillard, Mayer-Crittenden, Roy-Charland, Minor-Corriveau and B&#233;langer1 assessed typically developing children, while Rondeau, Robillard and Roy-Charland2 assessed children and adolescents with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. The direct observation of this method will facilitate the replication of this study for researchers. It will also help clinicians that work with children who have complex communication needs to determine the children&#8217;s ability to navigate an SGD with taxonomical categorization.

Children who have complex communication needs can benefit from the use of a speech-generating device (SGD). Cognitive skills were identified as having an impact on the ability to navigate between levels of SGDs. This protocol describes the steps needed for Speech-language Pathologists to assess cognitive skills and navigational abilities.

This paper describes an approach for measuring navigation accuracy relative to cognitive skills. The methodology behind the assessment will thus be ...

Utilizing Electroencephalography Measurements for Comparison of Task-Specific Neural Efficiencies: Spatial Intelligence Tasks

Spatial intelligence is often linked to success in engineering education and engineering professions. The use of electroencephalography enables comparative calculation of individuals&#39; neural efficiency as they perform successive tasks requiring spatial ability to derive solutions. Neural efficiency here is defined as having less beta activation, and therefore expending fewer neural resources, to perform a task in comparison to other groups or other tasks. For inter-task comparisons of tasks with similar durations, these measurements may enable a comparison of task type difficulty. For intra-participant and inter-participant comparisons, these measurements provide potential insight into the participant&#39;s level of spatial ability and different engineering problem solving tasks. Performance on the selected tasks can be analyzed and correlated with beta activities. This work presents a detailed research protocol studying the neural efficiency of students engaged in the solving of typical spatial ability and Statics problems. Students completed problems specific to the Mental Cutting Test (MCT), Purdue Spatial Visualization test of Rotations (PSVT:R), and Statics. While engaged in solving these problems, participants&#39; brain waves were measured with EEG allowing data to be collected regarding alpha and beta brain wave activation and use. The work looks to correlate functional performance on pure spatial tasks with spatially intensive engineering tasks to identify the pathways to successful performance in engineering and the resulting improvements in engineering education that may follow.

This manuscript describes an approach to measure neural activity of humans while solving spatially focused engineering problems. The electroencephalogram methodology helps interpret beta brain wave measurements in terms of neural efficiency, with the aim of ultimately enabling comparisons of task performance both between problem types and between participants.

Spatial intelligence is often linked to success in engineering education and engineering professions. The use of electroencephalography enables ...

Using Fiberless, Wearable fNIRS to Monitor Brain Activity in Real-world Cognitive Tasks

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a neuroimaging technique that uses near-infrared light to monitor brain activity. Based on neurovascular coupling, fNIRS is able to measure the haemoglobin concentration changes secondary to neuronal activity. Compared to other neuroimaging techniques, fNIRS represents a good compromise in terms of spatial and temporal resolution. Moreover, it is portable, lightweight, less sensitive to motion artifacts and does not impose significant physical restraints. It is therefore appropriate to monitor a wide range of cognitive tasks (e.g., auditory, gait analysis, social interaction) and different age populations (e.g., new-borns, adults, elderly people). The recent development of fiberless fNIRS devices has opened the way to new applications in neuroscience research. This represents a unique opportunity to study functional activity during real-world tests, which can be more sensitive and accurate in assessing cognitive function and dysfunction than lab-based tests. This study explored the use of fiberless fNIRS to monitor brain activity during a real-world prospective memory task. This protocol is performed outside the lab and brain haemoglobin concentration changes are continuously measured over the prefrontal cortex while the subject walks around in order to accomplish several different tasks.

Monitoring brain activity outside the lab without physical constraints presents methodological challenges. A fiberless, wearable functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) system was used to measure brain activity during an ecological prospective memory task. It was demonstrated that this system could be used to monitor brain activity during non-lab based experiments.

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a neuroimaging technique that uses near-infrared light to monitor brain activity. Based on neurovascular ...

Comparing the Frequency Effect Between the Lexical Decision and Naming Tasks in Chinese

In psycholinguistic research, the frequency effect can be one of the indicators for eligible experimental tasks that examine the nature of lexical access. Usually, only one of those tasks is chosen to examine lexical access in a study. Using two exemplar experiments, this paper introduces an approach to include both the lexical decision task and the naming task in a study. In the first experiment, the stimuli were Chinese characters with frequency and regularity manipulated. In the second experiment, the stimuli were switched to Chinese two-character words, in which the word frequency and the regularity of the leading character were manipulated. The logic of these two exemplar experiments was to explore some important issues such as the role of phonology on recognition by comparing the frequency effect between both the tasks. The results revealed different patterns of lexical access from those reported in the alphabetic systems. The results of Experiment 1 manifested a larger frequency effect in the naming task as compared to the LDT, when the stimuli were Chinese characters. And it is noteworthy that, in Experiment 1, when the stimuli were regular Chinese characters, the frequency effect observed in the naming task was roughly equivalent to that in the LDT. However, a smaller frequency effect was shown in the naming task as compared to the LDT, when the stimuli were switched to Chinese two-character words in Experiment 2. Taking advantage of the respective demands and characteristics in both tasks, researchers can obtain a more complete and precise picture of character/word recognition.

Researchers adopt both the lexical decision task and the naming task to investigate some important topics such as character/word recognition by comparing the frequency effect between these two tasks. This article introduces this approach through two exemplar experiments and elaborates on the underlying logic.

In psycholinguistic research, the frequency effect can be one of the indicators for eligible experimental tasks that examine the nature of lexical access. ...

Dissociation of the Confounding Influences of Expectancy and Integrative Difficulty Residing in Anomalous Sentences in Event-related Potential Studies

The confounding factors of unexpectedness and semantic integration difficulty naturally residing in anomalous sentences in language studies make it difficult to determine the underlying processing mechanism of ERP components. Unlike the traditional static approach of manipulating expectancy through corpus frequency or cloze probability, this protocol proposes a dynamic method to enhance participants&#39; expectancy for rarely-met anomalous sentences by multiple repetitions while maintaining their semantic integration difficulties. To address the time cost increase resulting from multiple repetitions, this protocol proposes to repeat only the strictly simplified core structure extracted from the anomalous sentence before presenting the semantically enriched, much more informative complete anomalous sentence containing the anomalous core structure to reinitiate the semantic integration processing. The complete anomalous sentence elicited a P600 effect. It suggests that the participants did not give up processing the anomalous information after repetitions and the same semantic integration difficulty was successfully reinitiated. Importantly, the representative experimental results reveal that the greatly attenuated N400 effect caused by multiple repetitions was not recovered by the follow-up reinitiated semantic integration difficulty. It suggests that the attenuated N400 effect should be mainly attributed to the enhancement of expectancy for anomalous information by multiple repetitions. The experimental results show that this method can effectively enhance participants&#39; expectancy for anomalous sentences while retaining the semantic integration difficulty.

We present a protocol to dissociate the intertwining factors of integrative difficulty and unexpectedness in semantically anomalous sentences by applying multiple repetitions to enhance participant&#39;s expectancy for anomalous sentences. The dissociation helps to investigate the major contributor of elicited event-related potentials (ERP) effects such as N400 in language studies.

The confounding factors of unexpectedness and semantic integration difficulty naturally residing in anomalous sentences in language studies make it ...

Lexical Decision Task for Studying Written Word Recognition in Adults with and without Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment

Older adults are slower at recognizing visual objects than younger adults. The same is true for recognizing that a letter string is a real word. People with Alzheimer&#39;s disease (AD) or Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) demonstrate even longer responses in written word recognition than elderly controls. Despite the general tendency towards slower recognition in aging and neurocognitive disorders, certain characteristics of words influence word recognition speed regardless of age or neuropathology (e.g., a word&#8217;s frequency of use). We present here a protocol for examining the influence of lexical characteristics on word recognition response times in a simple lexical decision experiment administered to younger and older adults and people with MCI or AD. In this experiment, participants are asked to decide as quickly and accurately as possible whether a given letter string is an actual word or not. We also describe mixed-effects models and principal components analysis that can be used to detect the influence of different types of lexical variables or individual characteristics of participants on word recognition speed.

This article describes how to implement a simple lexical decision experiment to assess written word recognition in neurologically healthy participants and in individuals with dementia and cognitive decline. We also provide a detailed description of reaction time analysis using principal components analysis (PCA) and mixed-effects modeling.

Older adults are slower at recognizing visual objects than younger adults. The same is true for recognizing that a letter string is a real word. People ...