Real-time fMRI links subjective experience with brain activity during focused attention

Recent advances in brain imaging have improved the measure of neural processes related to perceptual, cognitive and affective functions, yet the relation between brain activity and subjective experience remains poorly characterized. In part, it is a challenge to obtain reliable accounts of participant’s experience in such studies. Here we addressed this limitation by utilizing experienced meditators who are expert in introspection. We tested a novel method to link objective and subjective data, using real-time fMRI (rt-fMRI) to provide participants with feedback of their own brain activity during an ongoing task. We provided real-time feedback during a focused attention task from the posterior cingulate cortex, a hub of the default mode network shown to be activated during mind-wandering and deactivated during meditation. In a first experiment, both meditatorsand non-meditators reported significant correspondence between the feedback graph and their subjective experience of focused attention and mind-wandering. When instructed to volitionally decrease the feedback graph, meditators, but not non-meditators, showed significant deactivation of the posterior cingulate cortex. We were able to replicate these results in a separate group of meditators using a novel step-wise rt-fMRI discovery protocol in which participants were not provided with prior knowledge of the expected relationship between their experience and the feedback graph (i.e., focused attention versus mind-wandering). These findings support the feasibility of using rt-fMRI to link objective measures of brain activity with reports of ongoingsubjective experience in cognitive neuroscience research, and demonstrate the generalization of expertise in introspective awareness to novel contexts.

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Near-Perfect Automation: Investigating Performance, Trust, and Visual Attention Allocation

Human Factors The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society ◽

10.1177/00187208211032889 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 001872082110328

Author(s):

Cyrus K. Foroughi ◽

Shannon Devlin ◽

Richard Pak ◽

Noelle L. Brown ◽

Ciara Sibley ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Visual Attention ◽

False Alarm ◽

Real Time ◽

Subjective Experience ◽

Automated System ◽

Automated Systems ◽

High Stakes ◽

Individual Level ◽

Scan Pattern ◽

Subjective Trust

Objective Assess performance, trust, and visual attention during the monitoring of a near-perfect automated system. Background Research rarely attempts to assess performance, trust, and visual attention in near-perfect automated systems even though they will be relied on in high-stakes environments. Methods Seventy-three participants completed a 40-min supervisory control task where they monitored three search feeds. All search feeds were 100% reliable with the exception of two automation failures: one miss and one false alarm. Eye-tracking and subjective trust data were collected. Results Thirty-four percent of participants correctly identified the automation miss, and 67% correctly identified the automation false alarm. Subjective trust increased when participants did not detect the automation failures and decreased when they did. Participants who detected the false alarm had a more complex scan pattern in the 2 min centered around the automation failure compared with those who did not. Additionally, those who detected the failures had longer dwell times in and transitioned to the center sensor feed significantly more often. Conclusion Not only does this work highlight the limitations of the human when monitoring near-perfect automated systems, it begins to quantify the subjective experience and attentional cost of the human. It further emphasizes the need to (1) reevaluate the role of the operator in future high-stakes environments and (2) understand the human on an individual level and actively design for the given individual when working with near-perfect automated systems. Application Multiple operator-level measures should be collected in real-time in order to monitor an operator’s state and leverage real-time, individualized assistance.

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WITHDRAWN: Upper bounds on noise and model misspecification for robust estimation of real-time brain activity from functional near infrared spectroscopy

NeuroImage ◽

10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.03.012 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Muhammad Aqil ◽

Myung-Yung Jeong ◽

Keum-Shik Hong ◽

Shuzhi Sam Ge

Keyword(s):

Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Real Time ◽

Robust Estimation ◽

Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Model Misspecification ◽

Upper Bounds ◽

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy

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A simulation-based approach to improve decoded neurofeedback performance

10.1101/450403 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Ethan Oblak ◽

James Sulzer ◽

Jarrod Lewis-Peacock

Keyword(s):

Real Time ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Processing Parameters ◽

Orientation Tuning ◽

Design Parameters ◽

Visual Orientation ◽

Brain Functions ◽

Simulation Based ◽

Using Data ◽

The Right

AbstractThe neural correlates of specific brain functions such as visual orientation tuning and individual finger movements can be revealed using multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA) of fMRI data. Neurofeedback based on these distributed patterns of brain activity presents a unique ability for precise neuromodulation. Recent applications of this technique, known as decoded neurofeedback, have manipulated fear conditioning, visual perception, confidence judgements and facial preference. However, there has yet to be an empirical justification of the timing and data processing parameters of these experiments. Suboptimal parameter settings could impact the efficacy of neurofeedback learning and contribute to the ‘non-responder’ effect. The goal of this study was to investigate how design parameters of decoded neurofeedback experiments affect decoding accuracy and neurofeedback performance. Subjects participated in three fMRI sessions: two ‘finger localizer’ sessions to identify the fMRI patterns associated with each of the four fingers of the right hand, and one ‘finger finding’ neurofeedback session to assess neurofeedback performance. Using only the localizer data, we show that real-time decoding can be degraded by poor experiment timing or ROI selection. To set key parameters for the neurofeedback session, we used offline simulations of decoded neurofeedback using data from the localizer sessions to predict neurofeedback performance. We show that these predictions align with real neurofeedback performance at the group level and can also explain individual differences in neurofeedback success. Overall, this work demonstrates the usefulness of offline simulation to improve the success of real-time decoded neurofeedback experiments.

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Interpersonal Distance During Real-Time Social Interaction: Insights From Subjective Experience, Behavior, and Physiology

Frontiers in Psychiatry ◽

10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00561 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

Author(s):

Leon O. H. Kroczek ◽

Michael Pfaller ◽

Bastian Lange ◽

Mathias Müller ◽

Andreas Mühlberger

Keyword(s):

Social Interaction ◽

Real Time ◽

Subjective Experience ◽

Interpersonal Distance

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Uncoupling Sensation and Perception in Human Time Processing

Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience ◽

10.1162/jocn_a_01557 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 32 (7) ◽

pp. 1369-1380 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Nicola Binetti ◽

Alessandro Tomassini ◽

Karl Friston ◽

Sven Bestmann

Keyword(s):

Constant Velocity ◽

Subjective Experience ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Posterior Cingulate Cortex ◽

Higher Order ◽

Neural Basis ◽

Subjective Duration ◽

Msec Duration ◽

Sensory Cortices ◽

Higher Visual Areas

Timing emerges from a hierarchy of computations ranging from early encoding of physical duration (time sensation) to abstract time representations (time perception) suitable for storage and decisional processes. However, the neural basis of the perceptual experience of time remains elusive. To address this, we dissociate brain activity uniquely related to lower-level sensory and higher-order perceptual timing operations, using event-related fMRI. Participants compared subsecond (500 msec) sinusoidal gratings drifting with constant velocity (standard) against two probe stimuli: (1) control gratings drifting at constant velocity or (2) accelerating gratings, which induced illusory shortening of time. We tested two probe intervals: a 500-msec duration (Short) and a longer duration required for an accelerating probe to be perceived as long as the standard (Long—individually determined). On each trial, participants classified the probe as shorter or longer than the standard. This allowed for comparison of trials with an “Objective” (physical) or “Subjective” (perceived) difference in duration, based on participant classifications. Objective duration revealed responses in bilateral early extrastriate areas, extending to higher visual areas in the fusiform gyrus (at more lenient thresholds). By contrast, Subjective duration was reflected by distributed responses in a cortical/subcortical areas. This comprised the left superior frontal gyrus and the left cerebellum, and a wider set of common timing areas including the BG, parietal cortex, and posterior cingulate cortex. These results suggest two functionally independent timing stages: early extraction of duration information in sensory cortices and Subjective experience of duration in a higher-order cortical–subcortical timing areas.

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An Application Real-time Acquiring EEG Signal from Single Lead Electrode to Recognize Brain Activity using Neurosky Sensor

2019 International Seminar on Application for Technology of Information and Communication (iSemantic) ◽

10.1109/isemantic.2019.8884337 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Destyan Sulisetyo Nugroho ◽

Iman Fahruzi

Keyword(s):

Real Time ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Eeg Signal ◽

Lead Electrode

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Neurophenomenology of near-death experience memory in hypnotic recall: a within-subject EEG study

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-019-50601-6 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Charlotte Martial ◽

Armand Mensen ◽

Vanessa Charland-Verville ◽

Audrey Vanhaudenhuyse ◽

Daniel Rentmeister ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Subjective Experience ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Alpha Activity ◽

High Density ◽

Proof Of Concept ◽

Time Period ◽

Death Experience ◽

Eeg Changes ◽

The One ◽

Near Death Experiences

Abstract The neurobiological basis of near-death experiences (NDEs) is unknown, but a few studies attempted to investigate it by reproducing in laboratory settings phenomenological experiences that seem to closely resemble NDEs. So far, no study has induced NDE-like features via hypnotic modulation while simultaneously measuring changes in brain activity using high-density EEG. Five volunteers who previously had experienced a pleasant NDE were invited to re-experience the NDE memory and another pleasant autobiographical memory (dating to the same time period), in normal consciousness and with hypnosis. We compared the hypnosis-induced subjective experience with the one of the genuine experience memory. Continuous high-density EEG was recorded throughout. At a phenomenological level, we succeeded in recreating NDE-like features without any adverse effects. Absorption and dissociation levels were reported as higher during all hypnosis conditions as compared to normal consciousness conditions, suggesting that our hypnosis-based protocol increased the felt subjective experience in the recall of both memories. The recall of a NDE phenomenology was related to an increase of alpha activity in frontal and posterior regions. This study provides a proof-of-concept methodology for studying the phenomenon, enabling to prospectively explore the NDE-like features and associated EEG changes in controlled settings.

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