scholarly journals To jump or not to jump: The Bereitschaftspotential required to jump into 192-meter abyss

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Nann ◽  
L.G. Cohen ◽  
L. Deecke ◽  
S.R. Soekadar
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Spatiotemporal Dynamics ◽  
Brain Potential ◽  
Laboratory Conditions ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Motor Initiation ◽  
First Time

AbstractSelf-initiated voluntary acts, such as pressing a button, are preceded by a negative electrical brain potential, the Bereitschaftspotential (BP), that can be recorded over the human scalp using electroencephalography (EEG). Up to now, the BP required to initiate voluntary acts has only been recorded under well-controlled laboratory conditions.It is thus not known if this form of brain activity also underlies motor initiation in possible life-threatening decision making, such as jumping into a 192-meter abyss, an act requiring extraordinary willpower. Here, we report BP before self-initiated 192-meter extreme bungee jumping across two semi-professional cliff divers (both male, mean age 19.3 years). We found that the spatiotemporal dynamics of the BP is comparable to that recorded under laboratory conditions. These results, possible through recent advancements in wireless and portable EEG technology, document for the first time pre-movement brain activity preceding possible life-threatening decision making.

A New Technique to Measure the Level of Interest Using Heartbeat-Evoked Brain Potential

2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-22
Author(s):  
Kohei Fuseda ◽  
Jun’ichi Katayama
Keyword(s):  
Brain Activity ◽  
Random Order ◽  
Overt Response ◽  
Brain Potential ◽  
Probe Technique ◽  
Dynamic Stimuli ◽  
Attentional Resources ◽  
Opposite Sex ◽  
A New Technique ◽  
Task Irrelevant

Abstract. Interest is a positive emotion related to attention. The event-related brain potential (ERP) probe technique is a useful method to evaluate the level of interest in dynamic stimuli. However, even in the irrelevant probe technique, the probe is presented as a physical stimulus and steals the observer’s attentional resources, although no overt response is required. Therefore, the probe might become a problematic distractor, preventing deep immersion of participants. Heartbeat-evoked brain potential (HEP) is a brain activity, time-locked to a cardiac event. No probe is required to obtain HEP data. Thus, we aimed to investigate whether the HEP can be used to evaluate the level of interest. Twenty-four participants (12 males and 12 females) watched attractive and unattractive individuals of the opposite sex in interesting and uninteresting videos (7 min each), respectively. We performed two techniques each for both the interesting and the uninteresting videos: the ERP probe and the HEP techniques. In the former, somatosensory stimuli were presented as task-irrelevant probes while participants watched videos: frequent (80%) and infrequent (20%) stimuli were presented at each wrist in random order. In the latter, participants watched videos without the probe. The P2 amplitude in response to the somatosensory probe was smaller and the positive wave amplitudes of HEP were larger while watching the videos of attractive individuals than while watching the videos of unattractive ones. These results indicate that the HEP technique is a useful method to evaluate the level of interest without an external probe stimulus.

Resveratrol: A new potential therapeutic agent for melanoma?

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamad Hossein Pourhanifeh ◽  
Kazem Abbaszadeh-Goudarzi ◽  
Mohammad Goodarzi ◽  
Sara G.M. Piccirillo ◽  
Alimohammad Shafiee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Therapeutic Agent ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Treatment Resistance ◽  
Anti Cancer ◽  
Apoptosis Inducer ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
First Time

: Melanoma is the most life-threatening and aggressive class of skin malignancies. The incidence of melanoma has steadily increased. Metastatic melanoma is greatly resistant to standard anti-melanomatreatments such as chemotherapy, and 5-year survival rate of cases with melanoma who have metastatic form of disease is less than 10%. The contributing role of apoptosis, angiogenesis and autophagy in the pathophysiology of melanoma has been previously demonstrated. Thus, it is extremely urgent to search for complementary therapeutic approachesthat couldenhance the quality of life of subjects and reduce treatment resistance and adverse effects. Resveratrol, known as a polyphenol component present in grapes and some plants, has anti-cancer properties due to its function as an apoptosis inducer in tumor cells, and anti-angiogenic agent to prevent metastasis. However, more clinical trials should be conducted to prove resveratrol efficacy. : Herein, for first time, we summarize current knowledge of anti-cancerous activities of resveratrol in melanoma.

Of Love and Laetrile: Medical Decision Making in a Child's Best Interests

1979 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 269-294
Author(s):  
Eve T. Horwitz
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Medical Treatment ◽  
Burden Of Proof ◽  
State Intervention ◽  
Convincing Evidence ◽  
State Agency ◽  
Best Interests ◽  
Medical Decision ◽  
Appropriate Treatment ◽  
Life Threatening

AbstractTwo recent cases have raised important questions concerning the appropriateness of state intervention in parental choices of unorthodox medical treatment for children with life-threatening conditions. This Note first discusses whether, and if so, when, state intervention in a child's treatment selection by its parents is appropriate, and then analyzes the tests a court should apply in deciding upon an appropriate treatment. The Note recommends a decision-making approach that requires the appropriate state agency to prove, by clear and convincing evidence, that the parents' choice of medical treatment either is directly or is indirectly harming their child. Under this approach, if the state meets its burden of proof the court then must apply the ‘best interests’ test, rather than the ‘substituted judgment’ test, to choose an appropriate medical treatment for the child.

scholarly journals Physicians’ decreased tendency to choose palliative care for patients with advanced dementia between 1999 and 2015

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saila Haapasalmi ◽  
Reetta P. Piili ◽  
Riina Metsänoja ◽  
Pirkko-Liisa I. Kellokumpu-Lehtinen ◽  
Juho T. Lehto
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Palliative Care ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
Postal Survey ◽  
Advanced Dementia ◽  
Background Factors ◽  
Physician Decision Making ◽  
Care Approach ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Physicians’ decision-making for seriously ill patients with advanced dementia is of high importance, especially as the prevalence of dementia is rising rapidly, and includes many challenging ethical, medical and juridical aspects. We assessed the change in this decision-making over 16 years (from 1999 to 2015) and several background factors influencing physicians’ decision. Methods A postal survey including a hypothetical patient-scenario representing a patient with an advanced dementia and a life-threatening gastrointestinal bleeding was sent to 1182 and 1258 Finnish physicians in 1999 and 2015, respectively. The target groups were general practitioners (GPs), surgeons, internists and oncologists. The respondents were asked to choose between several life-prolonging and palliative care approaches. The influence of physicians’ background factors and attitudes on their decision were assessed. Results The response rate was 56%. A palliative care approach was chosen by 57 and 50% of the physicians in 1999 and 2015, respectively (p = 0.01). This change was statistically significant among GPs (50 vs 40%, p = 0.018) and oncologists (77 vs 56%, p = 0.011). GPs chose a palliative care approach less often than other responders in both years (50 vs. 63% in 1999 and 40 vs. 56% in 2015, p < 0.001). In logistic regression analysis, responding in 2015 and being a GP remained explanatory factors for a lower tendency to choose palliative care. The impact of family’s benefit on the decision-making decreased, whereas the influence of the patient’s benefit and ethical values as well as the patient’s or physician’s legal protection increased from 1999 to 2015. Conclusions Physicians chose a palliative care approach for a patient with advanced dementia and life-threatening bleeding less often in 2015 than in 1999. Specialty, attitudes and other background factors influenced significantly physician decision-making. Education on the identification and palliative care of the patients with late-stage dementia are needed to make these decisions more consistent.

scholarly journals EXPRESS: Pulmonary Hypertension Associated With Neurofibromatosis Type 2

2021 ◽  
pp. 204589402110295
Author(s):  
Hirohisa Taniguchi ◽  
Tomoya Takashima ◽  
Ly Tu ◽  
Raphaël Thuillet ◽  
Asuka Furukawa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pulmonary Hypertension ◽  
Neurofibromatosis Type ◽  
Pulmonary Vascular Remodeling ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
History Of ◽  
Pulmonary Arterial ◽  
First Time

Although precapillary pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a rare but severe complication of patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), its association with NF2 remains unknown. Herein, we report a case of a 44-year-old woman who was initially diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) and treated with PAH-specific combination therapy. However, a careful assessment for a relevant family history of the disease and genetic testing reveal that this patient had a mutation in the NF2 gene. Using immunofluorescence and Western blotting, we demonstrated a decrease in endothelial NF2 protein in lungs from IPAH patients compared to control lungs, suggesting a potential role of NF2 in PAH development. To our knowledge, this is the first time that precapillary PH has been described in a patient with NF2. The altered endothelial NF2 expression pattern in PAH lungs should stimulate work to better understand how NF2 is contributing to the pulmonary vascular remodeling associated to these severe life-threatening conditions.

scholarly journals Consciousness, decision making, and volition: freedom beyond chance and necessity

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Liljenström
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Free Will ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Brain Structures ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Neural Information ◽  
Neural Information Processing ◽  
Stochastic Population Model ◽  
The Brain

AbstractWhat is the role of consciousness in volition and decision-making? Are our actions fully determined by brain activity preceding our decisions to act, or can consciousness instead affect the brain activity leading to action? This has been much debated in philosophy, but also in science since the famous experiments by Libet in the 1980s, where the current most common interpretation is that conscious free will is an illusion. It seems that the brain knows, up to several seconds in advance what “you” decide to do. These studies have, however, been criticized, and alternative interpretations of the experiments can be given, some of which are discussed in this paper. In an attempt to elucidate the processes involved in decision-making (DM), as an essential part of volition, we have developed a computational model of relevant brain structures and their neurodynamics. While DM is a complex process, we have particularly focused on the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) for its emotional, and the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) for its cognitive aspects. In this paper, we present a stochastic population model representing the neural information processing of DM. Simulation results seem to confirm the notion that if decisions have to be made fast, emotional processes and aspects dominate, while rational processes are more time consuming and may result in a delayed decision. Finally, some limitations of current science and computational modeling will be discussed, hinting at a future development of science, where consciousness and free will may add to chance and necessity as explanation for what happens in the world.

Information-based decoding of the coupling among human brain activity and movement paths

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Shahul Mujib Kamal ◽  
Norazryana Mat Dawi ◽  
Hamidreza Namazi
Keyword(s):  
Brain Activity ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Physiological Signals ◽  
Human Walking ◽  
Eeg Signals ◽  
Rehabilitation Science ◽  
Information Contents ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Brain Reaction

BACKGROUND: Walking like many other actions of a human is controlled by the brain through the nervous system. In fact, if a problem occurs in our brain, we cannot walk correctly. Therefore, the analysis of the coupling of brain activity and walking is very important especially in rehabilitation science. The complexity of movement paths is one of the factors that affect human walking. For instance, if we walk on a path that is more complex, our brain activity increases to adjust our movements. OBJECTIVE: This study for the first time analyzed the coupling of walking paths and brain reaction from the information point of view. METHODS: We analyzed the Shannon entropy for electroencephalography (EEG) signals versus the walking paths in order to relate their information contents. RESULTS: According to the results, walking on a path that contains more information causes more information in EEG signals. A strong correlation (p= 0.9999) was observed between the information contents of EEG signals and walking paths. Our method of analysis can also be used to investigate the relation among other physiological signals of a human and walking paths, which has great benefits in rehabilitation science.

scholarly journals Anytime collaborative brain–computer interfaces for enhancing perceptual group decision-making

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saugat Bhattacharyya ◽  
Davide Valeriani ◽  
Caterina Cinel ◽  
Luca Citi ◽  
Riccardo Poli
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Group Decision Making ◽  
Group Decision ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Event Related Potentials ◽  
Brain Computer Interfaces ◽  
Appearance Time ◽  
Perceptual Group ◽  
Computer Interfaces ◽  
Related Potentials

AbstractIn this paper we present, and test in two realistic environments, collaborative Brain-Computer Interfaces (cBCIs) that can significantly increase both the speed and the accuracy of perceptual group decision-making. The key distinguishing features of this work are: (1) our cBCIs combine behavioural, physiological and neural data in such a way as to be able to provide a group decision at any time after the quickest team member casts their vote, but the quality of a cBCI-assisted decision improves monotonically the longer the group decision can wait; (2) we apply our cBCIs to two realistic scenarios of military relevance (patrolling a dark corridor and manning an outpost at night where users need to identify any unidentified characters that appear) in which decisions are based on information conveyed through video feeds; and (3) our cBCIs exploit Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) elicited in brain activity by the appearance of potential threats but, uniquely, the appearance time is estimated automatically by the system (rather than being unrealistically provided to it). As a result of these elements, in the two test environments, groups assisted by our cBCIs make both more accurate and faster decisions than when individual decisions are integrated in more traditional manners.

Aquatic fungi growing on the spawn of certain amphibians

1998 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Czeczuga ◽  
E. Muszyńska ◽  
A. Krzemińska
Keyword(s):  
Aquatic Fungi ◽  
Fungus Species ◽  
Zoosporic Fungus ◽  
Laboratory Conditions ◽  
First Time

AbstractThe mycoflora developing on the spawn of nine species of amphibians was investigated under laboratory conditions. Fifty-two zoosporic fungus species were found to grow on the spawn investigated, including 6 chytridiomycetes, 1 hyphochytriomycete, 44 oomycetes and 1 zygomycete fungus. Out of these 52 species, 23 are known as parasites or necrotrophs of fish. Five fungus species were recorded for the first time from Poland.

Deterministic policies based on maximum regrets in MDPs with imprecise rewards

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Pegah Alizadeh ◽  
Emiliano Traversi ◽  
Aomar Osmani
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Decision Process ◽  
Process Models ◽  
Sequential Decision Making ◽  
Sequential Decision ◽  
Exact Procedure ◽  
Markov Decision ◽  
Intuitive Idea ◽  
First Time ◽  
Maximum Regret

Markov Decision Process Models (MDPs) are a powerful tool for planning tasks and sequential decision-making issues. In this work we deal with MDPs with imprecise rewards, often used when dealing with situations where the data is uncertain. In this context, we provide algorithms for finding the policy that minimizes the maximum regret. To the best of our knowledge, all the regret-based methods proposed in the literature focus on providing an optimal stochastic policy. We introduce for the first time a method to calculate an optimal deterministic policy using optimization approaches. Deterministic policies are easily interpretable for users because for a given state they provide a unique choice. To better motivate the use of an exact procedure for finding a deterministic policy, we show some (theoretical and experimental) cases where the intuitive idea of using a deterministic policy obtained after “determinizing” the optimal stochastic policy leads to a policy far from the exact deterministic policy.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document