scholarly journals Reading and Calculation Neural Systems and Their Weighted Adaptive Use for Programming Skills

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Joao Castelhano ◽  
Isabel C. Duarte ◽  
Joao Duraes ◽  
Henrique Madeira ◽  
Miguel Castelo-Branco
Keyword(s):  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Hemispheric Lateralization ◽  
Error Monitoring ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Program Understanding ◽  
The Core ◽  
Midcingulate Cortex ◽  
Programming Skills

Software programming is a modern activity that poses strong challenges to the human brain. The neural mechanisms that support this novel cognitive faculty are still unknown. On the other hand, reading and calculation abilities represent slightly less recent human activities, in which neural correlates are relatively well understood. We hypothesize that calculus and reading brain networks provide joint underpinnings with distinctly weighted contributions which concern programming tasks, in particular concerning error identification. Based on a meta-analysis of the core regions involved in both reading and math and recent experimental evidence on the neural basis of programming tasks, we provide a theoretical account that integrates the role of these networks in program understanding. In this connectivity-based framework, error-monitoring processing regions in the frontal cortex influence the insula, which is a pivotal hub within the salience network, leading into efficient causal modulation of parietal networks involved in reading and mathematical operations. The core role of the anterior insula and anterior midcingulate cortex is illuminated by their relation to performance in error processing and novelty. The larger similarity that we observed between the networks underlying calculus and programming skills does not exclude a more limited but clear overlap with the reading network, albeit with differences in hemispheric lateralization when compared with prose reading. Future work should further elucidate whether other features of computer program understanding also use distinct weights of phylogenetically “older systems” for this recent human activity, based on the adjusting influence of fronto-insular networks. By unraveling the neural correlates of program understanding and bug detection, this work provides a framework to understand error monitoring in this novel complex faculty.

scholarly journals A roadmap for the study of conscious audition and its neural basis

2017 ◽  
Vol 372 (1714) ◽  
pp. 20160103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew R. Dykstra ◽  
Peter A. Cariani ◽  
Alexander Gutschalk
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Perception ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Scene Analysis ◽  
Conscious Perception ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Or Groups ◽  
Neural Processes ◽  
Auditory Scenes ◽  
Shed Light

How and which aspects of neural activity give rise to subjective perceptual experience—i.e. conscious perception—is a fundamental question of neuroscience. To date, the vast majority of work concerning this question has come from vision, raising the issue of generalizability of prominent resulting theories. However, recent work has begun to shed light on the neural processes subserving conscious perception in other modalities, particularly audition. Here, we outline a roadmap for the future study of conscious auditory perception and its neural basis, paying particular attention to how conscious perception emerges (and of which elements or groups of elements) in complex auditory scenes. We begin by discussing the functional role of the auditory system, particularly as it pertains to conscious perception. Next, we ask: what are the phenomena that need to be explained by a theory of conscious auditory perception? After surveying the available literature for candidate neural correlates, we end by considering the implications that such results have for a general theory of conscious perception as well as prominent outstanding questions and what approaches/techniques can best be used to address them. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Auditory and visual scene analysis’.

scholarly journals Complex of global functional network as the core of consciousness

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keiichi Onoda
Keyword(s):  
Dynamic System ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Posterior Part ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Attention Networks ◽  
The Core ◽  
Hierarchical Partition ◽  
Brain Fmri ◽  
The Brain

Finding the neural basis of consciousness is a challenging issue, and it is still inconclusive where the core of consciousness is distributed in the brain. The global neuronal workspace theory (GNWT) emphasizes the role of the frontoparietal regions, whereas the integrated information theory (IIT) argues that the posterior part of the brain is the core of consciousness. IIT has proposed “main complex” as the core of consciousness in a dynamic system, which is a set of elements that the information loss in a hierarchical partition approach is the largest among that of all its supersets and subsets. However, no experimental study has reported the core of consciousness using the main complex for actual brain activity. This study estimated the main complex of brain dynamics using a functional MRI. The whole-brain fMRI data of eight conditions (seven tasks and a rest state) were divided into multiple elements based on network atlases, and the main complex of the dynamic system was estimated for each condition. It is assumed that, if there is a set of elements in the complex that are common to all conditions, the set is likely to contain the core of consciousness. Executive control, salience, and dorsal/ventral attention networks were commonly included in the main complex across all conditions, implying that these networks are responsible for the core of consciousness. This finding is consistent with the GNWT, as these networks are across the prefrontal and parietal regions.

scholarly journals Pseudomonas Can Prevent the Parasitic Fungus, While Keeping the Crop Fungus Unaffected, in the Gardens of Odontotermes Obesus.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renuka Agarwal ◽  
Manisha Gupta ◽  
Abin Antony ◽  
Ruchira Sen ◽  
Rhitoban Raychoudhury
Keyword(s):  
16S Rrna ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Parasitic Fungus ◽  
Microbiota Composition ◽  
Wide Spread ◽  
The Core ◽  
Bacterial Cultures ◽  
Odontotermes Obesus ◽  
Culture Dependent

Abstract Insects that farm monocultures of fungi are canonical examples of nutritional symbiosis as well as independent evolution of agriculture in non-human animals. But just like in human agriculture, these fungal crops face constant threat of invasion by weeds which, if unchecked, takes over the crop fungus. In fungus-growing termites, the crop fungus (Termitomyces) faces such challenges from the parasitic fungus Pseudoxylaria. The mechanism by which Pseudoxylaria is suppressed is not known. However, evidence suggests that some bacterial secondary symbionts can serve as defensive mutualists by preventing the growth of Pseudoxylaria. However, such secondary symbionts must possess the dual, yet contrasting, capabilities of suppressing the weedy fungus while keeping the growth of the crop fungus unaffected. This study describes the isolation, identification and culture-dependent estimation of the roles of several such putative defensive mutualists from the colonies of the wide-spread fungus-growing termite from India, Odontotermes obesus. From the 38 bacterial cultures tested, a strain of Pseudomonas showed significantly greater suppression of the weedy fungus than the crop fungus. Moreover, a 16S rRNA pan-microbiome survey, using the Nanopore platform, revealed Pseudomonas to be a part of the core microbiota of Odontotermes obesus. A meta-analysis of microbiota composition across different species of Odontotermes also confirms the wide-spread prevalence of Pseudomonas within this termite. These evidence indicate that Pseudomonas could be playing the role of defensive mutualist within Odontotermes.

scholarly journals Dissociable Neural Correlates of Uncertainty Underlie Different Exploration Strategies

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Momchil S. Tomov ◽  
Van Q. Truong ◽  
Rohan A. Hundia ◽  
Samuel J. Gershman
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Relative Uncertainty ◽  
Total Uncertainty ◽  
The Core ◽  
Guided Exploration ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽  
Subjective Estimates

SummaryMost real-world decisions involve a delicate balance between exploring unfamiliar alternatives and committing to the best known option. Uncertainty lies at the core of this “explore-exploit” dilemma, for if all options were perfectly known, there would be no need to explore. Yet despite the prominent role of uncertainty-guided exploration in decision making, evidence for its neural implementation is still sparse. We investigated this question with model-based fMRI (n = 31) using a two-armed bandit task that independently manipulates two forms of uncertainty underlying different exploration strategies. The relative uncertainty between the two options was correlated with BOLD activity in right rostrolateral prefrontal cortex and drove directed exploration, a strategy that adds an uncertainty bonus to each option. The total uncertainty across the two options was correlated with activity in left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and drove random exploration, a strategy that increases choice stochasticity in proportion to total uncertainty. The subjective estimates of uncertainty from both regions were predictive of subject choices. These results are consistent with a hybrid computational architecture in which different uncertainty computations are performed separately and then combined by downstream decision circuits to compute choice.

Speech Perception

2019 ◽  
pp. 646-675
Author(s):  
David Poeppel ◽  
Gregory B. Cogan ◽  
Ido Davidesco ◽  
Adeen Flinker
Keyword(s):  
Speech Perception ◽  
Hemispheric Lateralization ◽  
Neural Oscillations ◽  
Potential Contribution ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Auditory Periphery ◽  
Perceptual Analysis ◽  
Mechanistic Theory ◽  
Stimulation Technique

Speech perception can be thought of as the set of operations that take as input the continuously varying acoustic waveforms available at the auditory periphery (vibrations in the ear) and that generate as output those representations (abstractions in the head) that constitute the basis for the subsequent operations that mediate language comprehension (which can, of course, be fed by audition, vision, or touch). The neural basis of speech perception proper has been studied experimentally by every available neural recording and stimulation technique. The interpretation of the findings and the development of a comprehensive mechanistic theory are complicated by the fact that very different protocols are used: studies range from the identification and categorization of single vowels and syllables to decisions on single spoken words to intelligibility judgments on connected speech. Within this broader context, three topics have received considerable attention: the hemispheric lateralization of speech perception, the role of the motor system, and the potential contribution of neural oscillations to perceptual analysis. This chapter discusses each of these areas in turn.

scholarly journals Neural basis of somatosensory target detection independent of uncertainty, relevance, and reports

eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pia Schröder ◽  
Timo Torsten Schmidt ◽  
Felix Blankenburg
Keyword(s):  
Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Target Detection ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Perceptual Awareness ◽  
Stimulus Uncertainty ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Secondary Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Frontoparietal Network

Research on somatosensory awareness has yielded highly diverse findings with putative neural correlates ranging from activity within somatosensory cortex to activation of widely distributed frontoparietal networks. Divergent results from previous studies may reside in cognitive processes that often coincide with stimulus awareness in experimental settings. To scrutinise the specific relevance of regions implied in the target detection network, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (n = 27) on a novel somatosensory detection task that explicitly controls for stimulus uncertainty, behavioural relevance, overt reports, and motor responses. Using Bayesian Model Selection, we show that responses reflecting target detection are restricted to secondary somatosensory cortex, whereas activity in insular, cingulate, and motor regions is best explained in terms of stimulus uncertainty and overt reports. Our results emphasise the role of sensory-specific cortex for the emergence of perceptual awareness and dissect the contribution of the frontoparietal network to classical detection tasks.

scholarly journals Electrophysiological correlates of state transition prediction errors

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danesh Shahnazian ◽  
José J.F Ribas-Fernandes ◽  
Clay B. Holroyd
Keyword(s):  
Computational Models ◽  
Neural Mechanism ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Transition Model ◽  
Prediction Errors ◽  
Model Learning ◽  
Transition Prediction ◽  
Midcingulate Cortex ◽  
Delta Oscillations

AbstractPlanning behavior depends crucially on the ability to distinguish between the likely and unlikely consequences of an action. Formal computational models of planning postulate the existence of a neural mechanism that tracks the transition model of the environment, i.e., a model that explicitly represents the probabilities of action consequences. However, empirical findings relating to such a mechanism are scarce. Here we report the results of two electroencephalographic experiments examining the neural correlates of transition model learning. The results implicate fronto-midline theta and delta oscillations in this process and suggest a role of the anterior midcingulate cortex in planning behavior.

Neural Basis of Monolingual and Bilingual Reading

2019 ◽  
pp. 602-625
Author(s):  
Pedro M. Paz-Alonso ◽  
Myriam Oliver ◽  
Ileana Quiñones ◽  
Manuel Carreiras
Keyword(s):  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Neural Systems ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Human Ability ◽  
Bilingual Reading ◽  
Language Exposure ◽  
The Impact

Over the last two decades, neuroimaging research has provided extensive knowledge about the neural basis of reading. However, there are still important debates about the functional role of reading-related regions and networks, and unanswered questions that will need to be addressed to further understand how reading is accomplished by the neural systems of monolingual and bilingual individuals. This chapter offers a critical review of (1) the functional specialization of left perisylvian reading regions and their participation in orthographic, phonological, and semantic reading systems; (2) the division of labor between ventral and dorsal reading networks and the factors that modulate them; and (3) the neural correlates supporting bilingual reading and the impact of age of acquisition, language proficiency, language exposure, and language orthography in the modulation of bilingual reading regions and networks. The chapter summarizes relevant current and future directions in the study of the neural mechanisms supporting this phylogenetically relatively new human ability.

scholarly journals Pseudomonas can prevent the parasitic fungus, while keeping the crop fungus unaffected, in the gardens of Odontotermes obesus

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renuka Agarwal ◽  
Manisha Gupta ◽  
Abin Antony ◽  
Ruchira Sen ◽  
Rhitoban Raychoudhury
Keyword(s):  
16S Rrna ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Parasitic Fungus ◽  
Microbiota Composition ◽  
Wide Spread ◽  
The Core ◽  
Bacterial Cultures ◽  
Odontotermes Obesus ◽  
Culture Dependent

AbstractInsects that farm monocultures of fungi are canonical examples of nutritional symbiosis as well as independent evolution of agriculture in non-human animals. But just like in human agriculture, these fungal crops face constant threat of invasion by weeds which, if unchecked, takes over the crop fungus. In fungus-growing termites, the crop fungus (Termitomyces) faces such challenges from the parasitic fungus Pseudoxylaria. The mechanism by which Pseudoxylaria is suppressed is not known. However, evidence suggests that some bacterial secondary symbionts can serve as defensive mutualists by preventing the growth of Pseudoxylaria. However, such secondary symbionts must possess the dual, yet contrasting, capabilities of suppressing the weedy fungus while keeping the growth of the crop fungus unaffected. This study describes the isolation, identification and culture-dependent estimation of the roles of several such putative defensive mutualists from the colonies of the wide-spread fungus-growing termite from India, Odontotermes obesus. From the 38 bacterial cultures tested, a strain of Pseudomonas showed significantly greater suppression of the weedy fungus than the crop fungus. Moreover, a 16S rRNA pan-microbiome survey, using the Nanopore platform, revealed Pseudomonas to be a part of the core microbiota of Odontotermes obesus. A meta-analysis of microbiota composition across different species of Odontotermes also confirms the wide-spread prevalence of Pseudomonas within this termite. These evidence indicate that Pseudomonas could be playing the role of defensive mutualist within Odontotermes.

Chronic Pain: Fundamental Scientific Considerations, Specifically for Legal Claims

2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J. Barth
Keyword(s):  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Pain Perception ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Psychological Treatment ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
General Medicine ◽  
Pain Syndrome ◽  
Problematic Relationship

Abstract Scientific findings have indicated that psychological and social factors are the driving forces behind most chronic benign pain presentations, especially in a claim context, and are relevant to at least three of the AMA Guides publications: AMA Guides to Evaluation of Disease and Injury Causation, AMA Guides to Work Ability and Return to Work, and AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment. The author reviews and summarizes studies that have identified the dominant role of financial, psychological, and other non–general medicine factors in patients who report low back pain. For example, one meta-analysis found that compensation results in an increase in pain perception and a reduction in the ability to benefit from medical and psychological treatment. Other studies have found a correlation between the level of compensation and health outcomes (greater compensation is associated with worse outcomes), and legal systems that discourage compensation for pain produce better health outcomes. One study found that, among persons with carpal tunnel syndrome, claimants had worse outcomes than nonclaimants despite receiving more treatment; another examined the problematic relationship between complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) and compensation and found that cases of CRPS are dominated by legal claims, a disparity that highlights the dominant role of compensation. Workers’ compensation claimants are almost never evaluated for personality disorders or mental illness. The article concludes with recommendations that evaluators can consider in individual cases.

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