Theta Oscillations and Human Navigation: A Magnetoencephalography Study

2002 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dráulio B. de Araújo ◽  
Oswaldo Baffa ◽  
Ronald T. Wakai
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Theta Rhythm ◽  
Motor Task ◽  
Spatiotemporal Analysis ◽  
Peak Frequency ◽  
Theta Oscillations ◽  
Theta Power ◽  
Knowing That ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Passive Viewing

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) was used to study alpha and theta activity while subjects navigated through a computer-generated virtual reality town. The subjects were first allowed to explore the environment freely. They then had to navigate from a starting point to a destination, knowing that an obstruction would appear at one of several possible locations along the main route and force them to take a detour. Spatiotemporal analysis of the theta and alpha bands were performed (1) prior to the start of navigation, (2) from the start of navigation until the obstruction was encountered, (3) during the time subjects were contemplating a detour and were not navigating, and (4) from the resumption of navigation until the destination was reached. In all subjects, theta power was strongest during the two periods of navigation. The peak frequency of the oscillations was approximately 3.7 Hz. Control studies consisted of a motor task similar to that required for navigation, passive viewing of a tour through the same virtual reality town, and a mental concentration task. No consistent increases in theta power were seen in the MEG during any of the control tasks. The results suggest an association between theta rhythm and the performance of navigational tasks in humans.

scholarly journals Stimulus dependence of theta rhythmic activity in primate V1 and its potential relevance for visual perception

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prasakti Tenri Fanyiwi ◽  
Beshoy Agayby ◽  
Ricardo Kienitz ◽  
Marcus Haag ◽  
Michael C. Schmid
Keyword(s):  
Visual Perception ◽  
Visual Stimulus ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Rhythmic Activity ◽  
Peak Frequency ◽  
Theta Oscillations ◽  
Theta Power ◽  
Fixational Eye Movements

AbstractA growing body of psychophysical research reports theta (3-8 Hz) rhythmic fluctuations in visual perception that are often attributed to an attentional sampling mechanism arising from theta rhythmic neural activity in mid- to high-level cortical association areas. However, it remains unclear to what extent such neuronal theta oscillations might already emerge at early sensory cortex like the primary visual cortex (V1), e.g. from the stimulus filter properties of neurons. To address this question, we recorded multi-unit neural activity from V1 of two macaque monkeys viewing a static visual stimulus with variable sizes, orientations and contrasts. We found that among the visually responsive electrode sites, more than 50 % showed a spectral peak at theta frequencies. Theta power varied with varying basic stimulus properties. Within each of these stimulus property domains (e.g. size), there was usually a single stimulus value that induced the strongest theta activity. In addition to these variations in theta power, the peak frequency of theta oscillations increased with increasing stimulus size and also changed depending on the stimulus position in the visual field. Further analysis confirmed that this neural theta rhythm was indeed stimulus-induced and did not arise from small fixational eye movements (microsaccades). When the monkeys performed a detection task of a target embedded in a theta-generating visual stimulus, reaction times also tended to fluctuate at the same theta frequency as the one observed in the neural activity. The present study shows that a highly stimulus-dependent neuronal theta oscillation can be elicited in V1 that appears to influence the temporal dynamics of visual perception.

scholarly journals Power dynamics of theta oscillations during goal-directed navigation in freely moving humans: A mobile EEG-virtual reality T-maze study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mei-heng Lin ◽  
Omer Liran ◽  
Neeta K Bauer ◽  
Travis E Baker
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Theta Oscillations ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Life Goal ◽  
Theta Power ◽  
Electrophysiological Recordings ◽  
Freely Moving ◽  
The Right

Theta oscillations (4-12 Hz) are dynamically modulated by speed and direction in freely moving animals. However, due to the paucity of electrophysiological recordings of freely moving humans, this mechanism remains poorly understood. Here, we combined mobile-EEG with fully immersive virtual-reality to investigate theta dynamics in twenty-two healthy adults (aged 18-29 years old) freely navigating a T-maze to find rewards. Our results revealed three dynamic periods of theta modulation: 1) theta power increases coincided with the participants' decision-making period; 2) theta power increased for fast and leftward trials as subjects approached the goal location; and 3) feedback onset evoked two phase-locked theta bursts over the right temporal and frontal-midline channels. These results suggest that recording scalp EEG in freely moving humans navigating a simple virtual T-maze can be utilized as a powerful translational model by which to map theta dynamics during "real-life" goal-directed behavior in both health and disease.

scholarly journals Human hippocampal theta oscillations reflect sequential dependencies during spatial planning

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raphael Kaplan ◽  
Adrià Tauste Campo ◽  
Daniel Bush ◽  
John King ◽  
Alessandro Principe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Planning ◽  
Medial Temporal Lobe ◽  
Theta Rhythm ◽  
Theta Oscillations ◽  
Perceptual Decision Making ◽  
Sequential Dependencies ◽  
Theta Power ◽  
Decision Speed ◽  
Hippocampal Theta ◽  
Spatial Trajectories

AbstractMovement-related theta oscillations in rodent hippocampus coordinate ‘forward sweeps’ of location-specific neural activity that could be used to evaluate spatial trajectories online. This raises the possibility that increases in human hippocampal theta power accompany the evaluation of upcoming spatial choices. To test this hypothesis, we measured neural oscillations during a spatial planning task that closely resembles a perceptual decision-making paradigm. In this task, participants searched visually for the shortest path between a start and goal location in novel mazes that contained multiple choice points, and were subsequently asked to make a spatial decision at one of those choice points. We observed ~4-8 Hz hippocampal/medial temporal lobe theta power increases specific to sequential planning that were negatively correlated with subsequent decision speed, where decision speed was inversely correlated with choice accuracy. These results implicate the hippocampal theta rhythm in decision tree search during planning in novel environments.

THE CONTRIBUTION OF VIRTUAL REALITY TECHNOLOGY IN THE DEVELOPMENT TOURISM IN YOGYAKARTA

Pringgitan ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (01) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Syaifulloh ◽  
Safor Mardianto
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Virtual Reality Technology ◽  
Aviation Medicine ◽  
Tourism Sector ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Staying At Home

Tourism sector provides a significant contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the Republic of Indonesia, both through foreign exchange and economic turnover. Although the Indonesian tourism industry after the COVID-19 pandemic has changed with an emphasis on green and clean products, it is hoped that this sector will be lessened by the community compared to the previous era. Research and development of VR has been carried out in various fields such as games, education, aviation, medicine, the application of VR in tourism is still common, there is a need to implement tourism while staying at home. The results of the systematic literature review conducted provide an explanation of the starting point for research by applying VR and making 3600 videos for industrial tourism. Keywords: Environmental Tourism, Virtual Tour, Virtual Reality, Video

scholarly journals The Michelangelo Effect: Art Improves the Performance in a Virtual Reality Task Developed for Upper Limb Neurorehabilitation

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Iosa ◽  
Merve Aydin ◽  
Carolina Candelise ◽  
Natascia Coda ◽  
Giovanni Morone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
User Satisfaction ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Healthy Subjects ◽  
Aesthetic Experience ◽  
Motor Task ◽  
Mozart Effect ◽  
Task Load ◽  
Creative Art ◽  
Nasa Task Load Index

The vision of an art masterpiece is associated with brain arousal by neural processes occurring quite spontaneously in the viewer. This aesthetic experience may even elicit a response in the motor areas of the observers. In the neurorehabilitation of patients with stroke, art observation has been used for reducing psychological disorders, and creative art therapy for enhancing physical functions and cognitive abilities. Here, we developed a virtual reality task which allows patients, by moving their hand on a virtual canvas, to have the illusion of painting some art masterpieces, such as The Creation of Adam of Michelangelo or The birth of Venus of Botticelli. Twenty healthy subjects (experiment 1) and four patients with stroke (experiment 2) performed this task and a control one in which they simply colored the virtual canvas. Results from User Satisfaction Evaluation Questionnaire and the NASA Task Load Index highlighted an appropriate level of usability. Moreover, despite the motor task was the same for art and control stimuli, the art condition was performed by healthy subjects with shorter trajectories (p = 0.001) and with a lower perception of physical demand (p = 0.049). In experiment 2, only the patients treated with artistic stimuli showed a reduction in the erroneous movements performed orthogonally to the canvas (p < 0.05). This finding reminds the so-called Mozart effect that improves the performance of subjects when they listen to classic music. Thus, we called this improvement in the performance when interacting with an artistic stimulus as Michelangelo effect.

scholarly journals Learning to synchronize: Midfrontal theta dynamics during rule switching

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pieter Verbeke ◽  
Kate Ergo ◽  
Esther De Loof ◽  
Tom Verguts
Keyword(s):  
Negative Feedback ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Theta Oscillations ◽  
Prediction Errors ◽  
Hierarchical Learning ◽  
Theta Power ◽  
Negative Prediction ◽  
Theta Phase ◽  
The Brain

AbstractIn recent years, several hierarchical extensions of well-known learning algorithms have been proposed. For example, when stimulus-action mappings vary across time or context, the brain may learn two or more stimulus-action mappings in separate modules, and additionally (at a hierarchically higher level) learn to appropriately switch between those modules. However, how the brain mechanistically coordinates neural communication to implement such hierarchical learning, remains unknown. Therefore, the current study tests a recent computational model that proposed how midfrontal theta oscillations implement such hierarchical learning via the principle of binding by synchrony (Sync model). More specifically, the Sync model employs bursts at theta frequency to flexibly bind appropriate task modules by synchrony. 64-channel EEG signal was recorded while 27 human subjects (Female: 21, Male: 6) performed a probabilistic reversal learning task. In line with the Sync model, post-feedback theta power showed a linear relationship with negative prediction errors, but not with positive prediction errors. This relationship was especially pronounced for subjects with better behavioral fit (measured via AIC) of the Sync model. Also consistent with Sync model simulations, theta phase-coupling between midfrontal electrodes and temporo-parietal electrodes was stronger after negative feedback. Our data suggest that the brain uses theta power and synchronization for flexibly switching between task rule modules, as is useful for example when multiple stimulus-action mappings must be retained and used.Significance StatementEveryday life requires flexibility in switching between several rules. A key question in understanding this ability is how the brain mechanistically coordinates such switches. The current study tests a recent computational framework (Sync model) that proposed how midfrontal theta oscillations coordinate activity in hierarchically lower task-related areas. In line with predictions of this Sync model, midfrontal theta power was stronger when rule switches were most likely (strong negative prediction error), especially in subjects who obtained a better model fit. Additionally, also theta phase connectivity between midfrontal and task-related areas was increased after negative feedback. Thus, the data provided support for the hypothesis that the brain uses theta power and synchronization for flexibly switching between rules.

scholarly journals Choosing to view morbid information involves reward circuitry

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Oosterwijk ◽  
Lukas Snoek ◽  
Jurriaan Tekoppele ◽  
Lara H. Engelbert ◽  
H. Steven Scholte
Keyword(s):  
Neural Circuits ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Viewing Condition ◽  
Verbal Cues ◽  
Negative Image ◽  
Reward Circuitry ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Passive Viewing

Abstract People often seek out stories, videos or images that detail death, violence or harm. Considering the ubiquity of this behavior, it is surprising that we know very little about the neural circuits involved in choosing negative information. Using fMRI, the present study shows that choosing intensely negative stimuli engages similar brain regions as those that support extrinsic incentives and “regular” curiosity. Participants made choices to view negative and positive images, based on negative (e.g., a soldier kicks a civilian against his head) and positive (e.g., children throw flower petals at a wedding) verbal cues. We hypothesized that the conflicting, but relatively informative act of choosing to view a negative image, resulted in stronger activation of reward circuitry as opposed to the relatively uncomplicated act of choosing to view a positive stimulus. Indeed, as preregistered, we found that choosing negative cues was associated with activation of the striatum, inferior frontal gyrus, anterior insula, and anterior cingulate cortex, both when contrasting against a passive viewing condition, and when contrasting against positive cues. These findings nuance models of decision-making, valuation and curiosity, and are an important starting point when considering the value of seeking out negative content.

Theta Oscillations in Primate Prefrontal and Anterior Cingulate Cortices in Forewarned Reaction Time Tasks

2010 ◽  
Vol 103 (2) ◽  
pp. 827-843 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toru Tsujimoto ◽  
Hideki Shimazu ◽  
Yoshikazu Isomura ◽  
Kazuo Sasaki
Keyword(s):  
Reaction Time ◽  
Hand Movement ◽  
Theta Activity ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Theta Oscillations ◽  
Theta Power ◽  
Monkey Model ◽  
Period 2 ◽  
Reward Delivery ◽  
Frontal Midline Theta

Previously, we introduced a monkey model for human frontal midline theta oscillations as a possible neural correlate of attention. It was based on homologous theta oscillations found in the monkey's prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortices (areas 9 and 32) in a self-initiated hand-movement task. However, it has not been confirmed whether theta activity in the monkey model consistently appears in other situations demanding attention. Here, we examined the detailed properties of theta oscillations in four variations of forewarned reaction time tasks with warning (S1) and imperative (S2) stimuli. We characterized the theta oscillations generated exclusively in areas 9 and 32, as follows: 1) in the S1-S2 interval where movement preparation and reward expectation were presumably involved, the theta power was higher than in the pre-S1 period; 2) in the no-go trials of go/no-go tasks instructed by S1, the theta power in the S1-S2 interval was lower than in the pre-S1 period in an asymmetrical reward condition, whereas it was moderately higher in a symmetrical condition; 3) the theta power after reward delivery was higher than in the unrewarded trials; 4) the theta power in the pre-S1 period was higher than in the resting condition; and 5) when the monkey had to guess the S1-S2 duration internally without seeing S2, the theta power in the pre-S1 period was higher than in the original S1-S2 experiment. These findings suggest that attentional loads associated with different causes can induce the same theta activity, thereby supporting the consistency of attention-dependent theta oscillations in our model.

Theta power and theta-gamma coupling support spatial memory retrieval

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Umesh Vivekananda ◽  
Daniel Bush ◽  
James A Bisby ◽  
Sallie Baxendale ◽  
Roman Rodionov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Memory ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Memory Function ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Theta Oscillations ◽  
Theta Power ◽  
Human Epilepsy ◽  
Phase Amplitude ◽  
Hippocampal Theta

AbstractHippocampal theta oscillations have been implicated in spatial memory function in both rodents and humans. What is less clear is how hippocampal theta interacts with higher frequency oscillations during spatial memory function, and how this relates to subsequent behaviour. Here we asked ten human epilepsy patients undergoing intracranial EEG recording to perform a desk-top virtual reality spatial memory task, and found that increased theta power in two discrete bands (‘low’ 2-5Hz and ‘high’ 6-9Hz) during cued retrieval was associated with improved task performance. Similarly, increased coupling between ‘low’ theta phase and gamma amplitude during the same period was associated with improved task performance. These results support a role of theta oscillations and theta-gamma phase-amplitude coupling in human spatial memory function.

scholarly journals Variable Curvature Displays: Optical Designs and Applications for VR/AR/MR Headsets

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 712
Author(s):  
Eduard Muslimov ◽  
Thibault Behaghel ◽  
Emmanuel Hugot ◽  
Kelly Joaquina ◽  
Ilya Guskov
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Field Of View ◽  
Projection System ◽  
Object Position ◽  
Focal Surface ◽  
Variable Curvature ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Low Distortion ◽  
Aberration Theory

In the present paper, we discuss the design of a projection system with curved display and its enhancement by variably adjusting the curvature. We demonstrate that the focal surface curvature varies significantly with a change of the object position and that it can easily be computed with the Seidel aberration theory. Using this analytically derived curvature value as the starting point, we optimise a refocusable projection system with 90 ° field of view and F / # = 6.2 . It is demonstrated that such a system can provide stable image quality and illumination when refocusing from infinity to 1.5 m. The gain in spatial resolution is as high as 1.54 times with respect to a flat focal surface. Furthermore, we prove that a silicon die can be curved to the required shape with a safety factor of 4.3 in terms of the mechanical stress. Finally, it is shown that the developed system can be used in a virtual reality headset providing high resolution, low distortion and a flexible focusing mode.

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