No abstract

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) have attracted much attention recently, triggered by new scientific progress in understanding brain function and by impressive applications. The aim of this review is to give an overview of the various steps in the BCI cycle, i.e., the loop from the measurement of brain activity, classification of data, feedback to the subject and the effect of feedback on brain activity. In this article we will review the critical steps of the BCI cycle, the present issues and state-of-the-art results. Moreover, we will develop a vision on how recently obtained results may contribute to new insights in neurocognition and, in particular, in the neural representation of perceived stimuli, intended actions and emotions. Now is the right time to explore what can be gained by embracing real-time, online BCI and by adding it to the set of experimental tools already available to the cognitive neuroscientist. We close by pointing out some unresolved issues and present our view on how BCI could become an important new tool for probing human cognition.

In this study, attentional processing in relation to mindfulness meditation was investigated. Since recent studies have suggested that mindfulness meditation may induce improvements in attentional processing, we have tested 20 expert mindfulness meditators in the attention network test. Their performance was compared to that of 20 age- and gender-matched controls. In addition to attentional network analyses, overall attentional processing was analysed by means of efficiency scores (i.e., accuracy controlled for reaction time). Better orienting and executive attention (reflected by smaller differences in either reaction time or error score, respectively) were observed in the mindfulness meditation group. Furthermore, extensive mindfulness meditation appeared to be related to a reduction of the fraction of errors for responses with the same reaction time. These results provide new insights into differences in attentional processing related to mindfulness meditation and suggest the possibility of increasing the efficiency in attentional processing by extensive mental training.

We have examined a role of dynamic synapses in the stochastic Hop eldlike network behavior. Our results demonstrate an appearance of a novel phase characterized by quick transitions from one memory state to another. The network is able to retrieve memorized patterns corresponding to classical ferromagnetic states but switches between memorized patterns with an intermittent type of behavior. This phenomeno n might reect the exibility of real neural systems and their readiness to receive and respond to novel and changing external stimuli.

Two experiments examined the RT to visual stimuli presented alone and when either auditory (Experiment 1) or kinesthetic (Experiment 2) stimuli followed the visual event by 50 or 65 msec, respectively. As has been found before, the RT to combined stimulus events was 20 to 40 msec shorter than to visual events alone. While such results have generally been interpreted to mean that two sensory modalities are interacting, Raab's (1962) hypothesis of statistical facilitationthat the subject responds to that stimulus modality whose processing is completed first-is also possible. Using Raab's model, but with relaxed assumptions, the present experiments show that RT to combined stimulus events is more rapid than can be accounted for by statistical facilitation. Therefore, some intersensory interaction was probably occurring. The nature of these possible interactions and the status of the statistical-facilitation hypothesis are discussed.161