0000000000399719
AUTHOR
Lili Tian
Strategic inhibition of distractors with visual working memory contents after involuntary attention capture
AbstractPrevious research has suggested that visual working memory (VWM) contents had a guiding effect on selective attention, and once participants realized that the distractors shared the same information with VWM contents in the search task, they would strategically inhibit the potential distractors with VWM contents. However, previous behavioral studies could not reveal the way how distractors with VWM contents are inhibited strategically. By employing the eye-tracking technique and a dual-task paradigm, we manipulated the probability of memory items occurring as distractors to explore this issue. Consistent with previous behavioral studies, the results showed that the inhibitory effect…
Spatiotemporal dynamics of activation in motor and language areas suggest a compensatory role of the motor cortex in second language processing
The involvement of the motor cortex in language understanding has been intensively discussed in the framework of embodied cognition. Although some studies have provided evidence for the involvement of the motor cortex in different receptive language tasks, the role that it plays in language perception and understanding is still unclear. In the present study, we explored the degree of involvement of language and motor areas in a visually presented sentence comprehension task, modulated by language proficiency (L1: native language, L2: second language) and linguistic abstractness (literal, metaphorical, and abstract). Magnetoencephalography data were recorded from 26 late Chinese learners of …
Effect of parametric variation of center frequency and bandwidth of morlet wavelet transform on time-frequency analysis of event-related potentials
Time-frequency (TF) analysis of event-related potentials (ERPs) using Complex Morlet Wavelet Transform has been widely applied in cognitive neuroscience research. It has been widely suggested that the center frequency (fc) and bandwidth (σ) should be considered in defining the mother wavelet. However, the issue how parametric variation of fc and σ of Morlet wavelet transform exerts influence on ERPs time-frequency results has not been extensively discussed in previous research. The current study, through adopting the method of Complex Morlet Continuous Wavelet Transform (CMCWT), aims to investigate whether time-frequency results vary with different parametric settings of fc and σ. Besides, …
The role of motor system in action-related language comprehension in L1 and L2: An fMRI study
The framework of embodied cognition has challenged the modular view of a language-cognition divide by suggesting that meaning-retrieval critically involves the sensory-motor system. Despite extensive research into the neural mechanisms underlying language-motor coupling, it remains unclear how the motor system might be differentially engaged by different levels of linguistic abstraction and language proficiency. To address this issue, we used fMRI to quantify neural activations in brain regions underlying motor and language processing in Chinese-English speakers’ processing of literal, metaphorical, and abstract language in their L1 and L2. Results overall revealed a response in motor ROIs …
Examining stability of independent component analysis based on coefficient and component matrices for voxel-based morphometry of structural magnetic resonance imaging
Independent component analysis (ICA) on group-level voxel-based morphometry (VBM) produces the coefficient matrix and the component matrix. The former contains variability among multiple subjects for further statistical analysis, and the latter reveals spatial maps common for all subjects. ICA algorithms converge to local optimization points in practice and the mostly applied stability investigation approach examines the stability of the extracted components. We found that the practically stable components do not guarantee to produce the practically stable coefficients of ICA decomposition for the further statistical analysis. Consequently, we proposed a novel approach including two steps: …
Multi-modality of polysomnography signals’ fusion for automatic sleep scoring
Abstract Objective The study aims to develop an automatic sleep scoring method by fusing different polysomnography (PSG) signals and further to investigate PSG signals’ contribution to the scoring result. Methods Eight combinations of four modalities of PSG signals, namely electroencephalogram (EEG), electrooculogram (EOG), electromyogram (EMG), and electrocardiogram (ECG) were considered to find the optimal fusion of PSG signals. A total of 232 features, covering statistical characters, frequency characters, time-frequency characters, fractal characters, entropy characters and nonlinear characters, were derived from these PSG signals. To select the optimal features for each signal fusion, …
Multi-modality of polysomnography signals’ fusion for automatic sleep scoring
Objective: The study aims to develop an automatic sleep scoring method by fusing different polysomnography (PSG) signals and further to investigate PSG signals’ contribution to the scoring result. Methods: Eight combinations of four modalities of PSG signals, namely electroencephalogram (EEG), electrooculogram (EOG), electromyogram (EMG), and electrocardiogram (ECG) were considered to find the optimal fusion of PSG signals. A total of 232 features, covering statistical characters, frequency characters, time-frequency characters, fractal characters, entropy characters and nonlinear characters, were derived from these PSG signals. To select the optimal features for each signal fusion, four wi…
Transcranial direct current stimulation over the right DLPFC selectively modulates subprocesses in working memory
Background Working memory, as a complex system, consists of two independent components: manipulation and maintenance process, which are defined as executive control and storage process. Previous studies mainly focused on the overall effect of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on working memory. However, little has been known about the segregative effects of tDCS on the sub-processes within working memory. Method Transcranial direct current stimulation, as one of the non-invasive brain stimulation techniques, is being widely used to modulate the cortical activation of local brain areas. This study modified a spatial n-back experiment with anodal and cathodal tDCS exertion on th…