Distinct neural sources underlying visual word form processing as revealed by steady state visual evoked potentials (SSVEP).
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Wang F
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8440525 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:We report on a unique electrocorticography (ECoG) experiment in which Steady-State Visual Evoked Potentials (SSVEPs) to frequency- and phase-tagged stimuli were recorded from a large subdural grid covering the entire right occipital cortex of a human subject. The paradigm is popular in EEG-based Brain Computer Interfacing where selectable targets are encoded by different frequency- and/or phase-tagged stimuli. We compare the performance of two state-of-the-art SSVEP decoders on both ECoG- and scalp-recorded EEG signals, and show that ECoG-based decoding is more accurate for very short stimulation lengths (i.e., less than 1 s). Furthermore, whereas the accuracy of scalp-EEG decoding benefits from a multi-electrode approach, to address interfering EEG responses and noise, ECoG decoding enjoys only a marginal improvement as even a single electrode, placed over the posterior part of the primary visual cortex, seems to suffice. This study shows, for the first time, that EEG-based SSVEP decoders can in principle be applied to ECoG, and can be expected to yield faster decoding speeds using less electrodes.
| S-EPMC6168710 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Over the past decades, researchers have explored altered rhythmic responses to visual stimulation in people with schizophrenia using steady state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs). Here we systematically review studies performed between 1954 and 2021, as identified on PubMed. We included studies if they included people with schizophrenia, a control group, reported SSVEPs as their primary outcome, and used quantitative analyses in the frequency domain. We excluded studies that used SSVEPs to primarily quantify cognitive processes (e.g., attention). Fifteen studies met these criteria. These studies reported decreased SSVEPs across a range of frequencies and electrode locations in people living with schizophrenia compared to controls; none reported increases. Null results, however, were common. Given the typically modest number of subjects in these studies, this is consistent with a moderate effect size. It is notable that most studies targeted frequencies that fall within the alpha and beta band, and investigations of frequencies in the gamma band have been rare. We group test frequencies in frequency bands and summarize the results in topographic plots. From the wide range of approaches in these studies, we distill suggested experimental designs and analysis choices for future experiments. This will increase the value of SSVEP studies, improve our understanding of the mechanisms that result in altered rhythmic responses to visual stimulation in schizophrenia, and potentially further the development of diagnostic tools.
| S-EPMC9650391 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Brain-computer interface (BCI) paradigms are usually tested when environmental and biological artifacts are intentionally avoided. In this study, we deliberately introduced different perturbations in order to test the robustness of a steady state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) based BCI. Specifically we investigated to what extent a drop in performance is related to the degraded quality of EEG signals or rather due to increased cognitive load. In the online tasks, subjects focused on one of the four circles and gave feedback on the correctness of the classification under four conditions randomized across subjects: Control (no perturbation), Speaking (counting loudly and repeatedly from one to ten), Thinking (mentally counting repeatedly from one to ten), and Listening (listening to verbal counting from one to ten). Decision tree, Naïve Bayes and K-Nearest Neighbor classifiers were used to evaluate the classification performance using features generated by canonical correlation analysis. During the online condition, Speaking and Thinking decreased moderately the mean classification accuracy compared to Control condition whereas there was no significant difference between Listening and Control conditions across subjects. The performances were sensitive to the classification method and to the perturbation conditions. We have not observed significant artifacts in EEG during perturbations in the frequency range of interest except in theta band. Therefore we concluded that the drop in the performance is likely to have a cognitive origin. During the Listening condition relative alpha power in a broad area including central and temporal regions primarily over the left hemisphere correlated negatively with the performance thus most likely indicating active suppression of the distracting presentation of the playback. This is the first study that systematically evaluates the effects of natural artifacts (i.e. mental, verbal and audio perturbations) on SSVEP-based BCIs. The results can be used to improve individual classification performance taking into account effects of perturbations.
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Project description:For a large proportion of our daily lives, spontaneously occurring thoughts tend to disengage our minds from goal-directed thinking. Previous studies showed that EEG features such as the P3 and alpha oscillations can predict mind-wandering to some extent, but only with accuracies of around 60%. A potential candidate for improving prediction accuracy is the Steady-State Visual Evoked Potential (SSVEP), which is used frequently in single-trial contexts such as brain-computer interfaces as a marker of the direction of attention. In this study, we modified the sustained attention to response task (SART) that is usually employed to measure spontaneous thought to incorporate the SSVEP elicited by a 12.5-Hz flicker. We then examined whether the SSVEP could track and allow for the prediction of the stickiness and task-relatedness dimensions of spontaneous thought. Our results show that the SSVEP evoked by flickering words was able to distinguish between more and less sticky thinking but not between whether a participant was on- or off-task. This suggests that the SSVEP is able to track spontaneous thinking when it is strongly disengaged from the task (as in the sticky form of off-task thinking) but not off-task thought in general. Future research should determine the exact dimensions of spontaneous thought to which the SSVEP is most sensitive.
| S-EPMC9402933 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The self-face has a prioritized status in the processing of incoming visual inputs. As the self-face changes over the lifespan, this stimulus seems to be well-suited for investigation of the self across time. Here, steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEP, oscillatory responses to periodic stimulation with a frequency that mirrors the frequency of stimulation) were used to investigate this topic. Different types of faces (present self, past self, close-other's, unknown, scrambled) flickered four times per second in two types of stimulation ('identical', with the same image of a given type of face; 'different', with different images of the same type of face). Each of the 10 stimulation sessions lasted 90?seconds and was repeated three times. EEG data were recorded and analyzed in 20 participants. In general, faces evoked higher SSVEP than scrambled faces. The impact of identical and different stimulation was similar for faces and scrambled faces: SSVEP to different stimuli (faces, scrambled faces) was enhanced in comparison to identical ones. Present self-faces evoked higher SSVEP responses than past self-faces in the different stimulation condition only. Thus, our results showed that the physical aspects of the present and past selves are differentiated on the neural level in the absence of an overt behavior.
| S-EPMC5703895 | biostudies-other
Project description:Progressive alexia is an acquired reading deficit caused by degeneration of brain regions that are essential for written word processing. Functional imaging studies have shown that early processing of the visual word form depends on a hierarchical posterior-to-anterior processing stream in occipito-temporal cortex, whereby successive areas code increasingly larger and more complex perceptual attributes of the letter string. A region located in the left lateral occipito-temporal sulcus and adjacent fusiform gyrus shows maximal selectivity for words and has been dubbed the 'visual word form area'. We studied two patients with progressive alexia in order to determine whether their reading deficits were associated with structural and/or functional abnormalities in this visual word form system. Voxel-based morphometry showed left-lateralized occipito-temporal atrophy in both patients, very mild in one, but moderate to severe in the other. The two patients, along with 10 control subjects, were scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging as they viewed rapidly presented words, false font strings, or a fixation crosshair. This paradigm was optimized to reliably map brain regions involved in orthographic processing in individual subjects. All 10 control subjects showed a posterior-to-anterior gradient of selectivity for words, and all 10 showed a functionally defined visual word form area in the left hemisphere that was activated for words relative to false font strings. In contrast, neither of the two patients with progressive alexia showed any evidence for a selectivity gradient or for word-specific activation of the visual word form area. The patient with mild atrophy showed normal responses to both words and false font strings in the posterior part of the visual word form system, but a failure to develop selectivity for words in the more anterior part of the system. In contrast, the patient with moderate to severe atrophy showed minimal activation of any part of the visual word form system for either words or false font strings. Our results suggest that progressive alexia is associated with a dysfunctional visual word form system, with or without substantial cortical atrophy. Furthermore, these findings demonstrate that functional MRI has the potential to reveal the neural bases of cognitive deficits in neurodegenerative patients at very early stages, in some cases before the development of extensive atrophy.
| S-EPMC3613714 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Although the mechanisms of steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) have been well studied, none of them have been implemented with strictly experimental conditions. Our objective was to create an ideal observer condition to exploit the features of SSVEPs. We present here an electroencephalographic (EEG) eye tracking experimental paradigm that provides biofeedback for gaze restriction during the visual stimulation. Specifically, we designed an EEG eye tracking synchronous data recording system for successful trial selection. Forty-six periodic flickers within a visual field of 11.5° were successively presented to evoke SSVEP responses, and online biofeedback based on an eye tracker was provided for gaze restriction. For eight participants, SSVEP responses in the visual field and topographic maps from full-brain EEG were plotted and analyzed. The experimental results indicated that the optimal visual flicking arrangement to boost SSVEPs should include the features of circular stimuli within a 4-6° spatial distance and increased stimulus area below the fixation point. These findings provide a basis for determining stimulus parameters for neural engineering studies, e.g. SSVEP-based brain-computer interface (BCI) designs. The proposed experimental paradigm could also provide a precise framework for future SSVEP-related studies.
| S-EPMC6418283 | biostudies-literature
Project description:OBJECTIVE:Rett syndrome (RTT) is a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by mutation of the X-linked MECP2 gene and characterized by developmental regression during the first few years of life. The objective of this study was to investigate if the visual evoked potential (VEP) could be used as an unbiased, quantitative biomarker to monitor brain function in RTT. METHODS:We recorded pattern-reversal VEPs in Mecp2 heterozygous female mice and 34 girls with RTT. The amplitudes and latencies of VEP waveform components were quantified, and were related to disease stage, clinical severity, and MECP2 mutation type in patients. Visual acuity was also assessed in both mice and patients by modulating the spatial frequency of the stimuli. RESULTS:Mecp2 heterozygous female mice and RTT patients exhibited a similar decrease in VEP amplitude that was most striking in the later stages of the disorder. RTT patients also displayed a slower recovery from the principal peak of the VEP response that was impacted by MECP2 mutation type. When the spatial frequency of the stimulus was increased, both patients and mice displayed a deficit in discriminating smaller patterns, indicating lower visual spatial acuity in RTT. INTERPRETATION:VEP is a method that can be used to assess brain function across species and in children with severe disabilities like RTT. Our findings support the introduction of standardized VEP analysis in clinical and research settings to probe the neurobiological mechanism underlying functional impairment and to longitudinally monitor progression of the disorder and response to treatment.
| S-EPMC7374762 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Based on increased user experience during stimulation, frequency-modulated steady-state visual evoked potentials (FM-SSVEPs) have been suggested as an improved stimulation method for brain-computer interfaces. Adapting such a novel stimulation paradigm requires in-depth analyses of all different stimulation parameters and their influence on brain responses as well as the user experience during the stimulation. In the current manuscript, we assess the influence of different values for the modulation index, which determine the spectral distribution in the stimulation signal on FM-SSVEPs. We visually stimulated 14 participants at different target frequencies with four different values for the modulation index. Our results reveal that changing the modulation index in a way that elevates the stimulation power in the targeted sideband leads to increased FM-SSVEP responses. There is, however, a tradeoff with user experience as increased modulation indices also lead to increased perceived flicker intensity as well as decreased stimulation comfort in our participants. Our results can guide the choice of parameters in future FM-SSVEP implementations.
| S-EPMC8959979 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Colors are represented in the cone-opponent signals, L-M versus S cones, at least up to the level of inputs to the primary visual cortex. We explored the hue selective responses in early cortical visual areas through recordings of steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs), elicited by a flickering checkerboard whose color smoothly swept around the hue circle defined in a cone-opponent color space. If cone opponency dominates hue representation in the source of SSVEP signals, SSVEP amplitudes as a function of hue should form a profile that is line-symmetric along the cardinal axes of the cone-opponent color space. Observed SSVEP responses were clearly chromatic ones with increased SSVEP amplitudes and reduced response latencies for higher contrast conditions. The overall elliptic amplitude profile was significantly tilted away from the cardinal axes to have the highest amplitudes in the "lime-magenta" direction, indicating that the hue representation in question is not dominated by cone-opponency. The observed SSVEP amplitude hue profile was better described as a summation of a perceptual response and cone-opponent responses with a larger weight to the former. These results indicate that hue representations in the early visual cortex, measured by the SSVEP technique, are possibly related to perceptual color contrast.
| S-EPMC8152915 | biostudies-literature