The IEEE Brain Initiative eNewsletter is a quarterly online publication launched in January 2017. It features practical and timely information and forward-looking commentary on neurotechnologies and neuroengineering. eNewsletter articles can describe recent breakthroughs in research, primers on methods of interests, or report recent events such as conferences or workshops. You can contact the eNewsletter editor with any questions concerning the topic or content of your article.
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An affective computing aspect on similarities and differences in emotion recognition with EEG and eye movements among Chinese, German, and French people
December 2022
RESEARCH
Wei Liu, Bao-Liang Lu
Emotions, especially facial expressions, used to be thought of as universal all around the world: we would cry when we are sad, and we would smile when we are happy. However, you might have experienced that you do not laugh after hearing a foreign joke realizing that the joke has distinct cultural backgrounds. Emotions, therefore, seem to have both universal and culturally variable components. Understanding the relationship between cultures and emotions can help us know whether emotions affect physical health in the same way across various cultures and inform us about the effectiveness of mental health interventions for patients with different cultural backgrounds. In addition, from the aspect of affective computing, a deep comprehension of cultural influences on emotions can help us build emotion recognition models for generalizing to people around the world.
Self-stretchable Christmas-tree-shaped Ultraflexible Neural Probes
December 2022
RESEARCH
Ye Tian, Cunkai Zhou, Kuikui Zhang, Huiran Yang, Zhaohan Chen, Zhitao Zhou, Xiaoling Wei, Tiger H. Tao, Liuyang Sun
Implantable flexible neural probes have been demonstrated bridging the mechanical mismatch between invasive probes and brain tissues, minimizing footprint in brain, and chronic biocompatibility [1]. However, conventional needle-shaped flexible neural probes reported before have recording sites distributed vertically along a relatively narrow shank [2], which limits the lateral range in which the probes may record neural signals. Although designs with more probe shanks expand the lateral detectable range, the high implantation density reflects in increased tissue damage and surgery complexity. In this work, we developed a flexible neural probe by novel Christmas-tree structure, which has branches that are foldable along the shank by temporary encapsulation before implantation and self-stretchable after the encapsulation dissolves after implantation. The probe we developed affords increased lateral sensing range without causing extra brain tissue damage.
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The Potential of Neuroimaging-Guided Sensorimotor Rehabilitation
RESEARCH
James Sulzer, Roger Gassert
Stroke, caused by a cerebrovascular lesion, is one of the most debilitating diseases in the world. While physical and occupational therapy play an important role in the rehabilitation process, we are still unable to determine effective treatment strategies for the reduction of stroke-related impairments. It appears that reducing impairments after stroke may be mostly spontaneous and that therapy primarily supports compensation. Despite the source of the injury in the brain, treatment strategies are only at the limb level. The focus on the limbs while brain reorganization goes unmonitored could controversially result in compensatory neuroplasticity that limits recovery.
Exploiting DNA Sequencing Technology for High-Throughput Neuroanatomy
RESEARCH
Justus M Kebschull
The brain is the most complex organ of the body, formed by billions of neurons and trillions of synapses, all precisely connected by 100,000 miles of wiring. Understanding how the brain processes information relies, at least in part, on understanding these connections. However, in mammals, we still lack a fine-resolution map of neural connectivity.
Impressions from the 2017 IEEE Brain Data Bank Competition – Boston
NEW: STUDENT CORNER
Note from the editor: As part of the IEEE commitment to educating a new generation of engineers, the IEEE Brain Initiative eNewsletter BrainInsight is launching a new space called the “Student Corner” for young researchers to present their opinions on current events or research topics.
Can Creativity be Assessed? Your Brain on Art, When Art and Science Meet.
RESEARCH
Mario Ortiz, José L. Contreras-Vidal, José M. Azorín
Music sounds, body dances and hands draw responding to each other while a projector screen shows brain waves of a saxophonist, a dancer and a visual artist, and the real-time motion captured of the dancer shown as an avatar.
Decoding Inner Speech from Brain Signals
RESEARCH
Stephanie Martin
Many people cannot talk or communicate due to various neurological conditions. These people would benefit from a speech device that can decode their inner speech directly from brain activity. However, investigating and decoding inner speech processes has remained a challenging task due to the lack of behavioral output and the difficulty in labeling precisely the content of inner speech.