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.
Top Posts
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 Decoding of Oscillatory Brain Dynamics induced by Haptic Stimuli and Imagined Haptic Stimuli Sensation and its application for a Novel Type of Somatosensory Brain-computer Interface
RESEARCH
Lin Yao, Ning Jiang.
Brain-computer Interface (BCI) permits a direct channel between the brain and the external environment, bypassing the physiological channel for such interaction, i.e. the neuromuscular system. This technology can be useful in medical applications, including locked-in syndrome, stroke, spinal cord injury, and cerebral palsy, as well as applications of a more general purpose such as education, ergonomics, and manufacturing. Event-related desynchronization (ERD) and synchronization (ERS) of brain signals and movement-related cortical potentials (MRCP), both of which are generated during motor imagery tasks (MI), have been shown to allow real-time, direct BCI control.
Meeting of the Global Current and Emerging Brain Initiatives at the IEEE SMC BMI Workshop
EVENT
Michael H. Smith
On October 9, 2018, the SMC Brain-Machine Interface Systems (BMI) Workshop also featured a first-of-its-kind meeting of Global Current and Emerging Brain Initiatives. This meeting was hosted by the IEEE President, James Jefferies, and Chaired by Michael H. Smith. The meeting brought together global Brain Initiative leaders and representatives from other groups working on large-scale multi-year brain projects from Australia, Canada, China, Europe, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, and the US as well as representatives from the IEEE Brain Initiative, the International Neuroethics Society, industry, and other stakeholders.
Reminiscence of Seventh International BCI Meeting
STUDENT CORNER
Koji Koizumi
This was the first time I attended the International BCI meeting. This event took place on May 21 – 25, 2018 at the Asilomar Conference Center in Pacific Grove, California, USA. To tell the truth, this was the first conference I have attended. Just about the time I finished writing my graduation thesis at the University of Tokyo, I got to know about this meeting through the call for papers via its website. Because I was just beginning in BCI, I wanted to deepen my understanding of the field and benefit from the experience and advice of other researchers. Therefore, I immediately decided to submit an abstract. Fortunately, I received the Student Award at this meeting and received a travel grant from the IEEE Brain Initiative. I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to IEEE Brain Initiative. In conclusion, this conference was truly amazing and I was really pleased having participated in this conference.
Discovery of New Neurological Networks
RESEARCH
Dr. Salvatore Domenic Morgera
The human nervous system provides energy efficient, highly complex realization and control of how we sense, think and act. For machines designed by humans, the ideas of energy efficiency and complexity are at odds, thus the question of how the central nervous system (CNS) really works has received intense scrutiny for decades. Researchers at the University of South Florida (USF) under the direction of Dr. Sal Morgera have discovered a sophisticated electric near-field generated in an energy efficient, natural manner by our billions of myelinated nerve fibers. This electric near-field is roughly the counterpart of the magnetic near-field used in smartphone contactless payment services such as Apple Pay® and Google Wallet®, known as Near Field Communications, or NFC.
Capturing Touch for Prosthetic Limbs Through Artificial Skin
RESEARCH
Luke E. Osborn and Nitish V. Thakor
Those living with upper limb differences face numerous challenges, including lost limb movement and dexterity as well as missing sensory information during object manipulation. From a user’s perspective, upper limb prostheses still have several issues with control, general discomfort from the socket, and lack of sensory feedback 1. Significant efforts have resulted in sophisticated algorithms for decoding intended prosthesis movements along multiple degrees of freedom that have enabled amputees to regain more dexterous prosthesis control 2. Another seminal advancement is targeted muscle reinnervation surgery 3, which targets nerves to different intact muscle groups such as on the chest to provide a source of well differentiated myoelectric signals for prosthesis control.