A Pilot Study to Improve Cognitive Performance and Pupil Responses in Mild Cognitive Impaired Patients Using Gaze-Controlled Gaming.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) may progress to severe forms of dementia, so therapy is needed to maintain cognitive abilities. The neural circuitry for oculomotor control is closely linked to that which controls cognitive behavior. In this study, we tested whether training the oculomotor system with gaze-controlled video games could improve cognitive behavior in MCI patients. Patients played a simple game for 2-3 weeks while a control group played the same game using a mouse. Cognitive improvement was assessed using the MoCA screening test and CANTAB. We also measured eye pupil and vergence responses in an oddball paradigm. The results showed an increased score on the MoCA test specifically for the visuospatial domain and on the Rapid Visual Information Processing test of the CANTAB battery. Pupil responses also increased to target stimuli. Patients in the control group did not show significant improvements. This pilot study provides evidence for the potential cognitive benefits of gaze-controlled gaming in MCI patients.

Cognitive Vergence Recorded with a Webcam-Based Eye-Tracker during an Oddball Task in an Elderly Population.

(1) Background: Our previous research provides evidence that vergence eye movements may significantly influence cognitive processing and could serve as a reliable measure of cognitive issues. The rise of consumer-grade eye tracking technology, which uses sophisticated imaging techniques in the visible light spectrum to determine gaze position, is noteworthy. In our study, we explored the feasibility of using webcam-based eye tracking to monitor the vergence eye movements of patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) during a visual oddball paradigm. (2) Methods: We simultaneously recorded eye positions using a remote infrared-based pupil eye tracker. (3) Results: Both tracking methods effectively captured vergence eye movements and demonstrated robust cognitive vergence responses, where participants exhibited larger vergence eye movement amplitudes in response to targets versus distractors. (4) Conclusions: In summary, the use of a consumer-grade webcam to record cognitive vergence shows potential. This method could lay the groundwork for future research aimed at creating an affordable screening tool for mental health care.

Optimal twist angle for a graphene-like bilayer.

The first optimal-or 'magic'-angle leading to the nullity of the Dirac/Fermi velocity for twisted bilayer graphene is re-evaluated in the Bistritzer-MacDonald set-up (Bistritzer and MacDonald 2011Proc. Natl Acad. Sci.10812233-7). From the details of that calculation we study the resulting alterations when the properties of the two layers are not exactly the same. A moiré combination of lattices without relative rotation but with different spacing lengths may also lead to a vanishing Dirac velocity. Hopping amplitudes can vary as well, and curvature is one of the possible causes for their change. In the case of small curvature values and situations dominated by hopping energy scales, the optimal angle becomes wider than in the 'flat' case.

Spiking model of fixational eye movements and figure-ground segmentation.

We present a model connecting eye movements and cortical state. Its structure includes simulated retinal images, motion detection, feature detectors and layers of spiking neurons. The designed scheme shows how the effect of micro-saccadic scale eye movements can lead to successful figure segregation in a figure-ground paradigm, by inducing changes in the neural dynamics through the time evolution of the inhibition range.

Altered Vergence Eye Movements and Pupil Response of Patients with Alzheimer's Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment During an Oddball Task.

BACKGROUND: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by progressive deterioration of cognitive functions and may be preceded by mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Evidence shows changes in pupil and vergence responses related to cognitive processing of visual information. OBJECTIVE: Here we test the hypothesis that MCI and AD are associated with specific patterns in vergence and pupil responses. METHODS: We employed a visual oddball task. In the distractor condition (80%of the trials), a blue stimulus was presented whereas in the target condition (20%of trials) it was red. Participants (23 Controls, 33 MCI patients, and 18 AD patients) were instructed to press a button when a target appeared. RESULTS: Participants briefly converged their eyes 200 ms after stimulus presentation. In controls, this transient peak response was followed by a delay response to targets but not to distractor stimuli. In the patient groups, delay responses to distractors were noticed. Consequently, the differential vergence response was strong in the control group, weak in the MCI group, and absent in the AD group. Pupils started to dilate 500-600 ms after the appearance of a target but slightly contracted after the presentation of a distractor. This differential pupil response was strongest in the AD group. CONCLUSION: Our findings support the idea of a role of vergence and pupil responses in attention and reveal altered responses in MCI and AD patients. Further studies should assess the value of vergence and pupil measurements as an objective support tool for early diagnosis of AD.

Vergence eye movements during figure-ground perception.

Figure-ground, that is the segmentation of visual information into objects and their surrounding backgrounds, provides structure for visual attention. Recent evidence shows a novel role of vergence eye movements in visual attention. In the present work, vergence responses during figure-ground segregation tasks are psychophysically investigated. We show that during a figure-ground detection task, subjects convergence their eyes. Vergence eye movements are larger in figure trials than in ground trials. In detected figures trials, vergence are stronger than in trials where the figure went unnoticed. Moreover in figure trials, vergence responses are stronger to low-contrast figures than to high-contrast figures. We argue that these discriminative vergence responses have a role in figure-ground.

Eye vergence responses in children with and without reading difficulties during a word detection task.

Vergence eye movements are movements of both eyes in opposite directions. Vergence is known to have a role in binocular vision. However recent studies link vergence eye movements also to attention and attention disorders. As attention may be involved in dyslexia, it is sensible to guess that the presence of reading difficulties can be associated with specific patterns in vergence responses. Data from school children performing a word-reading task have been analysed. In the task, children had to distinguish words from non-words (scrambled words or row of X's), while their eye positions were recorded. Our findings show that after stimulus presentation eyes briefly converge. These vergence responses depend on the stimulus type and age of the child, and are different for children with reading difficulties. Our findings support the idea of a role of attention in word reading and offer an explanation of altered attention in dyslexia.

'Two vs one' rivalry by the Loxley-Robinson model.

We apply the competitive model of Loxley and Robinson (Phys Rev Lett 102:258701, 2009. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.102.258701 ) to the study of a special case of visual rivalry. Three-peaked inputs with maxima at symmetrical locations are introduced, and the role of three-bump configurations is then considered. The model yields conditions for what can be interpreted as a bistable percept analogous to the one-dimensional version of a competition between the central and flanking parts of an image.

Visual fatigue while watching 3D stimuli from different positions / Fatiga visual al observar estímulos en 3D desde diferentes posiciones

Purpose: When observers focus their stereoscopic visual system for a long time (e.g., watching a 3D movie) they may experience visual discomfort or asthenopia. We tested two types of models for predicting visual fatigue in a task in which subjects were instructed to discriminate between 3D characters. One model was based on viewing distance (focal distance, vergence distance) and another in visual direction (oculomotor imbalance). Method: A 3D test was designed to assess binocular visual fatigue while looking at 3D stimuli located in different visual directions and viewed from two distances from the screen. The observers were tested under three conditions: (a) normal vision; (b) wearing a lens (−2 diop.); (c) wearing a base-out prism (2▽) over each eye. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated (as Signal Detection Theory parameters: SDT). Results: An ANOVA and SDT analyses revealed that impaired visual performance were directly related to short distance and larger deviation in visual direction, particularly when the stimuli were located nearer and at more than 24◦ to the centre of the screen in dextroversion and beyond. Conclusion: This results support a mixed model, combining a model based on the visual angle (related to viewing distance) and another based on the oculomotor imbalance (related to visual direction). This mixed model could help to predict the distribution of seats in the cinema room ranging from those that produce greater visual comfort to those that produce more visual discomfort. Also could be a first step to pre-diagnosis of binocular vision disorders (AU)

Objetivo: Cuando los observadores centran su sistema visual estereoscópico durante un tiempo prolongado (ej.: viendo una película en 3D), pueden experimentar molestias visuales o astenopia. Probamos dos tipos de modelos de predicción de la fatiga visual en un estudio, en el que se solicitaba a los sujetos que discriminaran entre caracteres en 3D. Un modelo se basaba en la visión lejana (distancia focal, distancia de vergencia), y el otro en la dirección visual (desequilibrio oculomotor). Método: Se diseñó una prueba en 3D para valorar la fatiga visual binocular mientras se observaban estímulos en 3D situados en diferentes direcciones visuales, y se veían a dos distancias de la pantalla. Se realizó la prueba a los observadores bajo tres situaciones: a) visión normal, b) utilizando una lente (-2 dioptrías); c) utilizando un prisma base externa (2▽) en cada ojo. Se calcularon la sensibilidad y especificidad (como parámetros de la Teoría de la Detección de Señales: TDS). Resultados: Los análisis ANOVA y TDS revelaron que el deterioro del desempeño visual guardaba una relación directa con la distancia corta y una mayor desviación de la dirección visual, en especial cuando los estímulos se situaban más cerca, y a más de 24◦ del centro de la pantalla en dextroversión y valores superiores. Conclusión: Estos resultados respaldan un modelo mixto, que combina un modelo basado en el ángulo visual (relacionado con la visión lejana) y otro basado en el desequilibrio oculomotor (relacionado con la dirección visual). Este modelo mixto podría ayudar a predecir la distribución de las butacas en las salas de cine, que oscila entre aquellas que producen un mayor confort visual y aquellas que producen más molestias visuales. También podría constituir un primer paso para el diagnóstico previo de los trastornos de la visión binocular (AU)

Bump competition and lattice solutions in two-dimensional neural fields.

Some forms of competition among activity bumps in a two-dimensional neural field are studied. First, threshold dynamics is included and rivalry evolutions are considered. The relations between parameters and dominance durations can match experimental observations about ageing. Next, the threshold dynamics is omitted from the model and we focus on the properties of the steady-state. From noisy inputs, hexagonal grids are formed by a symmetry-breaking process. Particular issues about solution existence and stability conditions are considered. We speculate that they affect the possibility of producing basis grids which may be combined to form feature maps.

Eye vergence responses during a visual memory task.

In a previous report it was shown that covertly attending visual stimuli produce small convergence of the eyes, and that visual stimuli can give rise to different modulations of the angle of eye vergence, depending on their power to capture attention. Working memory is highly dependent on attention. Therefore, in this study we assessed vergence responses in a memory task. Participants scanned a set of 8 or 12 images for 10 s, and thereafter were presented with a series of single images. One half were repeat images - that is, they belonged to the initial set - and the other half were novel images. Participants were asked to indicate whether or not the images were included in the initial image set. We observed that eyes converge during scanning the set of images and during the presentation of the single images. The convergence was stronger for remembered images compared with the vergence for nonremembered images. Modulation in pupil size did not correspond to behavioural responses. The correspondence between vergence and coding/retrieval processes of memory strengthen the idea of a role for vergence in attention processing of visual information.

Visual fatigue while watching 3D stimuli from different positions.

PURPOSE: When observers focus their stereoscopic visual system for a long time (e.g., watching a 3D movie) they may experience visual discomfort or asthenopia. We tested two types of models for predicting visual fatigue in a task in which subjects were instructed to discriminate between 3D characters. One model was based on viewing distance (focal distance, vergence distance) and another in visual direction (oculomotor imbalance). METHOD: A 3D test was designed to assess binocular visual fatigue while looking at 3D stimuli located in different visual directions and viewed from two distances from the screen. The observers were tested under three conditions: (a) normal vision; (b) wearing a lens (-2 diop.); (c) wearing a base-out prism (2▿) over each eye. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated (as Signal Detection Theory parameters: SDT). RESULTS: An ANOVA and SDT analyses revealed that impaired visual performance were directly related to short distance and larger deviation in visual direction, particularly when the stimuli were located nearer and at more than 24° to the centre of the screen in dextroversion and beyond. CONCLUSION: This results support a mixed model, combining a model based on the visual angle (related to viewing distance) and another based on the oculomotor imbalance (related to visual direction). This mixed model could help to predict the distribution of seats in the cinema room ranging from those that produce greater visual comfort to those that produce more visual discomfort. Also could be a first step to pre-diagnosis of binocular vision disorders.

Global oscillation regime change by gated inhibition.

The role of sensory inputs in the modelling of synchrony regimes is exhibited by means of networks of spiking cells where the relative strength of the inhibitory interaction is controlled by the activation of a linear unit working as a gating variable. Adaptation to stimulus size is determined by the value of a changing length scale, modelled by the time-varying radius of a circular receptive field. In this set-up, 'consolidation' time intervals relevant to attentional effects are shown to depend on the dynamics governing the evolution of the introduced length scale.

Feature-Based Attention by Lateral Spike Synchronization.

We introduce a neural model capable of feature selectiveness by spike-mediated synchronization through lateral synaptic couplings. For a stimulus containing two features, the attended one elicits a higher response. In the case of sequential single-feature stimuli, repetition of the attended feature also results in an enhanced response, exhibited by greater synchrony and higher spiking rates.

Attention-Related Eye Vergence Measured in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Recent evidence shows a novel role for eye vergence in orienting attention in adult subjects. Here we investigated whether such modulation in eye vergence by attention is present in children and whether it is altered in children with ADHD compared to control subjects. We therefore measured the angle of eye vergence in children previously diagnosed with ADHD while performing a cue task and compared the results to those from age-matched controls. We observed a strong modulation in the angle of vergence in the control group and a weak modulation in the ADHD group. In addition, in the control group the modulation in eye vergence was different between the informative cue and uninformative cue condition. This difference was less noticeable in the ADHD group. Our study supports the observation of deficient binocular vision in ADHD children. We argue that the observed disruption in vergence modulation in ADHD children is manifest of altered cognitive processing of sensory information. Our work may provide new insights into attention disorders, like ADHD.

Coding depth perception from image defocus.

As a result of the spider experiments in Nagata et al. (2012), it was hypothesized that the depth perception mechanisms of these animals should be based on how much images are defocused. In the present paper, assuming that relative chromatic aberrations or blur radii values are known, we develop a formulation relating the values of these cues to the actual depth distance. Taking into account the form of the resulting signals, we propose the use of latency coding from a spiking neuron obeying Izhikevich's 'simple model'. If spider jumps can be viewed as approximately parabolic, some estimates allow for a sensory-motor relation between the time to the first spike and the magnitude of the initial velocity of the jump.

Approximate emergent synchrony in spatially coupled spiking neurons with discrete interaction.

Models for perceptual grouping and contour integration are presented. Connection weights depend on distances and angle differences, while neurons evolve following a spiking dynamics (Izhikevich's model in most of the considered cases). Although the studied synapses depend on discrete three-valued functions, simulations display the emergence of approximate synchrony, making these cognitive tasks possible. Noise effects are examined, and the possibility of achieving similar results with a different neuron model is discussed.

A feed-forward spiking model of shape-coding by IT cells.

The ability to recognize a shape is linked to figure-ground (FG) organization. Cell preferences appear to be correlated across contrast-polarity reversals and mirror reversals of polygon displays, but not so much across FG reversals. Here we present a network structure which explains both shape-coding by simulated IT cells and suppression of responses to FG reversed stimuli. In our model FG segregation is achieved before shape discrimination, which is itself evidenced by the difference in spiking onsets of a pair of output cells. The studied example also includes feature extraction and illustrates a classification of binary images depending on the dominance of vertical or horizontal borders.

Noise destroys feedback enhanced figure-ground segmentation but not feedforward figure-ground segmentation.

Figure-ground (FG) segmentation is the separation of visual information into background and foreground objects. In the visual cortex, FG responses are observed in the late stimulus response period, when neurons fire in tonic mode, and are accompanied by a switch in cortical state. When such a switch does not occur, FG segmentation fails. Currently, it is not known what happens in the brain on such occasions. A biologically plausible feedforward spiking neuron model was previously devised that performed FG segmentation successfully. After incorporating feedback the FG signal was enhanced, which was accompanied by a change in spiking regime. In a feedforward model neurons respond in a bursting mode whereas in the feedback model neurons fired in tonic mode. It is known that bursts can overcome noise, while tonic firing appears to be much more sensitive to noise. In the present study, we try to elucidate how the presence of noise can impair FG segmentation, and to what extent the feedforward and feedback pathways can overcome noise. We show that noise specifically destroys the feedback enhanced FG segmentation and leaves the feedforward FG segmentation largely intact. Our results predict that noise produces failure in FG perception.

Masking of figure-ground texture and single targets by surround inhibition: a computational spiking model.

A visual stimulus can be made invisible, i.e. masked, by the presentation of a second stimulus. In the sensory cortex, neural responses to a masked stimulus are suppressed, yet how this suppression comes about is still debated. Inhibitory models explain masking by asserting that the mask exerts an inhibitory influence on the responses of a neuron evoked by the target. However, other models argue that the masking interferes with recurrent or reentrant processing. Using computer modeling, we show that surround inhibition evoked by ON and OFF responses to the mask suppresses the responses to a briefly presented stimulus in forward and backward masking paradigms. Our model results resemble several previously described psychophysical and neurophysiological findings in perceptual masking experiments and are in line with earlier theoretical descriptions of masking. We suggest that precise spatiotemporal influence of surround inhibition is relevant for visual detection.