Collaboration between disciplines is necessary when research questions cannot be answered within ... more Collaboration between disciplines is necessary when research questions cannot be answered within a single discipline. Joining of forces can produce results that neither discipline could provide alone. Here we exemplify collaboration between a ceramic craft researcher and three neuroscientists working in the field of human brain imaging. In our case study of clay throwing, the researcher‐practitioner’s eye gaze, muscular activity and hand acceleration were recorded online, synchronized with video and thermal-camera recordings. We describe the experimental setting and discuss, besides the possible future interests in this kind of research, also the different levels of collaborative work between disciplines. We found that the monitoring methods worked well in the naturalistic setting in a ceramic studio, providing some new perspectives into the craft practice. For neuroscientists, clay throwing ‐ involving accurate sensorimotor hand control, haptics and eye‐hand coordination ‐ provides...
Collaboration between disciplines is necessary when research questions cannot be answered within ... more Collaboration between disciplines is necessary when research questions cannot be answered within a single discipline. Joining of forces can produce results that neither discipline could provide alone. Here we exemplify collaboration between a ceramic craft researcher and three neuroscientists working in the field of human brain imaging. In our case study of clay throwing, the researcher-practitioner's eye gaze, muscular activity and hand acceleration were recorded online, synchronized with video and thermal camera recordings. We describe the experimental setting and discuss, besides the possible future interests in this kind of research, also the different levels of collaborative work between disciplines. We found that the monitoring methods worked well in the naturalistic setting in a ceramic studio, providing some new perspectives into the craft practice. For neuroscientists, clay throwing – involving accurate sensorimotor hand control, haptics and eye–hand coordination – provides an attractive setup to extend previous neuroscientific and behavioural findings in strictly controlled laboratory experiments into naturalistic situations. The applied monitoring devices might allow practitioner–researchers in crafts to become aware of unconscious steps in the making process. The applied methods could also help to accumulate general craft-making knowledge and build related theory.
To gain fundamental knowledge on how the brain controls motor actions, we studied in detail the i... more To gain fundamental knowledge on how the brain controls motor actions, we studied in detail the interplay between MEG signals from the primary sensorimotor (SM1) cortex and the contraction force of 17 healthy adult humans (7 females, 10 males). SM1 activity was coherent at ϳ20 Hz with surface electromyogram (as already extensively reported) but also with contraction force. In both cases, the effective coupling was dominant in the efferent direction. Across subjects, the level of ϳ20 Hz coherence between cortex and periphery positively correlated with the "burstiness" of ϳ20 Hz SM1 (Pearson r Ϸ 0.65) and peripheral fluctuations (r Ϸ 0.9). Thus, ϳ20 Hz coherence between cortex and periphery is tightly linked to the presence of ϳ20 Hz bursts in SM1 and peripheral activity. However, the very high correlation with peripheral fluctuations suggests that the periphery is the limiting factor. At frequencies Ͻ3 Hz, both SM1 signals and ϳ20 Hz SM1 envelope were coherent with both force and its absolute change rate. The effective coupling dominated in the efferent direction between (1) force and the ϳ20 Hz SM1 envelope and (2) the absolute change rate of the force and SM1 signals. Together, our data favor the view that ϳ20 Hz coherence between cortex and periphery during isometric contraction builds on the presence of ϳ20 Hz SM1 oscillations and needs not rely on feedback from the periphery. They also suggest that effective cortical proprioceptive processing operates at Ͻ3 Hz frequencies, even during steady isometric contractions.
Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991), Aug 24, 2017
Neuroimaging studies have shown that seeing others in pain activates brain regions that are invol... more Neuroimaging studies have shown that seeing others in pain activates brain regions that are involved in first-hand pain, suggesting that shared neuromolecular pathways support processing of first-hand and vicarious pain. We tested whether the dopamine and opioid neurotransmitter systems involved in nociceptive processing also contribute to vicarious pain experience. We used in vivo positron emission tomography to quantify type 2 dopamine and μ-opioid receptor (D2R and MOR, respectively) availabilities in brains of 35 subjects. During functional magnetic resonance imaging, the subjects watched short movie clips depicting persons in painful and painless situations. Painful scenes activated pain-responsive brain regions including anterior insulae, thalamus and secondary somatosensory cortices, as well as posterior superior temporal sulci. MOR availability correlated negatively with the haemodynamic responses during painful scenes in anterior and posterior insulae, thalamus, secondary a...
Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology, 2017
Somatosensory evoked potentials have high prognostic value in neonatal intensive care, but their ... more Somatosensory evoked potentials have high prognostic value in neonatal intensive care, but their recording from infants is challenging. Here, we studied the possibility to elicit cortical responses in newborns by simple passive hand movements. We examined 13 newborns (postnatal age 1-46days) during clinically indicated 19-channel electroencephalography (EEG) recordings in the neonatal intensive care unit; EEG indications included birth asphyxia and suspected epileptic seizures. The experimenter moved the infant's wrist or fingers at 1 or 2Hz for 5-10min, separately on both sides. We measured movement kinematics with an accelerometer attached to the infant's hand and computed coherence between the EEG and acceleration signals (corticokinematic coherence, CKC). Statistically significant CKC (amplitude 0.020-0.511) with characteristic scalp topography was observed in all infants at twice the movement frequency. CKC was contralaterally dominant on the central scalp (median later...
We studied behavioral matching during joint decision making. Drawing on motion-capture and voice ... more We studied behavioral matching during joint decision making. Drawing on motion-capture and voice data from 12 dyads, we analyzed bodysway and pitch-register matching during sequential transitions and continuations, with and without mutual visibility. Body sway was matched most strongly during sequential transitions in the conditions of mutual visibility. Pitch-register matching was higher during sequential transitions than continuations only when the participants could not see each other. These results suggest that both body sway and pitch register are used to manage sequential transitions, while mutual visibility influences the relative weights of these two resources. The conversational data are in Finnish with English translation.
Patients with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) display various abnormalities in central moto... more Patients with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) display various abnormalities in central motor function, and their pain is intensified when they perform or just observe motor actions. In this study, we examined the abnormalities of brain responses to action observation in CRPS. We analyzed 3-T functional magnetic resonance images from 13 upper limb CRPS patients (all female, ages 31-58 years) and 13 healthy, age-and sex-matched control subjects. The functional magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired while the subjects viewed brief videos of hand actions shown in the first-person perspective. A pattern-classification analysis was applied to characterize brain areas where the activation pattern differed between CRPS patients and healthy subjects. Brain areas with statistically significant group differences (q < .05, false discovery rate-corrected) included the hand representation area in the sensorimotor cortex, inferior frontal gyrus, secondary somatosensory cortex, inferior parietal lobule, orbitofrontal cortex, and thalamus. Our findings indicate that CRPS impairs action observation by affecting brain areas related to pain processing and motor control. Perspective: This article shows that in CRPS, the observation of others' motor actions induces abnormal neural activity in brain areas essential for sensorimotor functions and pain. These results build the cerebral basis for action-observation impairments in CRPS.
The human brain continuously processes massive amounts of rich sensory information. To better und... more The human brain continuously processes massive amounts of rich sensory information. To better understand such highly complex brain processes, modern neuroimaging studies are increasingly utilizing experimental setups that better mimic daily-life situations. We propose a new exploratory data-analysis approach, functional segmentation intersubject correlation analysis (FuSeISC), to facilitate the analysis of functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) data sets collected in these experiments. The method provides a new type of functional segmentation of brain areas, not only characterizing areas that display similar processing across subjects but also areas in which processing across subjects is highly variable.We tested FuSeISC using fMRI data sets collected during traditional block-design stimuli (37 subjects) as well as naturalistic auditory narratives (19 subjects). The method identified spatially local and/or bilaterally symmetric clusters in several cortical areas, many of which are kno...
Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology, Oct 31, 1986
Magnetic and electrical responses to CO 2 stimulation of the nasal mucosa were recorded in 4 subj... more Magnetic and electrical responses to CO 2 stimulation of the nasal mucosa were recorded in 4 subjects. The magnetic responses peaked at 350–400 msec, coinciding with the negative vertex potential. The field pattern suggested neural activation in the upper bank of the sylvian fissure near the lateral end of the central sulcus, ie, at or near SII. The results also suggest that this area contributes to the generation of the electrical vertex potential.
Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology, Jan 17, 2018
Magnetoencephalography (MEG) records weak magnetic fields outside the human head and thereby prov... more Magnetoencephalography (MEG) records weak magnetic fields outside the human head and thereby provides millisecond-accurate information about neuronal currents supporting human brain function. MEG and electroencephalography (EEG) are closely related complementary methods and should be interpreted together whenever possible. This manuscript covers the basic physical and physiological principles of MEG and discusses the main aspects of state-of-the-art MEG data analysis. We provide guidelines for best practices of patient preparation, stimulus presentation, MEG data collection and analysis, as well as for MEG interpretation in routine clinical examinations. In 2017, about 200 whole-scalp MEG devices were in operation worldwide, many of them located in clinical environments. Yet, the established clinical indications for MEG examinations remain few, mainly restricted to the diagnostics of epilepsy and to preoperative functional evaluation of neurosurgical patients. We are confident that ...
Shortening of the interstimulus interval (ISI) generally leads to attenuation of cortical sensory... more Shortening of the interstimulus interval (ISI) generally leads to attenuation of cortical sensory responses. For proprioception, however, this ISI effect is still poorly known. Our aim was to characterize the ISI dependence of movement-evoked proprioceptive cortical responses and to find the optimum ISI for proprioceptive stimulation. We measured, from 15 healthy adults, magnetoencephalographic responses to passive flexion and extension movements of the right index finger. The movements were generated by a movement actuator at fixed ISIs of 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 s, in separate blocks. The responses peaked at ~70 ms (extension) and ~90 ms (flexion) in the contralateral primary somatosensory cortex. The strength of the cortical source increased with the ISI, plateauing at the 8-s ISI. Modeling the ISI dependence with an exponential saturation function revealed response lifetimes of 1.3 s (extension) and 2.2 s (flexion), implying that the maximum signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in a given measurement time is achieved with ISIs of 1.7 s and 2.8 s, respectively. We conclude that ISIs of 1.5-3 s should be used to maximize SNR in recordings of proprioceptive cortical responses to passive finger movements. Our findings can benefit the assessment of proprioceptive afference in both clinical and research settings.
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2014
When your favourite athlete flops over the high-jump bar, you may twist your body in front of the... more When your favourite athlete flops over the high-jump bar, you may twist your body in front of the TV screen. Such automatic motor facilitation, ‘mirroring’ or even overt imitation is not always appropriate. Here, we show, by monitoring motor-cortex brain rhythms with magnetoencephalography (MEG) in healthy adults, that viewing intermittent hand actions of another person, in addition to activation, phasically stabilizes the viewer's primary motor cortex, with the maximum of half a second after the onset of the seen movement. Such a stabilization was evident as enhanced cortex–muscle coherence at 16–20 Hz, despite signs of almost simultaneous suppression of rolandic rhythms of approximately 7 and 15 Hz as a sign of activation of the sensorimotor cortex. These findings suggest that inhibition suppresses motor output during viewing another person's actions, thereby withholding unintentional imitation.
To maintain steady motor output, distracting sensory stimuli need to be blocked. To study the eff... more To maintain steady motor output, distracting sensory stimuli need to be blocked. To study the effects of brief auditory and visual distractors on the human primary motor (M1) cortex, we monitored magnetoencephalographic (MEG) cortical rhythms, electromyogram (EMG) of finger flexors, and corticomuscular coherence (CMC) during right-hand pinch (force 5-7% of maximum) while 1-kHz tones and checkerboard patterns were presented for 100 ms once every 3.5-5 s. Twenty-one subjects (out of twenty-two) showed statistically significant ∼20-Hz CMC. Both distractors elicited a covert startle-like response evident in changes of force and EMG (∼50% of the background variation) but without any visible movement, followed by ∼1-s enhancement of CMC (auditory on average by 75%, P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.001; visual by 33%, P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.05) and rolandic ∼20-Hz rhythm (auditory by 14%, P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.05; visual by 11%, P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.01). Directional coupling of coherence from muscle to the M1 cortex (EMG→MEG) increased for ∼0.5 s at the onset of the CMC enhancement, but only after auditory distractor (by 105%; P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.05), likely reflecting startle-related proprioceptive afference. The 20-Hz enhancements occurred in the left M1 cortex and were for the auditory stimuli preceded by an early suppression (by 7%, P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.05). Task-unrelated distractors modulated corticospinal coupling at ∼20 Hz. We propose that the distractors triggered covert startle-like responses, resulting in proprioceptive afference to the cortex, and that they also transiently disengaged the…
We discuss the importance of timing in brain function: how temporal dynamics of the world has lef... more We discuss the importance of timing in brain function: how temporal dynamics of the world has left its traces in the brain during evolution and how we can monitor the dynamics of the human brain with non-invasive measurements. Accurate timing is important for the interplay of neurons, neuronal circuitries, brain areas and human individuals. In the human brain, multiple temporal integration windows are hierarchically organized, with temporal scales ranging from microseconds to tens and hundreds of milliseconds for perceptual, motor and cognitive functions, and up to minutes, hours and even months for hormonal and mood changes. Accurate timing is impaired in several brain diseases. From the current repertoire of non-invasive brain imaging methods, only magnetoencephalography (MEG) and scalp electroencephalography (EEG) provide millisecond time-resolution; our focus in this paper is on MEG. Since the introduction of high-density whole-scalp MEG/EEG coverage in the 1990s, the instrument...
All material supplied via Aaltodoc is protected by copyright and other intellectual property righ... more All material supplied via Aaltodoc is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, and duplication or sale of all or part of any of the repository collections is not permitted, except that material may be duplicated by you for your research use or educational purposes in electronic or print form. You must obtain permission for any other use. Electronic or print copies may not be offered, whether for sale or otherwise to anyone who is not an authorised user.
Collaboration between disciplines is necessary when research questions cannot be answered within ... more Collaboration between disciplines is necessary when research questions cannot be answered within a single discipline. Joining of forces can produce results that neither discipline could provide alone. Here we exemplify collaboration between a ceramic craft researcher and three neuroscientists working in the field of human brain imaging. In our case study of clay throwing, the researcher‐practitioner’s eye gaze, muscular activity and hand acceleration were recorded online, synchronized with video and thermal-camera recordings. We describe the experimental setting and discuss, besides the possible future interests in this kind of research, also the different levels of collaborative work between disciplines. We found that the monitoring methods worked well in the naturalistic setting in a ceramic studio, providing some new perspectives into the craft practice. For neuroscientists, clay throwing ‐ involving accurate sensorimotor hand control, haptics and eye‐hand coordination ‐ provides...
Collaboration between disciplines is necessary when research questions cannot be answered within ... more Collaboration between disciplines is necessary when research questions cannot be answered within a single discipline. Joining of forces can produce results that neither discipline could provide alone. Here we exemplify collaboration between a ceramic craft researcher and three neuroscientists working in the field of human brain imaging. In our case study of clay throwing, the researcher-practitioner's eye gaze, muscular activity and hand acceleration were recorded online, synchronized with video and thermal camera recordings. We describe the experimental setting and discuss, besides the possible future interests in this kind of research, also the different levels of collaborative work between disciplines. We found that the monitoring methods worked well in the naturalistic setting in a ceramic studio, providing some new perspectives into the craft practice. For neuroscientists, clay throwing – involving accurate sensorimotor hand control, haptics and eye–hand coordination – provides an attractive setup to extend previous neuroscientific and behavioural findings in strictly controlled laboratory experiments into naturalistic situations. The applied monitoring devices might allow practitioner–researchers in crafts to become aware of unconscious steps in the making process. The applied methods could also help to accumulate general craft-making knowledge and build related theory.
To gain fundamental knowledge on how the brain controls motor actions, we studied in detail the i... more To gain fundamental knowledge on how the brain controls motor actions, we studied in detail the interplay between MEG signals from the primary sensorimotor (SM1) cortex and the contraction force of 17 healthy adult humans (7 females, 10 males). SM1 activity was coherent at ϳ20 Hz with surface electromyogram (as already extensively reported) but also with contraction force. In both cases, the effective coupling was dominant in the efferent direction. Across subjects, the level of ϳ20 Hz coherence between cortex and periphery positively correlated with the "burstiness" of ϳ20 Hz SM1 (Pearson r Ϸ 0.65) and peripheral fluctuations (r Ϸ 0.9). Thus, ϳ20 Hz coherence between cortex and periphery is tightly linked to the presence of ϳ20 Hz bursts in SM1 and peripheral activity. However, the very high correlation with peripheral fluctuations suggests that the periphery is the limiting factor. At frequencies Ͻ3 Hz, both SM1 signals and ϳ20 Hz SM1 envelope were coherent with both force and its absolute change rate. The effective coupling dominated in the efferent direction between (1) force and the ϳ20 Hz SM1 envelope and (2) the absolute change rate of the force and SM1 signals. Together, our data favor the view that ϳ20 Hz coherence between cortex and periphery during isometric contraction builds on the presence of ϳ20 Hz SM1 oscillations and needs not rely on feedback from the periphery. They also suggest that effective cortical proprioceptive processing operates at Ͻ3 Hz frequencies, even during steady isometric contractions.
Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991), Aug 24, 2017
Neuroimaging studies have shown that seeing others in pain activates brain regions that are invol... more Neuroimaging studies have shown that seeing others in pain activates brain regions that are involved in first-hand pain, suggesting that shared neuromolecular pathways support processing of first-hand and vicarious pain. We tested whether the dopamine and opioid neurotransmitter systems involved in nociceptive processing also contribute to vicarious pain experience. We used in vivo positron emission tomography to quantify type 2 dopamine and μ-opioid receptor (D2R and MOR, respectively) availabilities in brains of 35 subjects. During functional magnetic resonance imaging, the subjects watched short movie clips depicting persons in painful and painless situations. Painful scenes activated pain-responsive brain regions including anterior insulae, thalamus and secondary somatosensory cortices, as well as posterior superior temporal sulci. MOR availability correlated negatively with the haemodynamic responses during painful scenes in anterior and posterior insulae, thalamus, secondary a...
Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology, 2017
Somatosensory evoked potentials have high prognostic value in neonatal intensive care, but their ... more Somatosensory evoked potentials have high prognostic value in neonatal intensive care, but their recording from infants is challenging. Here, we studied the possibility to elicit cortical responses in newborns by simple passive hand movements. We examined 13 newborns (postnatal age 1-46days) during clinically indicated 19-channel electroencephalography (EEG) recordings in the neonatal intensive care unit; EEG indications included birth asphyxia and suspected epileptic seizures. The experimenter moved the infant's wrist or fingers at 1 or 2Hz for 5-10min, separately on both sides. We measured movement kinematics with an accelerometer attached to the infant's hand and computed coherence between the EEG and acceleration signals (corticokinematic coherence, CKC). Statistically significant CKC (amplitude 0.020-0.511) with characteristic scalp topography was observed in all infants at twice the movement frequency. CKC was contralaterally dominant on the central scalp (median later...
We studied behavioral matching during joint decision making. Drawing on motion-capture and voice ... more We studied behavioral matching during joint decision making. Drawing on motion-capture and voice data from 12 dyads, we analyzed bodysway and pitch-register matching during sequential transitions and continuations, with and without mutual visibility. Body sway was matched most strongly during sequential transitions in the conditions of mutual visibility. Pitch-register matching was higher during sequential transitions than continuations only when the participants could not see each other. These results suggest that both body sway and pitch register are used to manage sequential transitions, while mutual visibility influences the relative weights of these two resources. The conversational data are in Finnish with English translation.
Patients with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) display various abnormalities in central moto... more Patients with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) display various abnormalities in central motor function, and their pain is intensified when they perform or just observe motor actions. In this study, we examined the abnormalities of brain responses to action observation in CRPS. We analyzed 3-T functional magnetic resonance images from 13 upper limb CRPS patients (all female, ages 31-58 years) and 13 healthy, age-and sex-matched control subjects. The functional magnetic resonance imaging data were acquired while the subjects viewed brief videos of hand actions shown in the first-person perspective. A pattern-classification analysis was applied to characterize brain areas where the activation pattern differed between CRPS patients and healthy subjects. Brain areas with statistically significant group differences (q < .05, false discovery rate-corrected) included the hand representation area in the sensorimotor cortex, inferior frontal gyrus, secondary somatosensory cortex, inferior parietal lobule, orbitofrontal cortex, and thalamus. Our findings indicate that CRPS impairs action observation by affecting brain areas related to pain processing and motor control. Perspective: This article shows that in CRPS, the observation of others' motor actions induces abnormal neural activity in brain areas essential for sensorimotor functions and pain. These results build the cerebral basis for action-observation impairments in CRPS.
The human brain continuously processes massive amounts of rich sensory information. To better und... more The human brain continuously processes massive amounts of rich sensory information. To better understand such highly complex brain processes, modern neuroimaging studies are increasingly utilizing experimental setups that better mimic daily-life situations. We propose a new exploratory data-analysis approach, functional segmentation intersubject correlation analysis (FuSeISC), to facilitate the analysis of functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) data sets collected in these experiments. The method provides a new type of functional segmentation of brain areas, not only characterizing areas that display similar processing across subjects but also areas in which processing across subjects is highly variable.We tested FuSeISC using fMRI data sets collected during traditional block-design stimuli (37 subjects) as well as naturalistic auditory narratives (19 subjects). The method identified spatially local and/or bilaterally symmetric clusters in several cortical areas, many of which are kno...
Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology, Oct 31, 1986
Magnetic and electrical responses to CO 2 stimulation of the nasal mucosa were recorded in 4 subj... more Magnetic and electrical responses to CO 2 stimulation of the nasal mucosa were recorded in 4 subjects. The magnetic responses peaked at 350–400 msec, coinciding with the negative vertex potential. The field pattern suggested neural activation in the upper bank of the sylvian fissure near the lateral end of the central sulcus, ie, at or near SII. The results also suggest that this area contributes to the generation of the electrical vertex potential.
Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology, Jan 17, 2018
Magnetoencephalography (MEG) records weak magnetic fields outside the human head and thereby prov... more Magnetoencephalography (MEG) records weak magnetic fields outside the human head and thereby provides millisecond-accurate information about neuronal currents supporting human brain function. MEG and electroencephalography (EEG) are closely related complementary methods and should be interpreted together whenever possible. This manuscript covers the basic physical and physiological principles of MEG and discusses the main aspects of state-of-the-art MEG data analysis. We provide guidelines for best practices of patient preparation, stimulus presentation, MEG data collection and analysis, as well as for MEG interpretation in routine clinical examinations. In 2017, about 200 whole-scalp MEG devices were in operation worldwide, many of them located in clinical environments. Yet, the established clinical indications for MEG examinations remain few, mainly restricted to the diagnostics of epilepsy and to preoperative functional evaluation of neurosurgical patients. We are confident that ...
Shortening of the interstimulus interval (ISI) generally leads to attenuation of cortical sensory... more Shortening of the interstimulus interval (ISI) generally leads to attenuation of cortical sensory responses. For proprioception, however, this ISI effect is still poorly known. Our aim was to characterize the ISI dependence of movement-evoked proprioceptive cortical responses and to find the optimum ISI for proprioceptive stimulation. We measured, from 15 healthy adults, magnetoencephalographic responses to passive flexion and extension movements of the right index finger. The movements were generated by a movement actuator at fixed ISIs of 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16 s, in separate blocks. The responses peaked at ~70 ms (extension) and ~90 ms (flexion) in the contralateral primary somatosensory cortex. The strength of the cortical source increased with the ISI, plateauing at the 8-s ISI. Modeling the ISI dependence with an exponential saturation function revealed response lifetimes of 1.3 s (extension) and 2.2 s (flexion), implying that the maximum signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in a given measurement time is achieved with ISIs of 1.7 s and 2.8 s, respectively. We conclude that ISIs of 1.5-3 s should be used to maximize SNR in recordings of proprioceptive cortical responses to passive finger movements. Our findings can benefit the assessment of proprioceptive afference in both clinical and research settings.
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2014
When your favourite athlete flops over the high-jump bar, you may twist your body in front of the... more When your favourite athlete flops over the high-jump bar, you may twist your body in front of the TV screen. Such automatic motor facilitation, ‘mirroring’ or even overt imitation is not always appropriate. Here, we show, by monitoring motor-cortex brain rhythms with magnetoencephalography (MEG) in healthy adults, that viewing intermittent hand actions of another person, in addition to activation, phasically stabilizes the viewer's primary motor cortex, with the maximum of half a second after the onset of the seen movement. Such a stabilization was evident as enhanced cortex–muscle coherence at 16–20 Hz, despite signs of almost simultaneous suppression of rolandic rhythms of approximately 7 and 15 Hz as a sign of activation of the sensorimotor cortex. These findings suggest that inhibition suppresses motor output during viewing another person's actions, thereby withholding unintentional imitation.
To maintain steady motor output, distracting sensory stimuli need to be blocked. To study the eff... more To maintain steady motor output, distracting sensory stimuli need to be blocked. To study the effects of brief auditory and visual distractors on the human primary motor (M1) cortex, we monitored magnetoencephalographic (MEG) cortical rhythms, electromyogram (EMG) of finger flexors, and corticomuscular coherence (CMC) during right-hand pinch (force 5-7% of maximum) while 1-kHz tones and checkerboard patterns were presented for 100 ms once every 3.5-5 s. Twenty-one subjects (out of twenty-two) showed statistically significant ∼20-Hz CMC. Both distractors elicited a covert startle-like response evident in changes of force and EMG (∼50% of the background variation) but without any visible movement, followed by ∼1-s enhancement of CMC (auditory on average by 75%, P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.001; visual by 33%, P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.05) and rolandic ∼20-Hz rhythm (auditory by 14%, P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.05; visual by 11%, P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.01). Directional coupling of coherence from muscle to the M1 cortex (EMG→MEG) increased for ∼0.5 s at the onset of the CMC enhancement, but only after auditory distractor (by 105%; P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.05), likely reflecting startle-related proprioceptive afference. The 20-Hz enhancements occurred in the left M1 cortex and were for the auditory stimuli preceded by an early suppression (by 7%, P &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt; 0.05). Task-unrelated distractors modulated corticospinal coupling at ∼20 Hz. We propose that the distractors triggered covert startle-like responses, resulting in proprioceptive afference to the cortex, and that they also transiently disengaged the…
We discuss the importance of timing in brain function: how temporal dynamics of the world has lef... more We discuss the importance of timing in brain function: how temporal dynamics of the world has left its traces in the brain during evolution and how we can monitor the dynamics of the human brain with non-invasive measurements. Accurate timing is important for the interplay of neurons, neuronal circuitries, brain areas and human individuals. In the human brain, multiple temporal integration windows are hierarchically organized, with temporal scales ranging from microseconds to tens and hundreds of milliseconds for perceptual, motor and cognitive functions, and up to minutes, hours and even months for hormonal and mood changes. Accurate timing is impaired in several brain diseases. From the current repertoire of non-invasive brain imaging methods, only magnetoencephalography (MEG) and scalp electroencephalography (EEG) provide millisecond time-resolution; our focus in this paper is on MEG. Since the introduction of high-density whole-scalp MEG/EEG coverage in the 1990s, the instrument...
All material supplied via Aaltodoc is protected by copyright and other intellectual property righ... more All material supplied via Aaltodoc is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, and duplication or sale of all or part of any of the repository collections is not permitted, except that material may be duplicated by you for your research use or educational purposes in electronic or print form. You must obtain permission for any other use. Electronic or print copies may not be offered, whether for sale or otherwise to anyone who is not an authorised user.
Distortion of the sense of reality, actualized in delusions and hallucinations, is the key featur... more Distortion of the sense of reality, actualized in delusions and hallucinations, is the key feature of psychosis but the underlying neuronal correlates remain largely unknown. We studied 11 highly functioning subjects with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder while they rated the reality of auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH) during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The subjective reality of AVH correlated strongly and specifically with the hallucination-related activation strength of the inferior frontal gyri (IFG), including the Broca's language region. Furthermore, how real the hallucination that subjects experienced was depended on the hallucination-related coupling between the IFG, the ventral striatum, the auditory cortex, the right posterior temporal lobe, and the cingulate cortex. Our findings suggest that the subjective reality of AVH is related to motor mechanisms of speech comprehension, with contributions from sensory and salience-detection-related brain regions as well as circuitries related to self-monitoring and the experience of agency. Abbreviations: AVH = auditory verbal hallucination; IFG = inferior frontal gyrus; HRF = haemodynamic response function; PANSS = Positive and Negative Syndromes Scale; SRH = subjective reality of hallucinations; VAS = visual analogue scale
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the monitoring methods worked well in the naturalistic setting in a ceramic studio, providing some new perspectives into the craft practice. For neuroscientists, clay throwing – involving accurate sensorimotor
hand control, haptics and eye–hand coordination – provides an attractive setup to extend previous neuroscientific and behavioural findings in strictly controlled laboratory experiments into naturalistic situations. The applied monitoring devices might allow practitioner–researchers in crafts to become aware of unconscious steps in the making process. The applied methods could also help to accumulate general craft-making knowledge and build related theory.
the monitoring methods worked well in the naturalistic setting in a ceramic studio, providing some new perspectives into the craft practice. For neuroscientists, clay throwing – involving accurate sensorimotor
hand control, haptics and eye–hand coordination – provides an attractive setup to extend previous neuroscientific and behavioural findings in strictly controlled laboratory experiments into naturalistic situations. The applied monitoring devices might allow practitioner–researchers in crafts to become aware of unconscious steps in the making process. The applied methods could also help to accumulate general craft-making knowledge and build related theory.