Digital Commons Network^™

The Visual Priming Of Motion-Defined 3d Objects, Xiong Jiang, Yang Jiang, Raja Parasuraman

Behavioral Science Faculty Publications

The perception of a stimulus can be influenced by previous perceptual experience, a phenomenon known as perceptual priming. However, there has been limited investigation on perceptual priming of shape perception of three-dimensional object structures defined by moving dots. Here we examined the perceptual priming of a 3D object shape defined purely by motion-in-depth cues (i.e., Shape-From-Motion, SFM) using a classic prime-target paradigm. The results from the first two experiments revealed a significant increase in accuracy when a "cloudy" SFM stimulus (whose object structure was difficult to recognize due to the presence of strong noise) was preceded by an unambiguous SFM …

Trends In Psychotropic Dispensing Among Older Adults With Dementia Living In Long-Term Care Facilities: 2004-2013., Akshya Vasudev, Salimah Z Shariff, Kuan Liu, Amer M Burhan, Nathan Herrmann, Sean Leonard, Muhammad Mamdani

Psychiatry Publications

OBJECTIVE: Guidelines worldwide have cautioned against the use of antipsychotics as first-line agents to treat neuropsychiatric symptoms of dementia. We aimed to investigate the changes over time in the dispensing of antipsychotics and other psychotropics among older adults with dementia living in long-term care facilities.

METHODS: We used drug claims data from Ontario, Canada, to calculate quarterly rates of prescription dispensing of six psychotropic drug classes among all elderly (≥65 years of age) long-term care residents with dementia from January 1, 2004, to March 31, 2013. Psychotropic drugs were classified into the following categories: atypical and conventional antipsychotics, non-sedative and …

Multi-Ancestry Genome-Wide Association Study Of 21,000 Cases And 95,000 Controls Identifies New Risk Loci For Atopic Dermatitis, Lavinia Paternoster, Marie Standl, Johannes Waage, Hansjörg Baurecht, Melanie Hotze, David P. Strachan, John A. Curtin, Klaus Bønnelykke, Chao Tian, Atsushi Takahashi, Jorge Esparza-Gordillo, Alexessander C. Alves, Jacob P. Thyssen, Herman T. Den Dekker, Manuel A. Ferreira, Elisabeth Altmaier, Patrick M. Sleiman, Feng Li Xiao, Juan R. Gonzalez, Ingo Marenholz, Birgit Kalb, Maria Pino Yanes, Cheng-Jian Xu, Lisbeth Carstensen, Maria M. Groen-Blokhuis, Cristina Venturini, Craig E. Pennell, Sheila J. Barton, Albert M. Levin, Ivan Curjuric, Mariona Bustamante, Eskil Kreiner-Møller, Gabrielle A. Lockett, Jonas Bacelis, Supinda Bunyavanich, Rachel A. Myers, Anja Matanovic, Ashish Kumar, Joyce Y. Tung, Tomomitsu Hirota, Michiaki Kubo, Wendy L. Mcardle, A J. Henderson, John P. Kemp, Jie Zheng, George Davey Smith, Franz Rüschendorf, Anja Bauerfeind, Min Ae Lee-Kirsch, Andreas Arnold, Georg Homuth, Carsten O. Schmidt, Elisabeth Mangold, Sven Cichon, Thomas Keil, Elke Rodríguez, Annette Peters, Andre Franke, Wolfgang Lieb, Natalija Novak, Regina Fölster-Holst, Momoko Horikoshi, Juha Pekkanen, Sylvain Sebert, Lise L. Husemoen, Niels Grarup, Johan C. De Jongste, Fernando Rivadeneira, Albert Hofman, Vincent Jaddoe, Suzanne Gma Pasmans, Niels J. Elbert, André G. Uitterlinden, Guy B. Marks, Philip J. Thompson, Melanie C. Matheson, Colin F. Robertson, Janina S. Ried, Jin Li, Xian Bo Zuo, Xiao Dong Zheng, Xian Yong Yin, Liang Dan Sun, Maeve A. Mcaleer, Grainne M O'Regan, Caoimhe Fahy, Linda E. Campbell, Milan Macek, Michael Kurek, Donglei Hu, Celeste Eng, Dirkje S. Postma, Bjarke Feenstra, Frank Geller, Jouke Jan Hottenga, Christel M. Middeldorp, Pirro Hysi, Veronique Bataille, Tim Spector, Carla Mt Tiesler, Elisabeth Thiering, Badri Pahukasahasram, James J. Yang, Medea Imboden, Scott Huntsman, Natàlia Vilor-Tejedor, Caroline L Relton, Ronny Myhre, Wenche Nystad, Adnan Custovic, Scott T Weiss, Deborah A Meyers, Cilla Söderhäll, Erik Melén, Carole Ober, Benjamin A Raby, Angela Simpson, Bo Jacobsson, John W Holloway, Hans Bisgaard, Jordi Sunyer, Nicole M Probst Hensch, Keoki L. Williams, Keith M Godfrey, Carol A Wang, Dorret I Boomsma, Mads Melbye, Gerard H Koppelman, Deborah Jarvis, Wh Irwin Mclean, Alan D Irvine, Xue Jun Zhang, Hakon Hakonarson, Christian Gieger, Esteban G Burchard, Nicholas G Martin, Liesbeth Duijts, Allan Linneberg, Marjo-Riitta Jarvelin, Markus M Noethen, Susanne Lau, Norbert Hübner, Young-Ae Lee, Mayumi Tamari, David A Hinds, Daniel Glass, Sara J Brown, Joachim Heinrich, David M Evans, Stephan Weidinger

Center for Health Policy and Health Services Research Articles

Genetic association studies have identified 21 loci associated with atopic dermatitis risk predominantly in populations of European ancestry. To identify further susceptibility loci for this common, complex skin disease, we performed a meta-analysis of >15 million genetic variants in 21,399 cases and 95,464 controls from populations of European, African, Japanese and Latino ancestry, followed by replication in 32,059 cases and 228,628 controls from 18 studies. We identified ten new risk loci, bringing the total number of known atopic dermatitis risk loci to 31 (with new secondary signals at four of these loci). Notably, the new loci include candidate genes with …

Critical Shortage Of African American Medical Oncologists In The United States, Lauren M. Hamel, Robert Chapman, Mary Malloy, Susan Eggly, Louis A. Penner, Anthony F. Shields, Michael S. Simon, Justin F. Klamerus, Charles Schiffer, Terrence L. Albrecht

Hematology/Oncology Articles

No abstract provided.

Propagated Infra-Slow Intrinsic Brain Activity Reorganizes Across Wake And Slow Wave Sleep, Anish Mitra, Abraham Z. Snyder, Enzo Tagliazucchi, Helmut Laufs, Marcus E. Raichle

Open Access Publications

Propagation of slow intrinsic brain activity has been widely observed in electrophysiogical studies of slow wave sleep (SWS). However, in human resting state fMRI (rs-fMRI), intrinsic activity has been understood predominantly in terms of zero-lag temporal synchrony (functional connectivity) within systems known as resting state networks (RSNs). Prior rs-fMRI studies have found that RSNs are generally preserved across wake and sleep. Here, we use a recently developed analysis technique to study propagation of infra-slow intrinsic blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signals in normal adults during wake and SWS. This analysis reveals marked changes in propagation patterns in SWS vs. wake. …

‘The Thing Is Not Knowing’: Patients' Perspectives On Surveillance Of An Indeterminate Pulmonary Nodule, Renda Soylemez Wiener, Michael K. Gould, Steven Woloshin, Lisa M. Schwartz, Jack Clark

Dartmouth Scholarship

Background: The hundreds of thousands of patients found to have a potentially malignant pulmonary nodule each year are faced with tremendous uncertainty regarding what the nodule is and how it should be evaluated.

Objective: To explore patients' responses to the detection and evaluation of a pulmonary nodule.

Effect Of A Cognitive-Behavioral Prevention Program On Depression 6 Years After Implementation Among At-Risk Adolescents: A Randomized Clinical Trial., David A Brent, Steven M. Brunwasser Phd, Steven D Hollon, V Robin Weersing, Gregory N Clarke, John F Dickerson, William R Beardslee, Tracy R G Gladstone, Giovanna Porta, Frances L Lynch, Satish Iyengar, Judy Garber

College of Science & Mathematics Departmental Research

IMPORTANCE: Adolescents whose parents have a history of depression are at risk for developing depression and functional impairment. The long-term effects of prevention programs on adolescent depression and functioning are not known.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether a cognitive-behavioral prevention (CBP) program reduced the incidence of depressive episodes, increased depression-free days, and improved developmental competence 6 years after implementation.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A 4-site randomized clinical trial compared the effect of CBP plus usual care vs usual care, through follow-up 75 months after the intervention (88% retention), with recruitment from August 2003 through February 2006 at a health maintenance organization, …

Behavioral, Perceptual, And Neural Alterations In Sensory And Multisensory Function In Autism Spectrum Disorder., Sarah H Baum, Ryan A Stevenson, Mark T Wallace

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Although sensory processing challenges have been noted since the first clinical descriptions of autism, it has taken until the release of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) in 2013 for sensory problems to be included as part of the core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the diagnostic profile. Because sensory information forms the building blocks for higher-order social and cognitive functions, we argue that sensory processing is not only an additional piece of the puzzle, but rather a critical cornerstone for characterizing and understanding ASD. In this review we discuss what …

Functional Differences Between Statistical Learning With And Without Explicit Training., Laura J Batterink, Paul J Reber, Ken A Paller

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Humans are capable of rapidly extracting regularities from environmental input, a process known as statistical learning. This type of learning typically occurs automatically, through passive exposure to environmental input. The presumed function of statistical learning is to optimize processing, allowing the brain to more accurately predict and prepare for incoming input. In this study, we ask whether the function of statistical learning may be enhanced through supplementary explicit training, in which underlying regularities are explicitly taught rather than simply abstracted through exposure. Learners were randomly assigned either to an explicit group or an implicit group. All learners were exposed to …

Dual Optimization Method Of Radiofrequency And Quasistatic Field Simulations For Reduction Of Eddy Currents Generated On 7t Radiofrequency Coil Shielding., Yujuan Zhao, Tiejun Zhao, Shailesh B Raval, Narayanan Krishnamurthy, Hai Zheng, Chad T Harris, William B Handler, Blaine A Chronik, Tamer S Ibrahim

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

PURPOSE: To optimize the design of radiofrequency (RF) shielding of transmit coils at 7T and reduce eddy currents generated on the RF shielding when imaging with rapid gradient waveforms.

METHODS: One set of a four-element, 2 × 2 Tic-Tac-Toe head coil structure was selected and constructed to study eddy currents on the RF coil shielding. The generated eddy currents were quantitatively studied in the time and frequency domains. The RF characteristics were studied using the finite difference time domain method. Five different kinds of RF shielding were tested on a 7T MRI scanner with phantoms and in vivo human subjects. …

Sexting Among Married Couples: Who Is Doing It, And Are They More Satisfied?, Brandon T. Mcdaniel Phd, Michelle Drouin

Health Services and Informatics Research

This study examined the prevalence and correlates of sexting (i.e., sending sexual messages via mobile phones) within a sample of married/cohabiting couples (180 wives and 175 husbands). Married adults do sext each other, but it is much less common than within young adult relationships, and consists mainly of sexy or intimate talk (29% reported engaging in sexy talk with partners) rather than sexually explicit photos or videos (12% reported sending nude or nearly-nude photos). Sending sexy talk messages was positively related to relationship satisfaction only among those with high levels of avoidance, and sending sexually explicit pictures was related to …

A Piece Of My Mind. A Piece Of My Mind--Actually., Herbert M. Adler

Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior Faculty Papers

No abstract provided.

Workplace Safety Concerns Among Co-Workers Of Responder Returning From Ebola-Affected Country, Benjamin P. Chan, Elizabeth R. Daly, Elizabeth A. Talbot

Dartmouth Scholarship

We surveyed public health co-workers regarding attitudes toward a physician who returned to New Hampshire after volunteering in the West African Ebola outbreak. An unexpectedly large (18.0%) proportion of staff expressed discomfort with the Ebola responder returning to work. Employers should take proactive steps to address employee fears and concerns.

Interdisciplinary Care Clinics In Chronic Kidney Disease, Tanya S. Johns, Jerry Yee, Terrian Smith-Jules, Ruth C. Campbell, Carolyn Bauer

Nephrology Articles

The burden of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is substantial, and is associated with high hospitalization rates, premature deaths, and considerable health care costs. These factors provide strong rationale for quality improvement initiatives in CKD care. The interdisciplinary care clinic (IDC) has emerged as one solution to improving CKD care. The IDC team may include other physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, dietitians, pharmacists, and social workers--all working together to provide effective care to patients with chronic kidney disease. Studies suggest that IDCs may improve patient education and preparedness prior to kidney failure, both of which have been associated with improved health …

Preserved Haptic Shape Processing After Bilateral Loc Lesions., Jacqueline C Snow, Melvyn A Goodale, Jody C Culham

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

UNLABELLED: The visual and haptic perceptual systems are understood to share a common neural representation of object shape. A region thought to be critical for recognizing visual and haptic shape information is the lateral occipital complex (LOC). We investigated whether LOC is essential for haptic shape recognition in humans by studying behavioral responses and brain activation for haptically explored objects in a patient (M.C.) with bilateral lesions of the occipitotemporal cortex, including LOC. Despite severe deficits in recognizing objects using vision, M.C. was able to accurately recognize objects via touch. M.C.'s psychophysical response profile to haptically explored shapes was also …

Maternal Postsecondary Education Associated With Improved Cerebellar Growth After Preterm Birth., Mikaela L Stiver, Daphne Kamino, Ting Guo, Angela Thompson, Emma G Duerden, Margot J Taylor, Emily W Y Tam

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

The preterm cerebellum is vulnerable to impaired development impacting long-term outcome. Preterm newborns (<32 >weeks) underwent serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. The association between parental education and cerebellar volume at each time point was assessed, adjusting for age at scan. In 26 infants, cerebellar volumes at term (P = .001), but not birth (P = .4), were associated with 2-year volumes. For 1 cm(3) smaller cerebellar volume (4% total volume) at term, the cerebellum was 3.18 cm(3) smaller (3% total volume) by 2 years. Maternal postsecondary education was not associated with cerebellar volume at term (P = .16). Maternal …

Social Media In The Dental School Environment, Part B: Curricular Considerations, Heiko Spallek, Sharon P. Turner, Evelyn Donate-Bartfield, David Chambers, Maureen Mcandrew, Pamela Zarkowski, Nadeem Karimbux

Oral Health Practice Faculty Publications

The goal of this article is to describe the broad curricular constructs surrounding teaching and learning about social media in dental education. This analysis takes into account timing, development, and assessment of the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors needed to effectively use social media tools as a contemporary dentist. Three developmental stages in a student's path to becoming a competent professional are described: from undergraduate to dental student, from the classroom and preclinical simulation laboratory to the clinical setting, and from dental student to licensed practitioner. Considerations for developing the dental curriculum and suggestions for effective instruction at each stage …

Internship And Empathy: Variations Across Time And Specialties, Sameer K. Avasarala, Sarah Whitehouse, Sean Drake

Internal Medicine Articles

OBJECTIVES: To assess whether any differences exist in Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) scores among postgraduate year 1 (PGY-1) residents across specialties.

METHODS: PGY-1 residents representing 11 specialties at our academic institution were invited to take a Web-based IRI survey at three time points. The specialties were condensed into several binary groups for analysis: internal medicine (IM) versus non-IM; primary care (IM, family medicine) versus nonprimary care; emergency medicine (EM, including the combined IM/EM) versus non-EM; surgical specialties (general surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, otolaryngology, orthopedics, urology) versus nonsurgical specialties (EM, family medicine, IM, neurology, pathology, and psychiatry); men versus women; and …

Dissemination Of An Electronic Manual To Build Capacity For Implementing Farmers’ Markets With Community Health Centers, M Aaron Guest, Darcy Freedman, Kassandra A. Alia, Heather M. Brandt, Daniela B. Friedman

Faculty Publications

Community-university partnerships can lend themselves to the development of tools that encourage and promote future community health development. The electronic manual, "Building Farmacies," describes an approach for developing capacity and sustaining a community health center-based farmers' market that emerged through a community-university partnership. Manual development was guided by the Knowledge to Action Framework and experiences developing a multivendor, produce-only farmers' market at a community health center in rural South Carolina. The manual was created to illustrate an innovative solution for community health development. The manual was disseminated electronically through 25 listservs and interested individuals voluntarily completed a Web-based survey to …

Rural Vs. Non-Rural Differences And Longitudinal Bone Changes By Dxa And Pqct In Men Aged 20-66 Years: A Population-Based Study, Bonny L. Specker, Howard E. Wey, Teresa L. Binkley, Tianna Beare, Maggie Minett, Lee A. Weidauer

Health and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications

The purpose of this research was to determine whether there were differences in estimated means and rates of change in BMC, bone area, BMD and measures of bone geometry among men (n=544) from three distinct populations (Hutterite [rural], rural non-Hutterite, non-rural), and whether activity levels or calcium intake explain these population differences. Men were enrolled in the South Dakota Rural Bone Health Study and followed for 7.5 years to estimate means and rates of change in bone mass, density, size and geometry. Femoral neck (FN) and spine measurements were obtained every 18 months by DXA and distal radius (4% and …

Protecting Ourselves From Harm: Voices Of Aging Farmers, Deborah B. Reed, Deborah T. Claunch

Nursing Faculty Publications

Senior farmers suffer the highest fatality risk of any age group in agriculture. The purpose of this exploratory study was to develop a "voice" for senior farmers by examining aging farmers' and their families' perspectives of farm work, associated injury risks, and methods to decrease those risks. Focus groups and personal interviews were used to collect data from 81 participants across seven U.S. states. The findings reflect the collective and verified voice of the study group. The Health Belief Model was applied and revealed differences between farmers and their family members; however, the need and desire to continue self-directed work …

Computerized Adaptive Tests Detect Change Following Orthopaedic Surgery In Youth With Cerebral Palsy., M J Mulcahey, Mary D Slavin, Pengsheng Ni, Lawrence C Vogel, Scott H Kozin, Stephen M Haley, Alan M Jette

Department of Occupational Therapy Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: The Cerebral Palsy Computerized Adaptive Test (CP-CAT) is a parent-reported outcomes instrument for measuring lower and upper-extremity function, activity, and global health across impairment levels and a broad age range of children with cerebral palsy (CP). This study was performed to examine whether the Lower Extremity/Mobility (LE) CP-CAT detects change in mobility following orthopaedic surgery in children with CP.

METHODS: This multicenter, longitudinal study involved administration of the LE CP-CAT, the Pediatric Outcomes Data Collection Instrument (PODCI) Transfer/Mobility and Sports/Physical Functioning domains, and the Timed "Up & Go" test (TUG) before and after elective orthopaedic surgery in a convenience …

How Clinicians Feel About Working With Spouses Of The Chronically Ill, Douglas Ingram

NYMC Faculty Publications

Clinicians who provide psychotherapy to spouses or partners of the chronically ill were solicited through listserves of psychodynamic and other organizations. The current report excluded those therapists working with spouses of dementia patients. Interviews were conducted with clinicians who responded. The interviews highlight the challenges commonly encountered by psychotherapeutic work with this cohort of therapy patients. A comparison is drawn that shows both overlap and distinctions between the experiences of those therapists engaging with spouses of chronically ill patients without a dementing process and those working with spouses of chronically ill patients who do suffer from a dementing process.

Finding The Engram., Sheena A Josselyn, Stefan Köhler, Paul W Frankland

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

Many attempts have been made to localize the physical trace of a memory, or engram, in the brain. However, until recently, engrams have remained largely elusive. In this Review, we develop four defining criteria that enable us to critically assess the recent progress that has been made towards finding the engram. Recent 'capture' studies use novel approaches to tag populations of neurons that are active during memory encoding, thereby allowing these engram-associated neurons to be manipulated at later times. We propose that findings from these capture studies represent considerable progress in allowing us to observe, erase and express the engram.

Human Ips Cell-Derived Astrocyte Transplants Preserve Respiratory Function After Spinal Cord Injury., Ke Li, Elham Javed, Daniel Scura, Tamara J. Hala, Suneil Seetharam, Aditi Falnikar, Jean-Philippe Richard, Ashley Chorath, Nicholas J. Maragakis, Megan C. Wright, Angelo C. Lepore

Department of Neuroscience Faculty Papers

Transplantation-based replacement of lost and/or dysfunctional astrocytes is a promising therapy for spinal cord injury (SCI) that has not been extensively explored, despite the integral roles played by astrocytes in the central nervous system (CNS). Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells are a clinically-relevant source of pluripotent cells that both avoid ethical issues of embryonic stem cells and allow for homogeneous derivation of mature cell types in large quantities, potentially in an autologous fashion. Despite their promise, the iPS cell field is in its infancy with respect to evaluating in vivo graft integration and therapeutic efficacy in SCI models. Astrocytes express …

Ebony And Ivory? Interracial Dating Intentions And Behaviors Of Disadvantaged African American Women In Kentucky, David J. Luke, Carrie B. Oser

Sociology Faculty Publications

Using data from 595 predominantly disadvantaged African American women in Kentucky, this study examines perceptions about racial/ethnic partner availability, cultural mistrust, and racism as correlates of interracial dating intentions and behaviors with both white and Hispanic men. Participants reported levels of dating intentions and behaviors were significantly higher with whites than Hispanics. The multivariate models indicate less cultural mistrust and believing it is easier to find a man of that racial/ethnic category were associated with higher interracial dating intentions. Women were more likely to have dated a white man if they believed it was easier to find a white man …

Maternal Psychiatric Disease And Epigenetic Evidence Suggest A Common Biology For Poor Fetal Growth, Timothy H. Ciesielski, Carmen J. Marsit, Scott M. Williams

Dartmouth Scholarship

We sought to identify and characterize predictors of poor fetal growth among variables extracted from perinatal medical records to gain insight into potential etiologic mechanisms. In this process we reevaluated a previously observed association between poor fetal growth and maternal psychiatric disease. We evaluated 449 deliveries of >36 weeks gestation that occurred between 9/2008 and 9/2010 at the Women and Infants Hospital in Providence Rhode Island. This study group was oversampled for Small-for-Gestational-Age (SGA) infants and excluded Large-for-Gestational-Age (LGA) infants. We assessed the associations between recorded clinical variables and impaired fetal growth: SGA or Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR) diagnosis. After …

Familiar Face Detection In 180ms, Matteo Visconti Di Oleggio Castello, M. Ida Gobbini

Dartmouth Scholarship

The visual system is tuned for rapid detection of faces, with the fastest choice saccade to a face at 100ms. Familiar faces have a more robust representation than do unfamiliar faces, and are detected faster in the absence of awareness and with reduced attentional resources. Faces of family and close friends become familiar over a protracted period involving learning the unique visual appearance, including a view-invariant representation, as well as person knowledge. We investigated the effect of personal familiarity on the earliest stages of face processing by using a saccadic-choice task to measure how fast familiar face detection can happen. …

Tract-Based Spatial Statistics In Preterm-Born Neonates Predicts Cognitive And Motor Outcomes At 18 Months., E G Duerden, J Foong, V Chau, H Branson, K J Poskitt, R E Grunau, A Synnes, J G Zwicker, S P Miller

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Adverse neurodevelopmental outcome is common in children born preterm. Early sensitive predictors of neurodevelopmental outcome such as MR imaging are needed. Tract-based spatial statistics, a diffusion MR imaging analysis method, performed at term-equivalent age (40 weeks) is a promising predictor of neurodevelopmental outcomes in children born very preterm. We sought to determine the association of tract-based spatial statistics findings before term-equivalent age with neurodevelopmental outcome at 18-months corrected age.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Of 180 neonates (born at 24-32-weeks' gestation) enrolled, 153 had DTI acquired early at 32 weeks' postmenstrual age and 105 had DTI acquired later at …

Transient Visual Responses Reset The Phase Of Low-Frequency Oscillations In The Skeletomotor Periphery., Daniel K Wood, Chao Gu, Brian D Corneil, Paul L Gribble, Melvyn A Goodale

Brain and Mind Institute Researchers' Publications

We recorded muscle activity from an upper limb muscle while human subjects reached towards peripheral targets. We tested the hypothesis that the transient visual response sweeps not only through the central nervous system, but also through the peripheral nervous system. Like the transient visual response in the central nervous system, stimulus-locked muscle responses (< 100 ms) were sensitive to stimulus contrast, and were temporally and spatially dissociable from voluntary orienting activity. Also, the arrival of visual responses reduced the variability of muscle activity by resetting the phase of ongoing low-frequency oscillations. This latter finding critically extends the emerging evidence that the feedforward visual sweep reduces neural variability via phase resetting. We conclude that, when sensory information is relevant to a particular effector, detailed information about the sensorimotor transformation, even from the earliest stages, is found in the peripheral nervous system.