October 25th 4pm YNiC Open Plan
1. Project presentation: Michael Simpson
2. Project presentation: Laura Lee
3. Work in progress - a look at an ongoing project
All welcome. Refreshments will be available.
--
Gary Green
York Neuroimaging Centre
The Biocentre
York Science Park
Innovation Way
Heslington
York
YO10 5DG
http://www.ynic.york.ac.uk
tel. 01904 435349
fax 01904 435356
mobile 07986 778954
I thought I would circulate the following talk to YNiC users as it
could be potentially interesting to many users. This is talk
presenting results of an fmri experiment after extensive training
with different kinds of sounds.
Speech-like processing of nonspeech sounds following extensive
categorization training.
Dr James Keidel, University of Manchester
Monday, Oct 22nd, 2007, 12.30pm, C108, Dept of Psychology
Silvia
Silvia Gennari
Department of Psychology
University of York
Heslington, York
YO10 5DD
United Kingdom
FIXATION-CONTINGENT PRESENTATION OF STIMULI IN MEG
Laura Barca and I ran an MEG experiment in which participants were
instructed to fixate on a central point on a screen positioned 1 metre in
front of them. A stimulus (e.g. a word) was then presented very briefly
to the left or right of the fixation point. The aim was to track the
processing through the brain of words presented in the right visual field,
projecting directly to the left (language) hemisphere, or in the left
visual field, projecting first to the left (non-language) hemisphere and
presumably needing to be transferred across to the left hemisphere via the
corpus callosum for processing.
In the absence of eye movement monitoring we had to trust our participants
to fixate centrally, and to rely on the brief presentations to assert that
they could not have re-fixated in the time that the stimulus was on the
screen. We can also point to differences in the patterns of brain
activation we observed as indicating that we were successful on most
trials of the experiment in controlling presentation as we wanted to.
There are, however, people out there who could end up reviewing grant
applications for further work who get very animated about the need for
accurate fixation control in this kind of experiment. There are also two
strands of future research that may need more accurate monitoring. One is
work I would like to do following up Lisa Henderson's MSc project
comparing the responses of dyslexic and non-dyslexic students to words
presented in the left and right visual fields. The other is a project by
a PhD student of Richard Wise at Imperial College London , Zoe Woodhead (a
former undergraduate of ours), who want to use the York MEG system to look
at word recognition in patients with hemianopias following occipital
strokes. Both dyslexic and hemianopic participants may be assumed to have
greater difficulty controlling their fixation than 'normal' participants,
and good fixation control would be especially helpful for those studies.
It would also help with studies I would like to do in which words will be
presented centrally on the assumption that certain letters fall to the
left of fixation while other letters fall to the right.
What would be nice to have, then, is a way of ensuring that stimuli are
only displayed on the screen when a participant is fixating on, or close
to, a central fixation point. We normally offset the inner edge of our
stimuli by 1.5 degrees, so it would be good to define a central fixation
sphere with a radius of 0.5 degrees at 1 m distant from the participant,
and only to present the stimulus on a given trial when fixation is within
that sphere. So:
1. Would the resolution of the system allow us to know when someone is
fixating within a sphere that has a diameter of 1 degree at 1 metre
distance? Is a smaller resolution possible?
2. What would be the minimum time between registering that fixation is
within the defined region and a stimulus appearing on the screen? I want
to avoid suggestions that participants may have moved their eyes in the
interval between fixation being registered and the stimulus being
presented. It might help to present the stimulus after fixation has been
within the central sphere for a certain period of time in order to exclude
the possibility that participants were sweeping their eyes through the
sphere when presentation was triggered.
3. Richard Wise and Zoe Woodhead would be interested in a variant of this
procedure where a stimulus remains on the screen for as long as fixation
remains within the central region. This would allow more prolonger
presentation of stimuli to, for example, patients with hemianopias whose
processing of visual inputs may be relatively slow. I know that Richard
and Zoe have toyed with presenting "sentences" in one or other visual
field by displaying one word after another at the same position. That
would be OK to do if we could know that fixation remained central
throughout.
4. Finally, I gather from the meeting last night that only one eye is
monitored. There is quite a lot of discussion in the literature about how
often the two eyes focus on the same point, and how often there is either
'crossed' or 'uncrossed' fixation. We would need to think about this, and
whether we should, for example, put a patch over the unmonitored eye.
I am posting this on ynic-users because we were encouraged to do so. I am
hoping for a sober response from YNiC which is realistic about what could
and could not be done, any difficulties we may run into, and the time that
would be required to implement a system like this (assuming that it is
do-able). At the moment all I need to know is what could or could not be
achieved so that I can write that in confidence into grant applications.
Other people with an interest in vision and MEG (Silvia, Piers, Andy Y
etc) may want to chip in so that YNiC can get a fuller understanding of
what people would like to have in the way of intergrated fixation
monitoring and stimulus presentation.
Andy Ellis
19 Oct 2007
October 18th 4pm YNiC Open Plan
1. This autumn in YNiC - the programme
2. What is new and what has changed
3. Booking and the database
4. Ethics and governance
5. new tools
6. The support system explained
7. What is happening in YNiC - a look at the future
8. A discussion about users' needs and a new forum for getting
users involved
All welcome. Refreshments will be available.
--
Gary Green
York Neuroimaging Centre
The Biocentre
York Science Park
Innovation Way
Heslington
York
YO10 5DG
http://www.ynic.york.ac.uk
tel. 01904 435349
fax 01904 435356
mobile 07986 778954
You will probably be pleased to hear that MEG is now fully operational
again.
We have also taken time to get the system recalibrated, eye trackers
installed and a complete overhaul of the mechanics of the bed.
The noise level is lower as the source of the small electrical pulse
artefacts has been identified and removed.
All MEG channels are working.
The original problem was due to a faulty interface between the fibre
optics taking data out of the shielded room into the data acquisition
rack. The board has been replaced.
Bookings can now be taken for MEG.
You may also be pleased to hear that MRI has had a routine maintenance
and all is well.
happy scanning!
--
Gary Green
York Neuroimaging Centre
The Biocentre
York Science Park
Innovation Way
Heslington
York
YO10 5DG
http://www.ynic.york.ac.uk
tel. 01904 435349
fax 01904 435356
mobile 07986 778954
>
>
>Please bring this conference to the attention of colleagues who may
>be interested-
>
>BPS Division of Neuropsychology
>
>
>Visual Dysfunction and Cognition in Childhood
>
>This day conference will increase knowledge on psychological,
>neurological and neurobiological systems involved in vision and
>visual defects of brain and peripheral optic pathways. it will also
>increase knowledge on brain:cognition relationships and cognitive
>patterns associated with visual defects, including spatial
>cognition, and severe visual impairment. The conference introduces
>the latest theory and practice in these areas, including clinical
>assessment and interpretation of cognitive development and disorders
>in children with severe visual impairment.
>
>Date: 30 October 2007
>
>
>Who should attend?
>
>This event is open to clinical or educational practitioners or
>researchers in child neuropsychology, clinical child psychology,
>paediatric, neurology, occupational therapists and related
>neuroscience disciplines. Relevant to practitioners and researchers.
>
>
>Programme
>
>09:30 Registration & Refreshments
>
>10:00 Two visual systems: agnosia, optic ataxia & neglect
>
>Professor David Milner (Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience,
>University of Durham): Co-author of Sight Unseen (winner of the BPS
>Book Award)
>
>11:15 Refreshments
>
>11:30 Neurobiological models of visual-spatial deficits in childhood
>
>Professor Janette Atkinson (Director of Visual Development Unit:
>University College London/ Oxford University): Author of The
>Developing Visual Brain
>
>12:45 Lunch
>
>14:00 Visual impairment and cognition: neurodevelopmental issues
>
>Dr Naomi Dale (Head of Psychology (Neurodisability), Great Ormond
>Street Hospital/ UCL Institute of Child Health): Co-lead in
>developing the governmental Early Support Developmental Journal for
>parents and children with VI
>
>14:45 Refreshments
>
>15:00 Visual impairment and cognition: clinical assessment and
>interpretation
>
>Dr Naomi Dale (Head of Psychology (Neurodisability), Great Ormond
>Street Hospital/ UCL Institute of Child Health): Co-lead in
>developing the governmental Early Support Developmental Journal for
>parents and children with VI
>
>15:45 Concluding Remarks
>
>
>Speakers
>
>Professor David Milner (University of Durham): Co-author of Sight
>Unseen (winner of the BPS Book Award)
>
>Professor Janette Atkinson (University College London/ Oxford
>University): Author of The Developing Visual Brain
>
>Dr Naomi Dale (Great Ormond Street Hospital/ UCL Institute of Child
>Health): Co-lead in developing the governmental Early Support
>Developmental Journal for parents and children with VI.
>Location Directions
>UCL Institute of Child Health, London
>
>For further details click here-
>http://www.ich.ucl.ac.uk/education/short_courses/courses/2S18
>
>---------------------------------------------
>COGNEURO archives and subscription manager can be found at
>http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/COGNEURO.HTML
>---------------------------------------------
>List owner's email address: COGNEURO-request(a)jiscmail.ac.uk
--
Professor Andy Ellis
Department of Psychology
University of York
York YO10 5DD
England
Tel. +44 (0)1904 433140
http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/psych/www/people/biogs/awe1.html
Attached is the 'draft' programme for YNiC Thursday evening seminars for
the autumn and early winter.
The current plan is that after Christmas the seminars would mainly
consist of invited speakers, internal speakers and journal club.
The third term would be devoted to people giving talks about work that
has been or is about to be published from YNiC projects.
ALL comments are welcome. Your ideas are absolutely essential to running
a Centre that will make imaging research possible and fun for all.
Please send your comments to me, Sam Johnson
(science.manager(a)ynic.york.ac.uk) or Tony Morland
(a.morland(a)psych.york.ac.uk)
Gary
--
Gary Green
York Neuroimaging Centre
The Biocentre
York Science Park
Innovation Way
Heslington
York
YO10 5DG
http://www.ynic.york.ac.uk
tel. 01904 435349
fax 01904 435356
mobile 07986 778954
Today we have two new project presentations (Thursday the
20th at 4pm in YNiC Open Plan)
Project presentations will be made by
Professor P. O'Higgins. HYMS. Scalp and head reconstruction from MRI.
Dr. T. Jellema, University of Hull, Department of Psychology. Imaging in
Autism.
We will also announce what is being discussed for YNiC for the autumn
term. Do come along and discuss training requirements, seminars and any
other issues you would like to see scheduled for a Thursday afternoon.
All welcome. refreshments will be available.
--
Gary Green
York Neuroimaging Centre
The Biocentre
York Science Park
Innovation Way
Heslington
York
YO10 5DG
http://www.ynic.york.ac.uk
tel. 01904 435349
fax 01904 435356
mobile 07986 778954
We are currently planning the Thursday evening sessions and other
training sessions for next term. If you have any thoughts or ideas we
would be keen to hear your views. The main sessions will start on the
18th of October.
This week though we have two new project presentations (Thursday the
20th at 4pm in YNiC Open Plan)
Project presentations will be made by
Professor P. O'Higgins. HYMS. Scalp and head reconstruction from MRI.
Dr. T. Jellema, University of Hull, Department of Psychology. Imaging in
Autism.
We will also announce what is being discussed for YNiC for the autumn
term. Do come along and discuss training requirements, seminars and any
other issues you would like to see scheduled for a Thursday afternoon.
We will circulate the draft timetable and ask for comments by email as well.
All welcome. refreshments will be available.
--
Gary Green
York Neuroimaging Centre
The Biocentre
York Science Park
Innovation Way
Heslington
York
YO10 5DG
http://www.ynic.york.ac.uk
tel. 01904 435349
fax 01904 435356
mobile 07986 778954
I am sorry to say that MEG is still unavailable. 4D are working on the
problem and believe that they have determined the cause. We expect an
engineer to visit this week and ti make adjustments to the main power
supplies to the system.
As soon as MEG is available I will let you know.
MRI is working fine
Gary
--
Gary Green
York Neuroimaging Centre
The Biocentre
York Science Park
Innovation Way
Heslington
York
YO10 5DG
http://www.ynic.york.ac.uk
tel. 01904 435349
fax 01904 435356
mobile 07986 778954