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Glaudo M, Urbach M, Panfil C, Herkert S, Brown M, Schrage N. A Novel Ex Vivo Blinking Method for Comparing the Corneal Residence Time of New Shampoo Formulations. Altern Lab Anim 2024; 52:149-154. [PMID: 38606566 DOI: 10.1177/02611929241245723] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
In the cosmetics sector, many products such as shampoos have a probability of accidental ocular exposure during their routine use. One very specific safety parameter is the residence time of the substance on the corneal surface, as prolonged exposure may cause injury. In this study, we developed a system that simulates corneal exposure to blinking and tear flow, for comparing the corneal clearance times of viscous detergent formulations. The Ex Vivo Eye Irritation Test (EVEIT), which uses corneal explants from discarded rabbit eyes from an abattoir, was used as the basis for the new system. To simulate blinking, we developed a silicone wiping membrane to regularly move across the corneal surface, under conditions of constant addition and aspiration of fluid, to mimic tear flow. Six shampoo formulations were tested and were shown to differ widely in their corneal clearance time. Three groups could be identified according to the observed clearance times (fast, intermediate and slow); the reference shampoo had the shortest clearance time of all tested formulations. With this new system, it is now possible to investigate an important physicochemical parameter, i.e. corneal clearance time, for the consideration of ocular safety during the development of novel cosmetic formulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Markus Glaudo
- Aachen Centre of Technology Transfer in Ophthalmology (ACTO e.V.), Aachen, Germany
| | - Marc Urbach
- Aachen Centre of Technology Transfer in Ophthalmology (ACTO e.V.), Aachen, Germany
- ACTO Service GmbH, Aachen, Germany
| | - Claudia Panfil
- Aachen Centre of Technology Transfer in Ophthalmology (ACTO e.V.), Aachen, Germany
| | | | - Mark Brown
- Procter & Gamble Company, Mason, OH, USA
| | - Norbert Schrage
- Aachen Centre of Technology Transfer in Ophthalmology (ACTO e.V.), Aachen, Germany
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2
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Pitigoi IC, Coe BC, Calancie OG, Brien DC, Yep R, Riek HC, Kirkpatrick RH, Noyes BK, White BJ, Blohm G, Munoz DP. Attentional modulation of eye blinking is altered by sex, age, and task structure. eNeuro 2024; 11:ENEURO.0296-23.2024. [PMID: 38331578 PMCID: PMC10915461 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0296-23.2024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2023] [Revised: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Spontaneous eye blinking is gaining popularity as a proxy for higher cognitive functions, as it is readily modulated by both environmental demands and internal processes. Prior studies were impoverished in sample size, sex representation and age distribution, making it difficult to establish a complete picture of the behavior. Here we present eye-tracking data from a large cohort of normative participants (n=604, 393 F, aged 5-93 years) performing two tasks: one with structured, discrete trials (interleaved pro/anti-saccade task; IPAST) and one with a less structured, continuous organization in which participants watch movies (free-viewing; FV). Sex- and age-based analyses revealed that females had higher blink rates between the ages of 22 and 58 years in the IPAST, and 22 and 34 years in FV. We derived a continuous measure of blink probability to reveal behavioral changes driven by stimulus appearance in both paradigms. In the IPAST, blinks were suppressed near stimulus appearance, particularly on correct anti-saccade trials, which we attribute to the stronger inhibitory control required for anti-saccades compared to pro-saccades. In FV, blink suppression occurred immediately after scene changes, and the effect was sustained on scenes where gaze clustered among participants (indicating engagement of attention). Females were more likely than males to blink during appearance of novel stimuli in both tasks, but only within the age bin of 18-44 years. The consistency of blink patterns in each paradigm endorses blinking as a sensitive index for changes in visual processing and attention, while sex and age differences drive interindividual variability.Significance Statement Eye-tracking is becoming useful as a non-invasive tool for detecting preclinical markers of neurological and psychiatric disease. Blinks are understudied despite being an important supplement to saccade and pupil eye-tracking metrics. The present study is a crucial step in developing a healthy baseline for blink behavior to compare to clinical groups. While many prior blink studies suffered from small sample sizes with relatively low age- and sex-diversity (review by Jongkees & Colzato, 2016), our large cohort of healthy participants has permitted a more detailed analysis of sex and age effects in blink behavior. Furthermore, our analysis techniques are robust to temporal changes in blink probability, greatly clarifying the relationship between blinking, visual processing, and inhibitory control mechanisms on visual tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabell C Pitigoi
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada K7L 3N6
| | - Brian C Coe
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada K7L 3N6
| | - Olivia G Calancie
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada K7L 3N6
| | - Donald C Brien
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada K7L 3N6
| | - Rachel Yep
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada K7L 3N6
| | - Heidi C Riek
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada K7L 3N6
| | - Ryan H Kirkpatrick
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada K7L 3N6
| | - Blake K Noyes
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada K7L 3N6
| | - Brian J White
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada K7L 3N6
| | - Gunnar Blohm
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada K7L 3N6
| | - Douglas P Munoz
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada K7L 3N6
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3
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Raihani NJ, Kamboj SK, Peniket MJ, Norman J, Ozturk OC, Iskandar G, Bell V. The effects of paranoia and dopamine on perception of cohesion and conspiracy: a pre-registered, double-blind, placebo-controlled experiment. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2024; 241:195-205. [PMID: 37848635 PMCID: PMC10774203 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-023-06476-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 10/19/2023]
Abstract
Paranoia is a common symptom of psychotic disorders but is also present on a spectrum of severity in the general population. Although paranoia is associated with an increased tendency to perceive cohesion and conspiracy within groups, the mechanistic basis of this variation remains unclear. One potential avenue involves the brain's dopaminergic system, which is known to be altered in psychosis. In this study, we used large-N online samples to establish the association between trait paranoia and perceptions of cohesion and conspiracy. We further evaluated the role of dopamine on perceptions of cohesion and conspiracy using a double-blind, placebo-controlled laboratory experiment where participants received levodopa or a placebo control. Our results were mixed: group perceptions and perceptions of cohesion were higher among more paranoid individuals but were not altered under dopamine administration. We outline the potential reasons for these discrepancies and the broader implications for understanding paranoia in terms of dopamine dysregulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- N J Raihani
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, 26 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AP, UK.
- School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
| | - S K Kamboj
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, Department of Clinical, Educational & Health Psychology, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, WC1E 7HB, London, UK
| | - M J Peniket
- Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit, Department of Clinical, Educational & Health Psychology, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, WC1E 7HB, London, UK
| | - J Norman
- Department of Clinical, Educational & Health Psychology, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, WC1E 7HB, London, UK
| | - O C Ozturk
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, 26 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AP, UK
| | - G Iskandar
- Department of Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, UCLH, London, UK
| | - V Bell
- Department of Clinical, Educational & Health Psychology, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, WC1E 7HB, London, UK
- South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
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4
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Callara AL, Greco A, Scilingo EP, Bonfiglio L. Neuronal correlates of eyeblinks are an expression of primary consciousness phenomena. Sci Rep 2023; 13:12617. [PMID: 37537328 PMCID: PMC10400571 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39500-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 08/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The blinking rate far exceeds that required for moistening the cornea and changes depending on whether a person is resting or engaged in cognitive tasks. During ecological cognitive tasks (such as speaking, reading, and watching videos), blinks occur at breakpoints of attention suggesting a role in information segmentation, but the close relationship between cognition dynamics and blink timing still escapes a full understanding. The aim of the present study is to seek (1) if there is a temporal relationship between blink events and the consecutive steps of cognitive processing, and (2) if blink timing and the intensity of blink-related EEG responses are affected by task-relevance of stimuli. Our results show that, in a classical visual oddball task, (i) the occurrence of blinks is influenced by stimuli, irrespective of their relevance, (ii) blinks following relevant stimuli are only apparently delayed due to the need of finalizing a behavioural response, and (iii) stimulus relevance does not affect the intensity of the blink-related EEG response. This evidence reinforce the idea that blinks are not emitted until the last step of the processing sequence has been completed and suggests that blink-related EEG responses are generated by primary consciousness phenomena which are considered by their nature non-modulable (all-or-nothing) phenomena.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Luis Callara
- Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell'Informazione, University of Pisa, Via G. Caruso 16, 56122, Pisa, Italy
- Research Center "E. Piaggio", University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino 1, 56122, Pisa, Italy
| | - Alberto Greco
- Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell'Informazione, University of Pisa, Via G. Caruso 16, 56122, Pisa, Italy
- Research Center "E. Piaggio", University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino 1, 56122, Pisa, Italy
| | - Enzo Pasquale Scilingo
- Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell'Informazione, University of Pisa, Via G. Caruso 16, 56122, Pisa, Italy
- Research Center "E. Piaggio", University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino 1, 56122, Pisa, Italy
| | - Luca Bonfiglio
- Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
- Unit of Developmental Neurorehabilitation, Maternal and Child Department, Pisa University Hospital, Pisa, Italy.
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Brunyé TT, Drew T, Kerr KF, Shucard H, Powell K, Weaver DL, Elmore JG. Zoom behavior during visual search modulates pupil diameter and reflects adaptive control states. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0282616. [PMID: 36893083 PMCID: PMC9997932 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0282616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2022] [Accepted: 02/19/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Adaptive gain theory proposes that the dynamic shifts between exploration and exploitation control states are modulated by the locus coeruleus-norepinephrine system and reflected in tonic and phasic pupil diameter. This study tested predictions of this theory in the context of a societally important visual search task: the review and interpretation of digital whole slide images of breast biopsies by physicians (pathologists). As these medical images are searched, pathologists encounter difficult visual features and intermittently zoom in to examine features of interest. We propose that tonic and phasic pupil diameter changes during image review may correspond to perceived difficulty and dynamic shifts between exploration and exploitation control states. To examine this possibility, we monitored visual search behavior and tonic and phasic pupil diameter while pathologists (N = 89) interpreted 14 digital images of breast biopsy tissue (1,246 total images reviewed). After viewing the images, pathologists provided a diagnosis and rated the level of difficulty of the image. Analyses of tonic pupil diameter examined whether pupil dilation was associated with pathologists' difficulty ratings, diagnostic accuracy, and experience level. To examine phasic pupil diameter, we parsed continuous visual search data into discrete zoom-in and zoom-out events, including shifts from low to high magnification (e.g., 1× to 10×) and the reverse. Analyses examined whether zoom-in and zoom-out events were associated with phasic pupil diameter change. Results demonstrated that tonic pupil diameter was associated with image difficulty ratings and zoom level, and phasic pupil diameter showed constriction upon zoom-in events, and dilation immediately preceding a zoom-out event. Results are interpreted in the context of adaptive gain theory, information gain theory, and the monitoring and assessment of physicians' diagnostic interpretive processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tad T. Brunyé
- Center for Applied Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Tufts University, Medford, MA, United States of America
| | - Trafton Drew
- Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States of America
| | - Kathleen F. Kerr
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States of America
| | - Hannah Shucard
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States of America
| | - Kate Powell
- Center for Applied Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Tufts University, Medford, MA, United States of America
| | - Donald L. Weaver
- Department of Pathology, University of Vermont and Vermont Cancer Center, Burlington, VT, United States of America
| | - Joann G. Elmore
- David Geffen School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
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6
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Demiral ŞB, Kure Liu C, Benveniste H, Tomasi D, Volkow ND. Activation of brain arousal networks coincident with eye blinks during resting state. Cereb Cortex 2023:6991186. [PMID: 36653022 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhad001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Revised: 12/27/2022] [Accepted: 12/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Eye-blinking has been implicated in arousal and attention. Here we test the hypothesis that blinking-moments represent arousal surges associated with activation of the ascending arousal network (AAN) and its thalamic projections. For this purpose, we explored the temporal relationship between eye-blinks and fMRI BOLD activity in AAN and thalamic nuclei, as well as whole brain cluster corrected activations during eyes-open, resting-state fMRI scanning. We show that BOLD activations in the AAN nuclei peaked prior to the eye blinks and in thalamic nuclei peaked prior to and during the blink, consistent with the role of eye blinking in arousal surges. Additionally, we showed visual cortex peak activation prior to the eye blinks, providing further evidence of the visual cortex's role in arousal, and document cerebellar peak activation post eye blinks, which might reflect downstream engagement from arousal surges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Şükrü Barış Demiral
- Laboratory of Neuroimaging, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda 20892, MD, USA
| | - Christopher Kure Liu
- Laboratory of Neuroimaging, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda 20892, MD, USA
| | - Helene Benveniste
- Department of Anesthesiology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Dardo Tomasi
- Laboratory of Neuroimaging, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda 20892, MD, USA
| | - Nora D Volkow
- Laboratory of Neuroimaging, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda 20892, MD, USA.,National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
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7
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Abstract
For over 100 years, eye movements have been studied and used as indicators of human sensory and cognitive functions. This review evaluates how eye movements contribute to our understanding of the processes that underlie decision-making. Eye movement metrics signify the visual and task contexts in which information is accumulated and weighed. They indicate the efficiency with which we evaluate the instructions for decision tasks, the timing and duration of decision formation, the expected reward associated with a decision, the accuracy of the decision outcome, and our ability to predict and feel confident about a decision. Because of their continuous nature, eye movements provide an exciting opportunity to probe decision processes noninvasively in real time. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Vision Science, Volume 8 is September 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miriam Spering
- Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences and the Djavad Mowafaghian Center for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada;
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8
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Ortega J, Plaska CR, Gomes BA, Ellmore TM. Spontaneous Eye Blink Rate During the Working Memory Delay Period Predicts Task Accuracy. Front Psychol 2022; 13:788231. [PMID: 35242077 PMCID: PMC8886217 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.788231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 01/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Spontaneous eye blink rate (sEBR) has been linked to attention and memory, specifically working memory (WM). sEBR is also related to striatal dopamine (DA) activity with schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease showing increases and decreases, respectively, in sEBR. A weakness of past studies of sEBR and WM is that correlations have been reported using blink rates taken at baseline either before or after performance of the tasks used to assess WM. The goal of the present study was to understand how fluctuations in sEBR during different phases of a visual WM task predict task accuracy. In two experiments, with recordings of sEBR collected inside and outside of a magnetic resonance imaging bore, we observed sEBR to be positively correlated with WM task accuracy during the WM delay period. We also found task-related modulation of sEBR, including higher sEBR during the delay period compared to rest, and lower sEBR during task phases (e.g., stimulus encoding) that place demands on visual attention. These results provide further evidence that sEBR could be an important predictor of WM task performance with the changes during the delay period suggesting a role in WM maintenance. The relationship of sEBR to DA activity and WM maintenance is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jefferson Ortega
- Department of Psychology, The City College of the City University of New York, New York, NY, United States
| | - Chelsea Reichert Plaska
- Department of Psychology, The City College of the City University of New York, New York, NY, United States.,Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Program, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, NY, United States
| | - Bernard A Gomes
- Department of Neurosurgery, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Timothy M Ellmore
- Department of Psychology, The City College of the City University of New York, New York, NY, United States.,Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience Program, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, New York, NY, United States
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9
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Ratiu I, Fissel-Brannick S, Whiting M, Murnion L, Azuma T. The impact of mild traumatic brain injury on reading comprehension and eye movements: preliminary results. JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION DISORDERS 2022; 96:106197. [PMID: 35151226 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2022.106197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2021] [Revised: 12/21/2021] [Accepted: 02/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Individuals who sustain a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) can suffer from executive function, working memory, and attention deficits, which can impact functional task performance, including reading comprehension. Individuals with mTBI commonly report reading difficulties, but such difficulties have been historically difficult to capture using behavioral measures. The current study examined reading performance in those with and without mTBI using eye-tracking measures, which may be more sensitive to reading impairment in mTBI. METHOD/RESULTS In Experiment 1, 26 participants with a history of mTBI and 26 healthy control participants completed working memory (WM) and reading comprehension tasks. We found no differences in behavioral measures but found that spontaneous eye-blinking frequency was lower during the reading task in the mTBI group. In Experiment 2, we explored the impact of auditory distraction (e.g., multi-talker babble) on reading and memory performance. Twenty-three new participants with a history of mTBI and 26 healthy control participants completed a short-term memory (STM) task, a WM task, and a reading comprehension task under two distraction conditions. As in Experiment 1, we found no differences on behavioral measures, but observed significant differences on spontaneous eye-blinking frequency between those with and without mTBI. Group differences in distraction effects were also observed and performance on the WM task predicted reading comprehension performance. CONCLUSIONS The lack of differences on behavioral measures between groups, but lower frequencies of spontaneous eye blinking in the mTBI group suggests that while these individuals successfully completed the reading comprehension task, they may require more cognitive resources to do so.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ileana Ratiu
- Midwestern University, USA; Arizona State University, USA.
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10
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Shahbakhti M, Beiramvand M, Rejer I, Augustyniak P, Broniec-Wojcik A, Wierzchon M, Marozas V. Simultaneous Eye Blink Characterization and Elimination from Low-Channel Prefrontal EEG Signals Enhances Driver Drowsiness Detection. IEEE J Biomed Health Inform 2021; 26:1001-1012. [PMID: 34260361 DOI: 10.1109/jbhi.2021.3096984] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Blink-related features derived from electroencephalography (EEG) have recently arisen as a meaningful measure of drivers cognitive state. Combined with band power features of low-channel prefrontal EEG data, blink-derived features enhance the detection of driver drowsiness. Yet, it remains unanswered whether synergy of combined blink and EEG band power features for the detection of driver drowsiness may be further boosted if a proper eye blink removal is also applied before EEG analysis. This paper proposes an algorithm for simultaneous eye blink feature extraction and elimination from low-channel prefrontal EEG data. METHODS Firstly, eye blink intervals (EBIs) are identified from the Fp1 EEG channel using variational mode extraction, and then blink-related features are derived. Secondly, the identified EBIs are projected to the rest of EEG channels and then filtered by a combination of principal component analysis and discrete wavelet transform. Thirdly, a support vector machine with 10-fold cross-validation is employed to classify alert and drowsy states from the derived blink and filtered EEG band power features. MAIN RESULTS When compared the synergy of eye blink and EEG features before and after filtering by the proposed algorithm, a significant improvement in the mean accuracy of driver drowsiness detection was achieved (71.2% vs. 78.1%, p<0.05). SIGNIFICANCE This paper validates a novel view of eye blinks as both a source of information and artifacts in EEG-based driver drowsiness detection.
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11
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Simkute D, Nagula I, Tarailis P, Burkauskas J, Griskova-Bulanova I. Internet Usage Habits and Experienced Levels of Psychopathology: A Pilot Study on Association with Spontaneous Eye Blinking Rate. J Pers Med 2021; 11:288. [PMID: 33918557 PMCID: PMC8068990 DOI: 10.3390/jpm11040288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2021] [Revised: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Increasing availability of the internet has resulted in the increased prevalence of problematic online behaviors. Reliable and affordable neurobiological and psychological biomarkers that distinguish problematic internet use (PIU) from functional online activities are of utmost importance. Previous studies have shown a relationship between spontaneous eye blinking rate (sEBR) and changes in dopamine regulation in neurological and psychiatric disorders, including substance use disorders. In this study, we utilized sEBR to examine the potential link between individual differences in dopaminergic neurotransmission and PIU. In sum, 62 subjects participated in this study (median age 25, IQR 6 years, 34 females). The Problematic Internet Use Questionnaire (PIUQ-9), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Clark-Beck Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory (CBOCI) and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) were used for psychological assessment. The sEBRs were assessed with an electrooculogram recorded from above and below the left eye and from the right and left outer canthi. The group with PIU (PIUQ-9 > 20) expressed higher levels of impulsivity and compulsive behavior symptoms than the control group. In the group with PIU, impulsivity levels were inversely related to sEBR, and a trend of negative association of sEBR with compulsive behavior was observed. Future research should enroll subjects with high levels of PIU and strongly expressed psychopathology levels to further address the utility of sEBR as a potential biomarker.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dovile Simkute
- Institute of Biosciences, Life Sciences Centre, Vilnius University, Sauletekio Av. 7, LT-10257 Vilnius, Lithuania; (D.S.); (I.N.); (P.T.)
| | - Igor Nagula
- Institute of Biosciences, Life Sciences Centre, Vilnius University, Sauletekio Av. 7, LT-10257 Vilnius, Lithuania; (D.S.); (I.N.); (P.T.)
| | - Povilas Tarailis
- Institute of Biosciences, Life Sciences Centre, Vilnius University, Sauletekio Av. 7, LT-10257 Vilnius, Lithuania; (D.S.); (I.N.); (P.T.)
| | - Julius Burkauskas
- Laboratory of Behavioral Medicine, Neuroscience Institute, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Vyduno Str. 4, LT-00135 Palanga, Lithuania;
| | - Inga Griskova-Bulanova
- Institute of Biosciences, Life Sciences Centre, Vilnius University, Sauletekio Av. 7, LT-10257 Vilnius, Lithuania; (D.S.); (I.N.); (P.T.)
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12
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Chen HY, Dix A, Goh JOS, Smolka MN, Thurm F, Li SC. Effects and mechanisms of information saliency in enhancing value-based decision-making in younger and older adults. Neurobiol Aging 2020; 99:86-98. [PMID: 33422897 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2020.11.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2019] [Revised: 10/12/2020] [Accepted: 11/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Aging attenuates frontostriatal network functioning, which could lead to deficits in value computation when decision-making involves uncertainty. Although it has been shown that visually enhancing information saliency of outcome probability can improve decision-making in old age, mechanisms of this effect are still unclear. In the present study, the saliency of outcome probability was increased using a color-coding scheme as a decision aid in a mixed lottery choice task, and spontaneous eye-blink rate and pupillary responses were assessed in younger and older adults. Older adults showed lower value sensitivity than younger adults; however, increasing information saliency benefitted choice behaviors in both age groups. Furthermore, the decision aid reduced pupil size during decision-making in both age groups, suggesting that enhancing information saliency decreases cognitive demands of value computation. Baseline value sensitivity was negatively correlated with benefit of enhancing information saliency only in older adults. As value representations in older decision makers are less distinctive at baseline, they may have required more environmental compensation than younger adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hsiang-Yu Chen
- Chair of Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
| | - Annika Dix
- Chair of Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany; Chair of Engineering Psychology and Applied Cognitive Research, Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany; Centre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop (CeTI), Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Joshua Oon Soo Goh
- Graduate Institute of Brain and Mind Sciences, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Michael N Smolka
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Franka Thurm
- Chair of Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Shu-Chen Li
- Chair of Lifespan Developmental Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany; Centre for Tactile Internet with Human-in-the-Loop (CeTI), Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
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