• Title/Summary/Keyword: sensory information

Search Result 657, Processing Time 0.026 seconds

Neural Activation in the Somatosensory Cortex by Electrotactile Stimulation of the Fingers: A Human fMRI Study

  • Seok, Ji-Woo;Jang, Un-Jung;Sohn, Jin-Hun
    • Journal of the Ergonomics Society of Korea
    • /
    • v.33 no.5
    • /
    • pp.395-405
    • /
    • 2014
  • Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate 1) somatotopic arrangement of the second and third fingers in SI area 2) difference of neural activation in the SI area produced by stimulation with different frequencies 3) correlation between the intensity of tactile perception by different stimulus intensity and the level of brain activation measurable by means of fMRI. Background: Somatosensory cortex can obtain the information of environmental stimuli about "where" (e.g., on the left palm), "what" (e.g., a book or a dog), and "how" (e.g., scrub gently or scrub roughly) to organism. However, compared to visual sense, the neural mechanism underlying the processing of specific electrotactile stimulus is still unknown. Method: 10 right-handed subjects participated in this study. Non-painful electrotactile stimuli were delivered to two different finger tips of right hand. Functional brain images were collected from 3.0T MRI using the single-shot EPI method. The scanning parameters were as follows: TR and TE were 3000, 35ms, respectively, flip angle 60, FOV $24{\times}24cm$, matrix size $64{\times}64$, slice thickness 4mm (no gap). SPM5 was used to analyze the fMRI data. Results: Significant activations produced by the stimulation were found in the SI, SII, the subcentral gyrus, the precentral gyrus, and the insula. In all participants, statistically significant activation was observed in the contralateral SI area and the bilateral SII areas by the stimulation on the fingers but ipsilaterally dominant. The SI area representing the second finger generally located in the more lateral and inferior side than that of the third finger across all the subjects. But no difference in brain area was found for the stimulation of the fingers by different frequencies. And two typical patterns were observed on the relationship between the perceived psychological intensity and the amount of voxels in the primary sensory cortex during the stimulation. Conclusion: It was possible to discriminate the representation sites in the SI by electrotactile stimulation of digit2 and digit3. But we could not find the differences of the brain areas according to different stimulation frequencies from 3 to 300Hz. Application: The results of the study can provide a deeper understanding of somatosensory cortex and offer the information for tactile display for blinds.

Effects of Prenatal and Restraint Stress on Astrocytes of Amygdala Complex of Rat: I. Effects on the Astrocytic Cell Body (출생 전 스트레스와 감금 스트레스가 흰쥐 편도복합체 별아교세포에 미치는 영향: I. 별아교세포의 세포체에 미치는 영향)

  • Lee, Ji-Yong;Choi, Byoung-Young;Kim, Dong-Heui;Jung, Won-Sug;Cho, Byung-Pil;Yang, Young-Chul
    • Applied Microscopy
    • /
    • v.38 no.3
    • /
    • pp.213-219
    • /
    • 2008
  • The plasticity of nervous system is generated not only due to changes in neurons but also due to changes in neuroglial cells. Astrocyte is important for maintaining the normal brain function and controlling the neuronal functions. The amygdala receives an array of important sensory information of danger signals. This information is further transduced and integrated to produce the highly adaptive emotion, fear. In this study, morphometric changes in the cell bodies of astrocytes in the amygdala, induced by prenatal stress and restraint stress were examined. For this purpose. rats were classified into 4 groups; control group (CON), only restraint-stressed (starting on P90 for 3 days) group (CONR), prenatally-stressed group (PNS), and prenatally and restraint (on P90 for 3 days) stressed group (PNSR). Astrocytes were verified with anti-GFAP immunohistochemistry, counter stained with methylene blue/azure II and were examined using the Neurolucida. Results showed that astrocytes in the amygdala of PNS rats had significantly larger cell bodies than did CON rats and this was enhanced further by restraint stress. Thus this data showed that hypertrophy of the astrocytic cell bodies of amygdala complex is induced by prenatal and restraint stress.

Survey and Analysis of the Audio Description Acceptance for Improving the Media Accessibility of the Visually Impaired (시각장애인 미디어접근권 향상을 위한 해설오디오 수용도 조사 및 분석)

  • Jang, Inseon;Ahn, ChungHyun;Seo, Jeongil;Lee, Eun Ha;Kang, Wan Sic
    • Journal of Broadcast Engineering
    • /
    • v.22 no.2
    • /
    • pp.214-233
    • /
    • 2017
  • For people with physical or sensory limitations, broadcasting is the main means of information acquisition and leisure. Recently, changes in the media environment, such as convergence of broadcasting and communication, digital mobile conversion of broadcasting, and active media usage behavior of users, make broadcasting accessibility of the disabled difficult, and as a result, the information gap between the disabled and the non-disabled is increasing. A notice on broadcasting rights for the disabled was enacted in consequence of the amendment of the Broadcasting Law in July 2011 and the web accessibility guideline became more effective with the amendment of the National Informatization Act in 2013 so that legal basis for the right of media access for the disabled was established. However, media services for them are still lacking quantitatively and qualitatively. In this study, we describe the present status of the audio description service for the visually impaired, and analyze the results of the questionnaire survey on the usage status, satisfaction and improvement requirements of the audio description service for 100 visually impaired people.

Effects of Supplementation with Needles of Pinus densiflora on the Fermentation Characteristics of Honey Wine (솔잎 첨가 벌꿀주의 발효 특성)

  • Lee, Je-Hyuk;Han, Woo-Cheul;Kim, In-Chul;Cheong, Chul;Kang, Soon-Ah;Jang, Ki-Hyo
    • Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
    • /
    • v.21 no.3
    • /
    • pp.353-359
    • /
    • 2011
  • The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of supplementation with the needles of Pinus densiflora on the fermentation characteristics of honey wine (Pinus densiflora-honey wine). Honey without supplementation with needles of Pinus densiflora (honey wine) was included as a control. Physiochemical changes were investigated during 30 days of fermentation at $20^{\circ}C$, and following aging. At the beginning of fermentation, pH and viable cell counts of Pinus densiflora-honey wine changed rapidly, while $^{\circ}Bx$ decreased gradually. Viable yeast counts reached maximum levels at 5 to 10 days of fermentation. At day 0, the pH of Pinus densiflora-honey wine was 3.8, while the non-supplemented honey wine had a pH of 3.4. Decease in $^{\circ}Bx$ was faster in Pinus densiflora-honey wine than in non-supplemented honey wine. Supplementation of honey with needles of Pinus densiflora prior to fermentation shifted the initial pH to a more neutral pH, and the presence of Pinus densiflora needles increased the fermentation speed. The final $^{\circ}Bx$, pH, ethanol content, and total titratable acidity of Pinus densiflora-honey wine were $13.7^{\circ}Bx$, pH 3.05, 13.5%, and 0.37%, respectively. A sensory evaluation demonstrated that addition of 4% (w/v) fructose to honey wine supplemented with neddles of Pinus densiflora raised the level of product acceptability.

The Development of Robot and Augmented Reality Based Contents and Instructional Model Supporting Childrens' Dramatic Play (로봇과 증강현실 기반의 유아 극놀이 콘텐츠 및 교수.학습 모형 개발)

  • Jo, Miheon;Han, Jeonghye;Hyun, Eunja
    • Journal of The Korean Association of Information Education
    • /
    • v.17 no.4
    • /
    • pp.421-432
    • /
    • 2013
  • The purpose of this study is to develop contents and an instructional model that support children's dramatic play by integrating the robot and augmented reality technology. In order to support the dramatic play, the robot shows various facial expressions and actions, serves as a narrator and a sound manager, supports the simultaneous interaction by using the camera and recognizing the markers and children's motions, records children's activities as a photo and a video that can be used for further activities. The robot also uses a projector to allow children to directly interact with the video object. On the other hand, augmented reality offers a variety of character changes and props, and allows various effects of background and foreground. Also it allows natural interaction between the contents and children through the real-type interface, and provides the opportunities for the interaction between actors and audiences. Along with these, augmented reality provides an experience-based learning environment that induces a sensory immersion by allowing children to manipulate or choose the learning situation and experience the results. In addition, the instructional model supporting dramatic play consists of 4 stages(i.e., teachers' preparation, introducing and understanding a story, action plan and play, evaluation and wrapping up). At each stage, detailed activities to decide or proceed are suggested.

Learning for Environment and Behavior Pattern Using Recurrent Modular Neural Network Based on Estimated Emotion (감정평가에 기반한 환경과 행동패턴 학습을 위한 궤환 모듈라 네트워크)

  • Kim, Seong-Joo;Choi, Woo-Kyung;Kim, Yong-Min;Jeon, Hong-Tae
    • Journal of the Korean Institute of Intelligent Systems
    • /
    • v.14 no.1
    • /
    • pp.9-14
    • /
    • 2004
  • Rational sense is affected by emotion. If we add the factor of estimated emotion by environment information into robots, we may get more intelligent and human-friendly robots. However, various sensory information and pattern classification are prescribed for robots to learn emotion so that the networks are suitable for the necessity of robots. Neural network has superior ability to extract character of system but neural network has defect of temporal cross talk and local minimum convergence. To solve the defects, many kinds of modular neural networks have been proposed because they divide a complex problem into simple several subproblems. The modular neural network, introduced by Jacobs and Jordan, shows an excellent ability of recomposition and recombination of complex work. On the other hand, the recurrent network acquires state representations and representations of state make the recurrent neural network suitable for diverse applications such as nonlinear prediction and modeling. In this paper, we applied recurrent network for the expert network in the modular neural network structure to learn data pattern based on emotional assessment. To show the performance of the proposed network, simulation of learning the environment and behavior pattern is proceeded with the real time implementation. The given problem is very complex and has too many cases to learn. The result will show the performance and good ability of the proposed network and will be compared with the result of other method, general modular neural network.

A Study on Rehabilitation Treatment Using Radiofrequency Treatment (고주파 통증치료기를 이용한 재활 치료에 대한 연구)

  • Jo, Jae-Hyun;Lee, Sang-Yong;Lee, Geun-Yong;Yoon, Se-Jin;Cheong, Ha-Young;Lee, Sang-Sik
    • The Journal of Korea Institute of Information, Electronics, and Communication Technology
    • /
    • v.13 no.3
    • /
    • pp.212-218
    • /
    • 2020
  • When Radiofrequency energy is applied to the human body, the vibration width is very short. Therefore, the electrolyte burn generated when using the direct current does not occur. Ion molecules, polarized molecules, etc., vibrate more than 40,000 times per second, converting them into frictional heat to generate deep heat. The blood flow of capillaries increases 4-5 times more than at rest, increasing the supply of oxygen, nutrients, antibodies, and white blood cells. In addition, the electrochemical reaction does not occur because the vibration width and the pulsation period are very short. It is a physical factor treatment method that does not stimulate the sensory nerves and motor nerves. In this study, an isotonic exercise is performed in a young normal adult using a Radiofrequency pain treatment device. The purpose of this study is to integrate rehabilitation therapy by measuring electromyography data during isotonic exercise and confirming the effect on changes in motor neuron response. The EMG data generated when isotonic exercise of the forearm biceps muscle and the EMG data measured after the use of a Radiofrequency pain treatment device after exercise were RMS, respectively, and verified through t-test. It was confirmed that there was a significant difference in both men and women because the t-value was smaller than the significance level p (<.05).

Multimodal Emotional State Estimation Model for Implementation of Intelligent Exhibition Services (지능형 전시 서비스 구현을 위한 멀티모달 감정 상태 추정 모형)

  • Lee, Kichun;Choi, So Yun;Kim, Jae Kyeong;Ahn, Hyunchul
    • Journal of Intelligence and Information Systems
    • /
    • v.20 no.1
    • /
    • pp.1-14
    • /
    • 2014
  • Both researchers and practitioners are showing an increased interested in interactive exhibition services. Interactive exhibition services are designed to directly respond to visitor responses in real time, so as to fully engage visitors' interest and enhance their satisfaction. In order to install an effective interactive exhibition service, it is essential to adopt intelligent technologies that enable accurate estimation of a visitor's emotional state from responses to exhibited stimulus. Studies undertaken so far have attempted to estimate the human emotional state, most of them doing so by gauging either facial expressions or audio responses. However, the most recent research suggests that, a multimodal approach that uses people's multiple responses simultaneously may lead to better estimation. Given this context, we propose a new multimodal emotional state estimation model that uses various responses including facial expressions, gestures, and movements measured by the Microsoft Kinect Sensor. In order to effectively handle a large amount of sensory data, we propose to use stratified sampling-based MRA (multiple regression analysis) as our estimation method. To validate the usefulness of the proposed model, we collected 602,599 responses and emotional state data with 274 variables from 15 people. When we applied our model to the data set, we found that our model estimated the levels of valence and arousal in the 10~15% error range. Since our proposed model is simple and stable, we expect that it will be applied not only in intelligent exhibition services, but also in other areas such as e-learning and personalized advertising.

A cognitive psychological consideration of Michael Chehov's acting techniques (미카엘 체홉 연기 테크닉에 대한 인지심리학적 고찰)

  • Jin, Hyun-Chung;Cho, Joon-Hui
    • (The) Research of the performance art and culture
    • /
    • no.37
    • /
    • pp.365-389
    • /
    • 2018
  • This research aims to study Michael Chekhov's acting techniques scientifically, because his techniques has been studied only theoretically or empirically. Especially, this study focuses on 'imagination' and 'Psychological Gesture' from the perspective of cognitive psychology. Chekhov thought 'imagination' as the basis and core of all the works of acting. In cognitive psychology, it is called as 'imagery' and means 'a representation of the mind of the object not communicated by the sensory organs currently'. This study starts with defining imagery and takes a brief look at the features and kinds of imagery. Then the researcher will prove scientifically the possibility of training acting using imagery as Chekhov's assertion. For the proof of the validity of imagery, we'll look for the theoretical evidences-functional equivalence hypothesis, psychoneuromuscular theory, symbolic learning theory, psychophygiological information processing-and experimental ones-measurements of cerebral blood flow or event-related potential, experiments with fMRI(functional magnetic resonance imaging) or PET(positron emission tomography). As a result, we can see that imagery is functionally identical to perception and improves fulfillment of cognitive and physical tasks. As proving physical changes can draw out psychological changes(feeling) on the medium of imagery, we can also see the validity of Psychological Gesture. From the above research, even if Chekhov developed the acting techniques only on the basis of his experience, his techniques can be thought as having scientific validity. Though insufficient, this study can be a help for actors or students as they using Chekhov's techniques.

An Actor-Network Theory Approach to Korean Flower Auctions (화훼시장 경매에 대한 행위자-연결망 이론적 접근)

  • JIN, Bo-ra;KIM, Eun-sung
    • Journal of Science and Technology Studies
    • /
    • v.19 no.2
    • /
    • pp.1-40
    • /
    • 2019
  • Built upon ethnographic method such as participant observation and in-depth interview, this study analyzes the material culture of electronic flower auctions at Yangjae Flower Market. From the viewpoint of Actor-Network Theory(ANT), this research examines how human actors like dealers and auctioneers interact with nonhuman actors such as market devices and these interactions form networks called "agencement." This research is focused on three main objectives: first, to study how the performance of auctions - i.e. the interactions between auctioneers and dealers - change in the wake of new market devices in the auctions; secondly, to look into what changes artifacts bring to the social relationships between auctioneers and dealers; lastly, to analyze the influence of new market devices on auction price in the market. The results of this research are as follows. First, the appearance of new market devices generates changes in the performance of auctions, which means the change of 'agencement' of flower auctions. Direct interactions between auctioneers and dealers turned into indirect interactions through new market devices. Moreover, the changes in the agencement brought changes to the identity of auctioneers and dealers. Secondly, the new agencement caused by the inflow of new market devices formed the trust between the devices and human actors, which gave rise to the trust in electronic auction and in counterpart actors as well. In addition, new market devices lowered direct interactions between auctioneers and dealers and thus made more equal relationships between the two than before. Lastly, market devices like trading screen reduced the leverage of auctioneers by providing dealers with bidding information previously possessed by auctioneers much openly and dealers were able to decide auction prices in more reasonable and dispassionate manner. Economic agency, power, trust, price, and information in the market is material and sensory.