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Bibliography on: Brain-Computer Interface

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Robert J. Robbins is a biologist, an educator, a science administrator, a publisher, an information technologist, and an IT leader and manager who specializes in advancing biomedical knowledge and supporting education through the application of information technology. More About:  RJR | OUR TEAM | OUR SERVICES | THIS WEBSITE

RJR: Recommended Bibliography 31 Jan 2026 at 01:40 Created: 

Brain-Computer Interface

Wikipedia: A brain–computer interface (BCI), sometimes called a neural control interface (NCI), mind–machine interface (MMI), direct neural interface (DNI), or brain–machine interface (BMI), is a direct communication pathway between an enhanced or wired brain and an external device. BCIs are often directed at researching, mapping, assisting, augmenting, or repairing human cognitive or sensory-motor functions. Research on BCIs began in the 1970s at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) under a grant from the National Science Foundation, followed by a contract from DARPA. The papers published after this research also mark the first appearance of the expression brain–computer interface in scientific literature. BCI-effected sensory input: Due to the cortical plasticity of the brain, signals from implanted prostheses can, after adaptation, be handled by the brain like natural sensor or effector channels. Following years of animal experimentation, the first neuroprosthetic devices implanted in humans appeared in the mid-1990s. BCI-effected motor output: When artificial intelligence is used to decode neural activity, then send that decoded information to some kind of effector device, BCIs have the potential to restore communication to people who have lost the ability to move or speak. To date, the focus has largely been on motor skills such as reaching or grasping. However, in May of 2021 a study showed that an AI/BCI system could be use to translate thoughts about handwriting into the output of legible characters at a usable rate (90 characters per minute with 94% accuracy).

Created with PubMed® Query: (bci OR (brain-computer OR brain-machine OR mind-machine OR neural-control interface) NOT 26799652[PMID] ) NOT pmcbook NOT ispreviousversion

Citations The Papers (from PubMed®)

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RevDate: 2026-01-30
CmpDate: 2026-01-30

Sun Y, Wang S, Y Gong (2025)

Terahertz's silent revolution in physics, engineering, and life science: Beyond the spectrum.

Fundamental research, 5(5):1930-1932.

Terahertz technology is revolutionizing photonics, biomedicine, and communications by merging non-ionizing radiation with molecular sensitivity and material penetration. Advances in metamaterials, adaptive antennas, and AI-driven systems address historical limitations in emission efficiency and atmospheric attenuation, enabling secure high-capacity networks and precision biomedical applications. Reconfigurable beamforming and hybrid channel models enhance wireless reliability, while ultra-sensitive biosensors and neuromodulation techniques pioneer non-invasive diagnostics and therapies for neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders. Terahertz's dual role in molecular sensing and neural modulation establishes closed-loop "detect-treat" paradigms, bridging material science and neuroscience. Challenges remain in optimizing clinical application and hybrid system scalability, yet its capacity to probe carrier dynamics, protein interactions, and neural circuits positions Terahertz as a universal platform for 6G networks, personalized medicine, and brain-machine interfaces. By unifying physics-aware engineering with biological insights, terahertz technology transcends traditional boundaries, offering transformative solutions for healthcare, secure connectivity, and industrial innovation.

RevDate: 2026-01-30
CmpDate: 2026-01-30

Mohammadpour H, SD Power (2025)

Investigating singing imagery as an additional or alternative control task for EEG-based Brain-Computer Interfaces.

Frontiers in human neuroscience, 19:1736711.

INTRODUCTION: Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) provide a movement-free means of communication and control, typically based on motor imagery (MI) tasks of hand, foot, or tongue movements. Most BCI studies focus on classifying up to four such tasks, which limits the number of available commands and restricts overall system functionality. Expanding the range of reliable mental tasks would directly increase the number of possible commands and thereby enhance the practical utility of BCIs. Singing imagery (SI) may offer an intuitive alternative or additional task to complement conventional MI paradigms.

METHODS: EEG data were recorded from 14 participants performing right-hand, left-hand, foot, and tongue MI, SI, and rest. Features were extracted using filter bank common spatial patterns (FBCSP), and tasks were classified with a random forest algorithm across 2-, 4-, 5-, and 6-class scenarios. Subjective data regarding participants' perceived task difficulty and general task preferences was also collected.

RESULTS: Classification accuracies with SI included were comparable to subsets of conventional MI tasks in 2-, 4-, and 5-class scenarios. In the 6-class scenario, average accuracy was approximately 60%, with six participants exceeding 70%, the level often cited as being necessary for effective BCI control. It is reasonable to expect performance to improve further with more advanced analysis methods and participant training.

CONCLUSION: These promising results suggest that singing imagery can serve as both an additional and an alternative task in MI-BCIs. In lower-class systems, SI may provide a valuable option for generating commands, particularly for users who may find some conventional MI tasks less intuitive. When combined with the established MI tasks, SI could increase the number of possible commands, thereby extending the functional capacity of BCI systems. Overall, this work demonstrates the potential of SI to broaden the repertoire of mental tasks available for BCI control and to advance the development of more flexible, powerful, and user-centered BCI applications.

RevDate: 2026-01-30

Powell J, A Zhou (2026)

Brain-computer interface commercialization.

Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation, 23(1):45.

RevDate: 2026-01-29
CmpDate: 2026-01-29

Aars J, Ieno EN, Andersen M, et al (2026)

Body condition among Svalbard Polar bears Ursus maritimus during a period of rapid loss of sea ice.

Scientific reports, 16(1):2182.

Polar bears are only found in Arctic areas with sufficient access to sea ice and seals on which they prey. Studies have highlighted negative effects on condition and demographics in areas where sea ice cover is declining due to warmer climate, but condition of the Barents Sea polar bear population have not been examined yet. Loss of sea ice rate has been considerably higher here than in other areas with polar bears. We investigated variation in body condition index (BCI) among 770 adult bears, 1188 captures, in March-May 1995-2019, in Svalbard, Norway (western part of the Barents Sea). We assessed how intrinsic (female reproductive state, age) and both males and females, BCI declined until 2000, but increased afterwards, during a period with rapid loss of sea ice. In models including sea ice metrics and climate (Arctic Oscillation), there was no support for the predicted negative effect of warmer weather and habitat loss. This indicates a complex relationship between habitat, ecosystem structure, energy intake, and energy expenditure. Increases in some prey species, including harbour seals, reindeer, and walrus, may partly offset reduced access to seals. Our findings underline the importance not to extrapolate findings across populations.

RevDate: 2026-01-29
CmpDate: 2026-01-29

Zan T, YS Gao (2026)

[Reconstruction of superficial organs: a leap from structural restoration to functional rehabilitation].

Zhonghua shao shang yu chuang mian xiu fu za zhi, 42(1):26-33.

The core objective of superficial organ reconstruction is to perfectly restore the organ's morphological structure and biological function. Currently, significant progress has been achieved in structural construction, blood supply assurance, and morphological and functional reconstruction of superficial organ reconstruction, primarily relying on approaches including surgical techniques, tissue engineering, and regenerative medicine. In the future, with the integration and application of cutting-edge technologies such as gene editing, artificial intelligence, three-dimensional printing, and brain-computer interfaces, superficial organ reconstruction is poised to enter a new historical stage characterized by high intelligence, precision, and comprehensive functional restoration. This article focuses on superficial organ reconstruction, systematically outlines its concept, challenges, and current development status, and proposes future perspectives for this field.

RevDate: 2026-01-30
CmpDate: 2026-01-30

Siviero I, Vale N, Menegaz G, et al (2026)

Artificial Intelligence and Wearable Technologies for Upper Limb Neurorehabilitation.

IEEE transactions on neural systems and rehabilitation engineering : a publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, 34:732-749.

Non-invasive neural interfaces (NIs) are increasingly investigated in upper limb neurorehabilitation, where they exploit biosignals, such as electroencephalography (EEG) and electromyography (EMG), to decode motor intentions using artificial intelligence (AI). Yet, traditional systems are complex and difficult to use outside the clinic. Wearable devices have the potential for innovative neurorehabilitation solutions thanks to their comfort, easy-to-use and long-term monitoring. However, current AI approaches require adaptation to the technical constraints of wearable devices, and the related state-of-the-art is not clearly explained and summarized. In this work, a systematic literature review on 51 studies was conducted analyzing them according to five important concepts: biosignals, wearable devices, AI-driven methods, upper limb, and clinical applications. The review highlights methodological heterogeneity, a variety of wearable sensor configurations, and open challenges related to accuracy, robustness, and clinical validation. Finally, we discuss how explainable AI (XAI) and generative AI (GenAI) may contribute to improve the interpretability and personalization of future neurorehabilitation systems.

RevDate: 2026-01-30

Zhao Z, Duan X, Luo J, et al (2025)

Spatiotemporal dynamics of neuronal subtypes and their interactions with glia following intracortical electrode implantation.

Biology direct, 21(1):13.

BACKGROUND: Chronically implanted electrodes offer a promising approach for treating neurological disorders via brain-computer interfaces, yet their long-term efficacy is compromised by the neuroinflammatory foreign body response. While neurons are central to both electrode function and inflammatory regulation, their specific responses post-implantation remain poorly characterized. Here, we combined single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) and immunofluorescence to delineate the spatiotemporal dynamics of neuronal subtypes in the rat motor cortex at 3, 25, and 50 days after electrode implantation.

RESULTS: We identified 22 distinct neuronal subpopulations, among which clusters 5, 6, and 8 emerged as injury-responsive subtypes during the acute phase (3 days), exhibiting a specific upregulation of Tmsb4x, a key regulator of neuronal plasticity and repair. Furthermore, our analysis revealed activated signaling pathways mediating neuron-glia communication, most notably the Ptn-Sdc4 and Il34/Csf1-Csf1R axes between neurons and astrocytes.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide a high-resolution map of neuronal adaptation to intracortical implants, uncovering previously unknown repair-associated neuronal subtypes and specific ligand-receptor pairs that coordinate the neuroinflammatory microenvironment, which offers novel insights and potential therapeutic targets for improving the biocompatibility and long-term stability of neural electrodes.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT: [Image: see text]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13062-025-00719-7.

RevDate: 2026-01-29

Eguinoa R, San Martín R, Luna P, et al (2026)

An EEG correlation framework to study state anxiety and learning under uncertainty.

Journal of neural engineering [Epub ahead of print].

Objective.Recent developments in computational neuroscience have shed light on the neural processes underlying altered decision-making under uncertainty in anxiety. These disruptions are partly attributed to impaired encoding of precision-weighted prediction errors (pwPEs), which guide belief updating during learning and decision-making, as described by hierarchical Bayesian models. In this paper, we introduce a gamified paradigm for collecting decision-making data, together with a framework for extracting EEG features linked to computationally relevant variables, drawing on principles from neurofeedback and brain-computer interface research. This approach aims to develop tools that target functionally meaningful brain networks involved in decision-making, with the potential to inform future neurofeedback interactions.Approach.Forty healthy participants performed a volatile decision-making task in a game-based, immersive environment. EEG data were analysed to identify spatial filters whose theta- and alpha-band power correlated with pwPEs and state anxiety scores. Both intra-subject (trial-wise pwPEs) and intersubject (state anxiety) analyses were conducted to uncover distinct neural signatures.Main results.The intra-subject analysis revealed that pwPEs were significantly and positively correlated with theta power, and significantly and negatively correlated with alpha power - supporting the hypothesis that these oscillatory patterns underlie belief updating. In contrast, the inter-subject analysis showed that higher state anxiety was associated with reduced theta and increased alpha power, consistent with attenuated learning and impaired adaptation in anxious individuals. These findings align with theoretical models of hierarchical Bayesian inference and prior evidence of anxiety-related disruptions in uncertainty processing.Significance.The findings validate the proposed EEG framework for identifying neural markers related to belief updating and anxiety-related learning impairments. This approach lays the foundation for personalized neurofeedback procedures that target maladaptive decision-making in anxiety, with the added benefit of using immersive task paradigms for better engagement and translational potential for real-world applications.

RevDate: 2026-01-29

Cicciarella R, Willems EP, Markham B, et al (2026)

Validation of aerial photogrammetry methods to measure body size, condition and mass in small cetaceans.

The Journal of physiology [Epub ahead of print].

Accurate morphometric measurements are essential for estimating body size and condition in animals. These characteristics are, in turn, key to eco-physiological studies, wildlife management and conservation. For free-ranging cetaceans, however, collecting non-invasive morphometric data is challenging. Unoccupied aerial vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry offers a promising solution but requires ground-truthing to assess accuracy and precision. Similarly, morphometric-based indices of body condition must be validated against the animals' true body condition. Here we validated UAV-derived estimates of body size and condition in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops spp.) under human care by comparing photogrammetry-based measurements of body length, width, height and girth from both stationary and swimming individuals with manual measurements. The two methods showed negligible differences, with UAV-based data yielding lower variability, confirming both high measurement accuracy and precision. Using UAV-derived measurements we calculated a volume-based body condition index (BCI) and compared it with a mass-based BCI, a standard metric in ecological research. The two indices showed a near-perfect fit, demonstrating that volume-based metrics reliably reflect true body condition in small cetaceans. Body density decreased with increasing body condition, consistent with higher fat-to-muscle ratios. By combining UAV-derived body volume with predicted density, based on their body condition, we accurately estimated individual body mass (mean error = 6.4%). This study provides a comprehensive validation of UAV-based photogrammetry to estimate body size, condition and mass in small cetaceans, highlighting its value as a non-invasive and cost-effective tool for ecological and conservation research. KEY POINTS: Measuring body size and condition in free-ranging dolphins is difficult, yet essential to understand their physiology, energy reserves and health. We used unoccupied aerial vehicles (UAV) to obtain accurate, non-invasive body measurements of bottlenose dolphins and compared them with direct manual measurements. UAV-based photogrammetry produced highly precise and accurate estimates of body length, girth and overall body volume, even for freely swimming animals. A UAV-derived, volume-based body condition index matched traditional mass-based indices and enabled accurate estimation of body mass. These results validate UAV photogrammetry as a reliable, ethical and cost-effective method for assessing body size, condition and mass in small cetaceans, thereby advancing ecological and physiological research in the wild.

RevDate: 2026-01-29

Hu L, Ye L, Ye H, et al (2026)

Harmonic patterns embedded in ictal EEG signals in focal epilepsy: new insight into the epileptogenic zone.

BMC medicine pii:10.1186/s12916-026-04665-7 [Epub ahead of print].

BACKGROUND: Localization of the epileptogenic zone (EZ) requires further refinement. We identified a unique ictal spectral structure, the "harmonic pattern" (H pattern), which potentially serves as a novel biomarker for localizing the EZ. This study aimed to analyze the clinical significance of the H pattern and to explore its underlying waveform features.

METHODS: Seventy patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy, undergoing stereo-EEG (SEEG) evaluation and surgery, were included. Time-frequency maps (TFM) were generated using Morlet wavelet transform analysis. The H pattern was defined as multiple equidistant, high-density bands with varying frequencies on TFM. The upper quartile was employed to confirm contacts expressing dominant H pattern (dH pattern). Bispectral analysis and transfer function modeling were employed to assess nonlinear properties and signal propagation, respectively. The performance of the dH pattern in evaluating the EZ was compared with other ictal biomarkers.

RESULTS: Regardless of seizure onset patterns, the H pattern commonly occurred during early or late seizure propagation among 57 patients (81.4%). It harbored within specific EEG segments characterized by fast activity and irregular polyspikes. The H pattern often appeared simultaneously across different brain regions at a consistent fundamental frequency, highlighting a crucial stage in seizure propagation characterized by inter-regional synchronization. The dH pattern demonstrated greater nonlinearity compared to the non-dH pattern, as evidenced by bispectral analysis. The waveforms associated with the dH pattern were more stereotyped and showed increased skewness and/or asymmetry. Notably, the complete removal of areas exhibiting the dH pattern, but not high epileptogenicity index (≥ 0.3) or seizure onset zone, was independently associated with seizure freedom after surgery.

CONCLUSIONS: The H pattern provides unique insights into ictal neural dynamics. Additionally, it is a novel and alternative approach for measuring the EZ over an extended ictal time window.

RevDate: 2026-01-28

Xu Z, Wang H, Yu J, et al (2026)

Psychedelics elicit their effects by 5-HT2A receptor-mediated Gi signalling.

Nature [Epub ahead of print].

Psychedelics are undergoing a renaissance as potential therapy for psychiatric disorders, with more than 200 clinical trials being studied across several countries[1-3]. However, the precise mechanisms by which these drugs bring about benefits and the potential clinical risks are not yet fully understood. The serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) was reported to be a Gq-coupled receptor and the primary interoceptive target of psychedelics[4,5]. Here we compared psychedelics and their non-hallucinogenic analogues (nHAs) using in vitro and in vivo approaches, finding that 5-HT2AR-mediated non-canonical Gi signalling is essential for hallucinogenic effect. We further presented five cryo-electron microscopy structures of 5-HT2AR-Gi/Gq in complex with psychedelics or nHAs. Structural analysis and pharmacological investigation revealed that a special contact between nHAs with 5-HT2AR mediated the signalling bias. Building on this insight, we identified a 2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodoamphetamine derivative, DOI-NBOMe, which exhibits potent and selective Gq-biased activity, and demonstrates promising therapeutic effects in mouse models without hallucinogenic effect. Our finding uncovers the functional mechanisms underlying the Gi signalling mediated by 5-HT2AR and provides valuable insights for designing psychedelic-based drugs with minimized risk from hallucinogenic effects.

RevDate: 2026-01-28
CmpDate: 2026-01-28

Chen H, G Yun (2026)

Efficacy of Brain-Computer Interface Therapy for Upper Limb Rehabilitation in Chronic Stroke: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Journal of medical Internet research, 28:e79132 pii:v28i1e79132.

BACKGROUND: Over 50% of people with chronic stroke experience persistent upper limb dysfunction. Brain-computer interface (BCI) therapy, creating a sensorimotor loop via neural feedback, is a promising alternative; yet, its optimal application remains unclear.

OBJECTIVE: This meta-analysis evaluates BCI's efficacy on motor function, tone, and activities of daily living (ADL) in chronic stroke and identifies optimal feedback modalities and intervention parameters.

METHODS: We systematically searched Cochrane Library, Embase, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Wanfang Data from inception to October 2025 for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing BCI-based training to control interventions in adults with chronic stroke. Primary outcomes were upper limb motor function (Fugl-Meyer Assessment for upper extremity [FMA-UE], Action Research Arm Test [ARAT]), muscle tone (Modified Ashworth Scale [MAS]), and ADL (Modified Barthel Index [MBI], Motor Activity Log [MAL]). Screening, data extraction, and risk-of-bias assessment were performed independently. Meta-analysis used a random-effects model with Hartung-Knapp-Sidik-Jonkman adjustment. Pooled mean differences (MDs) with 95% CIs and 95% prediction intervals (PIs) were calculated. Subgroup analyses examined feedback modalities, intervention intensity, and follow-up effects. Sensitivity analysis was also conducted.

RESULTS: From 3529 records, 21 RCTs (650 participants) were included. BCI training significantly improved motor function (FMA-UE: MD 2.50, 95% CI 0.60-4.40; P=.01; 95% PI -2.52 to 7.22) and ADL performance (MBI: MD 8.38, 95% CI 2.23-14.53; P=.02; 95% PI -3.92 to 20.53; MAL: MD 2.09, 95% CI 0.42-3.76; P=.03; 95% PI -0.69 to 4.54). No significant effects were observed for fine motor skills (ARAT: MD 0.18, 95% CI -0.27 to 0.62; P=.30; 95% PI -3.64 to 3.99) or muscle tone (MAS: MD -0.48, 95% CI -1 to 0.03; P=.06; 95% PI -1.27 to 0.35). Subgroup analyses revealed that BCI-functional electrical stimulation (FES) yielded the greatest improvement in motor recovery (FMA-UE: MD 5, 95% CI 1.86-8.13; P=.01). The optimal intervention protocol was identified as 30-minute sessions, administered 4-5 times per week over 2 weeks (total of 10-12 sessions). However, benefits were not sustained at follow-up.

CONCLUSIONS: Low- to moderate-certainty evidence suggests that BCI training, particularly the BCI-FES paradigm, can improve upper limb motor function and ADL in people with chronic stroke on average. However, wide prediction intervals indicate the effect may vary substantially across settings, ranging from negligible to beneficial. Subgroup analyses suggested a potential optimal protocol of 30-minute sessions, 4-5 times per week for 2 weeks, but these findings are limited by the small number of studies in each subgroup and the high risk of bias in several included trials. Therefore, this proposed protocol should be viewed as preliminary and requires validation in future, high-quality RCTs. Future research should also focus on identifying patient subgroups most likely to benefit and on strategies to sustain long-term gains.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD420251063808; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420251063808.

RevDate: 2026-01-28

Jiang H, Fu H, Wei Q, et al (2026)

A hierarchical bilayer sponge dressing based on QCMCS@GO/PLA for synergistic wound healing via hemostasis and anti-adhesion.

International journal of biological macromolecules pii:S0141-8130(26)00491-5 [Epub ahead of print].

To address the challenges of inefficient hemostasis, high risk of bacterial infection, and biofilm formation in wound management, this study developed a bilayered sponge dressing composed of quaternized carboxymethyl chitosan@ graphene oxide/polylactic acid (QCMCS@GO/PLLA) with triple functionalities: coagulation, antibacterial activity, and anti-adhesion. A hierarchical structure was constructed using freeze-drying and electrospinning techniques: the bottom layer is a QCMCS@GO composite sponge, where graphene oxide (GO) enhances mechanical strength and enriches coagulation factors, while the quaternized carboxymethyl chitosan (QCMCS) promotes platelet activation and intrinsic coagulation pathway via its cationic properties; the top layer consists of electrospun polylactic acid (PLLA) nanofibers that serve as a superhydrophobic physical barrier to effectively inhibit bacterial adhesion. The material exhibits high porosity (>92%) and rapid liquid absorption (≥95% within 40 ms). In vitro experiments demonstrated that the dressing significantly accelerated whole blood coagulation (time reduced by 52.3%), optimized the blood clotting index (BCI = 4.7%), and enhanced thrombus formation through FXII contact activation. It achieved bacterial eradication rates of 99.94% against Staphylococcus aureus and 99.61% against Escherichia coli, while reducing bacterial adhesion on the surface by 91.8%. The dressing showed excellent biocompatibility (hemolysis rate 2.3%, cell proliferation rate 138%). In a rat liver injury model, it shortened hemostatic time by 63.2% and reduced blood loss by 76.5% compared to commercial gelatin sponges. This study provides a novel strategy for developing multifunctional wound dressings.

RevDate: 2026-01-28

Ravi A, Jiang N, J Tung (2026)

EEG-Based Gait Phase Decoding from Combined Action Observation and Motor Imagery.

IEEE transactions on neural systems and rehabilitation engineering : a publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, PP: [Epub ahead of print].

Gait recovery is a crucial component of stroke rehabilitation. While Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) decoding motor intent from motor imagery (MI) have shown success, their application in the area of gait phase decoding remains limited. Combining Action Observation (AO) and MI paradigms have demonstrated enhanced motor cortex activation compared to AO or MI alone. This study investigated the feasibility of decoding swing and stance phass of gait from electroencephalogaphy (EEG), via a proposed feature extraction and classification method. A novel dataset, utilizing the Combined AO, MI, and Steady-State Motion Visual Evoked Potential (SSMVEP) (CAMS-BCI) paradigm, was collected from twenty healthy volunteers. Employing an innovative labelling technique, three different classification methods were compared. Among them, broad band EEG features with a linear classifier achieved the highest average f1-score of 0.77 in gait phase classification. Additionally, the methods achieved an overall accuracy of 70% in classifying individual Swing and Stance phases based on the CAMS stimulus responses. These findings provide valuable insights for the development of novel BCI feedback mechanisms specifically targeting different phases of gait. Implementing them in future designs can potentially enhance gait recovery outcomes in post-stroke rehabilitation.

RevDate: 2026-01-28

Lu J, Liu Y, Zhang X, et al (2026)

A principal brain-region analysis framework based on evolutionary decomposition for fNIRS brain-computer interfaces.

Journal of neural engineering [Epub ahead of print].

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is an emerging technique for brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) due to its advantages in spatial resolution, robustness to artifacts, portability and usability for long-term monitoring, etc. Existing BCI methods take a holistic approach to all signal-collecting channels and corresponding brain regions, while the task-related brain regions and their interactions have not been well explored. Approach. This paper proposes a principal brain-region analysis (PBA) framework to incorporate the functional contribution as well as collaboration of task-specific brain regions (TSBRs) to boost BCI performance. Firstly, the identification of TSBRs is formulated as an optimization problem by maximizing classification accuracy under spatial constraints on brain regions of interest. Then, an evolutionary decomposition algorithm is constructed by combining spatial nondominated operators and genetic iterative computation, identifying TSBRs from the whole brain regions. Afterwards, classifiers are trained by neuroimaging features in the decomposed TSBRs in combination with stacking to generate the final predictions. Results. The proposed PBA method was evaluated on two public datasets for fNIRSbased BCIs, significantly enhancing the classification accuracy for the sliding slopebased method by 8.91% and 6.03% and the sliding mean concentration change method by 13.62% and 6.15%, respectively. Significance. Principal brain-region analysis establishes a pivotal framework to fundamentally advance the accuracy and explainability of BCIs.

RevDate: 2026-01-28

Bialostocki LS, Adhia DB, Mudiyanselage DR, et al (2026)

Authors' Reply: Bridging Neurofeedback and Structural Connectivity in Chronic Pain.

JMIR research protocols, 15:e89007 pii:v15i1e89007.

RevDate: 2026-01-28

Acar A, Yahya D, E Tekirdaş (2026)

Bridging Neurofeedback and Structural Connectivity in Chronic Pain.

JMIR research protocols, 15:e87420 pii:v15i1e87420.

RevDate: 2026-01-28

Wei S, Yu H, Huang Y, et al (2026)

Predicting Attention Decline: An Integrated Beta-Band and SSVEP Approach for Visual Brain-Computer Interfaces.

IEEE transactions on neural systems and rehabilitation engineering : a publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, PP: [Epub ahead of print].

Real-time monitoring of sustained attention fluctuations during continuous complex tasks is vital for enhancing task performance and preventing accidents. Attention modulates neurons in the visual cortex in various ways to improve the visual sensitivity at an attended location. EEG-based brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) offer one of the most effective approaches for monitoring the state of human individuals. Whether transient responses evoked by brief stimuli, steady-state responses elicited by prolonged stimuli, or spontaneous neural oscillations, researchers can extract recognized electrophysiological features that reflect attention levels. However, unimodal features face inherent limitations, such as the low signal-to-noise ratio of transient responses and susceptibility of spontaneous rhythms to electrophysiological interference. Nevertheless, few studies have explored multimodal feature fusion for attention state monitoring. Here, we developed an innovative continuous go/no-go task to concurrently evoke both event-related potential (ERP) and steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP), while modulating spontaneous oscillatory activities through attentional engagement. To maximize the attentional modulation effect, we integrated the contrast-response functions of the modulation effect of attention on SSVEP and implemented 12 stimulus contrast levels to identify optimal visual stimulation intensity. Results from 25 subjects demonstrated that the decline in sustained attention during a continuous task was predictable before behavioral mistakes. Classification performance peaked at 31.60% stimulus contrast condition using the fused features combining spontaneous beta-band oscillations and SSVEP responses (average: 74.48%; best: 90.83%). These findings advance the development of more robust real-time attention monitoring systems based on BCI technology.

RevDate: 2026-01-28

Schumacher X, Frazzini V, Adam C, et al (2026)

Safety and efficacy of sEEG-guided resective surgery in patients with MRI-negative drug-resistant epilepsy.

Neurosurgical review, 49(1):166.

RevDate: 2026-01-28
CmpDate: 2026-01-28

Shimizu S, Osawa T, Sato M, et al (2026)

Validation of the 7-Item Quality of Life Disease-Specific Impact Scale in Patients Undergoing Radical Cystectomy for Bladder Cancer: A Cross-Sectional Study.

International journal of urology : official journal of the Japanese Urological Association, 33(2):e70364.

OBJECTIVES: To validate, for the first time in patients with bladder cancer who underwent radical cystectomy, the recently developed 7-item Quality of Life Disease-specific Impact Scale (QDIS-7), a brief, unidimensional instrument designed for cross-condition comparisons.

METHODS: In this cross-sectional study conducted at 24 facilities, patients aged ≥ 20 years who were 3 months post-radical cystectomy for bladder cancer completed self-reported questionnaires. The enrollment period was from January 2020 to October 2022. Quality of life measures included the QDIS-7, the Bladder Cancer Index (BCI), and the Body Image Scale (BIS). Confirmatory factor analysis was performed to test the hypothesized one-factor structure of the QDIS-7. Internal consistency reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Criterion-based validity was evaluated using Spearman's correlation coefficients (ρ) between the QDIS-7 scores and the BCI bother subdomains and BIS scores.

RESULTS: In total, 205 patients (median age, 71 years; 78.5% male) were included. The QDIS-7 score showed no floor or ceiling effects. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the one-factor model (factor loadings, 0.71-0.94). Internal consistency reliability was high (Cronbach's alpha, 0.94). The QDIS-7 score showed moderate correlations with the BIS and the BCI urinary and bowel bother subdomain scores (ρ = 0.654, -0.560, and -0.475, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS: The QDIS-7 effectively captured urinary and bowel symptom burden and body image impairment in patients undergoing radical cystectomy for bladder cancer. Its brevity, strong psychometric properties, and capacity for comparisons across conditions support its use in patient-centered research.

TRAIL REGISTRATION: UMIN-CTR (UMIN000039538).

RevDate: 2026-01-28
CmpDate: 2026-01-28

Falk M, S Shleev (2026)

Advances in (Bio)Sensors for Physiological Monitoring: A Special Issue Review.

Sensors (Basel, Switzerland), 26(2): pii:s26020633.

Physiological monitoring has become an inherently interdisciplinary field, merging advances in engineering, chemistry, biology, medicine, and data analytics to create sensors that continuously track the vital signals of the body. These developments are enabling more personalized and preventive healthcare, as wearable (bio)sensors and intelligent algorithms can detect subtle physiological changes in real-time. In the Special Issue 'Advances in (Bio)Sensors for Physiological Monitoring', researchers from diverse domains contributed 18 papers showcasing cutting-edge sensor technologies and applications for health and performance monitoring. In this review, we summarize these contributions by grouping them into logical themes based on their focus: (1) cardiovascular and autonomic monitoring, (2) glucose and metabolic monitoring, (3) wearable sensors for movement and musculoskeletal health, (4) neurophysiological monitoring and brain-computer interfaces, and (5) innovations in sensor technology and methods. This thematic organization highlights the breadth of the research, spanning from fundamental sensor hardware to data-driven analytics, and underscores how modern (bio)sensors are breaking traditional boundaries in healthcare.

RevDate: 2026-01-28
CmpDate: 2026-01-28

Zhang B, You X, Liu Y, et al (2026)

Multi-Level Perception Systems in Fusion of Lifeforms: Classification, Challenges and Future Conceptions.

Sensors (Basel, Switzerland), 26(2): pii:s26020576.

The emerging paradigm of "fusion of lifeforms" represents a transformative shift from conventional human-machine interfaces toward deeply integrated symbiotic systems, where biological and artificial components co-adapt structurally, energetically, informationally, and cognitively. This review systematically classifies multi-level perception systems within fusion of lifeforms into four functional categories: sensory and functional restoration, beyond-natural sensing, endogenous state sensing, and cognitive enhancement. We survey recent advances in neuroprosthetics, sensory augmentation, closed-loop physiological monitoring, and brain-computer interfaces, highlighting the transition from substitution to fusion. Despite significant progress, critical challenges remain, including multi-source heterogeneous integration, bandwidth and latency limitations, power and thermal constraints, biocompatibility, and system-level safety. We propose future directions such as layered in-body communication networks, sustainable energy strategies, advanced biointerfaces, and robust safety frameworks. Ethical considerations regarding self-identity, neural privacy, and legal responsibility are also discussed. This work aims to provide a comprehensive reference and roadmap for the development of next-generation fusion of lifeforms, ultimately steering human-machine integration from episodic functional repair toward sustained, multi-level symbiosis between biological and artificial systems.

RevDate: 2026-01-28
CmpDate: 2026-01-28

Dalgaard KS, Lavesen ER, Sulkjær CS, et al (2026)

Specificity of Pairing Afferent and Efferent Activity for Inducing Neural Plasticity with an Associative Brain-Computer Interface.

Sensors (Basel, Switzerland), 26(2): pii:s26020549.

Brain-computer interface-based (BCI) training induces neural plasticity and promotes motor recovery in stroke patients by pairing movement intentions with congruent electrical stimulation of the affected limb, eliciting somatosensory afferent feedback. However, this training can potentially be refined further to enhance rehabilitation outcomes. It is not known how specific the afferent feedback needs to be with respect to the efferent activity from the brain. This study investigated how corticospinal excitability, a marker of neural plasticity, was modulated by four types of BCI-like interventions that varied in the specificity of afferent feedback relative to the efferent activity. Fifteen able-bodied participants performed four interventions: (1) wrist extensions paired with radial nerve peripheral electrical stimulation (PES) (matching feedback), (2) wrist extensions paired with ulnar nerve PES (non-matching feedback), (3) wrist extensions paired with sham radial nerve PES (no feedback), and (4) palmar grasps paired with radial nerve PES (partially matching feedback). Each intervention consisted of 100 pairings between visually cued movements and PES. The PES was triggered based on the peak of maximal negativity of the movement-related cortical potential associated with the visually cued movement. Before, immediately after, and 30 min after the intervention, transcranial magnetic stimulation-elicited motor-evoked potentials were recorded to assess corticospinal excitability. Only wrist extensions paired with radial nerve PES significantly increased the corticospinal excitability with 57 ± 49% and 65 ± 52% immediately and 30 min after the intervention, respectively, compared to the pre-intervention measurement. In conclusion, maximizing the induction of neural plasticity with an associative BCI requires that the afferent feedback be precisely matched to the efferent brain activity.

RevDate: 2026-01-28
CmpDate: 2026-01-28

Wu W, Liu L, Chen W, et al (2026)

MS-TSEFNet: Multi-Scale Spatiotemporal Efficient Feature Fusion Network.

Sensors (Basel, Switzerland), 26(2): pii:s26020437.

Motor imagery signal decoding is an important research direction in the field of brain-computer interfaces, which aim to judge the motor imagery state of an individual by analyzing electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. Deep learning technology has been gradually applied to EEG classification, which can automatically extract features. However, when processing complex EEG signals, the existing decoding models cannot effectively fuse features at different levels, resulting in limited classification performance. This study proposes a multi-scale spatiotemporal efficient feature fusion network (MS-TSEFNet), which learns the dynamic changes in EEG signals at different time scales through multi-scale convolution modules and combines the spatial attention mechanism to efficiently capture the spatial correlation between electrodes in EEG signals. In addition, the network adopts an efficient feature fusion strategy to deeply fuse features at different levels, thereby improving the expression ability of the model. In the task of motor imagery signal decoding, MS-TSEFNet shows higher accuracy and robustness. We use the public BCIC-IV2a, BCIC-IV2b and ECUST datasets for evaluation. The experimental results show that the average classification accuracy of MS-TSEFNet reaches 80.31%, 86.69% and 71.14%, respectively, which is better than the current state-of-the-art algorithms. We conducted an ablation experiment to further verify the effectiveness of the model. The experimental results showed that each module played an important role in improving the final performance. In particular, the combination of the multi-scale convolution module and the feature fusion module significantly improved the model's ability to extract the spatiotemporal features of EEG signals.

RevDate: 2026-01-28
CmpDate: 2026-01-28

Wankner MC, Visser-Vandewalle V, Andrade P, et al (2026)

Cervical Spinal Cord Stimulation for Functional Rehabilitation After Spinal Cord Injury: A Systematic Review of Preclinical and Clinical Studies.

Life (Basel, Switzerland), 16(1): pii:life16010179.

Cervical spinal cord injury causes severe functional impairment with limited spontaneous recovery, and while spinal cord stimulation has emerged as a promising neuromodulatory strategy, evidence for cervical applications remains fragmented. To address this gap, we conducted a systematic review synthesizing preclinical and clinical evidence on cervical spinal cord stimulation for functional rehabilitation following spinal cord injury. The review was registered on PROSPERO (CRD420251088804) and conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines, with PubMed, Embase, IEEE Xplore, and Web of Science searched from inception to July 2025 for animal and human studies of cervical spinal cord stimulation, including epidural, intraspinal, and transcutaneous approaches, reporting functional neurological outcomes. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane RoB 2 and ROBINS-I tools, and due to substantial heterogeneity, results were synthesized narratively. Thirty-one studies comprising 119 animals and 156 human participants, met inclusion criteria. Across studies, outcome measures such as GRASSP, ISNCSCI, and dynamometry consistently demonstrated improvements in hand strength, dexterity, and voluntary motor activation. Several studies also reported gains in sensory and autonomic function, whereas respiratory outcomes were infrequently assessed. Adjunctive interventions, including cortical stimulation, brain-computer interface priming, and task-specific training frequently augmented recovery. Adverse events were generally mild, although overall risk of bias was predominantly serious. Overall, cervical spinal cord stimulation demonstrates preliminary assistive and therapeutic effects on motor recovery, with additional sensory, autonomic, and potential respiratory benefits.

RevDate: 2026-01-28
CmpDate: 2026-01-28

Ding Y, Ding J, Yang Z, et al (2026)

A Surface-Mount Substrate-Integrated Waveguide Bandpass Filter Based on MEMS Process and PCB Artwork for Robotic Radar Applications.

Micromachines, 17(1): pii:mi17010072.

To address the pressing need for compact and highly reliable perception systems in autonomous mobile robots, a compact bandpass filter (BPF) integrating slot-line resonator with substrate-integrated waveguide (SIW) technology for robotic millimeter-wave radar front ends was proposed. By integrating slot-line resonators between adjacent SIW cavities, the proposed design effectively increases the filtering order without increasing the layout area. This approach not only generates extra transmission poles but also creates a sharp transmission zero at the upper stopband, thereby significantly enhancing out-of-band rejection. This characteristic is crucial for robotic radar operating in complex and dynamic environments, as it effectively suppresses out-of-band interference and improves the system signal-to-noise ratio and detection reliability. To validate the performance, a prototype filter operating in the 24.25-27.5 GHz passband was fabricated. The measured results show good agreement with simulations, demonstrating low insertion loss, compact size, and wide stopband. Finally, to validate its compatibility with robotic radar modules, the chip was assembled onto a PCB using surface-mount technology. The responses of the bare die and the packaged module were then compared to evaluate the impact of integration on the overall RF performance. The proposed design offers a key filtering solution for next-generation high-performance, miniaturized robotic perception platforms.

RevDate: 2026-01-28
CmpDate: 2026-01-28

Yen C, MC Chiang (2026)

Neuroimaging-Guided Insights into the Molecular and Network Mechanisms of Chronic Pain and Neuromodulation.

International journal of molecular sciences, 27(2): pii:ijms27021080.

Chronic pain is a pervasive and debilitating condition that affects millions of individuals worldwide. Unlike acute pain, which serves a protective physiological role, chronic pain persists beyond routine tissue healing and often arises without a discernible peripheral cause. Accumulating evidence indicates that chronic pain is not merely a symptom but a disorder of the central nervous system, underpinned by interacting molecular, neurochemical, and network-level alterations. Molecular neuroimaging using PET and MR spectroscopy has revealed dysregulated excitatory-inhibitory balance (glutamate/GABA), altered monoaminergic and opioidergic signaling, and neuroimmune activation (e.g., TSPO-indexed glial activation) in key pain-related regions such as the insula, anterior cingulate cortex, thalamus, and prefrontal cortex. Converging multimodal imaging-including functional MRI, diffusion MRI, and EEG/MEG-demonstrates aberrant activity and connectivity across the default mode, salience, and sensorimotor networks, alongside structural remodeling in cortical and subcortical circuits. Parallel advances in neuromodulation, including transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), transcranial electrical stimulation (tES), deep brain stimulation (DBS), and emerging biomarker-guided closed-loop approaches, provide tools to perturb these maladaptive circuits and to test mechanistic hypotheses in vivo. This review integrates neuroimaging findings with molecular and systems-level mechanistic insights into chronic pain and its modulation, highlighting how imaging markers can link biochemical signatures to neural dynamics and guide precision pain management and individualized therapeutic strategies.

RevDate: 2026-01-28
CmpDate: 2026-01-28

Liang J, Zhou Y, Ma K, et al (2026)

Generative Adversarial Networks for Modeling Bio-Electric Fields in Medicine: A Review of EEG, ECG, EMG, and EOG Applications.

Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland), 13(1): pii:bioengineering13010084.

Bio-electric fields-manifested as Electroencephalogram (EEG), Electrocardiogram (ECG), Electromyogram (EMG), and Electrooculogram (EOG)-are fundamental to modern medical diagnostics but often suffer from severe data imbalance, scarcity, and environmental noise. Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) offer a powerful, nonlinear solution to these modeling hurdles. This review presents a comprehensive survey of GAN methodologies specifically tailored for bio-electric signal processing. We first establish a theoretical foundation by detailing GAN principles, training mechanisms, and critical structural variants, including advancements in loss functions and conditional architectures. Subsequently, the paper extensively analyzes applications ranging from high-fidelity signal synthesis and noise reduction to multi-class classification. Special attention is given to clinical anomaly detection, specifically covering epilepsy, arrhythmia, depression, and sleep apnea. Furthermore, we explore emerging applications such as modal transformation, Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI), de-identification for privacy, and signal reconstruction. Finally, we critically evaluate the computational trade-offs and stability issues inherent in current models. The study concludes by delineating prospective research avenues, emphasizing the necessity of interdisciplinary synergy to advance personalized medicine and intelligent diagnostic systems.

RevDate: 2026-01-28
CmpDate: 2026-01-28

Jiao M, Ding Z, Huang C, et al (2025)

The Effects of Computerized Cognitive Training via Tablet and Computer Platforms on Cognitive Function in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland), 16(1): pii:bs16010040.

Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a high-risk prodromal stage of dementia. While tablet/computer-based computerized cognitive training (CCT) is widely used, its efficacy and gamification's role need clarification. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of tablet/computer-based CCT on global cognition in older adults with MCI and explore the impact of gamification. Methods: We systematically searched five databases for RCTs (through October 2025) involving individuals aged ≥55 with MCI. The intervention was task-based CCT via tablets/computers. Primary outcome was global cognition. We used random-effects meta-analysis and subgroup analyses. Results: Nineteen RCTs (1013 participants) were included. CCT demonstrated a significant, moderate positive effect on global cognition (Hedges' g = 0.57, 95% CI [0.36, 0.78]). A trend suggesting greater benefits with higher gamification was observed: high (g = 0.71), medium (g = 0.46), and low (g = 0.45) degrees. However, subgroup differences were not statistically significant (p = 0.4333). Results were robust in sensitivity analyses. Conclusions: Tablet/computer-based CCT effectively improves global cognition in MCI. The potential additive value of gamification highlights its promise for enhancing engagement and effects, warranting further investigation in larger trials. This systematic review was registered with PROSPERO (CRD420251231618).

RevDate: 2026-01-28
CmpDate: 2026-01-28

Li M, Xia J, Pan J, et al (2026)

SleepMFormer: An Efficient Attention Framework with Contrastive Learning for Single-Channel EEG Sleep Staging.

Brain sciences, 16(1): pii:brainsci16010095.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Sleep stage classification is crucial for assessing sleep quality and diagnosing related disorders. Electroencephalography (EEG) is currently recognized as a primary method for sleep stage classification. High-performance automatic sleep staging methods based on EEG leverage the powerful contextual modeling capabilities of Transformer Encoder architectures. However, the global self-attention mechanism in Transformers incurs significant computational overhead, substantially hindering the training and inference efficiency of automatic sleep staging algorithms.

METHODS: To address these issues, we introduce an end-to-end framework for automatic sleep stage classification using single-channel EEG: SleepMFormer. At the algorithmic level, SleepMFormer adopts a task-driven simplification of the Transformer encoder to improve attention efficiency while preserving sequence modeling capability. At the training level, supervised contrastive learning is incorporated as an auxiliary strategy to enhance representation robustness. From an engineering perspective, these design choices enable efficient training and inference under resource-constrained settings.

RESULTS: When integrated with the SleePyCo backbone, the proposed framework achieves competitive performance on three widely used public datasets: Sleep-EDF, PhysioNet, and SHHS. Notably, SleepMFormer reduces training and inference time by up to 33% compared to conventional self-attention-based models. To further validate the generalizability of MaxFormer, we conduct additional experiments using DeepSleepNet and TinySleepNet as alternative feature extractors. Experimental results demonstrate that MaxFormer consistently maintains performance across different model architectures.

CONCLUSIONS: Overall, SleepMFormer introduces an efficient and practical framework for automatic sleep staging, demonstrating strong potential for related clinical applications.

RevDate: 2026-01-28
CmpDate: 2026-01-28

Liu Y, Xue W, Yang L, et al (2025)

Deep Learning-Based EEG Emotion Recognition: A Review.

Brain sciences, 16(1): pii:brainsci16010041.

Affective Computing and emotion recognition hold significant importance in healthcare, identity verification, human-computer interaction, and related fields. Accurate identification of emotion is crucial for applications in medicine, education, psychology, and military domains. Electroencephalographic (EEG) signals have gained widespread application in emotion recognition due to their inherent characteristics of being non-concealable and directly reflecting brain activity. In recent years, with the establishment of open datasets and advancements in deep learning, an increasing number of researchers have integrated EEG with deep learning methods for emotion recognition studies. This review summarizes commonly used deep learning models in EEG-based emotion recognition along with their applications in this field, including the design of different network architectures, optimization strategies, and model designs based on EEG signal features. We also discuss limitations from the perspectives of commonality-individuality (C-I) and suggest improvements. The review outlines future research directions and provided a minimal C-I framework to assess models. Through this review, we aim to provide researchers in this field with a comprehensive reference and approach to balance universality and personalization to promote the development of deep learning-based EEG emotion recognition methods.

RevDate: 2026-01-28
CmpDate: 2026-01-28

Tyler WJ (2025)

Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Treating Emotional Dysregulation and Inflammation in Common Neuropsychiatric Disorders.

Brain sciences, 16(1): pii:brainsci16010008.

Development of new therapeutic approaches and strategies for common neuropsychiatric disorders, including Major Depressive Disorder, anxiety disorders, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, represent a significant global health challenge. Recent research indicates that emotional dysregulation and persistent inflammation are closely linked and serve as key pathophysiological features of these conditions. Emotional dysregulation is mechanistically coupled to locus coeruleus and norepinephrine (LC-NE) or noradrenergic system activity. Stemming from chronic stress, persistently elevated activity of the LC-NE system leads to hypervigilance, anxious states, and depressed mood. Concurrently, these symptoms are marked by systemic inflammation as indicated by elevated pro-inflammatory cytokines, and central neuroinflammation indicated by microglial activation in brain regions and networks involved in mood regulation and emotional control. In turn, chronic inflammation increases sympathetic tone and LC-NE activity resulting in a vortex of psychoneuroimmunological dysfunction that worsens mental health. Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) in a non-invasive neuromodulation method uniquely positioned to address both noradrenergic dysfunction and chronic inflammation in neuropsychiatric applications. Evidence spanning the past decade demonstrates taVNS works via two complementary mechanisms. An ascending pathway engages vagal afferents projecting to the LC-NE system in the brain stem, which has been shown to modulate cortical arousal, cognitive function, mood, and stress responses. Through descending circuits, taVNS also modulates the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway to suppress the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines like TNF-α and IL-6 mitigating poor health outcomes caused by inflammation. By enhancing both central brain function and peripheral immune responses, taVNS has shown significant potential for recalibrating perturbed affective-cognitive processing. The present article describes and discusses recent evidence suggesting that taVNS offers a promising network-based paradigm for restoring psychoneuroimmunological homeostasis in common neuropsychiatric conditions.

RevDate: 2026-01-28
CmpDate: 2026-01-28

Wang H, Xu S, Guo R, et al (2026)

Neurosense: Bridging Neural Dynamics and Mental Health Through Deep Learning for Brain Health Assessment via Reaction Time and p-Factor Prediction.

Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland), 16(2): pii:diagnostics16020293.

Background/Objectives: Cognitive decline and compromised attention control serve as early indicators of neurodysfunction that manifest as broader psychopathological symptoms, yet conventional mental health assessment relies predominantly on subjective self-report measures lacking objectivity and temporal granularity. We propose Neurosense, an AI-driven brain health assessment framework using electroencephalography (EEG) to non-invasively capture neural dynamics. Methods: Our Dual-path Spatio-Temporal Adaptive Gated Encoder (D-STAGE) architecture processes temporal and spatial EEG features in parallel through Transformer-based and graph convolutional pathways, integrating them via adaptive gating mechanisms. We introduce a two-stage paradigm: first training on cognitive task EEG for reaction time prediction to acquire cognitive performance-related representations, then featuring parameter-efficient adapter-based transfer learning to estimate p-factor-a transdiagnostic psychopathology dimension. The adapter-based transfer achieves competitive performance using only 1.7% of parameters required for full fine-tuning. Results: The model achieves effective reaction time prediction from EEG signals. Transfer learning from cognitive tasks to mental health assessment demonstrates that cognitive efficiency representations can be adapted for p-factor prediction, outperforming direct training approaches while maintaining parameter efficiency. Conclusions: The Neurosense framework reveals hierarchical relationships between neural dynamics, cognitive efficiency, and mental health dimensions, establishing foundations for a promising computational framework for mental health assessment applications.

RevDate: 2026-01-28
CmpDate: 2026-01-28

Bahadir S, Robinson JT, Morse LR, et al (2026)

The sixth bioelectronic medicine summit: Neurotechnologies for individuals and communities.

Bioelectronic medicine, 12(1):3.

RevDate: 2026-01-27

Suo X, Li W, Liao X, et al (2026)

A study of cortical activation and corticomuscular coupling enhancement following pre-task electrical stimulation in motor imagery.

Journal of neural engineering [Epub ahead of print].

OBJECTIVE: Motor imagery-based brain-computer interfaces (MI-BCIs) have been extensively studied. However, their widespread application is limited by the difficulty in extracting motor intentions from electroencephalography (EEG) signals, leading to low recognition rates. Additionally, the phenomenon of motor imagery blindnes s in some individuals further limits its applicability. Previous studies have attempted to improve motor imagery ability through electrical stimulation. However, applying electrical stimulation during motor imagery may introduce EEG artifacts and interfere with participants' concentration. The goal of this study is to investigate a new experimental paradigm. The new experimental paradigm improves motor imagery ability through pre-task electrical stimulation while preventing participant distraction or EEG artifacts.

APPROACH: This study implemented two paradigms: motor imagery with pre-task electrical stimulation (MI-ES) and motor imagery-only (MI-Only). Electrical stimulation was applied over hand muscle groups. Electromyography (EMG) and 64-channel EEG signals were simultaneously recorded under two experimental conditions.

MAIN RESULTS: We analyzed cortical activities and correlations between different brain regions under the two experimental conditions. Participants in the MI-ES condition exhibited a higher level of brain activation compared to the MI-Only condition. Additionally, in the MI-ES condition, the correlation between participants' EEG and EMG signals increased after electrical stimulation, indicating that the activation level of the motor-related cortex increased. A novel convolutional spiking neural network was applied to classify motor intentions, with participants achieving higher accuracy under the MI-ES condition, demonstrating enhanced motor imagery ability through pre-task electrical stimulation.

SIGNIFICANCE: This research demonstrates that pre-task electrical stimulation significantly enhances motor imagery ability, while also increasing cortical activation and corticomuscular coupling without introducing EEG artifacts or attentional interference.

RevDate: 2026-01-28
CmpDate: 2026-01-27

Mehmood F, Rehman SU, Mehmood A, et al (2025)

Advances in AI-Driven EEG Analysis for Neurological and Oculomotor Disorders: A Systematic Review.

Biosensors, 16(1): pii:bios16010015.

Electroencephalography (EEG) has emerged as a powerful, non-invasive modality for investigating neurological and oculomotor disorders, particularly when combined with advances in artificial intelligence (AI). This systematic review examines recent progress in machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) techniques applied to EEG-based analysis for the diagnosis, classification, and monitoring of neurological conditions, including oculomotor-related disorders. Following the PRISMA guidelines, a structured literature search was conducted across major scientific databases, resulting in the inclusion of 15 peer-reviewed studies published over the last decade. The reviewed works encompass a range of neurological and ocular-related disorders and employ diverse AI models, from conventional ML algorithms to advanced DL architectures capable of learning complex spatiotemporal representations of neural signals. Key trends in feature extraction, signal representation, model design, and validation strategies are synthesized here to highlight methodological advancements and common challenges. While the reviewed studies demonstrate the growing potential of AI-enhanced EEG analysis for supporting clinical decision-making, limitations such as small sample sizes, heterogeneous datasets, and limited external validation remain prevalent. Addressing these challenges through standardized methodologies, larger multi-center datasets, and robust validation frameworks will be essential for translating EEG-driven AI approaches into reliable clinical applications. Overall, this review provides a comprehensive overview of current methodologies and future directions for AI-driven EEG analysis in neurological and oculomotor disorder assessment.

RevDate: 2026-01-27
CmpDate: 2026-01-27

He M, Huang Y, Cui Z, et al (2026)

Construction of Flexible Kaolin/Chitin Composite Aerogels and Their Properties.

Gels (Basel, Switzerland), 12(1): pii:gels12010076.

In this work, kaolin/chitin (K/Ch) composite aerogels with different mass ratios were successfully fabricated via a freeze-drying approach. The influence of kaolin content on the microstructure, properties and hemostatic performance of the composite aerogels was systematically investigated. The results demonstrated that the incorporation of kaolin endowed the chitin-based aerogels with tunable porous structures, excellent water absorption capacity (up to 4282% for K0.25/Ch2), and enhanced water retention (73.7% for K2/Ch2 at 60 min). Moreover, the K/Ch composite aerogels exhibited good biodegradability, no cytotoxicity (cell viability > 91.9%), and no hemolysis (hemolysis rate < 1.5% at all test concentrations). In vitro hemostatic evaluations revealed that the composite aerogels exhibited rapid blood coagulation (blood clotting time of 16 s for K2/Ch2) with a blood coagulation index (BCI) as low as 0.5%, which was attributed to the synergistic effect of the physical adsorption of chitin and the coagulation cascade activation by kaolin. These findings indicated that the K/Ch composite aerogels could be used as novel natural hemostatic materials for potential effective and rapid hemostasis.

RevDate: 2026-01-26

Jia J, Zhang R, Yuan D, et al (2026)

Theoretical and applied research on spatio-temporal graph attention networks for single-trial P300 detection.

Journal of neural engineering [Epub ahead of print].

Accurate detection of single-trial P300 ERPs (event-related potentials) is crucial for developing high-performance non-invasive BCIs (brain-computer interfaces). However, this task remains challenging because of the low SNR (signal-to-noise ratio) of EEG (electroencephalography) and the limited ability of existing models to concurrently capture the complex non-Euclidean spatiotemporal dynamics of brain signals. Approach: We propose a novel ST-GraphTRNet (spatiotemporal graph transformer network). This architecture synergis-tically integrates temporal convolutions for local feature extraction, graph convolutions to explicitly model the neurophysio-logical spatial relationships between EEG electrodes, and a temporal transformer with a self-attention mechanism to capture global, long-range temporal dependencies across the entire signal. Main Results: Extensive evaluation of four public P300 datasets demonstrates that ST-GraphTRNet significantly outper-forms SOTA (state-of-the-art) benchmarks under both within-subject and cross-subject paradigms. Crucially, interpretability analyses via t-SNE (T-distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding) and Grad-CAM (Gradient-weighted Class Activation Mapping) revealed that the model's decisions aligned with established neurophysiological priors, focusing on parietal elec-trodes approximately 300 ms post-stimulus. Significance: This study provides a powerful and interpretable framework for single-trial ERPs decoding. By effectively integrating the strengths of CNNs (Convolutional Neural Networks), GNNs (Craph Neural Networks), and Transformers, a new benchmark for building high-accuracy, generalizable, and clinically viable BCIs is established, moving closer to the goal of plug-and-play systems that require minimal user-specific calibration. .

RevDate: 2026-01-26
CmpDate: 2026-01-26

Chin AHB, Roslan R, Alsomali N, et al (2026)

Islamic Bioethics Viewpoint on Elective Brain Chip Implants and Brain-Computer Interfaces for Enhancing Academic Performance in Competitive Examinations.

Asian bioethics review, 18(1):79-92.

The first implantation of a brain chip into a human paralysis patient by Neuralink demonstrated much potential for treating debilitating neurological diseases and injuries. Nevertheless, brain chips can also be implanted in healthy people to provide an interface between the human brain with computers, robotic machines, and novel artificial intelligence platforms, which generates new ethical issues. The focus here is on the development of brain chip implants that can significantly improve memory, intelligence, and cognition, thereby boosting performance in national examinations for university admissions and securing civil service jobs, thus providing a "game-changer" and "shortcut" for many students and parents. Given that Islam is a major world religion, constituting a significant portion of the global population, it is crucial for the biomedical industry to comprehend Islamic perspectives on emerging medical technologies, which will enable it to more effectively cater to a substantial and growing demographic. We thus critically examine whether the application of brain chip technology to enhance academic performance in highly competitive examinations is consistent with Islamic principles. Based on the Islamic jurisprudential framework, such an application for intellectual enhancement of normal and healthy people without any mental impairment may conflict with the injunction to preserve intellect (Hifz al-Aql) and "consideration of consequences" (murā'āt al-ma'ālāt) in Islam. It may also be viewed as tampering with Allah's creation (Taghyir Khalq Allah). Gaining such unfair advantages in competitive examinations will likely be viewed as unethical, by transgressing the core Islamic precepts of Amanah (trustworthiness), Al-'Adl (justice), Ikhlas (sincerity), and Mujahadah (striving).

RevDate: 2026-01-28
CmpDate: 2026-01-26

Wang S, Wang R, Chang L, et al (2025)

AMANet: a data-augmented multi-scale temporal attention convolutional network for motor imagery classification.

Frontiers in neurorobotics, 19:1704111.

Motor imagery brain-computer interface (MI-BCI) has garnered considerable attention due to its potential for neural plasticity. However, the limited number of MI-EEG samples per subject and the susceptibility of features to noise and artifacts posed significant challenges for achieving high decoding performance. To address this problem, a Data-Augmented Multi-Scale Temporal Attention Convolutional Network (AMANet) was proposed. The network mainly consisted of four modules. First, the data augmentation module comprises three steps: sliding-window segmentation to increase sample size, Common Spatial Pattern (CSP) extraction of discriminative spatial features, and linear scaling to enhance network robustness. Then, multi-scale temporal convolution was incorporated to dynamically extract temporal and spatial features. Subsequently, the ECA attention mechanism was integrated to realize the adaptive adjustment of the weights of different channels. Finally, depthwise separable convolution was utilized to fully integrate and classify the deep extraction of temporal and spatial features. In 10-fold cross-validation, the results show that AMANet achieves classification accuracies of 84.06 and 85.09% on the BCI Competition IV Datasets 2a and 2b, respectively, significantly outperforming baseline models such as Incep-EEGNet. On the High-Gamma dataset, AMANet attains a classification accuracy of 95.48%. These results demonstrate the excellent performance of AMANet in motor imagery decoding tasks.

RevDate: 2026-01-28
CmpDate: 2026-01-26

Zhang M, Wang T, Z Zhu (2025)

Bridging neuromorphic computing and deep learning for next-generation neural data interpretation.

Frontiers in computational neuroscience, 19:1737839.

RevDate: 2026-01-26
CmpDate: 2026-01-26

Kim DU, Yoo MA, Choi SI, et al (2026)

Toward zero-calibration MEG brain-computer interfaces based on event-related fields.

Biomedical engineering letters, 16(1):67-76.

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) offers high spatiotemporal resolution, but its application in practical brain-computer interface (BCI) systems remains limited partially due to the need for user-specific calibration and inter-subject variability. We present a zero-calibration MEG-based BCI based on event-related fields (ERFs) by leveraging spatial filters and deep learning techniques. First, we developed an on-line ERF-based MEG BCI with a visual oddball paradigm, achieving the mean classification accuracy of 94.29% and an information transfer rate (ITR) of 20.47 bits/min. Using the resulting multi-subject dataset, we applied xDAWN spatial filtering and trained a deep convolutional neural network (DeepConvNet) to classify target versus non-target responses. To simulate real-world plug-and-play use, zero-calibration performance was evaluated using a leave-one-subject-out (LOSO) cross-validation approach. The combination of xDAWN and DeepConvNet achieved the average accuracy of 80.32% and ITR of 12.75 bits/min, respectively, demonstrating cross-subject generalization. These results underscore the feasibility of zero-calibration MEG BCIs for more practical use.

RevDate: 2026-01-25

Mannan MMN, Palipana DB, Mulholland K, et al (2026)

Virtual reality mediated brain-computer interface training improves sensorimotor neuromodulation in unimpaired and post spinal cord injury individuals.

Scientific reports pii:10.1038/s41598-026-36431-3 [Epub ahead of print].

Real-time brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) that decode electroencephalograms (EEG) during motor imagery (MI) are powerful adjuncts to rehabilitation after neurotrauma. Further, immersive virtual reality (VR) could complement BCIs by delivering visual and auditory sensory feedback (VR biofeedback) congruent to user's MI, enabling task-oriented therapies. Yet, therapeutic outcomes rely on user's proficiency in evoking MI to attain volitional BCI-commanded VR interaction. While previous studies have explored multi-session BCIs, we investigated the impact of longitudinal training on sensorimotor neuromodulation using BCI combined with VR-mediated externally-cued and self-paced lower-limb MI tasks. The EEG-based BCI was coupled with real-time VR biofeedback congruent with the MI task. Over multiple training sessions in laboratory conditions, five unimpaired individuals progressively learnt to improve control over their EEG during MI virtual walking, corresponding with increased BCI classification accuracy. Further, similar improvements were found with four individuals with chronic complete spinal cord injury (SCI) using the system in real-world neurorehabilitation settings. These findings demonstrate that unimpaired and SCI impaired individuals learnt to control their sensorimotor EEG associated with MI tasks through VR-mediated BCI training, which was associated with improved BCI classification accuracy. Our findings highlight the potential of VR-mediated BCIs in enhancing neuromodulation, providing a foundation for future rehabilitation therapies.

RevDate: 2026-01-25

Liao X, G Gao (2026)

Strategies for improving recovery of consciousness after acute brain injury.

Current opinion in critical care pii:00075198-990000000-00339 [Epub ahead of print].

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Advances in critical care have improved survival rates after severe brain injuries, yet many patients experience prolonged disorders of consciousness, resulting in significant care burdens and ethical challenges. Therefore, a systematic review of current treatment strategies for these disorders following acute brain injury is essential to provide evidence-based guidance for clinicians, ultimately aiming to enhance patient prognosis and quality of life.

RECENT FINDINGS: Research has rapidly evolved beyond traditional drugs like amantadine and zolpidem, with significant breakthroughs in neuromodulation techniques such as spinal cord stimulation, transcranial direct current stimulation, and brain-computer interfaces. These innovations are reshaping clinical practice by transitioning from theoretical concepts to validated interventions, enabling more precise, individualized treatment protocols. This shift moves clinical management from empirical medication toward targeted neural circuit modulation, while technologies detecting covert consciousness are helping redefine diagnostic standards. The differential effects of these interventions are also advancing fundamental research, deepening understanding of consciousness networks and shifting focus from single targets to whole brain dynamic regulation.

SUMMARY: These developments collectively highlight the need for integrated multimodal assessment and multilevel interventions, pointing toward a future of personalized, precision medicine for arousal promotion that offers tangible hope for improving patient recovery outcomes and quality of life.

RevDate: 2026-01-24

Niu X, Yuan M, Zhang J, et al (2026)

Noninvasive BCI-based cognitive rehabilitation in poststroke cognitive impairment: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Trials pii:10.1186/s13063-026-09449-1 [Epub ahead of print].

BACKGROUND: Poststroke cognitive impairment (PSCI) significantly reduces quality of life and survival rates. Current interventions face challenges in efficacy and accessibility. Noninvasive brain-computer interface (BCI) technology may enhance neural plasticity and cognitive recovery through real-time neurofeedback, offering a safe and accessible approach for poststroke cognitive rehabilitation. This trial aims to evaluate the efficacy of BCI-based cognitive training and explore its neural mechanisms.

METHODS: A prospective, randomized, double-blind, controlled, single-center trial will enroll 66 PSCI patients. Participants will be randomized into the intervention group or control group. Interventions will be administered 5 days/week for 4 weeks. Primary outcome is as follows: The 4-week post-intervention MoCA scores; secondary outcomes are as follows: 3-month follow-up MoCA scores, attention, memory, executive function, neurophysiological markers, and daily living function. Assessments will be conducted at baseline (T0W), post-intervention (T4W), and 3-month follow-up (T16W).

DISCUSSION: Results will provide evidence for BCI's clinical utility and neuroplasticity mechanisms, guiding personalized neurorehabilitation strategies.

TRIAL STATUS: The protocol version used for this study is Version 3.0, dated May 8, 2025. Recruitment is scheduled to begin on June 10, 2025, and is expected to be completed by May 8, 2026.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2500107318. Registered on 8 August 2025.

RevDate: 2026-01-26
CmpDate: 2026-01-26

Colucci A, Vermehren M, Angerhöfer C, et al (2026)

Hybrid Brain/Neural Exoskeleton Enables Bimanual ADL Training in Routine Stroke Rehabilitation.

Stroke, 57(2):505-510.

BACKGROUND: Severe upper limb motor impairment is one of the most disabling consequences of stroke. Although brain-controlled rehabilitation technologies, such as brain/neural exoskeletons (B/NE), have been shown to be effective in promoting motor recovery, their clinical adoption remains limited because of insufficient integration of B/NE into existing clinical workflows. Here, we introduce and validate a fully portable B/NE system that overcomes this limitation by relying on brain (electroencephalography) and ocular (electrooculography) signals to restore bimanual activities of daily living within a novel therapeutic framework.

METHODS: In this pilot study, we tested the feasibility of the novel approach in 5 stroke survivors (mean age, 51 years; SD=14.8) undergoing inpatient neurorehabilitation. Stroke survivors aged 18 to 80 years, who exhibited hemiparesis and sufficient cognitive ability to understand and follow instructions, were invited to participate in a 1-hour training session. This session included system setup and calibration, followed by performing B/NE-supported, self-paced bimanual activities of daily living. As primary outcome measures, we assessed control accuracy, the ability to reliably modulate electroencephalography and electrooculography signals, and time to initialize, defined as the time required to react to cues and initiate the task, serving as a measure of control intuitiveness. In addition, participants' B/NE control performance during assisted training of bimanual activities of daily living, as well as setup preparation time, were assessed via direct observation.

RESULTS: Participants demonstrated reliable control accuracy in using both brain (mean, 83%; SD=15.36) and ocular (mean=100%) signals, as well as intuitive control (time to initialize <2 s). All participants reliably controlled the B/NE performing a battery of 10 bimanual activities of daily living. Moreover, setup and calibration times remained below 20 minutes.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the compatibility of the novel B/NE with existing clinical workflows and its feasibility to enable B/NE-supported stroke neurorehabilitation by facilitating seamless integration into clinical practice.

RevDate: 2026-01-28
CmpDate: 2026-01-26

Rodriguez-Calienes A, Oliver M, Hassan AE, et al (2023)

Safety of Intravenous Cangrelor Versus Dual Oral Antiplatelet Loading Therapy in Endovascular Treatment of Tandem Lesions: An Observational Cohort Study.

Stroke (Hoboken, N.J.), 3(6):e001020.

BACKGROUND: Procedural intravenous cangrelor has been proposed as an effective platelet inhibition strategy for stenting in acute ischemic stroke. We aimed to compare the safety profile of low-dose intravenous cangrelor versus dual oral antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) loading in patients with acute cervical tandem lesions.

METHODS: We retrospectively identified cases from an international multicenter cohort who underwent intraprocedural administration of intravenous cangrelor (15 μg/kg followed by an infusion of 2 μg/kg per min) or DAPT loading during acute tandem lesions intervention. Safety outcomes included rates of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage, parenchymal hematoma type 2, petechial hemorrhage, and in-stent thrombosis. Inverse probability of treatment weighting matching was used to reduce confounding.

RESULTS: From 691 patients, we included 195 patients, 30 of whom received intravenous cangrelor and 165 DAPT. The DAPT regimens were aspirin+clopidogrel (93.3%) or aspirin+ticagrelor (6.6%). After inverse probability of treatment weighting, the patients treated with cangrelor were not at greater odds of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (odds ratio [OR], 1.30 [95% CI, 0.09-17.3]; P=0.837), symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage-parenchymal hematoma type 2 (OR, 0.54 [95% CI, 0.05-4.98]; P=0.589), or petechial hemorrhage (OR, 1.11 [95% CI, 0.38-3.28]; P=0.836). Similarly, the rate of in-stent thrombosis was not significantly different between the 2 groups (1.8% versus 0%; P=0.911).

CONCLUSION: Cangrelor at the half dose of the myocardial infarction protocol showed a similar safety profile compared with the commonly used DAPT loading protocols in patients with acute tandem lesions. Further studies with larger samples are warranted to elucidate the safety of antiplatelet therapy in tandem lesions.

RevDate: 2026-01-24

Huang Q, Chen D, Pereira AC, et al (2026)

Differential GABA dynamics across brain functional networks in autism.

Communications biology pii:10.1038/s42003-026-09563-5 [Epub ahead of print].

Differences in the ϒ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) system contribute to an excitatory-inhibitory imbalance in autism, particularly affecting sensory processing. However, the brain's broader response to interventions targeting GABA pathways in individuals with autism remains poorly understood. This study tested the hypothesis that GABAergic control of information transfer across large-scale brain functional networks is altered in autism. We conducted a phase-amplitude coupling (PAC) analysis of resting-state EEG signals within and between these networks. Responses were compared after double-blind, randomized oral administration of either a placebo or 15/30 mg of arbaclofen, a GABAB receptor agonist. Twenty-four non-autistic (9 males; 19-53 years) and 15 autistic participants (9 males; 20-51 years) completed 93 study visits. Autistic participants exhibited significantly higher theta-beta PAC, especially within the limbic network. High-dose arbaclofen shifted PAC metrics in visual and somatomotor networks towards non-autistic levels, but had minimal effects on networks related to higher cognitive functions. Interestingly, altered PAC within and between networks in the limbic system of autistic participants was normalized by low-dose arbaclofen, yet reemerged after high-dose administration. These findings provide compelling evidence for altered GABAergic responsivity in autism, helping explain some of the challenges in prescribing medications for autistic individuals, such as paradoxical reactions and dose sensitivity.

RevDate: 2026-01-24

Huang C, Tao H, Zhou Y, et al (2026)

Pregnenolone promotes immune evasion through blocking endogenous retrovirus expression.

Cell metabolism pii:S1550-4131(25)00584-4 [Epub ahead of print].

Research into steroid hormones shaping tumor biology has gained increasing attention. Using multiple mouse tumor models, we show that pregnenolone promoted tumor progression and reduced sensitivity to immunotherapy. Pregnenolone levels were markedly elevated in maternal mice experiencing mating deficiency. Mechanistically, pregnenolone directly binds Kap1 and inhibits Trim39-mediated ubiquitination at K750, leading to Kap1 stabilization and repression of endogenous retrovirus (ERV) expression and type-I interferon production. Furthermore, pharmacological antagonism of pregnenolone effectively suppressed tumor growth and enhanced immunotherapy efficacy. These findings reveal a previously unrecognized link between mating-associated steroid metabolism and tumor immune regulation and identify pregnenolone signaling as a potential therapeutic target in cancer.

RevDate: 2026-01-23

Ning C, Fu G, Zhang YY, et al (2026)

Macaque prefrontal cortex integrates multiple components for metacognitive judgments of working memory.

Neuron pii:S0896-6273(25)00887-6 [Epub ahead of print].

The ability to evaluate one's own memory is known as metamemory. Whether metamemory is inherent to memory strength or requires additional computation in the brain remains largely unknown. We investigated the metacognitive mechanism of working memory (WM) using two-photon calcium imaging in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of macaque monkeys, memorizing spatial sequences of varying difficulties. In some trials, after viewing the sequence, monkeys could opt out of retrieval for a smaller reward, reflecting their confidence in WM (meta-WM). We discovered that PFC neurons encoded WM strength by jointly representing the remembered locations and their associated uncertainties. Additional factors-trial history and arousal-encoded in baseline activity also predicted opt-out decisions, serving as cues for meta-WM. We further identified a code for meta-WM itself that integrated WM strength with these cues. Thus, the PFC neural geometry implements metacognitive computations, integrating WM strength with cues into a meta-WM signal to guide behavior.

RevDate: 2026-01-23

Guo Z, Ye R, Guan L, et al (2026)

Differential roles of EA-TRAPed cells in the anterior cingulate cortex across various intervention times in inflammatory pain.

Animal models and experimental medicine [Epub ahead of print].

BACKGROUND: The analgesic effects of multiple electroacupuncture (EA) sessions and single EA sessions differ significantly in pain management. Area 24b (A24b) of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is crucial in pain processing. EA relieves pain by targeting and modulating the neuronal activity within this subregion. However, whether the cumulative effect of EA antinociception is connected to A24b mechanisms has remained unclear.

METHODS: In our study, we used the Complete Freund's Adjuvant (CFA) model to induce inflammatory pain and the Spared Nerve Injury (SNI) model to induce neuropathic pain, and adult male C57BL/6, FosTRAP, and FosTRAP:Ai9 mice were used as experimental subjects to investigate the cumulative effect of EA antinociception and whether multiple EA sessions and a single EA session regulate different neuronal populations in the A24b.

RESULTS: We observed that EA effectively alleviated pain in mice, with three EA sessions yielding superior analgesic effects compared to a single session. Using chemical genetics combined with FosCreER technology to activate EA-TRAPed cells in the A24b, we found that pain relief was more pronounced with three EA sessions. Moreover, chemogenetic inhibition of EA-TRAPed cells in the A24b reversed the analgesic effects of a single EA session but not those of three EA sessions. Fluorescent in situ hybridization results indicated that three EA sessions significantly increased the number of GABAergic neurons in the A24b compared with a single session. Additionally, retrograde tracing revealed that the A24b circuit that monosynaptically innervates EA-TRAPed cells included projections from the central lateral nucleus (CL), lateral mediodorsal thalamic nucleus (MDL), lateral habenula (LHb), dorsal raphe nucleus (DR), caudal linear nucleus of the raphe (CLi), dorsal tuberomamillary nucleus (DTM), periventricular hypothalamic nucleus (Pe) and hippocampal fields CA1, CA2, and CA3. These findings suggest that multiple EA sessions and single EA sessions activated different neuronal populations in the A24b. The enhanced analgesic effect of multiple EA sessions may be attributed to an increase in the proportion of GABAergic neurons within the A24b.

CONCLUSIONS: Multiple and single EA sessions recruit distinct neuronal populations in A24b, with the stronger analgesic effect of repeated EA linked to a higher proportion of GABAergic neurons in this region.

RevDate: 2026-01-23
CmpDate: 2026-01-23

Nieves-Méndez C (2025)

From neurotechnology to the classroom: the promise of brain-computer interfaces for training systems engineers.

Frontiers in human neuroscience, 19:1733768.

This perspective article explores the transformative potential of brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) in undergraduate systems engineering programs, a domain characterized by high attrition and a widening gap between rapid technological innovation and slower pedagogical change. I argue that BCI, by enabling real-time detection of cognitive states such as mental workload, attention, and frustration, can evolve from laboratory tools to central pedagogical instruments for adaptive, student-centered education. I review the state-of-the-art methods, which demonstrate the technical feasibility of low-cost electroencephalography (EEG) devices and machine learning algorithms that classify cognitive states with high accuracy in controlled settings. Building on this evidence, I outline concrete applications in three dimensions: formative assessment, dynamic curricular adaptation, and cognitive inclusion, with a specific emphasis on preventing dropout in foundational courses such as algorithms. I also examine ethical, technical, and pedagogical challenges, and propose a scalable, ethically grounded pilot model tailored for universities, particularly in Latin America. This study reports no empirical results. It synthesizes the existing evidence and proposes a roadmap for research and educational action.

RevDate: 2026-01-23

Artigas R, Ruiz S, Montalba C, et al (2026)

Decreased levels of N-Acetylaspartyglutamate, myo-inositol, and syllo-inositol, in cortical brain regions of women exposed to adverse childhood experiences.

Magnetic resonance imaging, 128:110621 pii:S0730-725X(26)00013-5 [Epub ahead of print].

Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE), including abuse and neglect, can have lasting negative effects on health, decreasing lifespan and increasing the risk of chronic diseases. While research on ACE's impact on brain biochemistry is limited, Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) provides a non-invasive way to study these alterations. This study aims to identify neurochemical patterns linked to ACE exposure using J-edited MRS methods. 43 female participants (18 Low-ACE and 25 High-ACE), aged 19 to 31, were recruited. ACE exposure was assessed using the Maltreatment and Abuse Chronology of Exposure (MACE) test. MRS was conducted on a 3.0 T scanner, with J-edited single-voxel 1H-MRS from the Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC), Pre-Frontal Cortex (PFC), and hippocampus. Metabolite quantification was carried out using the Osprey pipeline and analyzed using univariate and multivariate methods. Univariate analysis showed reduced N-Acetylaspartyglutamate (NAAG) and syllo-Inositol (sI) levels in the ACC (p = 0.06) and PFC (p = 0.057), respectively, among High-ACE participants. Logistic Regression identified lower NAAG, GABA, glutathione (GSH), and myo-Inositol (mI) in the ACC, and differences in sI, lactate, NAAG, and GSH in the PFC, within the High-ACE group. Random Forest and Support Vector Machines confirmed NAAG, mI, and sI as possible ACE biomarkers. Throughout this study, cortical regions consistently showed reduced levels of NAAG, mI, and sI in the High-ACE group, suggesting a potential link to ACE. These findings improve our understanding of neurochemical changes associated with ACE, aiding in the identification of at-risk individuals and in the development of strategies to prevent long-term health effects.

RevDate: 2026-01-22

Fu X, Jiang W, Liu R, et al (2026)

EEG-to-gait decoding via phase-aware representation learning.

Neural networks : the official journal of the International Neural Network Society, 198:108608 pii:S0893-6080(26)00070-5 [Epub ahead of print].

Accurate decoding of lower-limb motion from EEG signals is essential for advancing brain-computer interface (BCI) applications in movement intent recognition and control. This study presents NeuroDyGait, a two-stage, phase-aware EEG-to-gait decoding framework that explicitly models temporal continuity and domain relationships. To address challenges of causal, phase-consistent prediction and cross-subject variability, Stage I learns semantically aligned EEG-motion embeddings via relative contrastive learning with a cross-attention-based metric, while Stage II performs domain relation-aware decoding through dynamic fusion of session-specific heads. Comprehensive experiments on two benchmark datasets (GED and FMD) show substantial gains over baselines, including a recent 2025 model EEG2GAIT. The framework generalizes to unseen subjects and maintains inference latency below 5 ms per window, satisfying real-time BCI requirements. Visualization of learned attention and phase-specific cortical saliency maps further reveals interpretable neural correlates of gait phases. Future extensions will target rehabilitation populations and multimodal integration.

RevDate: 2026-01-22

Sun J, Xie R, Yu J, et al (2026)

Dynamic modulation of corticomuscular coherence during ankle dorsiflexion after stroke: towards hybrid BCI for lower-limb rehabilitation.

Journal of neural engineering [Epub ahead of print].

OBJECTIVE: Hybrid brain-computer interface (BCI) systems incorporate electroencephalography (EEG) and electromyography (EMG) signals to extract corticomuscular coherence (CMC) features, enabling self-modulation of neural communication. While promising for stroke rehabilitation, the neurophysiological mechanism underlying hybrid BCI therapy remains poorly understood. To address this gap, we characterized post-stroke CMC dynamics during ankle dorsiflexion and further established their relationship with functional motor recovery.

APPROACH: We acquired synchronous EEG and high-density EMG (HD-EMG) recordings from 13 subacute stroke patients (with their affected limb) before and after three-week rehabilitation, and 9 age-matched healthy controls (using their dominant limb) during isometric ankle dorsiflexion. Using multivariate coupling analysis, we computed EEG and EMG projection vectors to identify optimal coupling patterns. Subsequently, we derived CMC spectra and topographies through coherence analysis to characterize corticomuscular interactions at spatial and spectral scales.

MAIN RESULTS: Compared to healthy controls, stroke patients demonstrated reduced beta-band CMC patterns, particularly within the sensorimotor areas involved in the foot movement. No significant differences in CMC patterns were observed between stroke patients before and after rehabilitation training. Further analysis revealed significant correlation between betaband CMC changes and clinical improvements measured by the Berg Balance Scale (BBS).

SIGNIFICANCE: Beta-band CMC is a potential neurophysiological biomarker of motor recovery following stroke. These findings provide novel insights into the disrupted corticomuscular communication underlying post-stroke motor dysfunction, while offering mechanistic evidence to guide the design and implementation of hybrid BCI systems that target these specific biomarkers for therapeutic intervention.

RevDate: 2026-01-23
CmpDate: 2026-01-23

Yue H, Ruan H, Y Zhao (2026)

LMSA-net: a lightweight multi-scale attention network for eeg-based emotion recognition.

Biomedical physics & engineering express, 12(1):.

Electroencephalogram (EEG)-based emotion recognition holds great potential in affective computing, mental health assessment, and human-computer interaction. However, EEG signals are non-stationary, noisy, and composed of multiple frequency bands, making direct feature learning from raw data particularly challenging. While end-to-end models alleviate the need for manual feature engineering, advancing the performance frontier of lightweight architectures remains a crucial and complex challenge for practical deployment. To address these issues, we propose LMSA-Net (Lightweight Multi-Scale Attention Network), a lightweight, interpretable, and end-to-end model that directly learns spatio-temporal features from raw EEG signals. The architecture integrates learnable channel weighting for adaptive spatial encoding, multi-scale temporal separable convolution for rhythm-specific feature extraction, and Sim Attention Module for parameter-free saliency enhancement. Our proposed LMSA-Net is evaluated on three benchmark datasets, SEED, SEED-IV, and DEAP, under subject-dependent protocols. It achieves top performance on SEED (65.53% accuracy), competitive results on SEED-IV (48.52% accuracy), and strong performance in arousal classification on DEAP, demonstrating good generalization. Ablation studies confirm the critical role of each proposed module. Frequency analysis reveals that our multi-scale temporal kernels inherently specialize in distinct EEG rhythms, validating their neurophysiological alignment. Lightweight design is evidenced by minimal parameters (7.64K) and low latency, ideal for edge deployment. Interpretability analysis further shows the model's focus on emotion-related brain regions. LMSA-Net thus delivers an efficient, interpretable, and high-performing solution. The code is available athttps://github.com/rhr0411/LMSA-Net.git.

RevDate: 2026-01-22

Huang C, Bai J, Lin K, et al (2026)

Exploring Back Muscle Activities in Chronic Low Back Pain Patients Using a Large-Area Stretchable Electrode Array With Full-Back Coverage.

Advanced healthcare materials [Epub ahead of print].

Exploring the back muscle activity in chronic low back pain (CLBP) patients is crucial for the quantitative assessment of their neuromuscular function. However, hindered by the lack of stretchable, large-area electrode arrays capable of spanning the entire back, existing studies have primarily focused on the erector spinae and multifidus muscles in the lower back. Here, we report a large-area, stretchable high-density surface electromyography (HD-sEMG) electrode array designed to cover both lower and upper back regions, enabling comprehensive characterization of back muscle activity in CLBP patients. The array comprises 64 channels arranged in a half-dumbbell configuration, inspired by the anatomical distribution of the erector spinae and multifidus muscles. Notably, this array demonstrates unprecedented operability, scalability for mass production, and reliable data acquisition capabilities. 128-channel HD-sEMG signals were acquired from both healthy controls and CLBP patients during the Biering-Sørensen test, a standardized lumbar endurance protocol. Statistical analyses of sEMG-derived metrics and topographic maps revealed significant intergroup differences in muscle activity, as well as regional variations between the lower back, upper back, and full-back segments, particularly in contraction time and fatigue-related metric changes. These findings offer novel insights into the neuromuscular dysfunction in CLBP, potentially illuminating the underlying physiological adaptations associated with CLBP.

RevDate: 2026-01-22

Prasad NK, Perry NJ, Goldring AL, et al (2026)

A retrospective analysis of post-stroke rehabilitation with real world use of brain-computer interface.

Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation pii:10.1186/s12984-026-01880-4 [Epub ahead of print].

RevDate: 2026-01-21

Wang Z, Chen K, Shi X, et al (2026)

Fibre integrated circuits by a multilayered spiral architecture.

Nature [Epub ahead of print].

Fibre electronic devices are transforming traditional fibres and garments into new-generation wearables that can actively interact with human bodies and the environment to shape future life[1-5]. Fibre electronic devices have achieved almost all of the desired functions, such as powering[6,7], sensing[8,9] and display[10,11] functions. However, viable information-processing fibres, which lie at the heart of building intelligent interactive fibre systems similar to any electronic product, remain the missing piece of the puzzle[12-15]. Here we fill this gap by creating a fibre integrated circuit (FIC) with unprecedented microdevice density and multimodal processing capacity. The integration density reaches 100,000 transistors per centimetre, which effectively satisfies the requirements for interactive fibre systems. The FICs can not only process digital and analogue signals similar to typical commercial arithmetic chips but also achieve high-recognition-accuracy neural computing similar to that of the state-of-the-art in-memory image processors. The FICs are stable under harsh service conditions that bulky and planar counterparts have difficulty withstanding, such as repeated bending and abrasion for 10,000 cycles, stretching to 30%, twisting at an angle of 180° cm[-1] and even crushing by a container truck weighing 15.6 tons. The realization of FICs enables closed-loop systems in a single fibre, without the need for any external rigid and bulky information processors. We demonstrate that this fully flexible fibre system paves the way for the interaction pattern desired in many cutting-edge applications, for example, brain-computer interfaces, smart textiles and virtual-reality wearables. This work presents new insights that can promote the development of fibre devices towards intelligent systems.

RevDate: 2026-01-21

Zhu L, Li R, Qian M, et al (2026)

A Glial Hub-and-Spoke Circuitry in C. elegans orchestrates bidirectional thermosensation.

Nature communications pii:10.1038/s41467-026-68766-w [Epub ahead of print].

Thermosensation is evolutionarily conserved for survival, yet the roles of glia in temperature coding and circuit dynamics remain poorly understood. Here, we identify C. elegans AMsh glia as dual-mode thermosensory hubs that autonomously detect temperature fluctuations by co-expressing the heat receptor GCY-28 (guanylate cyclase) and cold receptor GLR-3 (ionotropic glutamate receptor). Thermal changes induce spatiotemporal calcium dynamics in glia, driving GABA release to bidirectionally modulate neural circuits: enhancing AFD-mediated warmth detection through the excitatory receptor EXP-1 and suppressing ASH-dependent cold avoidance via the inhibitory receptor LGC-38. This GABAergic hub-and-spoke architecture regulates a broad range of thermal behaviors, including thermal avoidance, thermal resistance, and thermal preference. These findings establish glia as critical interpreters of environmental cues, highlighting their dual roles as sensors and modulators in sensory processing and providing a paradigm for understanding conserved glial mechanisms in neural circuit dynamics and behavioral plasticity.

RevDate: 2026-01-21

Sun Y, Liu W, Zhang H, et al (2026)

An ultrasoft, breathable, and multichannel ear-computer interface patch.

Science bulletin pii:S2095-9273(25)01319-2 [Epub ahead of print].

Brain-computer interface (BCI) presented by the non-invasive electroencephalography (EEG) cap/band or implantable chips enabling people to fast and reliable control computers or mobile devices with thoughts has redefined the boundaries of human capabilities. However, the existing cap/band-adhered sticky gel usually needs to be tightly fixed on the scalp through the hair to ensure intimate contact, which inconveniences the user. And the implantable chips represented by Neuralink gave a living example of how BCI can make quadriplegic live better, but the destructive unacceptable for healthy people. Here we proposed a multichannel wearable ear-computer interface (ECI) patch worn behind the ears for direct communication and control via brain activity. The 8-channel ECI patch based on MXene electrode was prepared by a facile direct inject print approach on the soft, thin, and breathable medical film that enables superior adherence. The fatigue induction experiments tested by the ECI patch offer an average classification accuracy of 90.5%, showing effective monitoring of the fatigue state. Participants wearing the ECI patch also perform the 4-target steady state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) BCI classification offline and online experiment, the online 4-route tasks reap a comparable average accuracy of 93.5% to the commercial cap. Moreover, the complex route task relied on the subjects who gave commands while observing the unmanned vehicle completed 3 times, demonstrating the reliability and possibility of the ECI patch.

RevDate: 2026-01-21
CmpDate: 2026-01-21

Zafar R, H Abdulrab (2025)

Deep Learning Unveils Health Predictions From EEG and MRI Data.

IEEE pulse, 16(5):27-34.

The field of neuroscience and neuroimaging has been revolutionized with the use of artificial intelligence (AI), as it helps in enhancing the detection of brain activities and accurately diagnosing neurological disorders using various modalities. There are different modalities that help in measuring brain activities, but the most common and widely used are functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG). The advanced AI approaches, like deep learning (DL) models, give a new opportunity to various fields, including brain research. This research investigates various AI-driven techniques used for the detection and exploration of the human brain using fMRI and EEG. The AI methods include different machine learning (ML) and DL techniques used to interpret neural activities. Basically, the AI-based models, which also include ML and DL, identify the patterns and detect the abnormalities with higher accuracy, which is helpful in many applications, including brain decoding, monitoring cognitive states, brain-computer interface (BCI), and diagnosis of various diseases. This research provides a comprehensive overview of AI applications in neuroimaging, highlights key applications in cognitive neuroscience and medical imaging, along with a discussion of challenges and future directions. The AI impact of the transformation of neuroimaging research is comprehensively discussed with examples to enhance comprehension.

RevDate: 2026-01-21
CmpDate: 2026-01-21

Sebastián-Romagosa M, Cho W, Ortner R, et al (2025)

Toward Brain-Computer Interface motor rehabilitation for people with Multiple Sclerosis.

Frontiers in medicine, 12:1661972.

BACKGROUND: Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease in which the immune system attacks the myelin sheaths around nerves. People with MS (pwMS) often experience pain, fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, and reduced mobility. Today, MS is incurable, and treatments can at best slow the progression of the disease and manage symptoms. We conducted a preliminary, single-arm study using a motor-imagery brain-computer interface (MI-BCI) with functional electrical stimulation (FES) and virtual reality avatar targeting gait in pwMS.

METHODS: Twenty-six pwMS were enrolled; 24 completed 30 BCI sessions. Outcomes were assessed at Baseline, immediately post-treatment (Post1, week 13) and during follow-up (Post2, week 17; Post3, week 37). Change from baseline was analyzed using mixed models for repeated measures (with log-ratio models for skewed measures) and multiplicity control. This uncontrolled study is hypothesis-generating.

RESULTS: Patients treated with the BCI-based intervention obtained significant improvements that were largely maintained to 6 months after the therapy. The walking endurance, assessed by the 6-minute walking test (6MWT), increased by 37.3 m (95% CI 21.50-53.10) after the treatment (p < 0.001), exceeding the minimal clinically important difference (MCID). This improvement in the walking endurance was maintained during the following 6 months after the intervention. Mobility/speed improved: TUG and T25FW times decreased by -15.5% and -16.4% after the last BCI session (both p < 0.001), with benefits persisting after 6 months. Spasticity (MAS) declined by about 1 point, and patient-reported outcomes improved statistically and clinically (MSIS-29 10.18 points, MFIS 7.29 points). Pairwise post-visit contrasts were not significant, consistent with maintenance. Exploratory models found no consistent MS-subtype effect on 6MWT change and suggested larger gains with higher baseline EDSS. Two discontinuations were due to participant availability, not concerns with fatigue or safety.

CONCLUSION: In this preliminary, single-arm study, a MI-BCI + FES system was associated with statistically significant, clinically meaningful gains in gait endurance, mobility/speed, spasticity, and patient-reported outcomes, sustained up to 6 months after the intervention.

RevDate: 2026-01-21
CmpDate: 2026-01-21

Li Z, Li T, Ge R, et al (2026)

Thermo-responsive, on-demand adhesive and tissue-conformal hydrogel electrodes for organ repair and brain-computer interfaces.

Materials today. Bio, 36:102705.

Implantable bioelectronic devices, such as brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), face persistent challenges in achieving stable, rapid, and reversible adhesion on wet tissues due to hydration layers and mechanical mismatch, which can cause interfacial failure and unstable signals. Here, we report a conductive hydrogel interface with tissue-adaptive, temperature-controllable adhesion. The material is synthesized via dynamic co-entanglement of poly(acrylic acid) and poly(lipoic acid) with LA-NHS, establishing a dual physico-chemical anchoring mechanism that enables efficient tissue integration in aqueous environments. The hydrogel penetrates tissue microstructures within 5 s, withstands burst pressures >213 mmHg, exhibits <10 % swelling, ∼2784 % extensibility, and a low modulus of 41 kPa, thereby conforming to soft, irregular surfaces and reducing interfacial mismatch. Its temperature-triggered adhesion allows safe detachment and repositioning without apparent tissue damage, supporting repeated applications. In vivo and ex vivo tests confirm rapid hemostasis in mouse liver and tail injury models, effective sealing of porcine gastric, bladder, and intestinal defects, and stable electrocorticography and electrocardiography recordings. Moreover, the hydrogel demonstrates high cytocompatibility (>90 %), <5 % hemolysis, reactive oxygen species scavenging, and ∼90 % antibacterial efficiency. By integrating rapid wet adhesion, mechanical compliance, electrical functionality, and bioprotective features, this hydrogel provides a versatile platform for next-generation bioelectronic interfaces and soft therapeutic devices.

RevDate: 2026-01-21
CmpDate: 2026-01-21

Xu Q, Shao Z, Ma D, et al (2026)

Predicting rehabilitation outcomes of unilateral stroke after brain-computer interface training based on magnetic resonance imaging data.

Medicine, 105(3):e46280.

Stroke remains a significant cause of disability globally, with a noticeable prevalence in China. Post-stroke rehabilitation, particularly through brain-computer interface (BCI) methods, plays a vital role in enhancing motor function recovery. However, the efficacy of BCI rehabilitation might be hindered by challenges in individualized program of prognosis prediction. This study aimed to develop prognostic prediction models for unilateral hemiplegia after BCI rehabilitation, utilizing both clinical and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, in order to enhance treatment efficiency and optimize patient outcomes. The study included 40 stroke patients (22 left hemisphere affected and 18 right hemisphere affected) who underwent BCI rehabilitation training at the Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital (Beijing, China). Data related to patients' demographics, disease duration, and assessment scores were collected. Based on the improvement in the Fugl-Meyer assessment of the upper extremity (FMA-UE) rating scale, patients were categorized into responder and non-responder groups. Linear regression and its variants, including multivariate logistic regression and optimal subset regression, were utilized to predict the post-treatment scores based on both fMRI and clinical data. The accuracy and R-squared value of the models were assessed using leave-one-out cross-validation (LOOCV). The linear regression model using imaging data exhibited a remarkable performance with a classification accuracy of 100% and R2 (LOOCV) exceeding 0.94. In contrast, the model relying solely on clinical data achieved a classification accuracy of <80%. These results clearly demonstrated the potential of employing imaging data and machine learning methods to effectively predict the effectiveness of BCI rehabilitation. This study assessed the effectiveness of neuroimaging in predicting the efficacy of BCI rehabilitation for unilateral stroke patients. The developed model could serve as a foundation for enhancing our comprehension of rehabilitation outcomes, especially in uniqueness of left and right stroke, and ultimately improving patient well-being. The findings underscored the potential of neuroimaging data in optimizing BCI rehabilitation, leading to the enhanced recovery of motor function in unilateral stroke patients.

RevDate: 2026-01-20

Du M, Shi P, Liu Z, et al (2026)

Naturalistic facial dynamics enable quantitative clinical assessment of atypical expression phenotypes in children with autism spectrum disorder.

NPJ digital medicine pii:10.1038/s41746-026-02375-1 [Epub ahead of print].

Existing facial-expression studies in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) rely mainly on discrete, task-driven measures that overlook the sustained emotional fluctuations and ambiguous expressions in naturalistic interactions. This study quantified atypical facial expression patterns in ASD during spontaneous, unscripted interactions. We analyzed 184 naturalistic video sessions from 99 children with ASD and 85 typically developing (TD) peers and extracted three features capturing spontaneous dynamics: emotion variation (temporal stability of emotional states), expression intensity (magnitude of facial muscle activation), and facial coordination (synchrony across facial muscles). These features integrated holistic and processual representations across coarse- and fine-grained levels, enabling detailed quantification of facial patterns. Compared with TD peers, the ASD group exhibited increased prominence of anger, altered emotion transition probabilities, heightened activation in non-core facial muscles, and atypical facial coordination (p < 0.05). These findings reveal subtle facial dynamics inaccessible to traditional approaches and provide a quantitative explanation for the hard-to-describe atypical expressions. Using the fused feature set, ASD classification reached 92.4% accuracy and 0.977 AUC. Regression analyses further predicted symptom severity with mean absolute errors of 13.94 on the ABC scale and 3.84 on the CABS scale. These quantitative and interpretable markers show promise for large-scale ASD screening in naturalistic settings.

RevDate: 2026-01-20
CmpDate: 2026-01-20

Qamar WUR, B Abibullaev (2026)

Multi-scale EEG feature decoding with Swin Transformers for subject independent motor imagery BCIs.

Scientific reports, 16(1):2503.

High inter-subject variability and the non-stationary nature of EEG signals pose significant challenges for subject-independent Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) leading to poor model generalization. Differences in neural activity patterns, electrode placements, and external noise further degrade performance making it difficult to develop BCIs that remain reliable across users without extensive recalibration. This study presents a Compact Convolutional Swin Transformer (CCST) to address this issue by using hierarchical window based self-attention combined with convolutional feature extraction to efficiently capture both local electrode interactions and global temporal dependencies. This multi-scale feature representation enhances generalization across subjects, a critical factor for real world BCI deployment. We evaluated CCST on the BCI Competition IV (2a, 2b) and PhysioNet MI datasets using Leave-One-Subject-Out (LOSO) cross-validation achieving state-of-the-art classification accuracies of 68.27%, 76.61%, and 71.70% respectively. Our statistical analysis using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test with Bonferroni correction confirms significant performance improvements over benchmark models. Additionally, CCST achieves a reduction in parameters and a decrease in FLOPs compared to full self-attention models making it more efficient for real-time BCI applications. These results establish CCST as a scalable and efficient framework for adaptive subject-independent BCIs with promising applications in neurorehabilitation, assistive technology, and cognitive training.

RevDate: 2026-01-20

Deng GC, Liu L, Liu BY, et al (2026)

Transthyretin-mediated regulation of neuropathic pain and anxiety-like behavior in the lateral parabrachial nucleus.

Cell reports, 45(1):116860 pii:S2211-1247(25)01632-8 [Epub ahead of print].

Neuropathic pain presents a complex challenge in clinical treatment due to its multifaceted etiology and frequent comorbidities with anxiety. Despite its prevalence, the underlying molecular, cellular, and circuit mechanisms remain poorly understood. The lateral parabrachial nucleus (LPBN) is a critical center that regulates both pain perception and the emotional aspects. In this study, single-cell sequencing shows upregulated transthyretin (TTR) in neuropathic pain models. Through bidirectional conditional knockout (cKO) and overexpression of TTR in LPBN neurons of mice, we confirm that TTR in LPBN glutamatergic neurons serves as a necessary and sufficient regulator of pain-anxiety comorbidity. Furthermore, TTR plays a pivotal role in pain regulation by binding to its receptor, receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE), thereby influencing neuroinflammation and neuronal excitability through the NF-κB signaling pathway. These results highlight potential molecular targets for the treatment of neuropathic pain.

RevDate: 2026-01-21
CmpDate: 2026-01-21

Scholten K, Xu H, Lu Z, et al (2026)

A Comprehensive Research Dissemination Model for Polymer-Based Neural Interfaces.

IEEE transactions on bio-medical engineering, 73(2):934-944.

OBJECTIVE: Implantable polymer microelectrode arrays (pMEAs) offer stable integration with neural tissue but are not widely available. An academic resource model is explored as a means of standardizing and disseminating pMEAs.

METHODS: The resource is based on a multi-project wafer model, originally developed in the semiconductor industry, allowing the simultaneous microfabrication of pMEAs with arbitrary designs. This model leverages innovations in design, manufacturing, and packaging to produce custom penetrating, surface, and cuff-type form-factors in batch and at low cost. Device quality is verified through benchtop testing and chronic electrophysiological recording in rats.

RESULTS: To date, over 1000 pMEAs (more than 50 designs) were provided to 45 academic labs. Implanted penetrating arrays in the hippocampus achieved high quality, chronic recordings from freely moving rats. Surface arrays reliably recorded electroencephalogram signals from the cortex and evoked potentials from the somatosensory cortex in awake rats.

CONCLUSION: Efficient production of custom pMEAs for research is possible through a unique resource model inspired by the semiconductor industry.

SIGNIFICANCE: Greater access to pMEAs enables researchers to conduct new experiments across different regions of the nervous system, accelerating discoveries.

RevDate: 2026-01-20

Kristen R, Lenarz T, Keintzel T, et al (2026)

Lifetime Real-World Evidence on Safety and Performance of the First Active Transcutaneous Bone Conduction Implant (BCI), the Bonebridge Covering Conductive to Mixed Hearing Loss (CMHL), and Single-Sided Deafness (SSD): Results From a Long-Term Retrospective Analysis.

Otology & neurotology : official publication of the American Otological Society, American Neurotology Society [and] European Academy of Otology and Neurotology pii:00129492-990000000-01088 [Epub ahead of print].

OBJECTIVE: Confirm the safety and performance of the first partially implantable active transcutaneous Bone Conduction Implant (tBCI) in patients who have been implanted for a minimum of 5 years before 2023.

SETTING: Otolaryngology departments of 4 German and Austrian hospitals.

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective, multicenter, longitudinal, open-label case series study. Patients: 186 ears treated for conductive and mixed hearing loss (CMHL), or single-sided deafness (SSD) implanted for 5 years (151 aged 18 y or older, 35 aged 5 to 17 y) at the time of implantation.

INTERVENTION: Implantation of the Bonebridge (BB) BCI 601, a partially implantable active middle ear implant (AMEI).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Patients' audiometric pure-tone average (PTA4) (0.5, 1, 2, 4 kHz) thresholds (bone conduction, sound field) and speech perception (word recognition scores) were retrospectively collected up to 10 years 10 months postoperatively. Complications were recorded with focus on revision surgery and explantations. Subgroups were adults and children.

RESULTS: Safety was established by stable bone conduction (BC) thresholds 5 years after implantation or later with mean paired differences of -5.33 dB for adults and -8.05 dB for children and underscored by a low number of technical failures and high survival rates 10 years after implantation. Paired mean sound field PTA4 thresholds and word recognition scores significantly improved as tested by post hoc analysis 5 years or later after implantation, with functional gains for CMHL of 23.44 dB (adults), 27.69 dB (children), and word recognition scores of 58.22% (adults), 80.00% (children). Furthermore, mean sound field PTA4 thresholds and word recognition scores remain significantly improved over time at 36.37 dB HL and 68.75% 5 years or later after implantation as tested with linear mixed-effects model.

CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study demonstrate that this tBCI remains safe and effective for up to 10 years.

RevDate: 2026-01-19

An Q, Cao M, Zhang J, et al (2026)

Spatiotemporal disruption of prefrontal dynamics during affective association in depression: an fNIRS case-control study.

BMC psychiatry pii:10.1186/s12888-026-07800-z [Epub ahead of print].

RevDate: 2026-01-19

Althoff J, W Nogueira (2026)

Selective auditory attention decoding in bilateral cochlear implant users to music instruments.

Journal of neural engineering [Epub ahead of print].

Electroencephalography (EEG) data can be used to decode an attended sound source in normal-hearing (NH) listeners, even for music stimuli. This information could steer the sound processing strategy for cochlear implants (CIs) users, potentially improving their music listening experience. The aim of this study was to investigate whether selective auditory attention decoding (SAAD) could be performed in CI users for music stimuli. Approach: High-density EEG was recorded from 8 NH and 8 CI users. Duets containing a clarinet and cello were dichotically presented. A linear decoder was trained to reconstruct audio features of the attended instrument from EEG data. The estimated attended instrument was selected based on which of the two instruments had a higher correlation to the reconstructed instrument. EEG recordings are challenging in CI users, as these devices introduce strong electrical artifacts. We also propose a new artifact rejection technique that employs ICA calculating ICs and automating their selection for removal, which we termed ASICA. Main results: We showed that it was possible to perform SAAD for music in CI users. The decoding accuracies were 59.4 \% for NH listeners and 60 \% for CI users with the proposed algorithm. Using the proposed algorithm, the correlation coefficients between the reconstructed audio feature and the attended audio feature were improved in conditions where artifact was dominating. Significance: Results indicate that selective auditory attention to musical instruments can be effectively decoded, and that this decoding is enhanced by the new artifact reduction algorithm, particularly in scenarios where the cochlear implant's electrical artifact has greater influence. Moreover, these results could be relevant as an objective measure of music perception or for a brain computer interface that improves music enjoyment. Additionally we showed that the stimulation artifact can be suppressed. The ethic's committee of the MHH approved this study (8874_BO_K_2020).

RevDate: 2026-01-19

Lim H, Choi H, Ahmed B, et al (2026)

Attention-Adaptive BCI-AOT System Enhances Motor Recovery and Neural Engagement After Stroke.

IEEE transactions on neural systems and rehabilitation engineering : a publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, PP: [Epub ahead of print].

Stroke frequently results in long-term motor deficits that impair quality of life. Action observation therapy (AOT) has shown promise for motor recovery through engagement of the mirror neuron system (MNS), yet its passive nature and lack of attentional tracking limit its neuroplasticity efficacy. To address these limitations, we developed a closed-loop Brain-Computer Interface-integrated AOT (BCI-AOT) system employing real-time Steady-State Visual Evoked Potential (SSVEP)-based attention monitoring to dynamically control therapy delivery. In a within-subject crossover study, 22 individuals with hemiplegic stroke completed both BCI-AOT and conventional AOT conditions, each consisting of five daily sessions and separated by a one-week washout. In BCI-AOT, video playback depended on sustained attentional engagement detected via SSVEPs. Behavioral outcomes (Box and Block Test [BBT], Action Research Arm Test [ARAT]) and physiological measures (Motor Evoked Potential [MEP] amplitude and latency, EEG power) were assessed pre- and post-intervention. Significant Condition × Day interactions were found for both BBT and ARAT, indicating greater functional gains over time in the BCI-AOT condition. Both conditions showed increased corticospinal excitability over time, while BCI-AOT additionally exhibited distinct mu and theta modulation over time. Participants also reported greater motivation and attention after BCI-AOT compared to conventional AOT. These results suggest that BCI-AOT elicits stronger neuroplasticity responses and user engagement than standard AOT. This study supports the feasibility and clinical potential of closed-loop, attention-adaptive neurorehabilitation for stroke recovery.

RevDate: 2026-01-19

Yang Y, Su Z, Liu X, et al (2026)

A flexible plasmonic SERS hydrogel patch for metabolite sensing on bio-interfaces.

Nanoscale [Epub ahead of print].

The growing demand for real-time, non-invasive monitoring of biochemical molecules has driven the development of advanced, flexible sensing materials. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) offers high molecular specificity and ultralow detection limits. While rigid SERS substrates based on plasmonic nanoparticle arrays provide strong signal enhancements, they lack the mechanical compatibility and conformal adhesion required for dynamic biological surfaces, such as human skin or neural tissues. Here, we present a flexible SERS hydrogel patch for the label-free detection of metabolites at bio-interfaces. The patch integrates a self-assembled silver nanoparticle film with an ultrathin polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel layer to achieve good plasmonic enhancement, mechanical durability, conformity and reliable SERS stability. The SERS patch allows the detection of metabolites within 6 min upon analyte exposure, enabling the label-free detection of key metabolites, such as glucose, uric acid and urea with concentrations down to 1 μM, 50 μM and 1 mM, respectively. We demonstrate the versatility of this platform by performing ex vivo experiments on porcine brain and muscle tissues to simulate real-world application scenarios in brain-machine interfaces and implantable sensors. This work demonstrates the feasibility of SERS hydrogel-based flexible platforms for the in situ monitoring of metabolites at bio-interfaces.

RevDate: 2026-01-19

Jafar R (2026)

Dimensions of Transparency: How Dys-Appearance Affects BCI Embodiment.

AJOB neuroscience, 17(1):25-27.

RevDate: 2026-01-19

Zilio F (2026)

A Multi-Criteria Framework for Transparency in the Design and Use of Brain-Computer Interfaces.

AJOB neuroscience, 17(1):22-25.

RevDate: 2026-01-19

Barnhart AJ (2026)

A Phenomenological Photo Finish: Testing Transparency at the Cybathlon Brain-Computer Interface Race.

AJOB neuroscience, 17(1):20-22.

RevDate: 2026-01-19

Bhargava EK, M Arvaneh (2026)

Expanding the olfactory implant paradigm through recent advances in brain-computer interface technology.

Rhinology pii:3420 [Epub ahead of print].

The international opinion paper by Whitcroft et al. provides invaluable guidance for the emerging field of olfactory implants (1). While the authors thoroughly address clinical considerations and current technological approaches, we would like to expand upon Statements 9.1 and 9.3 regarding electrode technology limitations and highlight recent advances in brain-computer interface (BCI) technology that could address key technological challenges around electrode longevity and biocompatibility.

RevDate: 2026-01-19

Ding Y, Lu Y, Zhao G, et al (2026)

Drosophila Larvae Generate Force to Counteract External Mechanical Pressures.

The Journal of experimental biology pii:370396 [Epub ahead of print].

To counteract or to retreat presents a fundamental dilemma for biological organisms when facing adverse abiotic environmental conditions. In many cases, the predominant strategy animals adopt is to retreat. However, if counteraction is possible, and how the choice between counteraction and retreat is decided, are not clear. Here, we report that Drosophila larvae can actively counteract external mechanical pressure, inspired by Drosophila larval cleft-squeezing behaviour. We developed a behavioural paradigm to investigate the counteracting force of larvae in response to external pressures. Instead of retreating by crawling backward, a portion of Drosophila larvae could crawl forward and counteract against the external physical pressure. Under externally applied pressing forces of 25mN, 93.9% of forward peristaltic movements increased the counterforce, while 88.2% of backward peristaltic movements decreased it. The activeness in counteraction force was reflected by the longer inter-wave delay, more oscillation work and longer force wave period during consecutive forward peristaltic waves. As the external pressing force was increased from 25mN to 50mN, 75mN and 100mN, counteraction by forward peristalsis was less frequent, while retreat by backward peristalsis was more frequent when pressure is high. A reduction of the external pressure immediately following the counteracting forward peristalsis, which might serve as rewarding signal, could reinforce the counteraction and induce more ensuing forward peristalsis. The rewarding effect of reducing external pressure by forward crawling was much more than that by backward crawling. Our study sheds light on the intricate mechanisms underlying animal proactive responses to adverse abiotic environmental conditions.

RevDate: 2026-01-19

Lin Z, Choi J, Mao R, et al (2025)

Spatial Adaptive Selection using Binary Conditional Autoregressive Model with Application to Brain-Computer Interface.

Journal of computational and graphical statistics : a joint publication of American Statistical Association, Institute of Mathematical Statistics, Interface Foundation of North America [Epub ahead of print].

In medical imaging studies, scalar-on-image regression presents significant challenges due to limited sample sizes and the high-dimensionality of datasets. Additionally, imaging predictors often exhibit spatially heterogeneous activation patterns and complex nonlinear associations with the response variable. To address these issues, we propose a novel Bayesian scalar-on-image regression model with the Spatial Adaptive Selection using Binary Conditional Autoregressive Model (SAS-BCAR) prior. The proposed approach leverages a binary conditional autoregressive model to capture spatial dependencies among feature selection indicators, effectively identifying spatially structured sparsity patterns within image data, while addressing nonlinear relationships between image predictors and the response variable. Furthermore, our SAS-BCAR incorporates an adaptive feature selection mechanism that adjusts to varying spatial dependencies across different image regions, ensuring a more precise and robust feature selection process. Through extensive numerical simulations on benchmark computer vision datasets and analysis of electroencephalography data in brain-computer interface applications, we demonstrate that the SAS-BCAR model achieves superior predictive performance compared to state-of-the-art alternatives, particularly in scenarios with limited training data. Supplementary materials including computer code, R packages, datasets, and additional figures are available online.

RevDate: 2026-01-19
CmpDate: 2026-01-19

Otarbay Z, A Kyzyrkanov (2025)

Transfer learning for subject-independent motor imagery EEG classification using convolutional relational networks.

Frontiers in neuroscience, 19:1691929.

Motor imagery (MI) based electroencephalography (EEG) classification is central to brain-computer interface (BCI) research but practical deployment remains challenging due to poor generalization across subjects. Inter-individual variability in neural activity patterns significantly limits the development of subject-independent BCIs for healthcare and assistive technologies. To address this limitation, we present a transfer learning framework based on Convolutional Relational Networks (ConvoReleNet) designed to extract subject-invariant neural representations while minimizing the risk of catastrophic forgetting. The method integrates convolutional feature extraction, relational modeling, and lightweight recurrent processing, combined with pretraining on a diverse subject pool followed by conservative fine-tuning. Validation was conducted on two widely used benchmarks, BNCI IV-2a (four-class motor imagery) and BNCI IV-2b (binary motor imagery), to evaluate subject-independent classification performance. Results demonstrate clear improvements over training from scratch: accuracy on BNCI IV-2a increased from 72.22 (±20.49) to 79.44% (±11.09), while BNCI IV-2b improved from 75.10 (±17.17) to 83.85% (±10.30). The best-case performance reached 87.55% on BNCI IV-2a with Tanh activation and 83.85% on BNCI IV-2b with ELU activation, accompanied by reductions in inter-subject variance of 45.9 and 40.0%, respectively. These findings establish transfer learning as an effective strategy for subject-independent MI-EEG classification. By enhancing accuracy, reducing variability, and maintaining computational efficiency, the proposed framework strengthens the feasibility of robust and user-friendly BCIs for rehabilitation, clinical use, and assistive applications.

RevDate: 2026-01-18

Gwon Y, CK Chung (2026)

Distinct Post-Sentence Neural Patterns Representing Lexical Items vs. Sentence Integration.

NeuroImage pii:S1053-8119(26)00021-2 [Epub ahead of print].

While comprehension marks the starting point in daily communication, the process is only fulfilled when suitable responses or inferences are followed. Listeners retain sentence information after initial comprehension. Although comprehension during listening has been widely studied, comparatively little is understood about how and where the brain retains linguistic information beyond the end of a sentence (EOS). A key question is whether the brain retains not only a holistic, sentence-level representation but also independent traces of individual lexical items-and, if so, how and where these dissociable signals are encoded in the brain. By analyzing the high gamma envelope in electrocorticography (ECoG) data from 15 patients with epilepsy, we directly investigated how neural signals encode and retain information about individual lexical items as well as the integrated sentence representation after the EOS. To this end, we employed a question-and-answer paradigm in which participants heard one of four sentences ("Is it alive?", "Is it not alive?", "Is it a part of body?" or "Is it not a part of the body?"), followed by a response prompt. To answer correctly, subjects must retain the relevant linguistic information, so we could trace retained neural representations in post-question periods, that respond either to each lexical item independently-content ("alive" vs. "part of the body") and negation ("positive" vs. "negative")-or to sentence-specific representations integrating both lexical items. Label-based encoding models were fit to predict neural responses from each label, and encoding strength was quantified by the correlation between predicted and observed signals. We found that channels selectively encoding lexical information were distributed across widespread cortical areas. In contrast, sentence-specific encoding was highly localized in the left posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG). Furthermore, by applying the same encoding model to neural signals recorded during the subsequent response-preparation period, we found that both lexical-item and integrated sentence information can persist significantly while participants prepared their responses. These findings provide direct evidence for the distinct spatial organization of lexical and sentence-level representations in the human brain after the end of a sentence.

RevDate: 2026-01-18

Liu Y, Wang S, Zhang Y, et al (2026)

Oxidized alginate-based interpenetrated dual-network antibacterial hydrogel for enhanced diabetic wound healing.

International journal of biological macromolecules pii:S0141-8130(26)00261-8 [Epub ahead of print].

Plagued by a prolonged healing process and recurrent bacterial infections, diabetic wounds pose a significant clinical challenge. This underscores the urgent need to develop advanced dressings to address microbial resistance and dysfunctional healing processes. Herein, we present a self-healing double-network hydrogel that integrates antibacterial activity with enhanced tissue regenerative potential, offering a promising strategy to accelerate diabetic wound repair. The hydrogel was constructed by interpenetrating a stable polyacrylamide (PAM) network into a dynamically crosslinked oxidized alginate-polydopamine (OSPB) network. Owing to the multiple dynamic interactions, including ionic chelation, Schiff base coordination, and hydrogen bonding, the hydrogel exhibits intrinsic self-healing behavior. The compact crosslinked double-network architecture imparted reduced swelling and enhanced mechanical strength while maintaining tissue conformity. Its high stretchability, toughness, and rapid recovery under repetitive stress ensured the hydrogel for dynamic wound protection and long-term wound management. To maximize antibacterial potency, the hydrogel incorporates the antimicrobial Jelleine-1 peptide (J-1), which was deposited at the tissue-adhesive interfaces, imparting strong antibacterial activity. Besides, the enhanced transdermal penetration was confirmed using bovine serum albumin - fluorescein isothiocyanate (BSA-FITC) as the macromolecular model. In vivo studies demonstrated an accelerated wound closure with promoted cell proliferation, migration, and angiogenesis, which consequently improves granulation tissue formation and collagen deposition. Collectively, our work presents a multifunctional hydrogel system for promising clinical treatment of diabetic wounds.

RevDate: 2026-01-18

Lim JH, PC Kuo (2026)

Enhancing Brain-Computer interface performance through source-level attention mechanism: An EEG motor imagery study.

Journal of neuroscience methods pii:S0165-0270(25)00310-3 [Epub ahead of print].

BACKGROUND: Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) enable direct communication between humans and machines by translating brain signals into control commands. Electroencephalography (EEG) is a commonly used modality in BCI systems due to its non-invasiveness and high temporal resolution. However, EEG-based BCIs often suffer from low signal-to-noise ratios and limited spatial resolution, primarily due to the small number of recording electrodes. Although source estimation techniques can improve spatial specificity, they typically require subject-specific information such as individual brain anatomy or electrode positions, which may not always be available. This study aims to address these challenges by proposing a framework that enhances task-relevant EEG signals using an attention-guided source estimation approach based on coarse predefined brain regions.

NEW METHOD: We developed an attention-guided neural network that estimates source-level activity most relevant to the BCI task, without requiring subject-specific structural data. The model uses predefined regions of interest to guide attention mechanisms toward informative spatial features.

RESULTS: The framework was validated using publicly available motor imagery EEG datasets, achieving strong performance.

Comparative analyses were conducted against baseline models using traditional EEG signals and standard feature extraction methods. This study presents an effective approach for improving EEG-based BCI performance by integrating an attention-guided source estimation network into the decoding pipeline. The method does not rely on subject-specific anatomical information, making it broadly applicable.

CONCLUSION: By emphasizing task-relevant source activity, the framework enhances signal quality and classification accuracy, thereby advancing the potential of BCIs for precise and practical applications.

RevDate: 2026-01-17

Gao X, Liu X, Wang N, et al (2026)

Nanoparticles hijack calvarial immune cells for CNS drug delivery and stroke therapy.

Cell pii:S0092-8674(25)01421-7 [Epub ahead of print].

The rapid accessibility of calvarial immune cells to the brain, in principle, may offer transformative opportunities for overcoming drug delivery barriers in central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Here, we hijacked calvarial immune cells using drug-loaded nanoparticles (NPs) and leveraged their unique migration mechanism through skull-meninges microchannels to bypass the blood-brain barrier (BBB) for CNS drug delivery. We constructed NP-loaded immune cells in situ via intracalvariosseous (ICO) injection, validated their prompt migration in response to CNS perturbation, and targeted therapeutic delivery to CNS lesions. Compared with conventional delivery approaches, this strategy achieved promising therapeutic efficacy in improving both short- and long-term outcomes in preclinical stroke models. Our prospective clinical trial further supports the translational feasibility of ICO immune access in treating malignant stroke. These findings establish skull-based delivery as a promising, clinically translatable route for CNS drug delivery and highlight immune-assisted transport as a potentially transformative strategy for improving therapeutic outcomes in neurological disorders.

RevDate: 2026-01-16

Zhang H, Song X, Huang N, et al (2026)

A programmable peptide interface for on-demand neural culturing platforms.

Journal of nanobiotechnology pii:10.1186/s12951-026-04032-x [Epub ahead of print].

The precise spatial organization of neural cells into two-dimensional networks or three-dimensional spheroids is crucial for advancing neuroscience research and drug discoveries, yet remains challenging with conventional, single-function coatings. Here, we propose a programmable bifunctional peptide that integrates a silica-binding domain with a tunable cell-adhesive Arginine-Glycine-Aspartate (RGD) tripeptide. By systematically improving the RGD variant and linker rigidity, we introduced a single coating material that enables on-demand switching between two distinct functions: guiding the patterned growth of functional neural circuits on glass and facilitating the high-throughput formation of uniform neural spheroids. The latter exhibited high viability, extensive neurite outgrowth, and spontaneous electrophysiological activity, which validates their functional maturity. We establish by this work a versatile and reliable platform for advanced neural interface research, with significant potential for drug discovery and disease modeling.

RevDate: 2026-01-16

Li Y, Li W, Liu Y, et al (2026)

HRV features as potential biomarkers for auxiliary diagnosis in epilepsy.

Scientific reports pii:10.1038/s41598-025-34682-0 [Epub ahead of print].

Epilepsy affects around 70 million people worldwide, and diagnosis is often difficult and delayed, exposing patients to avoidable morbidity and psychosocial burden. Heart rate variability (HRV) is a non-invasive marker of autonomic nervous system function that may be altered in epilepsy and may support clinical decision-making. In this single-center case-control study, we recorded short-term HRV during a standardized cardiovascular autonomic reflex test including supine resting, deep-breathing and three challenges (active standing, Valsalva manoeuvre and sustained handgrip) in 200 adults with epilepsy and 200 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. Patients with epilepsy showed consistently lower HRV than controls. Using HRV and demographic features, we developed logistic regression models to distinguish epilepsy from health in an independent test set. A model integrating rest and sustained handgrip achieved the highest performance, although still only moderate (area under the curve 0.68; sensitivity 0.821; specificity 0.484). Standardized multi-paradigm HRV assessment may therefore provide a feasible, low-cost adjunct to support, but not replace, conventional diagnostic evaluation. However, the single-center design, relatively short recordings and inclusion of only healthy controls limit generalizability, and larger multicenter studies including patients with paroxysmal conditions that mimic epilepsy are needed to determine clinical utility.

RevDate: 2026-01-16

Hong T, Su C, Zhou H, et al (2026)

Brain activity inhibition during Short Video Viewing: neurochemical insights.

NeuroImage pii:S1053-8119(26)00040-6 [Epub ahead of print].

Cognitive control enables individuals to adapt to the ever-changing environmental demands. The dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) are key regions of the cognitive control network, activated during cognitively demanding tasks. In contrast, the entertaining and habitual nature of short-video consumption for leisure shifts neural processing toward emotional engagement and immediate gratification, contributing to excessive use and diminished self-control in some individuals. This raises a critical question: Does short-video viewing suppress cognitive control regions, and what neurochemical factors may underlie individual differences in this process? To address this question, this preregistered study used proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ([1]H-MRS) to measure glutamate and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) concentrations in the dACC at rest, and employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine dACC and dlPFC activity during free viewing of short videos in 56 young adults. We found that both the dACC and the dlPFC exhibited significant deactivation in response to preferred videos that were watched to completion, compared to less-preferred videos that were terminated early. Moreover, resting-state glutamate levels in the dACC were associated with the magnitude of this deactivation, with higher glutamate concentrations associated with less suppression of both dACC and dlPFC activity. Additionally, functional connectivity between the dACC and dlPFC increased during video viewing, particularly for preferred videos. By integrating fMRI with [1]H-MRS, our study provides novel evidence that immersive viewing of preferred short videos deactivates the cognitive control network and that individual differences in this deactivation are linked to glutamate metabolism. These findings enhance our understanding of how digital media consumption interacts with neurochemical processes to influence self-regulation. Our study offers new insights into the neural mechanisms underlying short-video engagement and has implications for understanding excessive digital media use.

RevDate: 2026-01-17
CmpDate: 2021-06-25

Del Campo-Vera RM, Gogia AS, Chen KH, et al (2020)

Beta-band power modulation in the human hippocampus during a reaching task.

Journal of neural engineering, 17(3):036022.

OBJECTIVE: Characterize the role of the beta-band (13-30 Hz) in the human hippocampus during the execution of voluntary movement.

APPROACH: We recorded electrophysiological activity in human hippocampus during a reach task using stereotactic electroencephalography (SEEG). SEEG has previously been utilized to study the theta band (3-8 Hz) in conflict processing and spatial navigation, but most studies of hippocampal activity during movement have used noninvasive measures such as fMRI. We analyzed modulation in the beta band (13-30 Hz), which is known to play a prominent role throughout the motor system including the cerebral cortex and basal ganglia. We conducted the classic 'center-out' direct-reach experiment with nine patients undergoing surgical treatment for medically refractory epilepsy.

MAIN RESULTS: In seven of the nine patients, power spectral analysis showed a statistically significant decrease in power within the beta band (13-30 Hz) during the response phase, compared to the fixation phase, of the center-out direct-reach task using the Wilcoxon signed-rank hypothesis test (p < 0.05).

SIGNIFICANCE: This finding is consistent with previous literature suggesting that the hippocampus may be involved in the execution of movement, and it is the first time that changes in beta-band power have been demonstrated in the hippocampus using human electrophysiology. Our findings suggest that beta-band modulation in the human hippocampus may play a role in the execution of voluntary movement.

RevDate: 2026-01-16

Luo H, Ran X, Li Z, et al (2026)

Key-value pair-free continual learner via task-specific prompt-prototype.

Neural networks : the official journal of the International Neural Network Society, 198:108576 pii:S0893-6080(26)00039-0 [Epub ahead of print].

Continual learning aims to enable models to acquire new knowledge while retaining previously learned information. Prompt-based methods have shown remarkable performance in this domain; however, they typically rely on key-value pairing, which can introduce inter-task interference and hinder scalability. To overcome these limitations, we propose a novel approach employing task-specific Prompt-Prototype (ProP), thereby eliminating the need for key-value pairs. In our method, task-specific prompts facilitate more effective feature learning for the current task, while corresponding prototypes capture the representative features of the input. During inference, predictions are generated by binding each task-specific prompt with its associated prototype. Additionally, we introduce regularization constraints during prompt initialization to penalize excessively large values, thereby enhancing stability. Experiments on several widely used datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. In contrast to mainstream prompt-based approaches, our framework removes the dependency on key-value pairs, offering a fresh perspective for future continual learning research.

RevDate: 2026-01-16

Zheng L, Lu Y, Lyu H, et al (2026)

Laser fabrication of flexible electrodes for bioelectronics.

Biosensors & bioelectronics, 298:118386 pii:S0956-5663(26)00018-7 [Epub ahead of print].

Bioelectronics lies at the intersection of electronics and biology, enabling real-time signal exchange between living systems and machines. As next-generation applications such as wearable diagnostics, brain-computer interfaces, and closed-loop therapeutic systems desire for soft, miniaturized, and biocompatible platforms, the role of bioelectrodes becomes even more critical. Direct laser writing (DLW) has emerged as a powerful microscale fabrication approach, capable of directly patterning functional electrodes with high spatial resolution on diverse materials. In addition, DLW uniquely offers localized material processing and property modulation, enabling controlled synthesis, phase transition, and surface functionalization. This review presents a comprehensive overview of the underlying mechanisms and advanced material systems that enable DLW. We highlight how DLW enables structural design that impart stretchability and tissue conformity, and how such electrodes are integrated into wearable and implantable bioelectronic systems. Finally, we discuss key challenges and future opportunities for DLW-based bioelectrodes, which are poised to become foundational components of intelligent and adaptive biomedical interfaces.

RevDate: 2026-01-16

Gong C, Zou L, Li P, et al (2026)

Rapid spatio-temporal MR fingerprinting using physics-informed implicit neural representation.

Medical image analysis, 109:103935 pii:S1361-8415(26)00004-6 [Epub ahead of print].

The potential of Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting (MRF), which allows for rapid and simultaneous multi-parametric quantitative MRI, is often limited by severe aliasing artifacts caused by aggressive undersampling. Conventional MRF approaches typically treat these artifacts as detrimental noise and focus on their removal, often at the cost of either reduced reconstruction speed or increased reliance on large training datasets. Building on the insight that structured aliasing can be leveraged as an informative spatial encoding mechanism, we propose to extend MRF's encoding capacity to the global spatio-temporal domain by introducing a novel Physics-informed implicit neural MRF (πMRF) framework. πMRF integrates physics-informed spatio-temporal fingerprint modeling with implicit neural representations (INRs), enabling unsupervised, gradient-driven joint estimation of quantitative tissue parameters and coil sensitivity maps (CSMs) with enhanced accuracy and robustness. Specifically, πMRF leverages a scalable component based on physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) to facilitate accurate high-dimensional signal modeling and memory-efficient optimization. In addition, a subspace-guided sensitivity regularization is developed to improve the robustness of CSM estimation in highly undersampled scenarios. Experimental results on simulated, phantom, and in vivo datasets demonstrate that πMRF achieves improved quantitative accuracy and robustness even under highly accelerated acquisitions, outperforming state-of-the-art MRF methods.

RevDate: 2026-01-16

Ju J, H Li (2026)

Neural Signatures and Multi-Cognitive Decoding of EEGSignals Induced by Shared Stimulus: A Paradigm Study.

IEEE transactions on bio-medical engineering, PP: [Epub ahead of print].

Multi-task decoding from electroencephalogram (EEG) signals is valuable for brain-computer interface (BCI) applications in naturalistic settings. Most existing studies focus on decoding distinctly different tasks, leaving the diversity of cognitive responses elicited by a single stimulus underexplored. We introduced a novel experimental paradigm where a common visual stimulus elicits five distinct cognitive processes: single reach, interception reach, sequence reach, attention reach, and inhibition reach. EEG signatures were analyzed using temporal and spectral methods. A regularized linear discriminant analysis (RLDA) classifier was employed for decoding, utilizing both temporal and event-related spectral perturbation (ERSP) features. Significant neural activation differences (p < 0.05) were observed across tasks and brain regions. The RLDA classifier achieved high decoding accuracy: 91.72% ± 6.10% for classifying the five cognitive states using ERSP features. Furthermore, for the sequence reach task, temporal features enabled classification of normal versus catch trials with 77.96% ± 7.03% accuracy. All these results demonstrate the potential for EEG-based BCI applications to distinguish diverse cognitive states elicited by identical stimuli, offering new insights for improving the naturalness and intelligence of BCI systems. Future work will focus on enhancing decoding performance and extending this research to online applications.

RevDate: 2026-01-15

Beste C, Slagter HA, Herff C, et al (2026)

Moving intentions from brains to machines.

Trends in cognitive sciences pii:S1364-6613(25)00352-3 [Epub ahead of print].

Brain-computer interface (BCI) research has achieved remarkable technical progress but remains limited in scope, typically relying on motor and visual cortex signals in limited patient populations. We propose a paradigm shift in BCI design rooted in ideomotor theory, which conceptualizes voluntary action as driven by internally represented sensory outcomes. This underused framework offers a principled basis for next-generation BCIs that align closely with the brain's natural intentional and action-planning architecture. We suggest a more intuitive, generalizable, and scalable path by reorienting BCIs around the 'what for' of action-user goals and anticipated effects. This shift is timely and feasible, enabled by advances in neural recording and artificial intelligence-based decoding of sensory representations. It may help resolve challenges of usability and generalizability in BCI design.

RevDate: 2026-01-15
CmpDate: 2026-01-15

Shu L, Tang J, Guan X, et al (2026)

A comprehensive survey of genome language models in bioinformatics.

Briefings in bioinformatics, 27(1):.

Large language models have revolutionized natural language processing by effectively modeling complex semantics and capturing long-range contextual relationships. Inspired by these advancements, genome language models (gLMs) have recently emerged, conceptualizing DNA and RNA sequences as biological texts and enabling the identification of intricate genomic grammar and distant regulatory interactions. This review examines the need for gLMs, emphasizing their capacity to overcome the limitations of traditional deep learning approaches in genomic sequence characterization. We comprehensively survey contemporary gLM architectures, including Transformer models, Hyena convolutions, and state space models, as well as various sequence tokenization strategies, assessing their applicability, and effectiveness across diverse genomic applications. Additionally, we discuss foundational pretraining strategies and provide an overview of genomic pretraining datasets spanning multiple species and functional domains. We critically analyze evaluation methodologies, including supervised, zero-shot, and few-shot learning paradigms, as well as fine-tuning approaches. An extensive taxonomy of downstream tasks is presented, alongside a summary of existing benchmarks and emerging trends. Finally, we contemplate key challenges such as data scarcity, interpretability, and the computational demands of genomic modeling, and propose a roadmap to guide future advances in genome language modeling.

RevDate: 2026-01-14

Sun X, Wang T, Gong H, et al (2026)

Circulating CD34[+] Fibroblast Progenitors Engaged in Heart Fibrosis of Allograft.

Circulation research [Epub ahead of print].

BACKGROUND: Fibrosis is one of the major causes of cardiac allograft malfunction and is mainly driven by fibroblasts. However, the role of recipient-derived cells in generating allograft fibroblasts and the underlying mechanisms remain to be explored.

METHODS: We analyzed human heart allograft samples and used murine transplant models (C57BL/6J, Cd34-CreER[T2]; R26-tdTomato, mRFP mice, Rosa26-iDTR, Postn-CreER[T2]; R26-tdTomato, double-tdTomato, and immunodeficient mice with BALB/c donors). Human progenitor cells were cultivated from blood. Single-cell RNA sequencing, Western blotting, quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and immunohistochemistry, whole-mount staining with 3-dimensional reconstruction, and in vivo/in vitro experiments were applied to characterize allograft cellular composition and communication.

RESULTS: Single-cell RNA sequencing was introduced to delineate the allograft cell atlas of patients and mice. Y chromosome analysis identified that recipient-derived cells contributed to allograft fibroblasts in both patients and murine models. Combining the genetic cell lineage tracing technique, we found that recipient-derived CD34[+] cells could give rise to activated fibroblasts. Bone marrow transplantation and parabiosis models revealed that the recipient's circulating non-bone marrow Cd34[+] cells could generate allograft fibroblasts. Human CD34[+] cells could differentiate into fibroblasts both in vivo and in vitro. CD34[+] fibroblast progenitors were recruited by CXCL12-ACKR3 and MIF-ACKR3 interactions and differentiated via the TGFβ (transforming growth factor beta)/GFPT2 (glutamine-fructose-6-phosphate transaminase 2)/SMAD2/4 axis. Ablation of recipient Cd34[+] cells reduced activated fibroblasts and alleviated allograft fibrosis.

CONCLUSIONS: We identify circulating CD34[+] cells as a novel source of fibroblast progenitors that contribute to cardiac allograft fibrosis, suggesting that targeting recipient CD34[+] cells could be a novel therapeutic potential for treating cardiac fibrosis after heart transplantation.

RevDate: 2026-01-16
CmpDate: 2026-01-14

Lu X, Chen Y, Li Z, et al (2026)

Electroencephalography Enables Continuous Decoding of Hand Motion Angles in Polar Coordinates.

Cyborg and bionic systems (Washington, D.C.), 7:0469.

Hand movements in task space are typically represented using either Cartesian or polar coordinate systems. While Cartesian coordinates are commonly used in electroencephalography (EEG)-based brain-computer interface (BCI) studies, polar coordinates offer a more natural representation for circular motion by directly encoding angular information. This study investigates the feasibility of continuous decoding of hand motion angles in polar coordinates using EEG signals. In the paradigm, human participants engaged in bimanual circular tracing with a fixed radius while their EEG signals were recorded. To evaluate the feasibility of this approach, 6 deep learning models, including commonly used EEGNet, DeepConvNet, and ShallowConvNet, and their variants incorporating long short-term memory (LSTM) layers, were employed. Performance was assessed using mean squared error (MSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and correlation coefficient (CC) between decoded and actual angles. Across 8 participants, all 6 models significantly outperformed the chance level (P < 0.01), with the best model achieving an MSE of 1.012 rad[2], an MAE of 0.627 rad, and a CC of 0.895. These results demonstrate the feasibility of continuous angular decoding of circular hand motion in polar coordinates using EEG signals. This approach offers a promising alternative to traditional Cartesian-based decoding methods, particularly for applications involving circular or rotational movements.

RevDate: 2026-01-16

Liu Q, Zhang X, Niu J, et al (2026)

Uniformity in happiness and uniqueness in sadness: Naturalistic emotional representation in major depression.

NeuroImage, 326:121712 pii:S1053-8119(26)00030-3 [Epub ahead of print].

Humans develop shared concepts of others' emotions to support adaptive social functioning, yet how these concepts are dynamically represented in major depressive disorder (MDD) during naturalistic movie viewing is not yet fully established. Using functional MRI, we examined patients with MDD (n = 55) and healthy controls (HCs; n = 62) as they freely viewed movie clips depicting happy and sad emotions. Neural similarity was quantified with inter-subject correlation at whole-brain, network, and regional levels, and its association with emotional traits was assessed using inter-subject representational similarity analysis. Compared with HCs, patients with MDD showed significantly reduced whole-brain similarity, particularly during sad contexts. Network analyses revealed that HCs exhibited increased similarity in the limbic network during sadness, reflecting a shared "sadness resonance," whereas patients with higher depressive severity showed widespread disruptions across visual, limbic, dorsal attention, and default mode networks. At the regional level, similarity in the inferior temporal gyrus and lateral occipital cortex was closely linked to individual differences in emotional awareness, with pronounced context- and region-specificity. These findings highlight neural decoupling and heterogeneity as core features of MDD and provide new evidence for potential biomarkers to inform risk assessment and personalized interventions.

RevDate: 2026-01-16

Evans NG, L Gross M, R Shandler (2025)

Enhancing Soldiers for Future Warfare: Good Science; Bad Ethics?.

Science and engineering ethics, 32(1):5.

UNLABELLED: Ethical concerns dog emerging technologies designed to enhance warfighter performance. Brain-computer interfaces, exoskeletons, and mind- or body-altering drugs raise fears about risky, invasive, and experimental medical procedures that offer armies physically and cognitively superior soldiers that will dictate and disrupt the course of future war. What counts as enhancement, however, has been subject to longstanding and passionate debate. This study aims to put an end to this dispute by employing a conjoint experimental design to survey a group of military and professional experts from across the world to explore how definitional perceptions of enhancement influence ethical acceptability. Two main findings emerge. First, we find that there already exists a broad agreement about what constitutes enhancement, and this consensus spans countries, discipline, political orientation, and age. Future policy may now be able to accommodate a definition of enhancement that is widely shared among members of the international community. Second, across the board, ethical acceptability diminishes as medical technologies aim for transhuman warfighting capabilities. Enhancement research and development for military purposes must navigate the conflicting ethical demands of medical experimentation and lawful war. Human enhancement is not morally unacceptable but ethically precarious, requiring regulation, oversight, and transparency.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11948-025-00573-w.

RevDate: 2026-01-13
CmpDate: 2026-01-13

Zhu H, Gan Y, Ye J, et al (2026)

Effectiveness of brain-computer interface interventions in autism spectrum disorder rehabilitation: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol.

BMJ open, 16(1):e102277 pii:bmjopen-2025-102277.

BACKGROUND: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterised by impairments in social interaction, communication and the presence of repetitive behaviours. Recent advancements in brain-computer interface (BCI) technologies have demonstrated potential benefits in enhancing cognitive, social and communication skills in individuals with ASD. However, the effectiveness of BCI-based interventions in ASD rehabilitation remains inconsistent across studies. Therefore, this protocol outlines a systematic review and meta-analysis to synthesise the evidence on the effectiveness of BCI-based interventions for ASD rehabilitation.

METHODS: We will conduct a comprehensive literature search across multiple databases, including MEDLINE Ovid, Embase Ovid, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Conference Proceedings Citation Index-Science (CPCI-S), Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED) and so on, to identify relevant studies published from inception to the present. The search will be supplemented by screening the reference lists of included studies and relevant systematic reviews. Two independent reviewers will screen the titles, abstracts and full texts of identified studies for eligibility based on predefined criteria. Data extraction will be performed using a standardised form, and the risk of bias (RoB) will be assessed using the Cochrane RoB tool. Heterogeneity will be evaluated using the I² statistic, and a random-effects or fixed-effects model will be selected for meta-analysis based on the degree of heterogeneity. Subgroup analyses will be conducted to explore potential sources of heterogeneity, including participant age, ASD severity, type of BCI intervention and duration of the intervention. The review will be conducted from January 2026 to April 2026.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval is not required for this study, as it does not involve the collection of primary data from individual patients. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publication and conference presentations.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD420251010496.

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RJR Experience and Expertise

Researcher

Robbins holds BS, MS, and PhD degrees in the life sciences. He served as a tenured faculty member in the Zoology and Biological Science departments at Michigan State University. He is currently exploring the intersection between genomics, microbial ecology, and biodiversity — an area that promises to transform our understanding of the biosphere.

Educator

Robbins has extensive experience in college-level education: At MSU he taught introductory biology, genetics, and population genetics. At JHU, he was an instructor for a special course on biological database design. At FHCRC, he team-taught a graduate-level course on the history of genetics. At Bellevue College he taught medical informatics.

Administrator

Robbins has been involved in science administration at both the federal and the institutional levels. At NSF he was a program officer for database activities in the life sciences, at DOE he was a program officer for information infrastructure in the human genome project. At the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, he served as a vice president for fifteen years.

Technologist

Robbins has been involved with information technology since writing his first Fortran program as a college student. At NSF he was the first program officer for database activities in the life sciences. At JHU he held an appointment in the CS department and served as director of the informatics core for the Genome Data Base. At the FHCRC he was VP for Information Technology.

Publisher

While still at Michigan State, Robbins started his first publishing venture, founding a small company that addressed the short-run publishing needs of instructors in very large undergraduate classes. For more than 20 years, Robbins has been operating The Electronic Scholarly Publishing Project, a web site dedicated to the digital publishing of critical works in science, especially classical genetics.

Speaker

Robbins is well-known for his speaking abilities and is often called upon to provide keynote or plenary addresses at international meetings. For example, in July, 2012, he gave a well-received keynote address at the Global Biodiversity Informatics Congress, sponsored by GBIF and held in Copenhagen. The slides from that talk can be seen HERE.

Facilitator

Robbins is a skilled meeting facilitator. He prefers a participatory approach, with part of the meeting involving dynamic breakout groups, created by the participants in real time: (1) individuals propose breakout groups; (2) everyone signs up for one (or more) groups; (3) the groups with the most interested parties then meet, with reports from each group presented and discussed in a subsequent plenary session.

Designer

Robbins has been engaged with photography and design since the 1960s, when he worked for a professional photography laboratory. He now prefers digital photography and tools for their precision and reproducibility. He designed his first web site more than 20 years ago and he personally designed and implemented this web site. He engages in graphic design as a hobby.

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Rajesh Rao has written the perfect introduction to the exciting world of brain-computer interfaces. The book is remarkably comprehensive — not only including full descriptions of classic and current experiments but also covering essential background concepts, from the brain to Bayes and back. Brain-Computer Interfacing will be welcomed by a wide range of intelligent readers interested in understanding the first steps toward the symbiotic merger of brains and computers. Eberhard E. Fetz, UW

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Collection of publications by R J Robbins

Reprints and preprints of publications, slide presentations, instructional materials, and data compilations written or prepared by Robert Robbins. Most papers deal with computational biology, genome informatics, using information technology to support biomedical research, and related matters.

Research Gate page for R J Robbins

ResearchGate is a social networking site for scientists and researchers to share papers, ask and answer questions, and find collaborators. According to a study by Nature and an article in Times Higher Education , it is the largest academic social network in terms of active users.

Curriculum Vitae for R J Robbins

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Curriculum Vitae for R J Robbins

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