Volitional inhibition: the gateway for an efficient control of voluntary movements

Volitional inhibition: the gateway for an efficient control of voluntary movements PDF Author: Giovanni Mirabella
Publisher: Frontiers E-books
ISBN: 2889190625
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 135

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Book Description
Being able to suppress a pending action is a fundamental ability for surviving in an unpredictable World. Sudden events, such as the appearance of a physical obstacle, might require a quick change of the planned motor strategy. The first step toward this goal is to suppress the pre-programmed actions. Understanding the functional characteristics and the neural underpinnings of inhibition is a primary aim, both for the treatment of such diseases as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, where the decision-making abilities are severely impaired, and for the development of efficient brain–machine interfaces. Despite an incredible amount of work, witnessed by tens of articles published on Medline, both the localizations of the neural substrates of voluntary inhibition and their specific contributions to this executive function are still controversial. However, the ability of vetoing pending actions is likely to be at the basis of self control and of mental simulation of voluntary actions. In other words the veto power is a cornerstone of our will. As such the neural code underling volitional inhibition should be taken into account to feed appropriate signals into artificial devices to mimic voluntary movements. The aim of the present Research Topic is twofold. On the one hand it will show the most innovative aspects of the current researches on the neural substrates and functional mechanisms of volitional inhibition. On the other hand it will deal with the possible applications of the acquired knowledge for building up interfaces that could collect and decode incoming neural signals in order to move artificial limbs and/or to interact with personal computers.

Volitional inhibition: the gateway for an efficient control of voluntary movements

Volitional inhibition: the gateway for an efficient control of voluntary movements PDF Author: Giovanni Mirabella
Publisher: Frontiers E-books
ISBN: 2889190625
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 135

Get Book Here

Book Description
Being able to suppress a pending action is a fundamental ability for surviving in an unpredictable World. Sudden events, such as the appearance of a physical obstacle, might require a quick change of the planned motor strategy. The first step toward this goal is to suppress the pre-programmed actions. Understanding the functional characteristics and the neural underpinnings of inhibition is a primary aim, both for the treatment of such diseases as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, where the decision-making abilities are severely impaired, and for the development of efficient brain–machine interfaces. Despite an incredible amount of work, witnessed by tens of articles published on Medline, both the localizations of the neural substrates of voluntary inhibition and their specific contributions to this executive function are still controversial. However, the ability of vetoing pending actions is likely to be at the basis of self control and of mental simulation of voluntary actions. In other words the veto power is a cornerstone of our will. As such the neural code underling volitional inhibition should be taken into account to feed appropriate signals into artificial devices to mimic voluntary movements. The aim of the present Research Topic is twofold. On the one hand it will show the most innovative aspects of the current researches on the neural substrates and functional mechanisms of volitional inhibition. On the other hand it will deal with the possible applications of the acquired knowledge for building up interfaces that could collect and decode incoming neural signals in order to move artificial limbs and/or to interact with personal computers.

The Circuitry of the Human Spinal Cord

The Circuitry of the Human Spinal Cord PDF Author: Emmanuel Pierrot-Deseilligny
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9781139445641
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 676

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Book Description
Studies of human movement have proliferated in recent years, and there have been many studies of spinal pathways in humans, their role in movement, and their dysfunction in neurological disorders. This comprehensive reference surveys the literature related to the control of spinal cord circuits in human subjects, showing how they can be studied, their role in normal movement, and how they malfunction in disease states. Chapters are highly illustrated and consistently organised, reviewing, for each pathway, the experimental background, methodology, organisation and control, role during motor tasks, and changes in patients with CNS lesions. Each chapter concludes with a helpful resume that can be used independently of the main text to provide practical guidance for clinical studies. This will be essential reading for research workers and clinicians involved in the study, treatment and rehabilitation of movement disorders.

The Neurology of Eye Movements : Text and CD-ROM

The Neurology of Eye Movements : Text and CD-ROM PDF Author: Departments of Neurology R. John Leigh Professor, Neuroscience Otolaryngology and Biomedical Engineering Case Western Reserve University University Hospitals and Veterans Affairs Medical Center Cleveland Ohio
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0198029705
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 658

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Book Description
The Neurology of Eye Movements provides clinicians with a synthesis of current scientific information that can be applied to the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of ocular motility. Basic scientists will also benefit from descriptions of how data from anatomical, electrophysiological, pharmacological, and imaging studies can be directly applied to the study of disease. By critically reviewing such basic studies, the authors build a conceptual framework that can be applied to the interpretation of abnormal ocular motor behavior at the bedside. These syntheses are summarized in displays, new figures, schematics and tables. Early chapters discuss the visual need and neural basis for each functional class of eye movements. Two large chapters deal with the evaluation of double vision and systematically evaluate how many disorders of the central nervous system affect eye movements. This edition has been extensively rewritten, and contains many new figures and an up-to-date section on the treatment of abnormal eye movements such as nystagmus. A major innovation has been the development of an option to read the book from a compact disc, make use of hypertext links (which bridge basic science to clinical issues), and view the major disorders of eye movements in over 60 video clips. This volume will provide pertinent, up-to-date information to neurologists, neuroscientists, ophthalmologists, visual scientists, otalaryngologists, optometrists, biomedical engineers, and psychologists.

The Illusion of Conscious Will

The Illusion of Conscious Will PDF Author: Daniel M. Wegner
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262290553
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 743

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Book Description
A novel contribution to the age-old debate about free will versus determinism. Do we consciously cause our actions, or do they happen to us? Philosophers, psychologists, neuroscientists, theologians, and lawyers have long debated the existence of free will versus determinism. In this book Daniel Wegner offers a novel understanding of the issue. Like actions, he argues, the feeling of conscious will is created by the mind and brain. Yet if psychological and neural mechanisms are responsible for all human behavior, how could we have conscious will? The feeling of conscious will, Wegner shows, helps us to appreciate and remember our authorship of the things our minds and bodies do. Yes, we feel that we consciously will our actions, Wegner says, but at the same time, our actions happen to us. Although conscious will is an illusion, it serves as a guide to understanding ourselves and to developing a sense of responsibility and morality. Approaching conscious will as a topic of psychological study, Wegner examines the issue from a variety of angles. He looks at illusions of the will—those cases where people feel that they are willing an act that they are not doing or, conversely, are not willing an act that they in fact are doing. He explores conscious will in hypnosis, Ouija board spelling, automatic writing, and facilitated communication, as well as in such phenomena as spirit possession, dissociative identity disorder, and trance channeling. The result is a book that sidesteps endless debates to focus, more fruitfully, on the impact on our lives of the illusion of conscious will.

The Symbolic Species: The Co-evolution of Language and the Brain

The Symbolic Species: The Co-evolution of Language and the Brain PDF Author: Terrence W. Deacon
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393343022
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 532

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Book Description
"A work of enormous breadth, likely to pleasantly surprise both general readers and experts."—New York Times Book Review This revolutionary book provides fresh answers to long-standing questions of human origins and consciousness. Drawing on his breakthrough research in comparative neuroscience, Terrence Deacon offers a wealth of insights into the significance of symbolic thinking: from the co-evolutionary exchange between language and brains over two million years of hominid evolution to the ethical repercussions that followed man's newfound access to other people's thoughts and emotions. Informing these insights is a new understanding of how Darwinian processes underlie the brain's development and function as well as its evolution. In contrast to much contemporary neuroscience that treats the brain as no more or less than a computer, Deacon provides a new clarity of vision into the mechanism of mind. It injects a renewed sense of adventure into the experience of being human.

Working Memory Capacity

Working Memory Capacity PDF Author: Nelson Cowan
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 1317232380
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 238

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Book Description
The idea of one's memory "filling up" is a humorous misconception of how memory in general is thought to work; it actually has no capacity limit. However, the idea of a "full brain" makes more sense with reference to working memory, which is the limited amount of information a person can hold temporarily in an especially accessible form for use in the completion of almost any challenging cognitive task. This groundbreaking book explains the evidence supporting Cowan's theoretical proposal about working memory capacity, and compares it to competing perspectives. Cognitive psychologists profoundly disagree on how working memory is limited: whether by the number of units that can be retained (and, if so, what kind of units and how many), the types of interfering material, the time that has elapsed, some combination of these mechanisms, or none of them. The book assesses these hypotheses and examines explanations of why capacity limits occur, including vivid biological, cognitive, and evolutionary accounts. The book concludes with a discussion of the practical importance of capacity limits in daily life. This 10th anniversary Classic Edition will continue to be accessible to a wide range of readers and serve as an invaluable reference for all memory researchers.

The Circuitry of the Human Spinal Cord

The Circuitry of the Human Spinal Cord PDF Author: Emmanuel Pierrot-Deseilligny
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107375681
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 631

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Book Description
Studies of human movement have proliferated in recent years. This greatly expanded and thoroughly updated reference surveys the literature on the corticospinal control of spinal cord circuits in human subjects, showing how different circuits can be studied, their role in normal movement and how they malfunction in disease states. Chapters are highly illustrated and consistently organised, reviewing, for each pathway, the experimental background, methodology, organisation and control, role during motor tasks and changes in patients with CNS lesions. Each chapter concludes with a helpful résumé that can be used independently of the main text to provide practical guidance for clinical studies. The final four chapters bring together the changes in transmission in spinal and corticospinal pathways during movement and how they contribute to the desired movement. This book is essential reading for research workers and clinicians involved in the study, treatment and rehabilitation of movement disorders.

Consciousness and the Brain

Consciousness and the Brain PDF Author: Stanislas Dehaene
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0698151402
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
WINNER OF THE 2014 BRAIN PRIZE From the acclaimed author of Reading in the Brain and How We Learn, a breathtaking look at the new science that can track consciousness deep in the brain How does our brain generate a conscious thought? And why does so much of our knowledge remain unconscious? Thanks to clever psychological and brain-imaging experiments, scientists are closer to cracking this mystery than ever before. In this lively book, Stanislas Dehaene describes the pioneering work his lab and the labs of other cognitive neuroscientists worldwide have accomplished in defining, testing, and explaining the brain events behind a conscious state. We can now pin down the neurons that fire when a person reports becoming aware of a piece of information and understand the crucial role unconscious computations play in how we make decisions. The emerging theory enables a test of consciousness in animals, babies, and those with severe brain injuries. A joyous exploration of the mind and its thrilling complexities, Consciousness and the Brain will excite anyone interested in cutting-edge science and technology and the vast philosophical, personal, and ethical implications of finally quantifying consciousness.

A Clinical Guide to the Treatment of the Human Stress Response

A Clinical Guide to the Treatment of the Human Stress Response PDF Author: George S. Jr. Everly
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 0306478005
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 482

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Book Description
This updated edition covers a range of new topics, including stress and the immune system, post-traumatic stress and crisis intervention, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD), Crisis Management Briefings in response to mass disasters and terrorism, Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM), spirituality and religion as stress management tools, dietary factors and stress, and updated information on psychopharmacologic intervention in the human stress response. It is a comprehensive and accessible guide for students, practitioners, and researchers in the fields of psychology, psychiatry, medicine, nursing, social work, and public health.

Language

Language PDF Author: Edward Sapir
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Language and languages
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
Professor Sapir analyzes, for student and common reader, the elements of language. Among these are the units of language, grammatical concepts and their origins, how languages differ and resemble each other, and the history of the growth of representative languages--Cover.