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Y Y Zeevi

Publications and source records attributed to Y Y Zeevi.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Multichannel wavelet-type decomposition of evoked potentials: model-based recognition of generator activity.

Scalp recording of electrical events allows the evaluation of human cerebral function, but contributions of the specific brain structures generating the recorded activity are ambiguous. This problem is ill-posed and cannot be solved without physiological constraints based on the spatio-temporal characteristics of the generators' activity. In our model-based analysis of evoked potentials for the purpose of generator activity detection, multichannel scalp-recorded signals are decomposed into a combination of wavelets, each of which can describe the neural mass coherent activity of cell assemblies. Elimination of contributions of specific generators and/or distributed background activity can produce physiologically motivated time-frequency filtering. The decomposition and filtering procedures are demonstrated by three examples; simulation of the surface manifestation of known intracranial generators; decomposition and reconstruction of auditory brainstem evoked potentials which reflect the differences among generators of these potentials; and cognitive components of evoked potentials which are diminished in the averaged recording but are clearly detected in single-trial signals.

Algorithms↗

Spatio-temporal multiple source localization by wavelet-type decomposition of evoked potentials.

Scalp recording of electrical events allows evaluation of human cerebral function, but contributions of the specific brain structures generating the recorded activity are ambiguous. This problem is ill-posed and cannot be solved without auxiliary physiological knowledge about the spatio-temporal characteristics of the generators' activity. In our source localization by model-based wavelet-type decomposition, scalp recorded signals are decomposed into a combination of wavelets, each of which may describe the coherent activity of a population of neurons. We chose the Hermite functions (derived from the Gaussian function to form mono-, bi- and triphasic wave forms) as the mathematical model to describe the temporal pattern of mass neural activity. For each wavelet we solve the inverse problem for two symmetrically positioned and oriented dipoles, one of which attains zero magnitude when a single source is more suitable. We use the wavelet to model the temporal activity pattern of the symmetrical dipoles. By this we reduce the dimension of inverse problem and find a plausible solution. Once the number and the initial parameters of the sources are given, we can apply multiple source localization to correct the solution for generators with overlapping activities. Application of the procedure to subcortical and cortical components of somatosensory evoked potentials demonstrates its feasibility.

Algorithms↗

Visual assessment of variable-resolution imagery.

A technique is described for producing variable-resolution images whose spatial detail decreases as a function of distance from their centers. These images can be matched in some sense to the normal spatial inhomogeneities of the human visual system, as well as to various abnormalities in spatial discrimination. A set of images was generated with a series of linear distortion functions whose low-pass characteristics differed at both the center and the periphery of the image as well as across the image. A forced-choice procedure was used to determine which test images were indistinguishable from unprocessed versions of themselves. Certain of the threshold distortion functions are compared with eccentricity scaling functions that have been used by others to characterize various aspects of peripheral vision. Finally, the concept of locally band-limited spaces is discussed, and an efficient sampling technique based on the concept is described. This technique can be used to generate an image that, under certain conditions, is visually equivalent to an otherwise identical image containing significantly more information.

Adult↗

Source estimation of auditory brainstem evoked potentials: comparison of 3CLT and dipole localization.

The generators of auditory brainstem evoked potentials (ABEPs) are generally agreed to be located between the auditory nerve and upper pons. Thus, they are all located within a few cm from the center of the head. Three-channel Lissajous' trajectory (3CLT) provides the amplitude and orientation of a centrally located equivalent dipole of surface recorded activity. Volume conductor theory predicts decreased spatial resolution of source estimation the deeper the source. In this study we compared source estimates obtained with 3CLT, using three orthogonal differential channels, with those obtained with two other source estimation methods: i) setting the generators at their known anatomical coordinates and calculating orientation and magnitude of the source (dipole localization method--DLM); ii) estimation of all source parameters, including the number of sources by wavelet-type decomposition, without assumptions on the location of the sources (multiple source estimate--MSE). 3CLT, DLM and MSE all converged on magnitudes and orientations that were not significantly different from each other, and locations that were within a few cm of each other. In conclusion, although 3CLT can only estimate a single, centrally located equivalent dipole, in the specific case of ABEPs, it provides the same information available from the more demanding source estimate methods. In addition to the considerable saving in recording channels, 3CLT is reference-independent and thus avoids ambiguities resulting from the choice of reference.

Electrodes↗

Localized texture processing in vision: analysis and synthesis in the Gaborian space.

Recent studies of cortical simple cell function suggest that the primitives of image representation in vision have a wavelet form similar to Gabor elementary functions (EF's). It is shown that textures and fully-textured images can be practically decomposed into, and synthesized from, a finite set of EF's. Textured-images can be synthesized from a set of EF's using image coefficient library. Alternatively, texturing of contoured (cartoon-like) images is analogous to adding chromaticity information to contoured images. A method for texture discrimination and image segmentation using local features based on the Gabor approach is introduced. Features related to the EF's parameters provide efficient means for texture discrimination and classification. This method is invariant under rotation and translation. The performance of the classification appears to be robust with respect to noisy conditions. The results show an insensitivity of the discrimination to relatively high noise levels, comparable to the performances of the human observer.

Artificial Intelligence↗

The role of stimulus structure in spatial hyperacuity.

In spatial hyperacuity the subjects discriminate a stimulus feature relative to a reference, with an accuracy significantly better than the grain of the retinal mosaic. We show that the normalized thresholds have a dichotomous behavior; they are either insensitive to the spatial parameter in the experiment or increase very steeply with it. This behavior is explained by the involvement in the processing of pixel (receptor) accuracy information about the structure of the stimulus. A computational model employing optimal filtering reproduces the experimental data and suggests that processing of spatial hyperacuity tasks in the human visual system is optimal.

Computer Simulation↗

Preferences and asymmetries in saccadic responses to delayed bihemifield stimuli.

Saccaadic response preferences and latencies were measured using dual targets presented at 5, 10 and 15 deg along the horizontal meridian in either one or both visual hemifields. In the unihemifield condition, subjects exhibited a strong preference (about 95%) in favor of the target presented closer to the original fixation point. Further, the presence of the second target did not increase the response latency to the preferred target. In the bihemifield condition using spatially symmetric targets, directional preference varied across subjects from 57 to 100% (mean = 83%). There was also a significant increase in response latency as compared with responses to either single targets or dual targets presented in one hemifield. This latency increase was observed for responses in both the preferred and nonpreferred directions and was taken as evidence of mutual interaction between the two hemispheres. The response preferences could be eliminated by delaying the onset of the preferred target by about 100 msec in the unihemifield condition and by about 50 msec in the bihemifield condition. Further, the interactions between the effects of the targets on response time in the bihemifield condition were found to be asymmetrical in that a target presented in the preferred hemifield has a greater effect than a target in the nonpreferred hemifield on responses to targets presented in the counterhemifield. The results suggest an asymmetry in hemispheric interaction which has not previously been demonstrated in the visualoculomotor system.

Adult↗

Changes in the oscillatory potentials of the electroretinogram in glaucoma.

Dark adapted and progressively light adapted electroretinograms (ERGs) were recorded from 34 normals and from 45 glaucoma patients. To enhance the oscillatory potentials (OP) the ERGs were highpass-filtered. The OP were characterized by two indices: their root-mean-square value and the inter-flash interval for which the maximal amplitude was obtained. In most of the glaucomatous OP, 50 of 81 eyes, both indices were abnormal, in 22 one parameter was abnormal and only in 9 were both parameters normal. In 13 of the 14 OP recorded from the opposite ('normal') eye of patients with unilateral glaucoma either one or both of the indices were abnormal. These findings indicate that the damage to the retina in glaucoma may extend more distally than the ganglion cell layer and that subclinical changes might be revealed by OP changes.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Interhemispheric coordination is compromised in subjects with developmental dyslexia.

Developmental dyslexics (DDs) and good readers (GRs) were tested on measures of interhemispheric coordination. All subjects (ages 16 to 47) demonstrated normal oculomotor control and visual acuity, prior to testing. Subjects were instructed to track three different point-light source patterns (single stimulus in one hemifield, dual stimuli in one hemifield and a pair of simultaneous, symmetric, bihemifield stimuli [SSBS]), presented in random sequence and arrayed horizontally at +/- 5, +/- 10, and +/- 15 degrees of eccentricity. Tested with unihemifield stimuli, all subjects showed normal saccadic latencies and trajectories. In response to SSBS, all GRs had pronounced directional preference, choosing largely to track one side over the other. In contrast, DDs showed reduced laterality bias (p less than .025). DDs exhibited also significantly longer response latencies to SSBS than to unihemifield stimulation (p less than .01) and differed significantly from GRs (p less than .05).

Adolescent↗

Importance of global information in vernier acuity.

Noisy vernier configurations were generated by normally distributing the lateral displacements of dot elements forming vertical dotted lines. Observations with noisy configurations were compared with thresholds obtained with noise-free lines. In configurations with gap, we have found, through independent perturbation of the end regions adjacent to the gap, that the entire length of the line was actively processed. In an experiment with noisy abutting lines, the threshold as a function of line length exhibited only a slight upward shift relative to the curve obtained with noise-free configurations. Since it is not possible to interpret all the results through a comparison of local positional information extracted from the stimulus configuration, we conclude that global information is also involved in the processing.

Discrimination, Psychological↗

Context dependent processing in spatial hyperacuity.

The importance of comparison processes in spatial hyperacuity tasks was investigated by means of a new relative nonalignment discrimination task. Vernier-type configuations nonaligned to either left or right, were presented in succession, and the subject had to decide which configuation exhibited a larger nonalignment. The relative nonalignment thresholds were found to be more strongly dependent on the spatial arrangement of the two lines than the thresholds corresponding to "ordinary" spatial hyperacuity performances. This context dependency is attributed to the active role played in the processing by comparison mechanisms.

Discrimination, Psychological↗

Vernier acuity with noisy lines: estimation of relative position uncertainty.

Vernier acuity experiments were carried out to obtain estimates of the minimal number of spatial samples extracted, and of the equivalent noise figure characterizing inherent limitations of the visual system in relative position detection tasks. Results are interpreted by modelling the visual system as an ideal detector limited by external noise and internal position uncertainty resulting from structural limitations and neural noise. Accordingly, we estimate that less than ten samples per line are extracted by the observer and that the equivalent noise figure or position uncertainty is of the order of 20 arc s.

Humans↗

Smooth eye-movement control with secondary visual feedback.

A signal derived from continuous measurement of eye position is displayed on a visual frame of reference, thereby closing a secondary visual feedback (2VFB) loop. The distance between a target and the displayed gaze point provides the subject with an extra, artificial position error. Experiments show that subjects can use the 2VFB to generate smooth eye movements, even in the absence of any smoothly moving independent targets. Under these conditions, both direction and velocity can be brought under voluntary control by the subjects. As a control signal for the smooth-eye-movement mode, the 2VFB is robust and easily manipulated and provides an attractive means for the investigation of the smooth-movement control system in a variety of tasks and under different conditions.

Eye Movements↗

Demodulation methods for an adaptive neural encoder model.

An adaptive version of the integrate and fire-at-threshold model for the neural coding process is presented. The encoder transforms stimulus intensity information into sequences of identical membrane depolarization spikes, their times of occurrence defining a modulated point process. Several theoretical decoding schemes are then introduced and their performance analyzed. These implement simple, recursive parameter estimation algorithms and their output reproduces reliably; the encoded time-varying stimulus level.

Animals↗