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Yoshiki Kaneoke

Publications and source records attributed to Yoshiki Kaneoke.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

Spatial integration of visual motion with separate speed and direction information.

We present evidence to support the possibility that motion information is divided into two scalars: direction and speed, to integrate local motions over a wide spatial range. With various motion stimuli composed of numerous red and green dots, observers perceived that peripheral dots moved similar to central dots on the basis of the same direction or speed, even when speed or direction was different. The results indicate that the direction and speed of local motion can be processed separately and that the distributions are analyzed independently to integrate the local motions. This process, based on two motion scalars, may be useful for the perception of complex motions that would be difficult to perceive with a process based on motion vectors.

Adult↗

Magnetoencephalography: in search of neural processes for visual motion information.

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) has become a standard approach to the investigation of human brain functions. This review starts with a brief review of the human visual system and studies on visual motion detection mechanisms is followed by the presentation of MEG studies that have contributed to the field. Emphasis is placed on the fact that because the neural activities measured in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) differ substantially from those measured in MEG--fMRI data cannot be used directly to estimate MEG signal sources. The basic ideas behind the methods of signal processing and analyses generally used in MEG studies are described and theoretical considerations of the neural mechanisms determining MEG response latency and amplitude changes are discussed. Here, scalar fields theory is proposed to explain MEG responses to incoherent motions, and the ways in which detection of complex motions such as transparency, rotation and expansion can be explained by this theory are also presented. Relationships between human behavioral reaction time and MEG response latency suggest a new concept underlying the reasons why humans are late in detecting slow motion.

Brain Mapping↗

Neuromagnetic changes of brain rhythm evoked by intravenous olfactory stimulation in humans.

To identify the changes in the respective frequency band and brain areas related to olfactory perception, we measured magnetoencephalographic (MEG) signals before and after instilling intravenously thiamine propyl disulfide (TPD) and thiamine tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide monohydrochloride (TTFD), which evoked a strong and weak sensation of odor, respectively. For the frequency analysis of MEG, a beamformer program, synthetic aperture magnetometry (SAM), was employed and event-related desynchronization (ERD) or synchronization (ERS) was statistically determined. Both strong and weak odors induced ERD in (1) beta band (13-30 Hz) in the right precentral gyrus, and the superior and middle frontal gyri in both hemispheres, (2) low gamma band (30-60 Hz) in the left superior frontal gyrus and superior parietal lobule, and the middle frontal gyrus in both hemispheres, and (3) high gamma band 2 (100-200 Hz) in the right inferior frontal gyrus. TPD induced ERD in the left temporal, parietal and occipital lobes, while TTFD induced ERD in the right temporal, parietal and occipital lobes. The results indicate that physiological functions in several regions in the frontal lobe may change and the strength of the odor may play a different role in each hemisphere during olfactory perception in humans.

Adult↗

Timing of early activity in the visual cortex as revealed by simultaneous MEG and ERG recordings.

To clarify the latency of the earliest cortical activity in visual processing, electroretinograms (ERGs) and visual evoked magnetic fields (VEFs) following flash stimulation were recorded simultaneously in six human subjects. Flash stimuli were applied to the right eye and ERGs were recorded from a skin electrode placed on the lower lid. ERGs showed two major deflections in all subjects: an eyelid-negativity around 20 ms and a positivity around 60 ms corresponding to an a- and b-waves, respectively. The mean onset and peak latency of the earliest component of VEFs (37 M) was 30.2 and 36.9 ms, respectively. There was a linear correlation between the peak latency of the a-wave and the onset latency of the 37 M (r=0.90, P=0.011). When a single equivalent current dipole analysis was applied to the 37 M, four out of six subjects showed highly reliable results. The generator of the 37 M was estimated to be located in the striate cortex in all four subjects. Since post-receptoral activities in the retina are expected to start around the peak of the a-wave (20 ms), the early cortical activity, which appears 10 ms later than the a-wave peak, is considered to be the earliest cortical activity following flash stimulation.

Adult↗

Role of the superior temporal region in human visual motion perception.

While moving objects are usually seen using luminance (first-order) cues, humans can perceive the motion of objects via non-luminance (second-order) cues. Contrary to previous case reports, no physiological studies have elucidated distinct differences in the cortical regions involved in first- and second-order motion processes. We investigated brain responses related to these two types of motion perception in human subjects using 3 T functional magnetic resonance imaging and strictly controlled apparent motion stimulus pairs. Comparison of brain activation to moving versus static states of each motion stimulus isolated cortical activity related to each type of motion perception. We found a selective neural response to second-order motion stimulus in the anterior part of the superior temporal sulcus (STS) contralateral to stimulus presentation and cue-invariant activation of MT/V5+. No significant activation in the STS was observed by the first-order motion, even when its visibility was reduced to levels comparable to that of second-order motion. Furthermore, the STS demonstrated significant activation for highly visible motion stimulus with both first- and second-order attributes. The STS represents the cardinal structure for perception of second-order motions, although further studies are needed to elucidate the exact neural process occurring in this area.

Adult↗

Functional relationship between human rolandic oscillations and motor cortical excitability: an MEG study.

Synchronization and desynchronization of the neural rhythm in the brain play an important role in the orchestration of perception, motor action and conscious experience. Based on the results of electrocorticographic and magnetoencephalographic (MEG) recordings, it has been considered that human rolandic oscillations originate in the anterior bank of the central sulcus (20-Hz rhythm) and the postcentral cortex (10-Hz rhythm): the 20-Hz oscillation is closely related to motor function, while the 10-Hz rhythm is attributed mainly to sensory function. To test whether the rolandic oscillations are functionally relevant to the motor cortical excitability, we examined effects of 1-Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the left primary motor cortex (M1) on movement-related changes of the rolandic oscillations in 12 normal subjects. MEG data recorded during brisk extension of the right index finger in two different sessions (with and without rTMS conditioning) were compared. Motor-evoked potential (MEP) of the right hand muscle was also measured before and after rTMS to assess the motor cortical excitability. We found that 1-Hz rTMS over M1 significantly reduced the movement-related rebound of the 20-Hz oscillation in association with decreased motor cortical excitability. In particular, movement-related rebound of the 20-Hz rhythm was closely tied with motor cortical excitability. These findings further strengthen the notion of functional relevance of 20-Hz cortical oscillation to motor cortical excitability. In the framework of previous studies, the decrease in movement-related rebound may be regarded as a compensatory reaction to the inhibited cortical activity.

Adult↗

Serial processing in the human somatosensory system.

Although numerous anatomical and electrophysiological findings in animal studies have supported a hierarchical scheme of somatosensory processing, precise activation timings of each cortical area are not known. Therefore we examined the temporal relationship of activities among multiple cortical areas using magnetoencephalography in humans. We found activations in Brodmann's areas 3b, 4, 1, 5 and the secondary somatosensory cortex region in the right hemisphere following transcutaneous electrical stimulation of the dorsum of the left hand. The mean onset latencies of each cortical activity were 14.4, 14.5, 18.0, 22.4 and 21.7 ms, respectively. The differences of onset latencies among these activations indicated the serial mode of processing both through the postcentral gyrus and through the primary and secondary somatosensory cortices.

Adult↗

Temporal structure of the apparent motion perception: a magnetoencephalographic study.

Humans perceive motion when numerous small dots pattern is followed by one of the same pattern but with all the dots shifted a little in one direction. When the amount of shift exceeds a level humans no more perceive motion even though physical visual information does not change. Using this stimulus, we addressed to elucidate the temporal structure of the neural activity related to this apparent motion perception. The magnetic responses to the random-dot patterns with various amounts of shift were measured while the subjects were performing a direction discrimination task. A significant magnetic response amplitude change occurred with three distinct peaks when the response inducing apparent motion was compared with those inducing no motion without change in the response latencies. The major difference occurred at about 110, 140, 210 ms after the stimulus onset. The response origin was always within the occipitotemporal area. The results indicate that the neural activity for the perception of apparent motion can be measured by MEG that occur at least 110 ms after the stimulus onset possibly in the human MT+. Three distinct peaks in the response difference may represent the sequential multiple neural process proposed theoretically though further study is necessary to prove.

Adult↗

Long-term stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus in hemiparkinsonian rats: neuroprotection of dopaminergic neurons.

OBJECT: The goal of this study was to evaluate the neuroprotective effects conferred by long-term electrical stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) against degeneration of dopaminergic neurons by assessing motor functional and immunohistological findings in hemiparkinsonian rats. METHODS: In 13 of 25 rats, a concentric microelectrode was stereotactically implanted into the right STN under the guidance of extracellular microelectrode recording. After this had been done the animals were given an injection of 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) into the right striatum. Seven of the rats received continuous stimulation (frequency 130 Hz, intensity 80-100 microA) for 2 weeks (Group A); the other six did not receive any stimulation during this period (Group B). Twelve rats did not receive electrode implantation and underwent 6-OHDA injection only; these animals served as a control group (Group C). After 2 weeks, motor function in the rats was evaluated by conducting an amphetamine-induced rotation test. Finally, tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive neurons in the pars compacta of the substantia nigra (SNc) were counted to evaluate the extent of degeneration of dopaminergic neurons. Ipsilateral rotation was significantly decreased in Group A, regardless of the effects of stimulation delivered during the test (p < 0.05). Rats in Group B demonstrated typical circling as did those in Group C, except that on stimulation Group B rats immediately stopped circling or changed direction. Tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive neurons in the SNc were significantly preserved in the animals in Group A, whereas neurons in animals in Groups B and C were moderately depleted (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Acutely, STN stimulation improved rotation symmetry in rats with moderate SNc degeneration. When STN stimulation had been applied for the preceding 2 weeks, motor function was better and SNc neural degeneration was significantly milder. Subthalamic nucleus stimulation thus appears to protect dopaminergic neurons in this hemiparkinsonian model, in addition to improving motor function in these animals.

Adrenergic Agents↗

Human cortical response to incoherent motion on a background of coherent motion.

To investigate whether humans achieve a high sensitivity to coherent motion by excluding the response to incoherent motion, we measured the magnetoencephalographic response to the motion of randomly located dots one half of which moved coherently while the other half moved incoherently. The response was related to the faster motion of either coherent or incoherent motion though the observers saw both. All the estimated response sources were within the extrastriate area. The results indicate that incoherent motion is represented in the neural activity of the human extrastriate area even when the coherent motion is perceived at the same time. The fact that the neural activity for the slower coherent motion is not represented in the magnetic response suggests the existence of interaction between the neural activities for the two motions.

Adult↗

Physiological evidence of interaction of first- and second-order motion processes in the human visual system: a magnetoencephalographic study.

Humans have several mechanisms for the visual perception of motion, including one that is luminance-based (first-order) and another that is luminance-independent (second-order). Recent psychophysical studies have suggested that significant interaction occurs between these two neural processes. We investigated whether such interactions are represented as neural activity measured by magnetoencephalography (MEG). The second-order motion of a drifting sinusoidal grating, which is defined by the speed of the dot motion, did not generate a response. Apparent motion (AM) of the square area, defined by the speed of randomly moving dots, evoked a magnetic response whose latency and amplitude changed with the distance that the area moved (a second-order characteristic), though the response properties were significantly different from those for the first-order AM. AM, defined by both first- and second-order attributes, evoked an MEG response and the latencies and the amplitudes were distributed between those for the first- and second-order motions. The cortical source of the response was estimated to be around MT+. The results show a distinct difference in the neural processing of the second-order motion that cannot be explained by the difference in visibility, and they indicate that the interaction of the neural processes underlying first- and second-order motion detection occurs before the MEG response. Our study provides the first physiological evidence of a neural interaction between the two types of early motion detection.

Adult↗

Spatiotemporal separability in the human cortical response to visual motion speed: a magnetoencephalography study.

Humans can estimate the speed of an object's motion independently of other visual information. Although speed-related neural activity is known to exist in the primate brain, there has been no physiological study that investigated where and how the speed of motion is represented in the human brain. Nine different combinations of spatial and temporal frequencies were used to make drifting sinusoidal grating of five different speeds (from 1.5 to 24 deg/s). Using the stimuli, we evaluated whether the magnetoencephalographic response property changes were due to a speed-tuned mechanism or to separable spatial and temporal frequency detection mechanisms. The latency change was caused mainly by an inseparable speed-tuned mechanism. In contrast, the amplitude was inversely related to the spatial frequency and was also affected by the temporal frequency differently depending on the frequency. Our results support the view that the human visual system has three sets of mechanisms tuned to spatial frequency, temporal frequency, and speed.

Adult↗

Visual detection of motion speed in humans: spatiotemporal analysis by fMRI and MEG.

Humans take a long time to respond to the slow visual motion of an object. It is not known what neural mechanism causes this delay. We measured magnetoencephalographic neural responses to light spot motion onset within a wide speed range (0.4-500 degrees /sec) and compared these with human reaction times (RTs). The mean response latency was inversely related to the speed of motion up to 100 degrees /sec, whereas the amplitude increased with the speed. The response property at the speed of 500 degrees /sec was different from that at the other speeds. The speed-related latency change was observed when the motion duration was 10 msec or longer in the speed range between 5 and 500 degrees /sec, indicating that the response is directly related to the speed itself. The source of the response was estimated to be around the human MT+ and was validated by functional magnetic imaging study using the same stimuli. The results indicate that the speed of motion is encoded in the neural activity of MT+ and that it can be detected within 10 msec of motion observation. RT to the same motion onset was also inversely related to the speed of motion but the delay could not be explained by the magnetic response latency change. Instead, the reciprocal of RT was linearly related to the reciprocal of the magnetic response latency, suggesting that the visual process interacts with other neural processes for decision and motor preparation.

Adult↗

Human cortical responses to coherent and incoherent motion as measured by magnetoencephalography.

To investigate the detail response properties for the incoherent motion of the human visual system, we measured the magnetoencephalographic neural responses to both coherent and incoherent motions at various speeds (from 0.65 to 20.6 degrees /s). The peak latency of the first component of the response from the extrastriate area was inversely related to the speed of motion (from 228 to 155 ms in mean) and there was no significant difference in the latency change between the two types of motion. There were significant differences in the peak amplitude change with the motion speed and a difference in the distribution of the magnetic fields of the responses was seen in six of the seven subjects. The results show that the speed of the incoherently moving dots is represented in the human visual system in the same manner as that of coherently moving dots. The differences in the magnetic fields between the two responses indicate that the same speed-related response changes can occur with different neural populations responsible for both motions.

Adult↗

Visual information process in Williams syndrome: intact motion detection accompanied by typical visuospatial dysfunctions.

It has been suggested that visuospatial cognitive disabilities seen in children with Williams syndrome (WMS) are related to a dysfunction of the dorsal stream in the visual information analysis system. We investigated whether visual motion detection is also impaired in WMS because it is one of the main functions of the dorsal stream. Using various psychophysical examinations and magnetoencephalography, we studied a child with WMS who had the typical features of the syndrome. We found profound impairments in the visuospatial cognitions, as previously reported in WMS. In contrast, he had normal ability for the direction discrimination of coherent motion on a background of randomly moving dots, and he perceived apparent motion as do normal children. Furthermore, the latencies of both responses to the coherent and incoherent motions as measured by magnetoencephalography were within the mean +/- 2 SD among normal adults and the estimated origins were near the human homologue of V5/MT (visual area 5/middle temporal area). The results indicate that the visuospatial cognitive deficits in WMS can occur without impairment of the visual motion detection. We consider that the deficits are caused by a restricted dysfunction of the neural groups for position and three-dimensional form perceptions in the dorsal stream of the visual system, though other possibilities are not excluded.

Brain Mapping↗