Statistically significant time-varying neural connectivity estimation using generalized partial directed coherence

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro L. C. Rodrigues ◽  
Luiz A. Baccala
Keyword(s):  
Time Varying ◽  
Neural Connectivity ◽  
Partial Directed Coherence ◽  
Significant Time ◽  
Generalized Partial Directed Coherence

scholarly journals Speaker gaze increases information coupling between infant and adult brains

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (50) ◽  
pp. 13290-13295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Leong ◽  
Elizabeth Byrne ◽  
Kaili Clackson ◽  
Stanimira Georgieva ◽  
Sarah Lam ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neural Activity ◽  
Information Transfer ◽  
Eye Gaze ◽  
Network Connectivity ◽  
Neural Connectivity ◽  
Partial Directed Coherence ◽  
Social Signals ◽  
Early Communication ◽  
Direct Gaze ◽  
Communicative Intention

When infants and adults communicate, they exchange social signals of availability and communicative intention such as eye gaze. Previous research indicates that when communication is successful, close temporal dependencies arise between adult speakers’ and listeners’ neural activity. However, it is not known whether similar neural contingencies exist within adult–infant dyads. Here, we used dual-electroencephalography to assess whether direct gaze increases neural coupling between adults and infants during screen-based and live interactions. In experiment 1 (n = 17), infants viewed videos of an adult who was singing nursery rhymes with (i) direct gaze (looking forward), (ii) indirect gaze (head and eyes averted by 20°), or (iii) direct-oblique gaze (head averted but eyes orientated forward). In experiment 2 (n = 19), infants viewed the same adult in a live context, singing with direct or indirect gaze. Gaze-related changes in adult–infant neural network connectivity were measured using partial directed coherence. Across both experiments, the adult had a significant (Granger) causal influence on infants’ neural activity, which was stronger during direct and direct-oblique gaze relative to indirect gaze. During live interactions, infants also influenced the adult more during direct than indirect gaze. Further, infants vocalized more frequently during live direct gaze, and individual infants who vocalized longer also elicited stronger synchronization from the adult. These results demonstrate that direct gaze strengthens bidirectional adult–infant neural connectivity during communication. Thus, ostensive social signals could act to bring brains into mutual temporal alignment, creating a joint-networked state that is structured to facilitate information transfer during early communication and learning.

scholarly journals Characterization of the Stages of Creative Writing With Mobile EEG Using Generalized Partial Directed Coherence

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesus G. Cruz-Garza ◽  
Akshay Sujatha Ravindran ◽  
Anastasiya E. Kopteva ◽  
Cristina Rivera Garza ◽  
Jose L. Contreras-Vidal
Keyword(s):  
Creative Writing ◽  
Information Transfer ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Final Decision ◽  
Partial Directed Coherence ◽  
Generation Stage ◽  
Body Activity ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Preparation Stage ◽  
Generalized Partial Directed Coherence

Two stages of the creative writing process were characterized through mobile scalp electroencephalography (EEG) in a 16-week creative writing workshop. Portable dry EEG systems (four channels: TP09, AF07, AF08, TP10) with synchronized head acceleration, video recordings, and journal entries, recorded mobile brain-body activity of Spanish heritage students. Each student's brain-body activity was recorded as they experienced spaces in Houston, Texas (“Preparation” stage), and while they worked on their creative texts (“Generation” stage). We used Generalized Partial Directed Coherence (gPDC) to compare the functional connectivity among both stages. There was a trend of higher gPDC in the Preparation stage from right temporo-parietal (TP10) to left anterior-frontal (AF07) brain scalp areas within 1–50 Hz, not reaching statistical significance. The opposite directionality was found for the Generation stage, with statistical significant differences (p < 0.05) restricted to the delta band (1–4 Hz). There was statistically higher gPDC observed for the inter-hemispheric connections AF07–AF08 in the delta and theta bands (1–8 Hz), and AF08 to TP09 in the alpha and beta (8–30 Hz) bands. The left anterior-frontal (AF07) recordings showed higher power localized to the gamma band (32–50 Hz) for the Generation stage. An ancillary analysis of Sample Entropy did not show significant difference. The information transfer from anterior-frontal to temporal-parietal areas of the scalp may reflect multisensory interpretation during the Preparation stage, while brain signals originating at temporal-parietal toward frontal locations during the Generation stage may reflect the final decision making process to translate the multisensory experience into a creative text.

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