Brain Reading Research Articles

Have you been there before? Decoding recognition of spatial scenes from fMRI signals in precuneus.

One potential application of forensic "brain reading" is to test whether a suspect has previously experienced a crime scene. Here, we investigated whether it is possible to decode real life autobiographic exposure to spatial locations using fMRI. In the first session, participants visited four out of eight possible rooms on a university campus. During a subsequent scanning session, subjects passively viewed pictures and videos from these eight possible rooms (four old, four novel) without giving any responses. A multivariate searchlight analysis was employed that trained a classifier to distinguish between "seen" versus "unseen" stimuli from a subset of six rooms. We found that bilateral precuneus encoded information that can be used to distinguish between previously seen and unseen rooms and that also generalized to the two stimuli left out from training. We conclude that activity in bilateral precuneus is associated with the memory of previously visited rooms, irrespective of the identity of the room, thus supporting a parietal contribution to episodic memory for spatial locations. Importantly, we could decode whether a room was visited in real life without the need of explicit judgments about the rooms. This suggests that recognition is an automatic response that can be decoded from fMRI data, thus potentially supporting forensic applications of concealed information tests for crime scene recognition.

The Role of Neuroprediction and Artificial Intelligence in the Future of Criminal Procedure Support Science: A New Era in Neuroscience and Criminal Justice

Recent developments in the field of neuroimaging in the world of neuroscience, when combined with artificial intelligence and, more specifically, with the use of mechanical engineering, have resulted in the creation of brain reading technology that may soon be widely used in scientific fields in the world including detecting, for example, criminal lies. When used in forensic psychiatry, this approach can increase the precision of risk assessment and help determine areas where intervention can be most effective. Neuro prediction with artificial intelligence can be called AI. This neuroprotection is a method of predicting criminal behaviour by finding biomarkers of brain function that can indicate that someone is committing crimes in the future. Normative legal research or library legal research (library research), with a statute, conceptual, comparative, historical, or futuristic approach. The nature of the research used in this research is descriptive-prescriptive and uses content analysis. The result of this research is to dissect the development of AI Neuroprediction in forensic psychiatry and criminal justice with attention to this technology's legal and ethical implications and potential applications. In the future, AI neuroprediction may play an important role in integrating forensic psychology into the criminal justice system. Through in-depth analysis of neurological data, AI neuroprediction could assist in identifying behavioral patterns or tendencies that might influence a person's criminal propensity, thus enriching traditional forensic psychological evaluations. It may also contribute to creating more precise and personalized intervention strategies to prevent repeat crimes.

Neural encoding with unsupervised spiking convolutional neural network

Accurately predicting the brain responses to various stimuli poses a significant challenge in neuroscience. Despite recent breakthroughs in neural encoding using convolutional neural networks (CNNs) in fMRI studies, there remain critical gaps between the computational rules of traditional artificial neurons and real biological neurons. To address this issue, a spiking CNN (SCNN)-based framework is presented in this study to achieve neural encoding in a more biologically plausible manner. The framework utilizes unsupervised SCNN to extract visual features of image stimuli and employs a receptive field-based regression algorithm to predict fMRI responses from the SCNN features. Experimental results on handwritten characters, handwritten digits and natural images demonstrate that the proposed approach can achieve remarkably good encoding performance and can be utilized for “brain reading” tasks such as image reconstruction and identification. This work suggests that SNN can serve as a promising tool for neural encoding.

An ensemble-based Machine learning technique for dyslexia detection during a visual continuous performance task

BackgroundDyslexia is a neurological disorder which affects the learning of individuals suffering from it, especially children. It causes reading and writing difficulties, leading to anger, frustration, poor self-esteem, and other negative emotions. Early diagnosis of dyslexia can be extremely useful for dyslexic children since their learning requirements can be correctly handled. MethodThis study aimed to propose an efficient method for dyslexia detection via evoked-related potentials (ERPs) during a Visual Continuous Performance Task (VCPT). To this end, after extracting the latency and amplitude of the event-related potential components and a statistical analysis between the two groups, the number of data dimensions is reduced by the KS-test and principal component analysis (PCA). This method used the ensemble learning classification technique to classify the normal and dyslexic groups, including five classifiers, namely a Support Vector Machine (SVM), Decision Tree, Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), K-nearest Neighbors (KNN), and Naive Bayesian. Moreover, we have used an 8-fold cross-validation method to assess how generalized the process is and, more importantly, to have a well-performed control on overfitting. ResultsAccording to this approach, the overall average classification accuracy is 87.5%, and the sensitivity and specificity are 81.2% and 93.7%, respectively. ConclusionThe suggested technique can improve children's education before they start school and have any skills in writing and reading. The most discriminative electrodes were found in the left hemisphere, which can be related to the Wernicke and Broca areas that have an essential role in the brain's reading, writing, and language-related functions.

Universality and language specificity of brain reading networks: A developmental perspective.

The development of reading networks across different languages and cultures provides an important window to address gene-culture interactions in brain functionality development. Previous meta-analyses have explored the neural correlates of reading in different languages with diverse orthographic transparencies. However, it remains unknown whether the neural topographic relationship of different languages varies when taking development into account. To address this issue, we conducted meta-analyses of neuroimaging studies with approaches of activation likelihood estimation and seed-based effect size mapping and focused on two highly contrasting languages, Chinese and English. The meta-analyses covered 61 studies of Chinese reading and 64 studies of English reading by native speakers. The brain reading networks of child and adult readers were further separately analyzed and compared to explore the developmental effects. The results revealed that the commonalities and differences in reading networks for Chinese and English were inconsistent between children and adults. In addition, the reading networks converged with development, and the effects of writing systems on brain function organizations were more salient in the initial stages of reading. An interesting finding was that the left inferior parietal lobule demonstrated increased effect sizes in adults compared with children in both Chinese and English reading, indicating a common developmental feature of reading mechanisms across the two languages. These findings provide new insights into the functional evolution and cultural modulation of brain reading networks. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Meta-analyses with approaches of activation likelihood estimation and seed-based effect size mapping were performed to evaluate the developmental characteristics of brain reading networks. The engagement of universal and language-specific reading networks was different between children and adults, and the reading networks converged with increased reading experience. Overall the middle/inferior occipital and inferior/middle frontal gyrus were specific to Chinese and the middle temporal, right inferior frontal gyrus were specific to English. The left inferior parietal lobule was engaged more in adults than children in Chinese and English reading, demonstrating a common developmental feature of reading mechanisms.

Disentangling influences of dyslexia, development, and reading experience on effective brain connectivity in children

Altered brain connectivity between regions of the reading network has been associated with reading difficulties. However, it remains unclear whether connectivity differences between children with dyslexia (DYS) and those with typical reading skills (TR) are specific to reading impairments or to reading experience. In this functional MRI study, 132 children (M = 10.06 y, SD = 1.46) performed a phonological lexical decision task. We aimed to disentangle (1) disorder-specific from (2) experience-related differences in effective connectivity and to (3) characterize the development of DYS and TR. We applied dynamic causal modeling to age-matched (ndys = 25, nTR = 35) and reading-level-matched (ndys = 25, nTR = 22) groups. Developmental effects were assessed in beginning and advanced readers (TR: nbeg = 48, nadv = 35, DYS: nbeg = 24, nadv = 25). We show that altered feedback connectivity between the inferior parietal lobule and the visual word form area (VWFA) during print processing can be specifically attributed to reading impairments, because these alterations were found in DYS compared to both the age-matched and reading-level-matched TR. In contrast, feedforward connectivity from the VWFA to parietal and frontal regions characterized experience in TR and increased with age and reading skill. These directed connectivity findings pinpoint disorder-specific and experience-dependent alterations in the brain's reading network.

Substance dualism and modern brain reading technology

Substance dualism and modern brain reading technology

Subtitled speech: Phenomenology of tickertape synesthesia

With effort, most literate persons can conjure more or less vague visual mental images of the written form of words they are hearing, an ability afforded by the links between sounds, meaning, and letters. However, as first reported by Francis Galton, persons with ticker-tape synesthesia (TTS) automatically perceive in their mind's eye accurate and vivid images of the written form of all utterances which they are hearing. We propose that TTS results from an atypical setup of the brain reading system, with an increased top-down influence of phonology on orthography. As a first descriptive step towards a deeper understanding of TTS, we identified 26 persons with TTS. Participants had to answer to a questionnaire aiming to describe the phenomenology of TTS along multiple dimensions, including visual and temporal features, triggering stimuli, voluntary control, interference with language processing, etc. We also assessed the synesthetic percepts elicited experimentally by auditory stimuli such as non-speech sounds, pseudowords, and words with various types of correspondence between sounds and letters. We discuss the potential cerebral substrates of those features, argue that TTS may provide a unique window in the mechanisms of written language processing and acquisition, and propose an agenda for future research.

Interplay Between Brain Dominance, Reading, and Speaking Skills in English Classrooms.

One of the popular theories in psychology that potentially contributes to the development of teaching and learning programs is brain dominance. According to this theory, the brain is categorized into two hemispheres based on personal traits and cognitive styles. It is interesting to investigate the correlation between brain dominance and second language learning. Therefore, this study set out to examine the correlation between brain dominance and the development of English reading, and speaking skills. For this purpose, the required data were randomly gathered from 230 sophomore students in four different universities and were analyzed through a Pearson Chi-Square test, a Kruskal–Wallis test, and a Mann–Whitney test. Findings evidenced a significant correlation between brain dominance and reading skills. Three categories of brain dominance groups differ in reading skills in which moderate right-brain shows the highest score. Concerning the speaking skills, however, the results documented no significant correlation between brain dominance and speaking skills. Three groups of brain dominance were not significantly different in three aspects of speaking skills, including accuracy, fluency, and comprehensibility. The study concludes by proposing a range of implications and some avenues for further research.

Beyond Reading Modulation: Temporo-Parietal tDCS Alters Visuo-Spatial Attention and Motion Perception in Dyslexia.

Dyslexia is a neurodevelopmental disorder with an atypical activation of posterior left-hemisphere brain reading networks (i.e., temporo-occipital and temporo-parietal regions) and multiple neuropsychological deficits. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a tool for manipulating neural activity and, in turn, neurocognitive processes. While studies have demonstrated the significant effects of tDCS on reading, neurocognitive changes beyond reading modulation have been poorly investigated. The present study aimed at examining whether tDCS on temporo-parietal regions affected not only reading, but also phonological skills, visuo-spatial working memory, visuo-spatial attention, and motion perception in a polarity-dependent way. In a within-subjects design, ten children and adolescents with dyslexia performed reading and neuropsychological tasks after 20 min of exposure to Left Anodal/Right Cathodal (LA/RC) and Right Anodal/Left Cathodal (RA/LC) tDCS. LA/RC tDCS compared to RA/LC tDCS improved text accuracy, word recognition speed, motion perception, and modified attentional focusing in our group of children and adolescents with dyslexia. Changes in text reading accuracy and word recognition speed—after LA/RC tDCS compared to RA/LC—were related to changes in motion perception and in visuo-spatial working memory, respectively. Our findings demonstrated that reading and domain-general neurocognitive functions in a group of children and adolescents with dyslexia change following tDCS and that they are polarity-dependent.

Tα οφέλη της γραφής με το χέρι στην ανάπτυξη της αναγνωστικής ικανότητας: ανασκόπηση νευροαπεικονιστικών ευρημάτων

Although reading and writing are often treated as two separate processes, the research data of recent years suggest that these two functions seem to be interrelated and one depends on the other. The aim of this study was to examine whether handwriting is related to and, further, influences the development of reading abilities. To this end, we have reviewed neuroimaging research conducted over the last fifteen years. Research findings, both for pre-school and early-school children, as well as for adults, showed that handwriting influences brain development and activates brain reading systems more than other sensory kinetic techniques. Neuroimaging revealed that learning to write is based on the development of a network of brain structures, which includes the dorsal premotor cortex, the ventral premotor cortex, the upper parietal cortex and the fusiform gyrus of the left hemisphere in right-handed persons, as well as the contralateral cerebellum, structures whose participation and interconnection are specific to the writing of alphabet characters. This network is structured for the common learning of writing and reading and depends on the level of the writer's experience. The perception of letters is helped by the handwriting experience, upon which the ability to process the letters in the person's brain during reading is also based. The brain networks that appear to be triggered when identifying letters following the learning of these letters through handwriting are the same sensory kinetic networks that are activated during letter recognition and reading. In conclusion, the sensory experience gained through handwriting seems to develop the brain and strengthens the person’s ability to read.

Pre-reading language abilities and the brain’s functional reading network in young children

Early childhood is an important period for language development that lays the foundation for future reading abilities. However, little research has focused on the functional brain systems supporting pre-reading language abilities in typically developing children. Here, we investigated functional connectivity using passive viewing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in 50 healthy children aged 2.85–5.07 years (3.84 ​± ​0.60 years, 22 female/28 male). Children completed the NEPSY-II Phonological Processing and Speeded Naming subtests and underwent fMRI while watching a movie of their choice. Functional connectivity was measured between key brain reading areas (bilateral angular gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, and inferior frontal gyrus) and the rest of the brain. Age-adjusted pre-reading scores positively correlated with functional connectivity between (1) the right angular gyrus and superior temporal gyrus, (2) the bilateral angular gyri and right pars triangularis and motor areas, (3) the left superior temporal gyrus and bilateral medial frontal gyrus and right cerebellum, (4) the left pars triangularis and middle occipital gyrus and insula, and (5) the right pars triangularis and the bilateral thalamus. Higher pre-reading scores were associated with stronger negative functional connectivity between (1) the left angular gyrus and auditory cortex, (2) the left superior temporal gyrus and occipital vision areas, (3) the right pars triangularis and medial frontal region, and (4) the right superior temporal gyrus and the posterior cingulate/precuneus. These results suggest better integration of the reading network, as well as its connections with other brain areas that support language or reading, and more dissociation between reading areas and the default mode network, in young children with better pre-reading skills. Our findings show that relationships between functional connectivity and pre-reading language skills are evident in young children even before formal reading instruction.

Brain Recording, Mind-Reading, and Neurotechnology: Ethical Issues from Consumer Devices to Brain-Based Speech Decoding

Brain reading technologies are rapidly being developed in a number of neuroscience fields. These technologies can record, process, and decode neural signals. This has been described as ‘mind reading technology’ in some instances, especially in popular media. Should the public at large, be concerned about this kind of technology? Can it really read minds? Concerns about mind-reading might include the thought that, in having one’s mind open to view, the possibility for free deliberation, and for self-conception, are eroded where one isn’t at liberty to privately mull things over. Themes including privacy, cognitive liberty, and self-conception and expression appear to be areas of vital ethical concern. Overall, this article explores whether brain reading technologies are really mind reading technologies. If they are, ethical ways to deal with them must be developed. If they are not, researchers and technology developers need to find ways to describe them more accurately, in order to dispel unwarranted concerns and address appropriately those that are warranted.

Judging the Secret Thoughts of All: Functional Neuroimaging, ‘Brain Reading’, and the Theological Ethics of Privacy

Of the many futuristic prospects offered by neuroscience, one of the more controversial is ‘brain reading’: the use of functional neuroimaging to gain information about subjects’ mental states or thoughts. This technology has various possible applications, including ‘neuromarketing’ and lie detection. Would such applications violate subjects’ privacy rights? Conversely, if God knows and judges all our secret thoughts, do Christians have any stake in defending a right to mental privacy? This article argues that God’s knowledge of us is different not only in degree but in kind from the knowledge sought through brain reading. This view of divine knowledge supports a theological account of privacy, richer and broader in scope than standard accounts of privacy rights, which can aid the ethical analysis of the use of brain reading technology for purposes such as marketing and lie detection.

Brain reading tech: Lets users control devices through thought alone

The first winner of IETs award for technology innovation is set to help the treatment and rehabilitation of people with severe brain injuries.NeuroCONCISE is commercialising a wearable, non-invasive system enabled by artificial intelligence that allows people to communicate and interact with computers without moving, using only their minds. It's predicted to have applications in rehabilitation, diagnostics, augmentative and assistive communication devices and entertainment. The technology is built around a brain-computer interface that translates changes associated with imagination of movement.

Applying a network framework to the neurobiology of reading and dyslexia

BackgroundThere is a substantial literature on the neurobiology of reading and dyslexia. Differences are often described in terms of individual regions or individual cognitive processes. However, there is a growing appreciation that the brain areas subserving reading are nested within larger functional systems, and new network analysis methods may provide greater insight into how reading difficulty arises. Yet, relatively few studies have adopted a principled network-based approach (e.g., connectomics) to studying reading. In this study, we combine data from previous reading literature, connectomics studies, and original data to investigate the relationship between network architecture and reading.MethodsFirst, we detailed the distribution of reading-related areas across many resting-state networks using meta-analytic data from NeuroSynth. Then, we tested whether individual differences in modularity, the brain’s tendency to segregate into resting-state networks, are related to reading skill. Finally, we determined whether brain areas that function atypically in dyslexia, as identified by previous meta-analyses, tend to be concentrated in hub regions.ResultsWe found that most resting-state networks contributed to the reading network, including those subserving domain-general cognitive skills such as attention and executive function. There was also a positive relationship between the global modularity of an individual’s brain network and reading skill, with the visual, default mode and cingulo-opercular networks showing the highest correlations. Brain areas implicated in dyslexia were also significantly more likely to have a higher participation coefficient (connect to multiple resting-state networks) than other areas.ConclusionsThese results contribute to the growing literature on the relationship between reading and brain network architecture. They suggest that an efficient network organization, i.e., one in which brain areas form cohesive resting-state networks, is important for skilled reading, and that dyslexia can be characterized by abnormal functioning of hub regions that map information between multiple systems. Overall, use of a connectomics framework opens up new possibilities for investigating reading difficulty, especially its commonalities across other neurodevelopmental disorders.

Brain reading and behavioral methods provide complementary perspectives on the representation of concepts

The advent of brain reading techniques has enabled new approaches to the study of concept representation, based on the analysis of multivoxel activation patterns evoked by the contemplation of individual concepts such as animal concepts. The present fMRI study characterized the representation of 30 animal concepts. Dimensionality reduction of the multivoxel activation patterns underlying the individual animal concepts indicated that the semantic building blocks of the brain's representations of the animals corresponded to intrinsic animal properties (e.g. fierceness, intelligence, size). These findings were compared to behavioral studies of concept representation, which have typically collected pairwise similarity ratings between two concepts (e.g. Henley, 1969). Behavioral similarity judgments, by contrast, indicated that the animals were organized into taxonomically defined groups (e.g. canine, feline, equine). The difference in the results between the brain reading and behavioral approaches might derive from differences in cognitive processing during judging similarities versus contemplating one animal at a time. Brain reading approaches may have an advantage in describing thoughts about an individual concept, owing to the ability to decode brain activation patterns elicited by the brief consideration of a single concept (e.g. word reading) without a complex cognitive or behavioral task (e.g. similarity judgments). On the other hand, some behavioral tasks may tend to evoke a concept from numerous perspectives, yielding a representation of the breadth and sophistication of the concept knowledge. These results suggest that neural and behavioral measures offer complementary perspectives that together characterize the content and structure of concept representations.

Reinterpretando la Dislexia. Propuesta diferenciadora para una neurodidáctica inclusiva

Hasta la aparición de las técnicas de neuroimagen las investigaciones sobre la Dislexia se centraron en el déficit fonológico como uno de los factores causales. Estas técnicas han permitido avanzar en el conocimiento anatómico-funcional de las distintas áreas del cerebro revelando la amplitud y complejidad de la red de lectura del cerebro.
 Con el objetivo de una mayor compresión de este trastorno del neurodesarrollo, se analizan los últimos avances sobre las funciones neuroanatómicas de las distintas áreas del cerebro implicadas en la lectura y las investigaciones sobre la etiología neurológica de la Dislexia. Se concluye con la necesidad de considerar un trastorno del neurodesarrollo sensorial localizado en áreas primarias auditiva y visual que conlleva un deficiente procesamiento de la información viso-espacio-temporal. Se considera la Dislexia, y por tanto también el déficit fonológico, como una consecuencia de este trastorno. Esta diferenciación permite visibilizar otros síntomas menos atendidos por la investigación y la didáctica.
 Se extraen implicaciones cognitivas del déficit del procesamiento espacio-temporal en las etapas de educación infantil y primaria ante tareas típicas del aula a partir de las cuales diseñar una didáctica inclusiva, comprensiva con la naturaleza neurológica del trastorno, que no penalice a los alumnos que padecen este trastorno neurológico.

The Effect of Brain-based Reading ability Enhancement Program on Brainwave, Brain Utilization Capability and Reading attitude of Low-achieving Elementary Students in Reading

The Effect of Brain-based Reading ability Enhancement Program on Brainwave, Brain Utilization Capability and Reading attitude of Low-achieving Elementary Students in Reading

Does Brain Research Make Reading Another’s Thoughts Possible?

This article defends an affirmative answer to the question indicated in its title using an approach to the Mind-Brain problem developed by the author. Thought reading is possible through deciphering the brain’s neurodynamic code for a given phenomenon of subjective reality (or at least through determination of its neurodynamic counterpart). During the past two decades, significant results in that regard have been achieved in the area of neuroscience called “brain reading.” Using examples of these results, the author examines the problem of deciphering the brain’s codes for mental phenomena, the theoretical and methodological challenges involved, and the prospects for further development related to new methods of visualizing and mapping brain activity. The article also shows the primary importance of thorough research on a wide range of social and human questions that this trend in modern neuroscience raises.