Positive Technology Journal

In the framework of the European Union’s Marie Curie network for human resources and mobility activity, a new project “NeuroVers-IT” investigating Neuro-Cognitive Science and Information Technology has been set up. The project aims at collaborative, highly multidisciplinary research between 11 European well-known research institutions in the areas of neuro-/cognitive sciences/biophysics and robotics/information technologies/ mathematics. Topics covered are self-learning and self-configuring systems, bi-directional neuro-electronic interfaces (microelectronics devices and systems interfacing neuronal cultures to computers) and integrating methods of self-learning, task orientation and adaptation into “living” artefacts (robot systems controlled by real neural networks). For this project, all research institutions participating in the project are looking for European experienced PdD researcher or  early stage researcher.

The ideal candidates should have a university degree in neuroscience, a cognitive science, computer science/mathematics and/or electrical engineering/biophysics. A good knowledge of spoken and written English is required along with a disposition to work in different European countries while being employed at one of the partner institutions. Both types of positions involve extensive personal career plans and training at the “home” institution of the researcher and at the partner labs, participation in organizing a Neuro-Engineering summer school and e-learning platform facilities.

For information about these positions you may contact

Prof. Dr. Alois Knoll, Technische
Universität München, Fakultät für Informatik, E-mail neuroversit@in.tum.de,
Tel. +49 89 289 18106.

You may also send your written application including your CV and other relevant material to vehne@in.tum.de before Apr. 20, 2006. Your application will then be forwarded to one of the research institutions of the project.

From Desmoinesregister

Tom Alex

Des Moines Police Officer Paul Tieszen stepped onto a city bus and into a world he's only heard about.

"Things flash out of nowhere. Small voices saying, 'Go get your medication.' The bus driver is talking to you normally and all of a sudden he starts calling you 'Your Highness.' Then he becomes part of the hallucination," says Tieszen. "It's a whole busload of children, then it changes to a busload of adults. There's a nurse involved. You see normal things and then all of a sudden someone pulls up next to you and says, 'Get off the bus.' "

The bus wasn't real, but the officer's reactions were. And he quickly got a glimpse of what it's like to suffer from a severe mental illness.

Tieszen's window into the world of hallucinations was provided by a high-tech virtual reality mask that police use to better understand the mentally ill people they come in contact with.

"You are in the role of the individual on the bus," he said, trying to describe the experience. "You are seeing what is in the mind of someone who is like that."

The device is called a virtual hallucination machine. It was introduced to police by Teresa Bomhoff, president of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Greater Des Moines....

Read the full article 

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Investigation of the Effects of Neurofeedback Training on the Neural Bases of Selective Attention and Response Inhibition in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.

Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback. 2006 Mar 22;

Authors: Beauregard M, Lévesque J

Two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments were undertaken to measure the effect of neurofeedback training (NFT), in AD/HD children, on the neural substrates of selective attention and response inhibition. Twenty unmedicated AD/HD children participated to these experiments. Fifteen children were randomly assigned to the Experimental (EXP) group whereas the other five children were randomly assigned to the Control (CON) group. Only subjects in the EXP group underwent NFT. EXP subjects were trained to enhance the amplitude of the SMR (12-15 Hz) and beta 1 activity (15-18 Hz), and decrease the amplitude of theta activity (4-7 Hz). Subjects from both groups were scanned one week before the beginning of NFT (Time 1) and 1 week after the end of NFT (Time 2), while they performed a "Counting Stroop" task (Experiment 1) and a Go/No-Go task (Experiment 2). At Time 1, in both groups, the Counting Stroop task was associated with significant activation in the left superior parietal lobule. For the Go/No-Go task, no significant activity was detected in the EXP and CON groups. At Time 2, in both groups, the Counting Stroop task was associated with significant activation of the left superior parietal lobule. This time, however, there were significant loci of activation, in the EXP group, in the right ACC, left caudate nucleus, and left substantia nigra. No such activation loci were seen in CON subjects. For the Go/No-Go task, significant loci of activation were noted, in the EXP group, in the right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, right ACcd, left thalamus, left caudate nucleus, and left substantia nigra. No significant activation of these brain regions was measured in CON subjects. These results suggest that NFT has the capacity to functionally normalize the brain systems mediating selective attention and response inhibition in AD/HD children.

Via Neuro-IT mailing list

August 7th – September 1st 2006, ARCACHON, FRANCE 

The Advanced Course in Computational Neuroscience is for advanced graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who are interested in learning the essentials of the field.

We seek students of any nationality from a variety of disciplines, including neuroscience, physics, electrical engineering, computer science, mathematics and psychology. Students are expected to have a keen interest and basic background in neurobiology as well as some computer experience.

The course has two complementary parts. Mornings are devoted to lectures given by distinguished international faculty on topics across the breadth of experimental and computational neuroscience. During the rest of the day, students are given practical training in the art and practice of neural modelling, largely through the medium of their
individual choice of model systems.

The first week of the course introduces students to essential neurobiological concepts and to the most important techniques in modelling single cells, networks and neural systems. Students learn how to solve their research problems using software packages such as MATLAB, NEST, NEURON, XPP, etc. During the following three weeks the lectures cover specific brain areas and functions. Topics range from modelling single cells and subcellular processes through the simulation of simple circuits, large neuronal networks and system level models of the brain.

http://www.neuroinf.org/courses/EUCOURSE/EU06

Via Smart Mobs

Time Magazine's cover story this week is on kids' multitasking skills and what all that digital juggling is doing to their brains and family life.

There is no doubt that the phenomenon has reached a kind of warp speed in the era of Web-enabled computers, when it has become routine to conduct six IM conversations, watch American Idol on TV and Google the names of last season's finalists all at once.
... Although multitasking kids may be better prepared in some ways for today's frenzied workplace, many cognitive scientists are positively alarmed by the trend. "Kids that are instant messaging while doing homework, playing games online and watching TV, I predict, aren't going to do well in the long run," says Jordan Grafman, chief of the cognitive neuroscience section at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. On the positive side, Gen M students tend to be extraordinarily good at finding and manipulating information. And presumably because modern childhood tilts toward visual rather than print media, they are especially skilled at analyzing visual data and images, observes Claudia Koonz, professor of history at Duke University.

Via the APA Monitor 

The John Templeton Foundation seeks applications for the eighth annual Martin E.P. Seligman Award for Outstanding Dissertation Research in Positive Psychology. The prize awards $1,000 to a scholar who has completed a PhD dissertation in any area of positive psychology research and who plans to continue research in this area. Candidates must have completed their dissertation after March 30, 2003.

The award also includes travel to and one day’s lodging and expenses for the 2006 Positive Psychology Summit, Oct. 6–8, in Washington, D.C., where the award will be presented.

To apply, candidates should send six copies of both their curriculum vitae and a summary of their dissertation research. The summary—limited to no more than eight pages, including tables and figures, but excluding references—should contain:

• A description of the problem investigated.

• An explanation of the methods.

• A summary of the findings.

• A discussion of the significance of the findings in relation to positive psychology.

• An outline of how the work might be continued.

A selection committee, chaired by Kennon M. Sheldon, PhD, of the University of Missouri–Columbia, will determine three finalists by June 1. Finalists will then submit a copy of their completed dissertations for review.

Materials must be postmarked no later than April 15. Send them to Communications Department, John Templeton Foundation, 300 Conshohocken State Road, Suite 500, West Conshohocken, PA 19428.

[posted By Regine on WMMNA]

emosive is a service for mobile devices which allows capturing, storing and sharing of fleeting emotional experiences. Based on the Cognitive PrimingGo theory, as we become more immersed in digital media through our mobile devices, our personal media inventories constantly act as memory aids, "priming" us to better recollect associative, personal (episodic) memories when facing an external stimulus. Being mobile and in a dynamic environment, these recollections are moving, both emotionally and quickly away from us. emosive bundles text, sound and image animation to allow capturing these fleeting emotional experiences, then sharing and reliving them with cared others. emosive proposes a new format of instant messages, dubbed IFM – Instant Feeling Messages.

Have a look at the demo, it's a Flash application developed using FlickrFling and live data.

User scenario
While walking in the park and listening to a verse from his and his girlfriend Tina’s favorite tune – Madonna’s Little Star (“Never forget how to dream, Butterfly”), Jake sees a butterfly on a flower. Primed by the romantic musical immersion, Jake notices the colors of the butterfly and immediately loads a memory of Tina’s same-colored summer dress. Jake quickly clicks the emosive shortcut key sequence on his device. He snaps a photo of the butterfly and tags the image as "Butterfly". As Jack walks around the city, he captures other fleeting moments, making sure they are tagged to correspond with lyric words. He even adds some tagged images from his Flickr account. He then "wraps" everything as an IFM, previews it and sends it to Tina. When Tina accepts the IFM, it will stream to her phone and synchronize the tune and the images, based on the tagged lyric words. The stored IFM can also be viewed effectively as an emosive experience from any web-enabled browser.

The emosive (formerly e:sense) project was developed by the design team of the Designs Which Create Design workshop, held at the University Institute of Architecture of Venice (IUAV) 2006.

via Sci-Con

Researchers from the University of Michigan and Harvard University have used fMRI to find out which brain areas are activated by specific qualities of brands and products. The study, forthcoming in the Journal of Consumer Research, is the first to use fMRI to assess consumer perceptions and has important implications for the use of metaphorical human-like traits in branding.

Via Neurofuture

Mark Miller's photographs of the brain show that even neurons can become spectacular pieces of art at the right scale. In particular, this photo (depicting red retrobeads from the pyramidal tract merged with a blue fluoroNisal counterstain)

reminds me of an artpiece of Italian artists Bianco-Valente, whose work focuses on the invisible co-evolution between natural and artificial, between biological and technological networks:

Via Transmaterial 

Researchers at Buffalo's Virtual Reality Lab have developed a virtual sculpting system that replicates in real time the physical act of sculpting a block of clay. A special glove records the force exerted by the hand in manipulating and shaping a block of clay. Force-feedback, hand position, and speed of fingertip motion are communicated to a computer, where the virtual clay is shaped precisely to the contouring of the actual clay.

[the author of this articke is Régine Debatty, we-make-money-not-art]

Acclair, by Luther Thie and Eyal Fried, is a security and neuromarketing service that points to Acclairism, a new form of discrimination based on the individual's bio-data and membership in an "acclaired" elite.

The project creates a "social fiction" to explore a situation wherein people willingly accept a highly invasive, highly authoritative manipulation in return for tangible rewards and social status. Acclair is a fictional company providing brain-testing services as part of an accelerated security clearance for air-travelers with its use of Brain Fingerprinting technology (BFP).

Before departure, the Acclair member goes through a one-minute brain test in a relaxing environment. His/her brain output is used for security clearance, and then sold to marketing entities interested in his consumerist personality. According to his brain's market value, the Acclair member is rewarded with Capitality credit points that enable meaningful capital benefits and "Amnesty" credit points that provide legal pardons for applicable past offenses.

Acclairism is an attempt to bring to light some of the conflicts and questions brought about by biometric technologies: What defines us as unique individuals? What defines us as trusted members of society? How much personal information will we willingly give away and under which circumstances?

Part of ISEA 2006, San José, this summer

Via Wired

Some game designers are discarding "heads-up displays," trying to create a more immersive environment by providing game data such as a player's health and ammo levels using subtler hints that are truer to life. Big mistake, according to Clive Thompson:

I let fly with a flurry of jabs, then lean in and deliver a sneaky uppercut. It connects perfectly -- I can hear the moist thwack of my boxing glove on my opponent's cheek. When he staggers back to his corner of the boxing ring, I admire my handiwork: Swollen eyes, drooling crimson -- it's like something Picasso might have painted if he worked with blood. I can tell that one more barrage is gonna win me the round.

Kino 3D is a forum (in Italian) about open-source computer graphics. It includes several sections:

- Discussion on 2D and 3D computer graphics and open source for any platform;

- OpenLab: Experiments, work in progress, prototypes;

- Tutorial about Blender (the open source, cross platform suite of tools for 3D creation);

- Discussion about video, animations, and 2D/3D videogames;

- Off topics;

- A link to the international Blender forum;

The forum is an useul resource for professionals and people interested in knowing more about the world of open-source computer graphics.

Via Mind Hacks

USA Today has an article about the use of computer games and neurofeedback as a treatment:

A generation raised on video games is inspiring researchers' efforts to unlock the mysteries of a puzzling learning disorder that afflicts millions of school-age children and even some adults.

Whether speeding down a virtual street in Sony's Gran Turismo or slaying Spyro the Dragon, researchers hope games such as these will improve the lives of those with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, commonly known as ADHD, or cognitive-processing difficulties.

People with these disorders experience "constant frustration," says Henry Owens, a Melbourne, Fla., clinical psychologist who recently began offering a patented video game system, which evolved from NASA technology, to some of his patients.

"If they just play video games on their own, they will zone out," he says. "When they play on this system, if they zone out, the video game doesn't respond any more," acting as an incentive to improve focus and concentration.

The 4th Congress on Applications of Virtual Reality (CARVI 2006) will be held on 15-16 June in Vitoria-Gasteiz (Spain) and organized by EUVE Technological Center specialised in Virtual Reality, Television, Virtual Engineering and Meteorology. The Conference is aimed at architecture, urban planning, reconstruction of cultural heritage, civil works, engineering, television, advertising, institutions.

Visit the conference web site for more information

Psychol Bull. 2006 Mar;132(2):180-211

Authors: Cahn BR, Polich J

Via Pink Tentacle 

KOTOHANA is a flower-shaped terminal which allows to remotely communicate human emotions using LED light. LEDs change color according to the emotions felt by the remote person. Emotional state of the remote person is inferred by analysing affective correlates of voice; results of the analysis are sent via wireless LAN to the other terminal, where it is expressed as LED light. KOTOHANA is a joint project of NEC, NEC Design and SGI Japan

Posted by Luis on Networked Perfomance

VisualComplexity.com intends to be a unified resource space for anyone interested in the visualization of complex networks. The project's main goal is to leverage a critical understanding of different visualization methods, across a series of disciplines, as diverse as Biology, Social Networks or the World Wide Web.