Assessing the feasibility of online SSVEP decoding in human walking using a consumer EEG headset.

BackgroundBridging the gap between laboratory brain-computer interface (BCI) demonstrations and real-life applications has gained increasing attention nowadays in translational neuroscience. An urgent need is to explore the feasibility of using a low-cost, ease-of-use electroencephalogram (EEG) headset for monitoring individuals' EEG signals in their natural head/body positions and movements. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of using a consumer-level EEG headset to realize an online steady-state visual-evoked potential (SSVEP)-based BCI during human walking.MethodsThis study adopted a 14-channel Emotiv EEG headset to implement a four-target online SSVEP decoding system, and included treadmill walking at the speeds of 0.45, 0.89, and 1.34 meters per second (m/s) to initiate the walking locomotion. Seventeen participants were instructed to perform the online BCI tasks while standing or walking on the treadmill. To maintain a constant viewing distance to the visual targets, participants held the hand-grip of the treadmill during the experiment. Along with online BCI performance, the concurrent SSVEP signals were recorded for offline assessment.ResultsDespite walking-related attenuation of SSVEPs, the online BCI obtained an information transfer rate (ITR) over 12 bits/min during slow walking (below 0.89 m/s).ConclusionsSSVEP-based BCI systems are deployable to users in treadmill walking that mimics natural walking rather than in highly-controlled laboratory settings. This study considerably promotes the use of a consumer-level EEG headset towards the real-life BCI applications

Revealing spatio-spectral electroencephalographic dynamics of musical mode and tempo perception by independent component analysis.

BackgroundMusic conveys emotion by manipulating musical structures, particularly musical mode- and tempo-impact. The neural correlates of musical mode and tempo perception revealed by electroencephalography (EEG) have not been adequately addressed in the literature.MethodThis study used independent component analysis (ICA) to systematically assess spatio-spectral EEG dynamics associated with the changes of musical mode and tempo.ResultsEmpirical results showed that music with major mode augmented delta-band activity over the right sensorimotor cortex, suppressed theta activity over the superior parietal cortex, and moderately suppressed beta activity over the medial frontal cortex, compared to minor-mode music, whereas fast-tempo music engaged significant alpha suppression over the right sensorimotor cortex.ConclusionThe resultant EEG brain sources were comparable with previous studies obtained by other neuroimaging modalities, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET). In conjunction with advanced dry and mobile EEG technology, the EEG results might facilitate the translation from laboratory-oriented research to real-life applications for music therapy, training and entertainment in naturalistic environments

Majorization relation in quantum critical systems

The most basic local conversion is local operations and classical communications (LOCC), which is also the most natural restriction in quantum information processing. We investigate the conversions between the ground states in quantum critical systems via LOCC and propose an novel method to reveal the different convertibility via majorization relation when a quantum phase transition occurs. The ground-state local convertibility in the one-dimensional transverse field Ising model is studied. It is shown that the LOCC convertibility changes nearly at the phase transition point. The relation between the order of quantum phase transitions and the LOCC convertibility is discussed. Our results are compared with the corresponding results using the Renyi entropy and the LOCC convertibility with assisted entanglement.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Productions of X(1835) as baryonium with sizable gluon content

The X(1835) has been treated as a baryonium with sizable gluon content, and to be almost flavor singlet. This picture allows us to rationally understand X(1835) production in $J/\psi$ radiative decays, and its large couplings with $p\bar{p}$, $\eta^{\prime}\pi\pi$. The processes $\Upsilon(1S)\to \gamma X(1835)$ and $J/\psi\to \omega X(1835)$ have been examined. It has been found that $Br(\Upsilon(1S)\to\gamma X(1835))Br(X(1835)\to p\bar{p})<6.45\times10^{-7}$, which is compatible with CLEO's recently experimental result (Phys.Rev.$\mathbf{D73}$ (2006) 032001;hep-ex/0510015). The branching fractions of $Br(J/\psi\to\omega X(1835))$, $Br(J/\psi\to\rho X(1835))$ with $X(1835)\to p\bar{p}$ and $X(1835)\to\eta^{\prime}\pi^{+}\pi^{-}$ have been estimated by the quark-pair creation model. We show that they are heavily suppressed, so the signal of X(1835) is very difficult, if not impossible, to be observed in these processes. The experimental checks for these estimations are expected. The existence of the baryonium nonet is conjectured, and a model independent derivation of their production branching fractions is presented.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figure

Multiple Unpinned Dirac Points in Group-Va Single-layers with Phosphorene Structure

Emergent Dirac fermion states underlie many intriguing properties of graphene, and the search for them constitute one strong motivation to explore two-dimensional (2D) allotropes of other elements. Phosphorene, the ultrathin layers of black phosphorous, has been a subject of intense investigations recently, and it was found that other group-Va elements could also form 2D layers with similar puckered lattice structure. Here, by a close examination of their electronic band structure evolution, we discover two types of Dirac fermion states emerging in the low-energy spectrum. One pair of (type-I) Dirac points is sitting on high-symmetry lines, while two pairs of (type-II) Dirac points are located at generic $k$-points, with different anisotropic dispersions determined by the reduced symmetries at their locations. Such fully-unpinned (type-II) 2D Dirac points are discovered for the first time. In the absence of spin-orbit coupling, we find that each Dirac node is protected by the sublattice symmetry from gap opening, which is in turn ensured by any one of three point group symmetries. The spin-orbit coupling generally gaps the Dirac nodes, and for the type-I case, this drives the system into a quantum spin Hall insulator phase. We suggest possible ways to realize the unpinned Dirac points in strained phosphorene.Comment: 30 pages, 6 figure

Probing the Electron States and Metal-Insulator Transition Mechanisms in Atomically Thin MoS2 Based on Vertical Heterostructures

The metal-insulator transition (MIT) is one of the remarkable electrical transport properties of atomically thin molybdenum disulphide (MoS2). Although the theory of electron-electron interactions has been used in modeling the MIT phenomena in MoS2, the underlying mechanism and detailed MIT process still remain largely unexplored. Here, we demonstrate that the vertical metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) heterostructures built from atomically thin MoS2 (monolayers and multilayers) are ideal capacitor structures for probing the electron states in MoS2. The vertical configuration of MIS heterostructures offers the added advantage of eliminating the influence of large impedance at the band tails and allows the observation of fully excited electron states near the surface of MoS2 over a wide excitation frequency (100 Hz-1 MHz) and temperature range (2 K- 300 K). By combining capacitance and transport measurements, we have observed a percolation-type MIT, driven by density inhomogeneities of electron states, in the vertical heterostructures built from monolayer and multilayer MoS2. In addition, the valence band of thin MoS2 layers and their intrinsic properties such as thickness-dependence screening abilities and band gap widths can be easily accessed and precisely determined through the vertical heterostructures