An Introduction to Variational Autoencoders


Book Description

An Introduction to Variational Autoencoders provides a quick summary for the of a topic that has become an important tool in modern-day deep learning techniques.




Optogenetics: A Roadmap


Book Description

This volume focuses on the optogenetics workflow, and covers topics on viral vectors, targeting strategies, choice on opsins, animal models and readouts, and applications in systems neuroscience. This book shows readers how to identify the critical aspects of each methodological step, and how to determine the necessary level of complexity to address the particular research question. In Neuromethods series style, chapters include the kind of detail and key advice from the specialists needed to get successful results in your laboratory. Comprehensive and cutting-edge, Optogenetics: A Roadmap is a valuable guide for both the optogenetics novices and the experts.




Brain Connectivity in Autism


Book Description

The brain's ability to process information crucially relies on connectivity. Understanding how the brain processes complex information and how such abilities are disrupted in individuals with neuropsychological disorders will require an improved understanding of brain connectivity. Autism is an intriguingly complex neurodevelopmental disorder with multidimensional symptoms and cognitive characteristics. A biological origin for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) had been proposed even in the earliest published accounts (Kanner, 1943; Asperger, 1944). Despite decades of research, a focal neurobiological marker for autism has been elusive. Nevertheless, disruptions in interregional and functional and anatomical connectivity have been a hallmark of neural functioning in ASD. Theoretical accounts of connectivity perceive ASD as a cognitive and neurobiological disorder associated with altered functioning of integrative circuitry. Neuroimaging studies have reported disruptions in functional connectivity (synchronization of activated brain areas) during cognitive tasks and during task-free resting states. While these insights are valuable, they do not address the time-lagged causality and directionality of such correlations. Despite the general promise of the connectivity account of ASD, inconsistencies and methodological differences among studies call for more thorough investigations. A comprehensive neurological account of ASD should incorporate functional, effective, and anatomical connectivity measures and test the diagnostic utility of such measures. In addition, questions pertaining to how cognitive and behavioral intervention can target connection abnormalities in ASD should be addressed. This research topic of the Frontiers in Human Neuroscience addresses “Brain Connectivity in Autism” primarily from cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging perspectives.




Principles of Brain Dynamics


Book Description

Experimental and theoretical approaches to global brain dynamics that draw on the latest research in the field. The consideration of time or dynamics is fundamental for all aspects of mental activity—perception, cognition, and emotion—because the main feature of brain activity is the continuous change of the underlying brain states even in a constant environment. The application of nonlinear dynamics to the study of brain activity began to flourish in the 1990s when combined with empirical observations from modern morphological and physiological observations. This book offers perspectives on brain dynamics that draw on the latest advances in research in the field. It includes contributions from both theoreticians and experimentalists, offering an eclectic treatment of fundamental issues. Topics addressed range from experimental and computational approaches to transient brain dynamics to the free-energy principle as a global brain theory. The book concludes with a short but rigorous guide to modern nonlinear dynamics and their application to neural dynamics.




Handbook of MRI Pulse Sequences


Book Description

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is among the most important medical imaging techniques available today. There is an installed base of approximately 15,000 MRI scanners worldwide. Each of these scanners is capable of running many different "pulse sequences", which are governed by physics and engineering principles, and implemented by software programs that control the MRI hardware. To utilize an MRI scanner to the fullest extent, a conceptual understanding of its pulse sequences is crucial. Handbook of MRI Pulse Sequences offers a complete guide that can help the scientists, engineers, clinicians, and technologists in the field of MRI understand and better employ their scanner. - Explains pulse sequences, their components, and the associated image reconstruction methods commonly used in MRI - Provides self-contained sections for individual techniques - Can be used as a quick reference guide or as a resource for deeper study - Includes both non-mathematical and mathematical descriptions - Contains numerous figures, tables, references, and worked example problems




Statistical Parametric Mapping: The Analysis of Functional Brain Images


Book Description

In an age where the amount of data collected from brain imaging is increasing constantly, it is of critical importance to analyse those data within an accepted framework to ensure proper integration and comparison of the information collected. This book describes the ideas and procedures that underlie the analysis of signals produced by the brain. The aim is to understand how the brain works, in terms of its functional architecture and dynamics. This book provides the background and methodology for the analysis of all types of brain imaging data, from functional magnetic resonance imaging to magnetoencephalography. Critically, Statistical Parametric Mapping provides a widely accepted conceptual framework which allows treatment of all these different modalities. This rests on an understanding of the brain's functional anatomy and the way that measured signals are caused experimentally. The book takes the reader from the basic concepts underlying the analysis of neuroimaging data to cutting edge approaches that would be difficult to find in any other source. Critically, the material is presented in an incremental way so that the reader can understand the precedents for each new development. This book will be particularly useful to neuroscientists engaged in any form of brain mapping; who have to contend with the real-world problems of data analysis and understanding the techniques they are using. It is primarily a scientific treatment and a didactic introduction to the analysis of brain imaging data. It can be used as both a textbook for students and scientists starting to use the techniques, as well as a reference for practicing neuroscientists. The book also serves as a companion to the software packages that have been developed for brain imaging data analysis. - An essential reference and companion for users of the SPM software - Provides a complete description of the concepts and procedures entailed by the analysis of brain images - Offers full didactic treatment of the basic mathematics behind the analysis of brain imaging data - Stands as a compendium of all the advances in neuroimaging data analysis over the past decade - Adopts an easy to understand and incremental approach that takes the reader from basic statistics to state of the art approaches such as Variational Bayes - Structured treatment of data analysis issues that links different modalities and models - Includes a series of appendices and tutorial-style chapters that makes even the most sophisticated approaches accessible




Machine Learning in Clinical Neuroimaging


Book Description

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 4th International Workshop on Machine Learning in Clinical Neuroimaging, MLCN 2021, held on September 27, 2021, in conjunction with MICCAI 2021. The workshop was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 17 papers presented in this book were carefully reviewed and selected from 27 submissions. They were organized in topical sections named: computational anatomy and brain networks and time series.




Callosal Agenesis


Book Description

This book is devoted to the description of agenesis of the corpus callosum, a congenital malformation of midline structures in the brain that may be regarded as a natural model of the "split-brain. " First reported by Rei! in 1812, this anomaly has since been described by several investigators. Interest in this malformation was revived in the 1970s by studies of interhemispheric transfer in Bogen and Vogel's commissurotomized patients and the subsequent findings by Sperry that acallosal patients were devoid of the typical disconnection deficits found in patients with surgical transection of the corpus callosum. Since this seminal work, the bulk of neuropsychological research on callosal agenesis has focused on the particulars of interhemispheric transfer and integration. An ever-growing literature has emerged on the subject, attempting to specify the extent and limits of neural plasticity in a nervous system that has evolved in the absence of the most important interhemispheric pathway. Whilst callosal agenesis proves to be an excellent model of cerebral plasticity, it has to be pointed out that this anomaly is often associated with other malformations and neurological diseases that may result in different degrees of mental retardation or other cognitive and sensorimotor deficits. In this context, neurological research on callosal agenesis has concentrated on the description of various syndromes associated with this pathology as well as on the attempt to specify its neurobehavioral manifestations.




Magnetoencephalography


Book Description

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is an invaluable functional brain imaging technique that provides direct, real-time monitoring of neuronal activity necessary for gaining insight into dynamic cortical networks. Our intentions with this book are to cover the richness and transdisciplinary nature of the MEG field, make it more accessible to newcomers and experienced researchers and to stimulate growth in the MEG area. The book presents a comprehensive overview of MEG basics and the latest developments in methodological, empirical and clinical research, directed toward master and doctoral students, as well as researchers. There are three levels of contributions: 1) tutorials on instrumentation, measurements, modeling, and experimental design; 2) topical reviews providing extensive coverage of relevant research topics; and 3) short contributions on open, challenging issues, future developments and novel applications. The topics range from neuromagnetic measurements, signal processing and source localization techniques to dynamic functional networks underlying perception and cognition in both health and disease. Topical reviews cover, among others: development on SQUID-based and novel sensors, multi-modal integration (low field MRI and MEG; EEG and fMRI), Bayesian approaches to multi-modal integration, direct neuronal imaging, novel noise reduction methods, source-space functional analysis, decoding of brain states, dynamic brain connectivity, sensory-motor integration, MEG studies on perception and cognition, thalamocortical oscillations, fetal and neonatal MEG, pediatric MEG studies, cognitive development, clinical applications of MEG in epilepsy, pre-surgical mapping, stroke, schizophrenia, stuttering, traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, autism, aging and neurodegeneration, MEG applications in cognitive neuropharmacology and an overview of the major open-source analysis tools.




Electrical Neuroimaging


Book Description

An authoritative reference giving a systematic overview of new electrical imaging methods. Provides a comprehensive and sound introduction to the basics of multichannel recording of EEG and event-related potential (ERP) data, as well as spatio-temporal analysis of the potential fields. Chapters include practical examples of illustrative studies and approaches.