Sleep well with Kokoon EEG headphones

Kokoon is a new EEG system using integrated headphones that responds with audio improving sleep quality, remove disruptions and protect regenerative deep sleep.

Pre-orders to "Wake restored" are available with a price of $229.

NeuroPro - Innovative EEG Low-cost Solution

NeuroPro is a Swiss Medical Company that focus their research to provide technologies for patients suffering from neurological conditions and to support the advancement of neurological research and treatment, as epilepsy.

More information here. (the web site is very slow)

Present your EEG Application ideas to the World

Do you have an idea to create a new EEG application? Consciousness Hacking are a global community to explore and present your ideas with a supportive group that helps you to bring them to reality. 

Consumer EEG headsets are beginning to enter the market enabling inexpensive access to brainwave activity. Self-tracking biometric and biomechanical technologies capable of measuring signals such as pulse, skin conductivity, muscle tension, breath analysis, heart rate variability and or physical movement are becoming readily available as viable commercial products.

Computation is no longer a limiting factor, and massive amounts of data can be scoured for patterns no human mind could identify (...). Neuroscience research is beginning to deeply explore the nature of not only meditation, but of mystical and enlightened states. And these examples are just the tip of the iceberg.

More information here.

Detecting errors in the actions of others: An EEG study in pianists, musicians and musically naïve people

M.S. Panasiti, E.F. Pavone and S.M. Aglioti from the Department of Psychology, University of Rome “La Sapienza” - Italy, wrote this new article "Electrocortical signatures of detecting errors in the actions of others: An EEG study in pianists, musicians and musically naïve people" that uses EEG to explored the link between sensorimotor expertise and the ability to detect another’s erroneous action.

Detecting others’ action errors plays a critical role in social life. Studies indicate that executing action errors and observing other’s errors activate a specific cerebral system specialized for performance monitoring and detecting mismatches between an internal model of the action and the executed/observed one. Such a system may be particularly important for highly skilled performance. By recording EEG in expert pianists, non-pianist musicians and musically naïve individuals while they observed correct or incorrect mute piano sequences. Superior error detection in pianists was paralleled by a larger Pe, hinting at the selective activation of the parietal error-monitoring system in visuo-motor experts. Moreover, only in pianists did action observation induce left lateralized mu suppression in the 10–12 Hz band, reflecting somatotopic sensorimotor simulation.(...) This study shows that specific electrocortical indices link motor simulation and detection of errors in the actions of others.

Topics of Interest

• Error detection in motor experts is paralleled by Pe over parietal electrodes;
• Observing domain-specific actions induce lateralized mu suppression in pianist;.
• Motor simulation improves sensitivity to errors which in turn improves detection.

More information about BCI/EEG press here.

Identifying Stable Patterns over Time for Emotion Recognition from EEG

Wei-Long Zheng, Jia-Yi Zhu, and Bao-Liang Lu, from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, recently published the paper "Identifying Stable Patterns over Time for Emotion Recognition from EEG" using a machine learning approach.

(...), we focus on identifying EEG stability in emotion recognition. (...) The experimental results indicate that stable patterns exhibit consistency across sessions; the lateral temporal areas activate more for positive emotion than negative one in beta and gamma bands; the neural patterns of neutral emotion have higher alpha responses at parietal and occipital sites; and for negative emotion, the neural patterns have significant higher delta responses at parietal and occipital sites and higher gamma responses at prefrontal sites. The performance of our emotion recognition system shows that the neural patterns are relatively stable within and between sessions.

For more information about BCI/EEG press here.

Advanced Topics in Brain-Computer Interfacing

A new BCI book from Landon Vaden, it is available for reading from December 24 - 2015.

Research on brain-computer interfacing began in the 1970s at the University of California, Los Angeles under a grant from the National Science Foundation, followed by a contract from DARPA. The papers published after this research also mark the first appearance of the expression brain–computer interface in scientific literature.

With a price of $59 is also available here.

BrainLink - EEG Headband

BrainLink is a new EEG headband, made in China from Macrotellect, with a price of 255€. Developed primarily for fitness control, relax or increase focus, this equipment presents its core functions as:

• Focus Training with Brainwave Reports
• Meditation and Pressure Relief 
• Play Games.

BrainLink is a portable mental fitness headband wearable which helps you to maintain and achieve your peak mental fitness at your own pace. Brainwave sensing technology used in the wearable allows you to see and manage the progress of your mental fitness goals.

More informations here.

Real-time Neuroimaging and Cognitive Monitoring using Wearable Dry EEG

The researchers from the University of California, San Diego,  have developed a new EEG system with 64-channels to interpret and analyse the electrical brain activity using P300.

"We will be able to prompt the brain to fix its own problems," said Gert Cauwenberghs, a bioengineering professor at the Jacobs School and a principal investigator of the research. "We are trying to get away from invasive technologies, such as deep brain stimulation and prescription medications, and instead start up a repair process by using the brain's synaptic plasticity."

The article "Real-time neuroimaging and cognitive monitoring using wearable dry EEG" is available here.

DoCEIS 2016 - Advanced Doctoral Conference on Computing, Electrical and Industrial Systems

During April, 11-13, 2016, DoCEIS’16 will provide in Lisbon - Portugal a platform for the presentation of research results coming out of the PhD works, PhD thesis plans and practical aspects of a PhD work.

The 7th Advanced Doctoral Conference on Computing, Electrical and Industrial Systems (DoCEIS’16) will reflect on the growing interests in research, development and application of Cyber-Physical Systems. Fast progress on embedded intelligence and interconnection of systems, enabled by advances in pervasive computing, sensing technologies, and computer networks, including developments on Internet of Things and Cloud Computing, lead to new architectural approaches to systems engineering.

Sponsors:

More informations here.

AREADNE 2016 - Research of Neural Ensembles

In 22-26 June will be held the conference AREADNE 2016 in Greece. One of the proposed aims is to understand how the activation of large networks of neurons gives rise to the higher order functions of the brain including learning, memory, cognition, perception, action and ultimately conscious awareness. 

There are three major goals of the AREADNE Conferences. First and foremost, the meetings are intended to gather global scientific leaders who work on neural ensembles and create a touch-point for a widely disparate and hybrid field. Second, with a spectacular setting on Santorini, the conferences have been carefully planned to foster discussion and interaction between attendees to encourage the establishment of lasting professional relationships. Third, these meetings continue our efforts to promote systems neuroscience in Greece through creating a world-class forum for cutting-edge research.

Important Dates

• 2016-01-06 Abstract submissions open
• 2016-02-12 Abstract submissions close
• 2016-03-15 Abstract notifications sent

More informations here.

4th International Winter Conference on BCI

The 4th International Winter Conference on BCI in Korea, 22-24 February 2016, aims to encourage overview, in-depth talks and discussions, on the latest research of BCI. 

Its devotion includes invasive recording, semi-invasive ECoG, non-invasive EEG, non-invasive NIRS and fMRI measurement and potential combinations of the different methods furthermore advances in data analysis. Informal open discussion will be highly encouraged during its poster session.

Topics of Interest

• Novel BCI paradigms to elicit and collect data in different settings;
• Methods for the identification of mental status for BCI;
• Novel ideas for the combination of different mental strategies;
• Innovative theories or methodologies for user- or environment-adaptive BCIs;
• Advanced machine learning techniques for bio-signal processing and classification;
• Novel ideas and methodologies for multi-modal BCI;
• Novel methods or concepts for neurofeedback;
• Ideas for the advancement of BCI through open source collaboration;
• Applications of BCI including games, neuro-rehabilitation, control, virtual reality, etc.

More informations here.

Brain-Computer Interface Society

The new BCI Society was created to foster research leading to technologies that enable people to interact with the world through brain signals. 

It will work with other BCI-related organizations, sharing research and organize meetings among other activities. Jonathan Wolpaw and Nick Ramsey are the President and Vice-President of this society. The official site will also have information about Events, Jobs, Announcements. 

If you have interest compete for a BCI SOCIETY logo contest until 15 February 2016. More information here.

Happy New 2016

From Lisbon to worldwide wish for a happy 2016 to all researchers and BCI enthusiasts!

Photograph taken next to the River Tagus, Parque das Nações, Lisbon, Portugal. 

Author: José Boldt