The entropic tongue: Disorganization of natural language under LSD. Consciousness and Cognition
01/01/2021
We investigated the hypothesis that language produced under the effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) should exhibit increased entropy and reduced semantic coherence.
Dreaming during the Covid-19 pandemic: Computational assessment of dream reports reveals mental suffering related to fear of contagion. PLoS One
11/30/2020
These results corroborate the hypothesis that pandemic dreams reflect mental suffering, fear of contagion, and important changes in daily habits that directly impact socialization.
The dream of God: how do religion and science see lucid dreaming and other conscious states during sleep? Frontiers in Psychology
10/07/2020
Teachings from religious traditions around the world offer important insights for scientific researchers today who want to understand the full range of LD phenomenology as it has emerged through history.
The history of writing reflects the effects of education on discourse structure: implications for literacy, orality, psychosis and the axial age. Trends In Neuroscience And Education
10/05/2020
The educational pathways of oral and literate traditions are structurally divergent, with a decreasing range of recurrence in the former, and an increasing range of recurrence in the latter. Education is seemingly the driving force underlying discourse maturation
Structural differences between REM and non-REM dream reports assessed by graph analysis
07/28/2020
These results indicate that dream reports sampled after REM awakening have on average a larger connectedness compared to those sampled after N2 (i.e. words recur with a longer range), a difference which appears to be related to underlying differences in dream...
Verbal Short-Term Memory Underlies Typical Development of “Thought Organization” Measured as Speech Connectedness
07/15/2019
Here we set out to test a longitudinal sample (6–8 years old, n =45, followed for 2 years) to verify whether the LSC is predictive of various memory measures, and whether such relations can explain the correlation with reading.
Portable devices to induce lucid dreams — are they reliable?
07/10/2019
One of the main current challenges in lucid dreaming (LD) research is to develop a simple and reliable way to induce it (Stumbrys et al., 2012). This is because, for most people, LD is very pleasurable but also very rare (LaBerge and...
05/27/2019
Here, using both new and publicly available data, we test independent signatures of criticality and show that a phase transition occurs in an intermediate value of spiking variability, in both anesthetized and freely moving animals.
Hippocampal functional organization: a microstructure of the place cell network encoding space
04/26/2019
Here, we show that in animals confined to a small part of a maze, principal cells in the CA1/CA3 subfields of the dorsal hippocampus immunoreactive (IR) for Zif268 adhere to a ‘cluster-type’ organization.
REHAB FUN: an assistive technology in neurological motor disorders rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy
03/18/2019
We measured attention levels, errors, and time. The REHAB FUN has been shown to be a motivating tool for patients, and through the data acquired, the specialists can direct the treatment in an individualized way so that there are greater effectiveness and...
Computational fluid dynamic analysis of physical forces playing a role in brain organoid cultures in two different multiplex platforms
03/18/2019
Here we used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to simulate two multiplex culture conditions: steering plates on an orbital shaker and the use of a previously described bioreactor.
The maturation of speech structure in psychosis is resistant to formal education
12/10/2018
Here we report that a graph-theoretical computational analysis of verbal reports from subjects spanning 6 decades of age and 2 decades of education reveals asymptotic changes over time that depend more on education than age. In typical subjects, short-range recurrence and lexical...
Computational models of memory consolidation and long-term synaptic plasticity during sleep
10/23/2018
Research on the neurobiology of sleep and the mechanisms of long-term synaptic plasticity has provided data in support of various theories of how brain activity during sleep affects long-term synaptic plasticity.
Non-visual exploration of novel objects increases the levels of plasticity factors in the rat primary visual cortex
10/23/2018
Our results suggest that non-visual exploration induces the activation of immediate-early genes in V1 cortex, which is suggestive of cross-modal processing in this area. Besides, the increase in the number of neurons labeled with pCaKMII may signal a condition promoting synaptic...
Recording Day and Night: Advice for New Investigators in the Sleep and Memory Field
09/18/2018
The investigation of the sleep-dependent mechanisms of memory processing and consolidation is largely based on the electrophysiological recording of action potentials (spikes), local field potentials (LFPs), and muscle activity from freely behaving rodents.
Post-class naps boost declarative learning in a naturalistic school setting
08/03/2018
Here we assessed the effect of post-class naps on the retention of Science and History curricular contents presented by the regular class teacher to 24 students from 5th grade. Retention was repeatedly measured 3–4 days after content learning, with weekly group randomization...
Memory corticalization triggered by REM sleep: mechanisms of cellular and systems consolidation
07/30/2018
This article reviews the plasticity mechanisms triggered by REM sleep, with a focus on the emerging role of kinases and immediate-early genes for the progressive corticalization of hippocampus-dependent memories.
Speech structure links the neural and socio-behavioural correlates of psychotic disorders
07/12/2018
We found a canonical correlation linking speech connectedness and i) functional as well as developmentally relevant structural brain markers (degree centrality from resting state functional imaging and cortical gyrification index) ii) psychometric evaluation of thought disorder iii) aspects of cognitive performance (processing...
The interpretation of dream meaning: Resolving ambiguity using Latent Semantic Analysis in a small corpus of text
11/07/2017
Computer-based dreams content analysis relies on word frequencies within predefined categories in order to identify different elements in text.
Short term changes in the proteome of human cerebral organoids induced by 5-MeO-DMT
10/13/2017
Here we used shotgun mass spectrometry to explore proteomic differences induced by 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) on human cerebral organoids. Out of the 6,728 identified proteins, 934 were found differentially expressed in 5-MeO-DMT-treated cerebral organoids.
Electrophysiological evidence that the retrosplenial cortex displays a strong and specific activation phased with hippocampal theta during paradoxical (REM) sleep
08/18/2017
It is widely accepted that cortical neurons are similarly more activated during waking and paradoxical sleep (PS, aka REM) than during slow wave sleep (SWS).
Dopamine Modulates Delta-Gamma Phase-Amplitude Coupling in the Prefrontal Cortex of Behaving Rats
05/04/2017
Dopamine release and phase-amplitude cross-frequency coupling (CFC) have independently been implicated in prefrontal cortex (PFC) functioning.
Coupled variability in primary sensory areas and the hippocampus during spontaneous activity
04/10/2017
The cerebral cortex is an anatomically divided and functionally specialized structure. It includes distinct areas, which work on different states over time.
Machine Learning Algorithms for Automatic Classification of Marmoset Vocalizations
09/29/2016
In this work, we consider seven different classification algorithms
with the goal of finding a robust classifier that can be successfully trained on small datasets.
A Naturalistic Assessment of the Organization of Children’s Memories Predicts Cognitive Functioning and Reading Ability
08/05/2016
To explore the relationship between memory and early school performance, we used graph theory to investigate memory reports from 76 children aged 6–8 years. The reports comprised autobiographical memories of events days to years past, and memories of novel images reported immediately...
Novel Virtual Environment for Alternative Treatment of Children with Cerebral Palsy
07/12/2016
In this paper, we describe a virtual environment for patients to engage in a playful therapeutic game for neuropsychomotor rehabilitation, based on the experience of the occupational therapy program of the Nucleus for Integrated Medical Assistance (NAMI) at the University of Fortaleza,...
Computational Tracking of Mental Health in Youth: Latin American Contributions to a Low-Cost and Effective Solution for Early Psychiatric Diagnosis
06/16/2016
Here, we briefly introduce the problem by reviewing the
scarce epidemiological data from Latin America regarding the onset of mental
disorders, and discussing the difficulties associated with early diagnosis.
Repertoires of Spike Avalanches Are Modulated by Behavior and Novelty
03/28/2016
Esse artigo mostra em ratos que avalanches neuronais variam através do ciclo sono vigília e refletem em alguma medida os comportamentos dos animais. Detectamos a existência de repertórios complexos de padrões de ativação entre neurônios (avalanches) que são construídas na vigília e...
03/09/2016
Dreaming and psychosis share important features, such as intrinsic sense perceptions independent of external stimulation, and a general lack of criticism that is associated with reduced frontal cerebral activity.
10/28/2015
This perspective article discusses current neuroscience topics of utmost interest including the conquest of aging, evidence-based education, the epidemic of psychiatric medication, the prohibition of certain drugs, the resurgence of depth psychology (e.g. psychoanalysis) and the mechanisms underlying consciousness.
Can vocal conditioning trigger a semiotic ratchet in marmosets?
10/19/2015
The complexity of human communication has often been taken as evidence that our language reflects a true evolutionary leap, bearing little resemblance to any other animal communication system.
Automated analysis of free speech predicts psychosis onset in high-risk youths
08/28/2015
Psychiatry lacks the objective clinical tests routinely used in ther specializations. Novel computerized methods to characterize complex behaviors such as speech could be used to identify and predict sychiatric illness in individuals.
The Psychedelic State Induced by Ayahuasca Modulates the Activity and Connectivity of the Default Mode Network
06/16/2015
The experiences induced by psychedelics share a wide variety of subjective features, related to the complex changes in perception and cognition induced by this class of drugs.
Synaptic Homeostasis and Restructuring across the Sleep-Wake Cycle
05/27/2015
Sleep is critical for hippocampus-dependent memory consolidation. However, the underlying mechanisms of synaptic plasticity are poorly understood. The central controversy is on whether long-term potentiation (LTP) takes a role during sleep and which would be its specific effect on memory....
Experience-dependent upregulation of multiple plasticity factors in the hippocampus during early REM sleep
03/17/2015
Sleep is beneficial to learning, but the underlying mechanisms remain controversial. The synaptic homeostasis hypothesis (SHY) proposes that the cognitive function of sleep is related to a generalized rescaling of synaptic weights to intermediate levels, due to a passive downregulation of plasticity...
Graph analysis of verbal fluency test discriminate between patients with Alzheimer’s disease, Mild Cognitive Impairment and normal elderly controls
07/11/2014
This study reports a graph analysis of data generated by the semantic verbal fluency test by cognitively healthy elderly (NC), patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment – subtypes amnestic (aMCI) and amnestic multiple domain (a+mdMCI) - and patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
Naps in school can enhance the duration of declarative memories learned by adolescents
06/03/2014
Here we set out to evaluate the influence of daytime naps on the duration of declarative memories learned in school by students of 10–15 years old.
An investigation of Hebbian phase sequences as assembly graphs
05/07/2014
We investigated action potentials recorded from the adult rat hippocampus and neocortex before, during and after novel object exploration (experimental periods).
Neuroscience and education: prime time to build the bridge
03/28/2014
We discuss four specific cases in which neuroscience synergizes with other disciplines to serve education, ranging from very general physiological aspects of human learning such as nutrition, exercise and sleep, to brain architectures that shape the way we acquire language and reading,...
Increase in Hippocampal Theta Oscillations during Spatial Decision Making.
03/13/2014
In this study, we investigated to what extent spatial decision making modulates hippocampal theta oscillations when controlling for variations in locomotion speed.
03/13/2014
Here we review the biological and psychological phenomena underlying the cognitive role of sleep, present the few published studies on sleep and learning that have been performed in schools, and discuss potential applications of sleep to the school setting. Translational research on...
Dream characteristics in a Brazilian sample: an online survey focusing on lucid dreaming.
12/10/2013
During sleep, humans experience the offline images and sensations that we call dreams, which are typically emotional and lacking in rational judgment of their bizarreness.
Detecting cell assemblies in large neuronal populations
08/01/2013
Here we review three linear methods for the detection of cellassemblies in large neuronal populations that rely on principal and independent component analysis.
Ketamine alters oscillatory coupling in the hippocampus
08/02/2013
Network interactions that underlie cognitively relevant oscillatory coupling in the hippocampus are altered upon NMDA receptor blockade by ketamine, a pharmacological model of schizophrenia.
Análise de grafos aplicada a relatos de sonhos: ferramenta diagnóstica objetiva e diferencial para psicose esquizofrênica e bipolar.
07/30/2013
Dissertação apresentada ao curso de Pós-Graduação em Neurociências da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, como requisito parcial para a obtenção do Grau de Mestre.
On High-Frequency Field Oscillations (>100 Hz) and the Spectral Leakage of Spiking Activity
04/03/2013
Our results argue against the idea that all high-frequency LFP activity stems from spike contamination and suggest avoiding defining brain rhythms solely based on frequency range.
Induction of hippocampal long-term potentiation during waking leads to increased extra-hippocampal zif-268 expression during ensuing rapid-eye-movement sleep.
Neuronal Assembly Detection and Cell Membership Specification by Principal Component Analysis.
01/01/2011
Here we describe a principal
component-based method that is able to (1) identify all cell assemblies present in the neuronal population investigated, (2)
determine the number of neurons involved in ensemble activity, (3) specify the precise identity of the neurons pertaining to
...
Speech Graphs Provide a Quantitative Measure of Thought Disorder in Psychosis
01/01/2012
Psychosis has various causes, including mania and schizophrenia. Since the differential diagnosis of psychosis
is exclusively based on subjective assessments of oral interviews with patients, an objective quantification of the speech
disturbances that characterize mania and schizophrenia is in order. In principle, such quantification...