Paper List
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Emergent Spatiotemporal Dynamics in Large-Scale Brain Networks with Next Generation Neural Mass Models
This work addresses the core challenge of understanding how complex, brain-wide spatiotemporal patterns emerge from the interaction of biophysically d...
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Human-Centred Evaluation of Text-to-Image Generation Models for Self-expression of Mental Distress: A Dataset Based on GPT-4o
This paper addresses the critical gap in evaluating how AI-generated images can effectively support cross-cultural mental distress communication, part...
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GOPHER: Optimization-based Phenotype Randomization for Genome-Wide Association Studies with Differential Privacy
This paper addresses the core challenge of balancing rigorous privacy protection with data utility when releasing full GWAS summary statistics, overco...
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Real-time Cricket Sorting By Sex A low-cost embedded solution using YOLOv8 and Raspberry Pi
This paper addresses the critical bottleneck in industrial insect farming: the lack of automated, real-time sex sorting systems for Acheta domesticus ...
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Collective adsorption of pheromones at the water-air interface
This paper addresses the core challenge of understanding how amphiphilic pheromones, previously assumed to be transported in the gas phase, can be sta...
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pHapCompass: Probabilistic Assembly and Uncertainty Quantification of Polyploid Haplotype Phase
This paper addresses the core challenge of accurately assembling polyploid haplotypes from sequencing data, where read assignment ambiguity and an exp...
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Setting up for failure: automatic discovery of the neural mechanisms of cognitive errors
This paper addresses the core challenge of automating the discovery of biologically plausible recurrent neural network (RNN) dynamics that can replica...
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Influence of Object Affordance on Action Language Understanding: Evidence from Dynamic Causal Modeling Analysis
This study addresses the core challenge of moving beyond correlational evidence to establish the *causal direction* and *temporal dynamics* of how obj...
Influence of Object Affordance on Action Language Understanding: Evidence from Dynamic Causal Modeling Analysis
Centre for Linguistic Science and Technology (CLST), Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati | Neural Engineering Lab, Department of Bio Sciences and Bio Engineering, IIT Guwahati | Biomimetic Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Lab (BRAIL), Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Guwahati
The 30-Second View
IN SHORT: This study addresses the core challenge of moving beyond correlational evidence to establish the *causal direction* and *temporal dynamics* of how object affordance processing in sensorimotor brain regions drives the comprehension of action-related language.
Innovation (TL;DR)
- Methodology Applies Dynamic Causal Modeling (DCM) to EEG data to infer *directed, causal connectivity* between key brain regions during affordance-language processing, moving beyond traditional correlational analyses.
- Biology Identifies a specific feedforward causal architecture where the Ventral Premotor Cortex (PMv) acts as a driver, causally influencing the Inferior Parietal Lobule (IPL) and Posterior Superior Temporal Gyrus (pSTG) during action language comprehension.
- Theory Provides direct, mechanistic evidence supporting grounded/embodied cognition theories by showing that affordance-related motor regions (PMv) actively *drive* semantic hubs (pSTG, IPL), rather than merely co-activating with them.
Key conclusions
- Bayesian Model Selection identified a dominant model (M6, exceedance probability = 0.91) featuring strong modulatory influences from PMv to IPL (mean coupling strength = 0.28 Hz ± 0.05) and PMv to pSTG, establishing a causal feedforward pathway from motor to semantic regions.
- The video+text condition significantly strengthened the causal influence from PMv to IPL and pSTG compared to the text-only condition, demonstrating that multimodal (visual+linguistic) affordance cues amplify the driving role of premotor cortex.
- Source localization (LORETA) and DCM together delineate a core left-hemisphere network (LOC, pSTg, PMv, IPL) where visual input (LOC) feeds into premotor affordance processing (PMv), which in turn causally drives semantic integration in parietal (IPL) and temporal (pSTG) hubs.
Abstract: This study investigates the causal neural dynamics by which affordance representations influence action language comprehension. In this study, 18 participants observed stimuli displayed in two conditions during the experiment: text-only (e.g., ‘Hit with a hammer’) and video+text (visual clips with matching phrases). EEG data were recorded from 32 channels and analyzed for event-related potentials and source localization using LORETA, which identified four left-hemisphere regions of interest: the Lateral Occipital Cortex (LOC), Posterior Superior Temporal Gyrus (pSTG), Ventral Premotor Cortex (PMv), and Inferior Parietal Lobule (IPL). A space of dynamic causal modeling (DCM) was constructed with driving inputs to LOC and pSTG, and multiple connectivity configurations were tested. Bayesian Model Selection revealed a dominant model in which PMv causally influenced IPL and pSTG, reflecting a feedforward architecture from affordance-related motor regions to semantic hubs. Bayesian Model Averaging further confirmed strong endogenous connections from LOC to PMv and IPL, and significant modulation from PMv to IPL. These findings provide direct evidence that affordance processing in premotor regions drives action language understanding by engaging downstream parietal and temporal areas. The results support grounded cognition theories and offer a mechanistic account of how sensorimotor information contributes to linguistic comprehension.