Charting the sea of brain waves: Investigation of cortical traveling waves during speech processing

Informazioni relative al progetto

WAVESCOPE

ID dell’accordo di sovvenzione: 101062497

DOI

10.3030/101062497

Progetto chiuso

Data della firma CE 10 Maggio 2022

Data di avvio 1 Giugno 2022

Data di completamento 31 Maggio 2024

Finanziato da

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

Costo totale

Nessun dato

Contributo UE

€ 189 687,36

Coordinato da

ERNST STRUNGMANN INSTITUTE GGMBH
Germany

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - WAVESCOPE (Charting the sea of brain waves: Investigation of cortical traveling waves during speech processing)

Periodo di rendicontazione: 2022-06-01 al 2024-05-31

Sintesi del contesto e degli obiettivi generali del progetto

The WAVESCOPE project aims to enhance the detection and understanding of traveling waves in neural electrophysiology data, recorded from the brain, with a focus on their role in speech and auditory processing. This research addresses the critical need to understand how neural oscillations contribute to cognitive functions. By developing advanced methodologies for detecting and analyzing traveling waves, the project seeks to provide better descriptions for the spatiotemporal dynamics of oscillations in these data, ultimately providing new insights into brain function that could inform both basic neuroscience and clinical applications. Given the increasing importance of neuroscience in addressing mental health and neurological disorders, foundational work investigating key aspects of neural data is necessary, for instance for arriving at useful biomarkers for differentiating between clinical diagnoses.

Lavoro eseguito dall’inizio del progetto fino alla fine del periodo coperto dalla relazione e principali risultati finora ottenuti

The project made progress through two primary work packages (WPs), focusing on advancing the detection and understanding of traveling waves in electrophysiology. Work Package 1 (WP1) was dedicated to developing methods for detecting and tracking cortical traveling waves. The main activities included creating a Python-based workflow that utilized innovative algorithms for wave detection. These methods were validated on simulations, demonstrating their effectiveness. Additionally, the workflow was adapted to different neurophysiological data types, successfully applied to invasive electrophysiology (iEEG) data, and partially applied to magnetoencephalography (MEG) data.

Work Package 2 (WP2) investigated the computational role of traveling waves in auditory and speech processing. This involved conceptualizing and implementing an MEG experiment, which included pilot data acquisition. However, a six-month delay caused by a cyberattack on the university hospital’s IT infrastructure necessitated a pivot to using iEEG data. This shift allowed the project to continue making progress by leveraging the enhanced spatiotemporal resolution of iEEG data. Extensive analysis of this data provided new insights into the spatiotemporal dynamics of mesoscale oscillatory networks.

Progressi oltre lo stato dell’arte e potenziale impatto previsto (incluso l’impatto socioeconomico e le implicazioni sociali più ampie del progetto fino ad ora)

The project has produced several results that extend beyond current knowledge and methodologies for application in electrophysiological data. Key achievements include:
- Developing a novel python-based workflow for the detection and tracking of cortical traveling waves, which offers a more accurate and noise-robust tool for researchers.
- Gaining new insights into the spatiotemporal structure of mesoscale oscillatory networks during auditory and speech processing.
Continued research and validation to refine the developed tools, especially in the context of constraining generative models for traveling waves with the computed metrics.