본 연구는 뇌 이완 요법이 중년건강과 어떤 관계가 있는지를 통계적이고 임상적인 방법으로 접근하였다. 중년이 되면 몸이 쇠약해지고 면역성이 떨어지게 된다. 이에 중년들은 다양한 자연치유프로그램에 참여하여 면역성을 높이는 뇌 이완요법 중 두개천골요법과 감정자유기법을 이용하고 있다. 이러한 뇌 이완요법이 자가 면역성강화에 영향을 미치는가를 분석하기 위하여 프로그램에 참여한 실험군의 뇌주파수 측정 평가와 설문을 이용한 주관적인 평가를 통하여 프로그램 전과 후에 대한 결론을 도출하였다. 자연치유 뇌 이완요법 교육프로그램이 자가면역성 향상에 미치는 효과에 관한 연구를 분석하기 위해서 두개천골요법(CST)과 감정자유기법(EFT)이 정서적 안정과 스트레스감소에 미치는 영향을 EGG(뇌파측정기)로 측정하였다. 자연치유 뇌 이완요법을 수행하기 위해서 서울시 관악구에 위치한 관악교육문화센터에 방문한 수강생과 자연치유 뇌 이완요법을 수강하고 교육을 100% 출석 수료한 교육생 36명을 대상으로 두개천골요법과 감정자유기법의 효과를 측정하기 위한 실험하여 치유적의미를 분석하였다. 그 결과 뇌 이완요법이 정서적 안정을 높이는 것으로 분석되었으며(p<0.05).스트레스감소와 자기효능감을 높이는 것으로 분석되었다(p>0.05). 따라서 뇌 이완요법은 뇌의 시냅스를 활성화시켜 정서적 안정, 스트레스감소, 자기효능감 등을 높이는 운동요법이 가능하다.

자기공명영상은 고해상도의 연부조직에 대한 영상정보를 제공하며, 뇌종양 등 연부조직 진단에 활용된다. 본 연구는 합성곱신경망 인공지능을 통해 뇌종양 자기공명영상 분류성능을 확인해 보고자 한다. 4개 종류로 구분된 3264 장의 MRI 데이터 세트(data set)를 이용하였으며, 인공지능 학습을 위해 훈련용 데이터와 시험용 데이터를 9 : 1, 훈련용 데이터의 10%를 검증용 데이터로 구분하였다. 합성곱신경망은 기본 CNN과 VGG16으로 구성하였으며, 학습 평가는 정확도와 손실율로 확인하였으며, 생성된 모델을 통해 분류성능 정확도를 확인하였다. 실험 결과 과적합은 없었으며, 분류성능은 기본 CNN과 VGG16 각각 67%와 80%의 분류성능을 보였다. 도출된 뇌종양 자기공명영상 분류 결과를 통해 자기공명영상과 인공지능 접목에 관한 기초 자료로 사용될 수 있을 것이라 사료된다.

MRI는 연부조직에 대한 고해상도의 영상을 제공하며 진단적 가치가 매우 높은 영상 검사이며, 디지털 데이터를 이용하여 딥러닝 기술을 통해 컴퓨터 보조 진단 역할을 수행할 수 있다. 본 연구는 딥러닝 기반 YOLOv3를 이용하여 뇌종양 분류 성능을 확인해 보고자 한다. 253장의 오픈 MRI 영상을 이용하여 딥러닝 학습을 진행하고 학습 평가지표는 평균손실(average loss)와 region 82와 region 94를 사용하였으며, 뇌종양 분류 모델 검증을 위해 학습에 사용되지 않은 영상을 이용하여 검출 성능을 평가하였다. 평균손실은 2248 epochs 시 0.1107, region 82와 region 94의 24079 반복학습 시 average IoU, class, .5R, .75R은 각각 0.89와 0.81, 1.00과 1.00, 1.00과 1.00, 1.00과 1.00의 결과값을 도출하였다. 뇌종양 분류 모델 검증 결과 정상 뇌와 뇌종양 각각 95.00%, 75.36%의 정확도로 분류할 수 있었다. 본 연구 결과를 통해 MRI 영상을 활용한 딥러닝 연구 및 임상에 기초자료로 사용될 것이라 사료된다.

Game development costs a lot of money. Thus, in terms of cost-saving, game companies produce prototypes and undergo several tests and modifications during the development period. In this paper, we proposed a brainwave signal analysis system and linked it with the game to measure the player's emotion through brainwave analysis experiment and tried to solve these problems. The brainwave signal analysis system proposed in this paper is capable of various applications according to various development situations, such as the progress of the game, events, etc. in obtaining simple figures over time by linking games, and collecting the tester's responses according to development intentions, so there will have to be continuous additional research.

Serious games are games with certain functions, such as inducing sleep or preventing sleepiness. To prove the effectiveness of these serious games, the experiment was conducted by combining several pieces of music that help improve concentration in the game while playing simple computer games. Through the player's brainwave analysis, we studied the effects of serious games on human brain waves. In this paper, it was confirmed that the existing concentration effect can be obtained through the development of functional contents that combine music with game contents to improve concentration through games, and the technology to control human brain waves is considered worthy of continuous study.

Toxicities to many organs caused by humidifier disinfectants have been reported. Recently, humidifier disinfectants have been reported to cause cardiovascular, embryonic, and hepatic toxicities. This study was designed to investigate the toxic mechanism of humidifier disinfectants and compare toxicity in a cellular model and a zebrafish animal model. Because brain toxicity and skin toxicity have been less studied than other organs, we evaluated toxicity in a human dermal cell line and zebrafish under various concentrations of humidifier disinfectants that included polyhexamethyleneguanidine phosphate (PHMG), oligo-[2-(2-ethoxy)-ethoxyethylguanidinium- chloride] (PGH) and methylchloroisothiazolinone/methylisothiazolinone (CMIT/MIT). A human dermal fibroblast cell line was treated with disinfectants (0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 16 mg L-1) to compare their cytotoxicity. The fewest PHMG-treated cells survived (up to 33%), while 49% and 40% of the PGH- and CMIT/MIT-treated cells, respectively, survived. The quantification of oxidized species in the media revealed that the PHMGtreated cells had the highest MDA content of around 28 nM, while the PGH- and CMIT/ MIT-treated cells had 13 and 21 nM MDA, respectively. As for brain toxicity, treatment of the zebrafish tank water with CMIT/MIT (final 40 mg L-1) for 30 min resulted in a 17- fold higher production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) than in the control. Treatment with PGH or PHMG (final 40 mg L-1) resulted in 15- and 11-fold higher production, respectively. The humidifier disinfectants (PHMG, PGH, and CMIT/MIT) showed severe dermal cell toxicity and brain toxicity. These toxicities may be relevant factors in understanding why some children have language disorders, motor delays, and developmental delays from exposure to humidifier disinfectants.

본 연구는 규칙적인 태권도 트레이닝이 비만 중년 여성의 뇌신경성장인자 및 인지기능에 미치는 영향을 알아보는데 목적이 있었다. 본 연구를 위하여 중년 비만 여성 33명이 연구대상자로 선정되었으며, 연구대상자들은 태권도 그룹(TG, n=15)과 대조그룹(CG, n=18)에 무선 배정되었다. 태권도 그룹은 16 주간 일주일에 5번 태권도 트레이닝을 실시하였으며, 두 그룹 모두 트레이닝 전과 후 각각 brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF), vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF), insulin-like growth factor-1(IGF-1) 농도 검사와 Stroop Color and Word test를 실시하였다. 연구 결과 태권도 그룹의 BDNF와 IGF-1이 트레이닝 후 유의하게 증가한(p<.05) 반면 VEGF와 Stroop Color and Word Test 결과 는 유의한 차이가 나타나지 않아 규칙적인 태권도 트레이닝이 비만 중년 여성의 뇌신경영양인자에는 긍정 적이지만 뇌 인지기능에는 영향이 없는 것으로 나타났다.

This study investigated the convergence of the QEEG and mood state changes in healthy females from late teens to twenties in relation to the inhalation of peppermint oil (peppermint) in different concentrations (0.1~100%). Brain activity upon stimulation by different concentrations was analyzed based on the RPVs and CVB (%), representing a rate of change compared with the background QEEG. Peppermint showed the effect of relaxation at low concentrations (0.1 and 1%) with increased θ and α waves and decreased β and γ waves. As the concentration of peppermint increases, the α wave decreases, and the θ, β and w waves increase, and there is an arousal effect. Peppermint was rated as having a refreshing, exhilarating, and intense smell. At a low concentration of 0.1%, peppermint chiefly produced a feeling of pleasantness, freshness and refreshment. However, the increase in peppermint concentration resulted in a masculine, exiting, and hard emotional response. As the concentration of peppermint increased, the odor intensity increased in a linearly. The amount of change (ΔSEF50 and ΔSEF90) in edge frequencies closely related to the activation and stress of the brain showed a positive correlation. Odor intensity has a stronger association with ΔSEF90, a stress-related brain wave indicator than with ΔSEF50, a brain activation-related indicator. In addition, both ΔSEF50 and ΔSEF90 showed a positive correlation with APIGF (feelrefreshing average preference index) and a negative correlation with APIAC (Active-Calm average preference) and APIAll (total average preference index). These findings indicate that (1) the correlation between odor intensity and stress and (2) the relationship between emotional and QEEG can be interpreted in terms of brain wave study.

본 연구는 선진국에서 앞장서서 선포하고 있는 세계적인 추세인 뇌발달에 대한 관심을 바탕으로 한다. 특히 뇌발달의 기초가 되는 영아기 뇌발달에 대한 애착기반 부모교육의 중요성을 제안하였다. 현대의 부모가 편리하고 개별적으로 쉽게 접근할 수 있는 M-러닝 프로그램을 제안하였다. 뇌의 발달은 영아기에 급속도로 이루어진다. 두미발달의 원칙에 의해 출생 시에 머리와 뇌의 크기는 신체의 다른 어떤 부위보다 성인에 가깝다. 영아기 뇌의 발달은 전적으로 생물학적 프로그램에 따른 것이 아니고 환경의 영향에 의해 민감하게 작용한다. 안정된 애착으로 인한 효과적인 우뇌 기능의 발달은 영아가 성장하는 단계에서 최적의 발달을 위한 회복요인이다. 안정된 애착에 의한 양육경험은 영아의 정서적 표현과 두뇌의 신경 화학적 물질에 영향을 주어 사회적, 정서적 행동조절에 긍정적인 영향을 미친다. 결국 두뇌발달의 유발요인은 안정된 애착형성이라고 할 수 있다.

Brain abscesses caused by odontogenic infection are a rare and life-threatening condition. When dental patients show neurological symptoms such as decreased consciousness, a brain abscess should be considered as a possible diagnosis. We reported that a 65-year-old man visited the emergency room because of left facial edema, high fever, limitation of mouth opening and decreased consciousness. CT, bone scan, and microbiologic examination revealed that the brain abscess originated from left mandibular osteomyelitis with an apical lesion in tooth #36. It was hard to diagnose the location of odontogenic infection. Because there were no evidence of submandibular abscess which is a common path of mandibular posterior infection, early diagnosis was difficult. MRI and radiographs such as facial CT and brain CT revealed procedure that inflammatory findings progressed through the coronoid process, the temporal space, into the subdural space. We compared the present case to previous cases, articles published after the year 2000 in Korea and abroad were investigated. The patient was treated successfully with extraction of causative teeth, drainage surgery, intravenous antibiotics by collaboration between the department of oral maxillofacial surgery and neurosurgery. It is difficult to diagnose brain abscess because central nervous system can be infected by various pathway. As shown in this case, patients with a brain abscess caused by a dental infection should be diagnosed and treated with a multidisciplinary approach.

Background: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is also called as aging related memory damage. Decreased cognitive function due to aging is known to be associated with the frontal lobe. Alpha wave is generated in the dominance in the frontal lobe or a wide range of regions in the brain, it should be doubted that the brain function might be degraded. Objective: To determine the effect of sensory stimulation type on learning and brain activity pattern of elderly persons with MCI. Design: Randomized Controlled Trial (single blind) Methods: Twenty elderly persons aged more than 65 with MCI were randonmized to simultaneous visual/auditory stimulation group (SVASG) and or auditory stimulation group (ASG). Ten peoples were assigned to each group and lectroencephalogram test was performed to individuals. In the electroencephalogram test, electroencephalography of prior to sensory stimulation, and during sensory stimulation were measured to compare brain activity pattern according to the study groups and measurement period. Results: The relative alpha power due to a sensory stimulation type showed that the SVASG significantly decreased in the left frontal lobe and the left parietal lobe statistically compared to those of the ASG while sensory stimulation was given (p<.05). The relative beta power due to a sensory stimulation type showed that the SVASG significantly increased in the left and right frontal lobes, the left and right parietal lobes, and the left temporal lobe statistically compared to those of the ASG while sensory stimulation was given (p<.05). Conclusions: Electroencephalographic analysis showed that the type of sensory stimulation can affect the brain activity pattern. However, the effects were not studied that which brain activity pattern help to improved cognitive function of elderly persons with mild cognitive impairment.

목 적：급성 뇌경색은 초기 진단이 매우 중요하지만, 일반 MRI 기법에서는 이를 발견하는 데 어려움이 있어 보편적으로 확산강조영상(diffusion weighted image; DWI) 기법이 사용되고 있다. 확산강조영상 검사에서는 질환이나 검사 부위에 따라 적절한 b값(b-value)을 적용하는 것이 중요하다. 이 중에서 높은 b-value를 요구하는 검사의 경우에는 정확한 진단을 위해서 추가적으로 낮은 b-value의 DWI 검사를 함께 시행하게 되고, 이로 인해 전체적인 검사시간이 길어지게 된다. 또한, 높은 값의 b-value로 검사를 하면 검사 장비에 따라서 전체적인 영상의 질이 현저히 저하될 수 있다. 이에 본 연구에서는 환자를 통해 획득하는 방식의 high b-value 확산강조영상(acquired DWI; aDWI)이 아닌 후처리 방식을 통해 재구성 한 high b-value 확산강조영상(computed DWI; cDWI)의 유용성에 대해 알아보고자 한다. 대상 및 방법：사용된 장비는 3.0T 초전도 자기공명영상장치(Magnetom Prisma, SIEMENS, Germany)와 64 channel Head & Neck coil을 사용하였다. 검사 방법은 뇌혈관 질환이 의심되어 DWI 검사를 시행한 환자들을 대상으로 한 임상 연구와 자체 제작한 팬텀을 이용한 팬텀 연구를 진행하였으며, 실제 획득한 high b-value aDWI과 후처리 방식을 통해 얻은 high b-value cDWI을 SIEMENS Syngo.via(Ver. VB10B)를 통해 각 부위의 신호를 측정한 후 상대적인 확산율(relative diffusion ratio)을 이용하여 비교 평가하였다. 통계적 분석은 두 변수 간의 Pearson's correlation coefficient을 통해 시행하였다. 결 과：임상 연구에서 aDWI의 b-value 2500 영상을 분석하였을 때, 경색이 의심되며 높은 신호 강도를 보이는 부위의 평균 확산율은 전두엽에서 73.95±4.81, 측두엽에서 75.51±5.19, 두정엽에서 68.74±6.13, 뇌교에서 70.72±5.84, 소뇌에서 62.9±7.12으로 나타났으며, cDWI에서는 전두엽에서 75.52±4.69, 측두엽에서 77.04±4.95, 두정엽에서 71.21±6.31, 뇌교에서 72.21±5.62, 소뇌에서 63.94±6.94으로 나타났다. 팬텀 연구에서는 0%를 기준으로 확산 제한이 일어나는 각 syringe의 평균 확산율을 측정하였을 때, aDWI 10%에서는 31.3±10.12, 20%에서는 52.2±17.37, 30%에서는 58.9±19.86, 40%에서는 65.7±19.86, 50%에서는 69.8±17.40로 측정되었고, cDWI에서는 10%에서 37.3±11.69, 20%에서 55.9±17.51, 30%에서 62.8±16.93, 40%에서 69.2±18.31, 50%에서 71.9±18.94로 측정되었다. Pearson’s 상관관계 분석에서는 두 변수 간에 강한 양의 상관관계를 보였으며 p값 0.05 이하로 통계적 유의함을 증명하였다. 결 론：임상 연구와 팬텀 연구에서 모두 aDWI와 cDWI의 확산율이 검사 간의 강한 양의 상관관계를 보이며, 평균확산율은 cDWI에서 약간 증가하였다. 이 결과는 확산이 잘 되는 조직과 확산 제한이 일어나는 조직 간의 신호 차이(확산율)가 aDWI 과 cDWI에서 유사하게 보인다는 것을 의미한다. 기존 획득 방식의 high b-value 확산강조영상과 비교하였을 때, 검사 후처리 방식으로 획득한 high b-value 영상의 경우 추가적인 검사시간이 필요하지 않으면서도 영상 신호의 저하 없이 만들 어 낼 수 있다. 이러한 강점들을 활용하면 후처리 방식의 확산강조영상 검사가 향후 high b-value를 요구하는 특정 질환 검사에서 환자에게 불편함을 주지 않으면서도 정확한 진단 결과를 도출하는 데 도움이 될 것이라 사료된다.

국내 초등 교실환경에서의 한자교육은 대부분 좌뇌기능 중심의 교수법으로 진행되고 있다. 그러나 초등학습자의 뇌발단 단계와 한자의 뇌기능적 특성을 고려해 볼 때, 한자교육은 우뇌 기능의 활성화를 유도하는 교수방안을 선택해야 한다. 본 연구는 초등학습자들에게 뇌친화적 한자수업의 필요성을 제기할 목적으로, 그 방안의 하나로써 ‘이미지텔링 연상법’을 통해 한자 인식의 효율성을 검증하고자 하였다. 이에 국내 초등학생 38명을 대상으로 뇌친화적 한자수 업을 제공한 결과, 기존방식대로 한자수업을 받은 집단보다 ‘이미지텔링 연상법’이란 뇌친화적 수업을 적용한 집단의 학습자가 한자의 장기기억화에 더 효과적인 것을 확인하였다. 또한 통계적으로는 약 3배 가까운 학업성취도를 보이는 것으로 나타났다. 본 연구가 향후 뇌친화 적 교수방안에 대한 관심을 유도하는 계기가 되길 기대해 본다.

특성 분노는 분노 경험과 관련된 개인의 심리 특성 중 하나로, 특성 분노가 높은 이들은 낮은 이들에 비해 더 자주, 더 강하게, 더 길게 분노를 경험한다. 본 연구의 목적은 분노를 경험하는 동안에 활성화되는 뇌 영역을 관찰하고, 활성화된 뇌 영역 중 특성 분노와 연관이 있는 영역을 확인하는 것이다. 본 연구에서는 실험 참가자 35명을 대상으로 과거에 분노했던 기억을 회상하여 분노를 유발하는 과제를 수행하는 동안의 뇌 기능을 측정하였다. 정서적 중립 사건을 회상하는 조건에 비해 분노 사건을 회상하는 조건에서 더 활성화된 뇌 영역은 우측 superior temporal gyrus (BA38), 좌측 inferior frontal gyrus (BA45), 우측 thalamus, 우측 insula (BA13), 양측 cuneus (BA17), 그리고 우측 cerebellum anterior lobe으로 나타났다. 분노 회상 시 뇌 활성화 정도와 특성 분노 점수 간 상관 분석 결과, 특성 분노 점수가 높을수록 분노 회상시 우측 insula의 활성화가 높았다. Insula가 정서 경험과 신체 내부감각수용기에서 오는 정보를 통합하여 자극에 대한 주관적인 느낌을 표상하는 영역으로 알려져 있으므로, 특성 분노가 높은 사람일수록 분노 자극에 대한 주관적인 느낌을 더 강하게 표상한다고 해석할 수 있다. 이 연구 결과는 분노의 개인차에 대한 뇌 기제를 규명한 것으로, 분노 및 분노 조절 관련 문제들에 대한 신경과학적 이해를 향상시키는데 기여할 것으로 기대된다.

The young generation that was born in the digital age grew up with digital technologies; they listen to music online on web sites like YouTube, which provides access to music by artists from all over the world. We conducted a functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) experiment with fifty-six young adults. The human brain generates electrical waves as long as it lives. Since the dynamic nature of brain rhythm is at work in all kinds of human brain function, neuroscientists have used brain rhythm to understand brain function. Since the work of Gerstein and Mandelbrot (1964), many attempts have been made to use random-walk analyses to account for brain responses like the spiking of neurons, cell migration, and motor variability. Like any other biological system, the brain pursues functional efficiency at all levels of operation—in the brain’s case, from the neuronal cell level to the neural network level. Before one can determine the presence of a periodic rhythm versus a random state in brain activation, one must determine whether external stimuli can shape the brain’s modulation pattern. Brain-wave patterns are affected by whether the neural circuit that governs a particular set of brain functions reaches a significant level of activation. The bottom-up processing of external stimuli can be affected by top-down processing; in other words, the execution of higher-order cognitive attention can affect the degree of randomness in the bottom-up processing of external sensory inputs like that of music. Unlike EEG signals, the rhythms of hemodynamic signals are not commonly calculated, possibly because hemodynamic signals are sluggish. The random-walk test on neural time series has been applied only recently to magnetoencephalography (MEG) data (Kipiński, König, Sielużycki, & Kordecki, 2011), and it has rarely been applied to hemodynamic signals measured with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). However, since hemodynamic responses are the result of neurovascular coupling—a dynamic event among the brain’s neurons, glias, and vasculatures—it is possible to calculate the degree of randomness of hemodynamic signals as surrogates for neuronal activity. While brain activities are inherently random and noisy in their natural state, when the brain rhythm is modified by music that provides appropriate levels of sensory stimulation, the brain’s signals will begin to reflect the music’s rhythms. This reflection is called “attunement.” The effect of sensori-neural stimulation on hemodynamic responses measured by fNIRS has been reported in neuroscience research that found that auditory stimulation and music elevated the concentrations of oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO2) and total hemoglobin (HbT) in blood flow to certain regions of the brain (Hoshi & Tamura, 1993; Kotilahti et al., 2010; Sakatani, Chen, Lichty, Zuo, & Wang, 1999). However, studies have shown decreases (increases) in children’s (adults’) prefrontal cerebral volume after they play computer games. For example, one study suggested that the level of attention may modulate the directional changes in HbO2 and HbT concentrations (Nagamitsu, Nagano, Yamashita, Takashima, & Matsuishi, 2006). The brains of children who find that a game lacks adequate levels of perceptual stimulation do not require an additional supply of oxygen, but adults who find playing the same game a cognitive challenge require more effort to perform the same task, so they require elevated levels of oxygen in their brains (Ferreri et al., 2014). According to musical theorists, when the brain is entrained, the attention follows the music (London, 2012). When members of the digital generation listen to music, the perceptual stimulation level is likely to related to the degree of randomness in brain responses as well as the quality of the sensory experience. Drawing on the literature review, we predict that TBF is higher for a stimulus that is above OSL than the TBF for a counterpart stimulus that is below OSL. We also predict that the hemodynamic rhythm of related brain regions to music that is above OSL adopts a regular predictable pattern. Hence, we propose the following research hypotheses: H1: Digital music that provides acoustic stimulation near the OSL creates brain responses in the form of higher TBF and lower randomness in HbO2 concentrations than does digital music that provides acoustic stimulation that is below the OSL. Functional Near-infrared Spectroscopy The transparency of biological tissue to light in the near-infrared wavelengths makes NIRS possible. NIRS is non-invasive and portable, and it has a cost advantage. The incident near-infrared light from a transmitting optode (source) is scattered through the tissues, and the reflected light is detected by a receiving optode (detector). The amount of the source light that a tissue absorbs depends on the light’s wave length, and the oxygenation status determines the brain’s absorption of the light. The loss of the intensity that is due to the absorption of the photons can be measured in units of optical density (Zaramella et al., 2001). The changes in [oxy-Hb] and [deoxy-Hb] can be calculated according to the modified Beer-Lambert law (Kocsis, Herman, & Eke, 2006) using two wave lengths of near-infrared light—in our case, 780 and 850nm. We used a 12-channel wireless fNIRS system (Biomedical Optics Lab, Korea University) with sampling rates of 8 ~10 Hz to measure the participants’ hemodynamic response while they watched the videos. The system consists of three light sources and five detectors (a 3×7 grid). The fNIRS probe was attached to each subject’s forehead. The detectors of the lowest line were set along the Fp1 and Fp2 electrode line according to the international 10/20 system. Measurements from channels 1, 2, 11, and 12, which contained noise from movements of the subjects’ heads, hair, and sweat, were excluded from further analysis. Neuroscience research has recorded acoustic stimulation in various regions of the brain, including the temporal brains of newborn babies (Hoshi & Tamura, 1993) and the frontal brains of adults (Sakatani et al., 1999). Since infrared light cannot penetrate hair, brain regions that are not covered by hair, such as the prefrontal cortex, are well-suited to an fNIRS study. When a member of the digital generation listens to music online, the motivation is usually enjoyment, so brain activity changes that are due to popular music should occur in brain areas that are associated with reward-related processing—that is, the medial pre-frontal cortex (mPFC) (Haber & Knutson, 2010). As the mental function of pleasurable experience that is modulated in the medial frontal cortex increases, TBF to this region increases. In particular, the processing of sounds is dominantly modulated by the brain’s right hemisphere (Kaiser, Lutzenberger, Preissl, Ackermann, & Birbaumer, 2000). We analyzed TBF to the right brain area of the mPFC at channel 5 using fNIRS. The research hypothesis predicts that songs that provide strong sensory stimulation above the OSL increase the TBFs of those in the digital generation more than do songs that present a sensory stimulation level that is much under the OSL. TBF can be directly obtained as a product of HbT (Wyatt et al., 1990). After the music began in the experiment, the subjects’ concentrations of HbT increased until HbT reached its peak at around five to eight seconds; then it decreased for the next thirty seconds. There was a divide of hemodynamic responses between the two songs that had more than a million hits per day (A and B) and the remaining three (C, D, and E). We conducted repeated measures of ANOVA on TBF, measured at forty seconds, for the five songs, since TBF at the end of each set of song segments can represent the digital generation’s level of sustained attention. The multivariate test for the model was significant, and the main effect of songs on TBF was significant (Wilk’s Lambda 0.75, F(4,51)=4.249, p=0.005,  ). After the forty seconds of each song were over, the TBF levels remained at the highest level for song A, followed in order by Songs B, C, D, and E. Pairwise comparisons after the Bonferroni correction showed that there was a significant divide in the length of time that the TBF levels remained at the highest level between songs A/B and songs C/D/E (p<0.05). Other differences were not significant, possibly because the neural data contained large individual difference variances (between-subject F test: F(1,54) =38.501, .p<0.001, ). The results support hypothesis 1. Next, we examined the relationships between TBF and daily hits, and BORP and daily hits. The Pearson correlation coefficient between TBF and daily hits was 0.88 (p<0.05), and the correlation coefficient between BORP and daily hits was -0.96 (p<0.05). Pairwise comparisons after the Bonferroni correction showed that, there was a significant divide in the length of time that the TBF levels remained at the highest level between songs A/B and songs D/E (p<0.05). Other differences were not significant, possibly because neural data contains a large portion of individual variance (between-subject F test: F(1,54) =372.675, p<0.001,  ). These results are consistent with our hypothesis 1b that pop music that presents stimulation above OSL can reduce the randomness in hemodynamic signals. The changes in the participants’ hemoglobin concentrations while they listened to popular songs show a mean-reverting tendency with low BORP—a “rhythm” such that a system recovers order and balance in due time. The brain’s response to less popular songs were random-walk processes, which represents a neural drain, a process in which brain fails to recover from oxygen depletion because of boredom. In conclusion, we found that total blood flow to the right medial prefrontal cortex increased less when the young adults were exposed to music that presented acoustic stimulation near the optimal sensory load (OSL) than it did when they were exposed to songs with a level of stimulation much below the OSL. The degrees of hemodynamic randomness decreased significantly while the participants listened to online music that provided near-OSL stimulation. Online popularity, recorded as the number of daily hits, was significantly positively correlated with the total blood flow and negatively correlated with hemodynamic randomness. These findings suggest that a new digital media strategy may be required that provides a sufficient level of sensory stimulation as an essential part of marketing to the digital consumer generation.

Introduction Current research investigated whether emotionality of content would facilitate the possibility to share information on social media by using event-related potentials. Theoretical development Emotionality is an excitatory state which evokes autonomic nervous system. Previous studies suggested that stimuli with high emotionality elicited increased P100/P200 amplitudes relative to stimuli with low emotionality (Huang & Luo, 2006). Research design We tested the purpose in an affective priming paradigm in which participants were exposed to online content (i.e. the "prime" stimulus) followed by a stimulus (i.e. the "target" stimuli) from International Affective Picture System. Participants were required to judge whether the target was neutral white picture. Next, a nine-point Likert scale was followed to assess the level of emotionality for online content. Result and conclusion We observed a congruency effect in the priming effect. More importantly, early brain potentials P100/P200 were higher when participants were exposed to online content with more possibility to share than online content with less possibility to share. This finding could be explained by the "response level account" theory (Fazio, 2001). This study provides an insight to neural mechanism underlying emotionality of online content.

The study examines physiological and neuronal processes of 26 inexpert wine drinkers in order to understand how consumers judge and choose wines during product experience. We analyzed if an increase in the beta band activity can be related to reward process and individual preference for a wine. We predicted that tasting different wines influence participants' preferences and beta band activity. We also hypothesized that high beta band activity would be related to preferences for a wine. The results confirmed that 1) tasting different wines modulate individual preferences and beta band activity and 2) the higher preferences for a wine corresponded to a stronger decrease in beta band oscillations.