The research on augmented reality applications in education is still in an early stage, and there is a lack of research on the effects and implications of augmented reality in the field of education. ...The purpose of this research was to measure and understand the impact of an augmented reality mobile application on the learning motivation of undergraduate health science students at the University of Cape Town. We extend previous research that looked specifically at the impact of augmented reality technology on student learning motivation. The intrinsic motivation theory was used to explain motivation in the context of learning. The attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction (ARCS) model guided the understanding of the impact of augmented reality on student motivation, and the Instructional Materials Motivation Survey was used to design the research instrument. The research examined the differences in student learning motivation before and after using the augmented reality mobile application. A total of 78 participants used the augmented reality mobile application and completed the preusage and postusage questionnaires. The results showed that using an augmented reality mobile application increased the learning motivation of students. The attention, satisfaction, and confidence factors of motivation were increased, and these results were found to be significant. Although the relevance factor showed a decrease it proved to be insignificant.
The lateral intraparietal area (LIP) plays a crucial role in target selection and attention in primates, but the laminar microcircuitry of this region is largely unknown. To address this, we used ...ultra-high density laminar electrophysiology with Neuropixels probes to record neural activity in the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) of two adult marmosets while they performed a simple visual target selection task. Our results reveal neural correlates of visual target selection in the marmoset, similar to those observed in macaques and humans, with distinct timing and profiles of activity across cell types and cortical layers. Notably, a greater proportion of neurons exhibited stimulus-related activity in superficial layers whereas a greater proportion of infragranular neurons exhibited significant postsaccadic activity. Stimulus-related activity was first observed in granular layer putative interneurons, whereas target discrimination activity emerged first in supragranular layers putative pyramidal neurons, supporting a canonical laminar circuit underlying visual target selection in marmoset PPC. These findings provide novel insights into the neural basis of visual attention and target selection in primates.
Neural communication networks form the fundamental basis for brain function. These communication networks are enabled by emitted ligands such as neurotransmitters, which activate receptor complexes ...to facilitate communication. Thus, neural communication is fundamentally dependent on the transcriptome. Here we develop NeuronChat, a method and package for the inference, visualization and analysis of neural-specific communication networks among pre-defined cell groups using single-cell expression data. We incorporate a manually curated molecular interaction database of neural signaling for both human and mouse, and benchmark NeuronChat on several published datasets to validate its ability in predicting neural connectivity. Then, we apply NeuronChat to three different neural tissue datasets to illustrate its functionalities in identifying interneural communication networks, revealing conserved or context-specific interactions across different biological contexts, and predicting communication pattern changes in diseased brains with autism spectrum disorder. Finally, we demonstrate NeuronChat can utilize spatial transcriptomics data to infer and visualize neural-specific cell-cell communication.
The oculomotor system is the most thoroughly understood sensorimotor system in the brain, due in large part to electrophysiological studies carried out in macaque monkeys trained to perform ...oculomotor tasks. A disadvantage of the macaque model is that many cortical oculomotor areas of interest lie within sulci, making high-density array and laminar recordings impractical. Many techniques of molecular biology developed in rodents, such as optogenetic manipulation of neuronal subtypes, are also limited in this species. The common marmoset ( Callithrix jacchus) possesses a smooth cortex, allowing easy access to frontoparietal oculomotor areas, and may bridge the gap between systems neuroscience in macaques and molecular techniques. Techniques for restraint, training, and neural recording in these animals have been well developed in auditory neuroscience. Those for oculomotor neuroscience, however, remain at a relatively early stage. In this article we provide details of a custom-designed restraint chair for marmosets, a combination head restraint/recording chamber allowing access to cortical oculomotor areas and providing stability suitable for eye movement and neural recordings, as well as a training protocol for oculomotor tasks. We additionally report the results of a psychophysical study in marmosets trained to perform a saccade task using these methods, showing that, as in rhesus and humans, marmosets exhibit a "gap effect," a decrease in reaction time when the fixation stimulus is removed before the onset of a visual saccade target. These results are the first evidence of this effect in marmosets and support the common marmoset model for neurophysiological investigations of oculomotor control. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The ability to carry out neuronal recordings in behaving primates has provided a wealth of information regarding the neural circuits underlying the control of eye movements. Such studies require restraint of the animal within a primate chair, head fixation, methods of acclimating the animals to this restraint, and the use of operant conditioning methods for training on oculomotor tasks. In contrast to the macaque model, relatively few studies have reported in detail methods for use in the common marmoset. In this report we detail custom-designed equipment and methods by which we have used to successfully train head-restrained marmosets to perform basic oculomotor tasks.
Abstract
Persistent delay-period activity in prefrontal cortex (PFC) has long been regarded as a neural signature of working memory (WM). Electrophysiological investigations in macaque PFC have ...provided much insight into WM mechanisms; however, a barrier to understanding is the fact that a portion of PFC lies buried within the principal sulcus in this species and is inaccessible for laminar electrophysiology or optical imaging. The relatively lissencephalic cortex of the New World common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) circumvents such limitations. It remains unknown, however, whether marmoset PFC neurons exhibit persistent activity. Here, we addressed this gap by conducting wireless electrophysiological recordings in PFC of marmosets performing a delayed-match-to-location task on a home cage-based touchscreen system. As in macaques, marmoset PFC neurons exhibited sample-, delay-, and response-related activity that was directionally tuned and linked to correct task performance. Models constructed from population activity consistently and accurately predicted stimulus location throughout the delay period, supporting a framework of delay activity in which mnemonic representations are relatively stable in time. Taken together, our findings support the existence of common neural mechanisms underlying WM performance in PFC of macaques and marmosets and thus validate the marmoset as a suitable model animal for investigating the microcircuitry underlying WM.
Aim/Purpose: This paper explored the factors (enablers and barriers) that affect Bitcoin adoption in South Africa, a Sub-Saharan country with the high potential for Bitcoin adoption.
Background: In ...recent years, Bitcoin has seen a rapid growth as a virtual cryptocurrency throughout the world. Bitcoin is a protocol which allows value to be exchanged over the internet without a central bank or intermediary. Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are technological tools that arguably can contribute to reducing transactions costs. This paper explored the factors that affect Bitcoin adoption in South Africa, a Sub-Saharan country with the high potential for Bitcoin adoption, as little is known about the factors that affect Bitcoin adoption and the barriers to adoption.
Methodology: A quantitative questionnaire was distributed to South African virtual communities where Bitcoin is a topic of interest, and 237 quantitative responses were received, along with 212 open-ended comments.
Contribution: This research contributes to the body of knowledge in information systems by providing insights into factors that affect Bitcoin adoption in South Africa. It raises awareness of incentives and barriers to Bitcoin adoption at a time when financial literacy is a crucial issue both in South Africa and worldwide.
Findings: The results indicate that perceived benefit, attitude towards Bitcoin, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control directly affected the participants’ intentions to use Bitcoin. Perceived benefit, usefulness, ease of use, and trust-related risk were found to indirectly affect intention to use Bitcoin. Further, it emerges that the barriers to Bitcoin adoption in South Africa consist of the complex nature of Bitcoin and its high degree of volatility.
Recommendations for Practitioners: Bitcoin can contribute to reducing transactions costs, but factors that affect adoption and the barriers to adoption should be taken into consideration. These findings can inform systems and software developers to develop applications that make managing Bitcoin keys and transacting using Bitcoin less complex and more intuitive for end users.
Recommendation for Researchers: Bitcoin adoption in South Africa is a topic that has not been previously researched. Researchers could research similarities or differences in the various constructs that were used in this research model.
Impact on Society: South African Bitcoin users consider it as a universal currency that makes cross-border payments cheaper. A large number of refugees and workers in South Africa make regular payments across borders. Bitcoin could reduce the costs of these transfers.
Future Research: Future research could explore Bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies) adoption in other developing countries. Researchers could look at factors that influence cryptocurrency adoption in general. The factors affecting adoption of other cryptocurrencies can be compared to the results of this study, and similarities and differences can thus be identified.
The frontal eye field (FEF) is a critical region for the deployment of overt and covert spatial attention. Although investigations in the macaque continue to provide insight into the neural ...underpinnings of the FEF, due to its location within a sulcus, the macaque FEF is virtually inaccessible to electrophysiological techniques such as high-density and laminar recordings. With a largely lissencephalic cortex, the common marmoset (
) is a promising alternative primate model for studying FEF microcircuitry. Putative homologies have been established with the macaque FEF on the basis of cytoarchitecture and connectivity; however, physiological investigation in awake, behaving marmosets is necessary to physiologically locate this area. Here, we addressed this gap using intracortical microstimulation in a broad range of frontal cortical areas in three adult marmosets (two males, one female). We implanted marmosets with 96-channel Utah arrays and applied microstimulation trains while they freely viewed video clips. We evoked short-latency fixed vector saccades at low currents (<50 μA) in areas 45, 8aV, 8C, and 6DR. We observed a topography of saccade direction and amplitude consistent with findings in macaques and humans: small saccades in ventrolateral FEF and large saccades combined with contralateral neck and shoulder movements encoded in dorsomedial FEF. Our data provide compelling evidence supporting homology between marmoset and macaque FEF and suggest that the marmoset is a useful primate model for investigating FEF microcircuitry and its contributions to oculomotor and cognitive functions.
The frontal eye field (FEF) is a critical cortical region for overt and covert spatial attention. The microcircuitry of this area remains poorly understood because in the macaque, the most commonly used model, it is embedded within a sulcus and is inaccessible to modern electrophysiological and imaging techniques. The common marmoset is a promising alternative primate model due to its lissencephalic cortex and potential for genetic manipulation. However, evidence for homologous cortical areas in this model remains limited and unclear. Here, we applied microstimulation in frontal cortical areas in marmosets to physiologically identify FEF. Our results provide compelling evidence for an FEF in the marmoset and suggest that the marmoset is a useful model for investigating FEF microcircuitry.
Acute administration of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) antagonists in healthy humans and animals produces working memory deficits similar to those observed in schizophrenia. However, it is ...unclear whether they also lead to altered low-frequency (≤60 Hz) neural oscillatory activities similar to those associated with schizophrenia during working memory processes. Here, we recorded local field potentials (LFPs) and single-unit activity from the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) of three male rhesus macaque monkeys while they performed a rule-based prosaccade and antisaccade working memory task both before and after systemic injections of a subanesthetic dose (≤0.7 mg/kg) of ketamine. Accompanying working-memory impairment, ketamine enhanced the low-gamma-band (30-60 Hz) and dampened the beta-band (13-30 Hz) oscillatory activities in the LPFC during both delay periods and intertrial intervals. It also increased task-related alpha-band activities, likely reflecting compromised attention. Beta-band oscillations may be especially relevant to working memory processes because stronger beta power weakly but significantly predicted shorter saccadic reaction time. Also in beta band, ketamine reduced the performance-related oscillation as well as the rule information encoded in the spectral power. Ketamine also reduced rule information in the spike field phase consistency in almost all frequencies up to 60 Hz. Our findings support NMDAR antagonists in nonhuman primates as a meaningful model for altered neural oscillations and synchrony, which reflect a disorganized network underlying the working memory deficits in schizophrenia.
Low doses of ketamine, an NMDAR blocker, produce working memory deficits similar to those observed in schizophrenia. In the lateral prefrontal cortex, a key brain region for working memory, we found that ketamine altered neural oscillatory activities in similar ways that differentiate schizophrenic patients and healthy subjects during both task and nontask periods. Ketamine induced stronger gamma (30-60 Hz) and weaker beta (13-30 Hz) oscillations, reflecting local hyperactivity and reduced long-range communications. Furthermore, ketamine reduced performance-related oscillatory activities, as well as the rule information encoded in the oscillations and in the synchrony between single-cell activities and oscillations. The ketamine model helps link the molecular and cellular basis of neural oscillatory changes to the working memory deficit in schizophrenia.
Recent anatomical evidence suggests a functionally significant back-projection pathway from the subiculum to the CA1. Here we show that the afferent circuitry of CA1-projecting subicular neurons is ...biased by inputs from CA1 inhibitory neurons and the visual cortex, but lacks input from the entorhinal cortex. Efferents of the CA1-projecting subiculum neurons also target the perirhinal cortex, an area strongly implicated in object-place learning. We identify a critical role for CA1-projecting subicular neurons in object-location learning and memory, and show that this projection modulates place-specific activity of CA1 neurons and their responses to displaced objects. Together, these experiments reveal a novel pathway by which cortical inputs, particularly those from the visual cortex, reach the hippocampal output region CA1. Our findings also implicate this circuitry in the formation of complex spatial representations and learning of object-place associations.
The common marmoset has enormous promise as a nonhuman primate model of human brain functions. While resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) has provided evidence for a similar organization of marmoset ...and human cortices, the technique cannot be used to map the functional correspondences of brain regions between species. This limitation can be overcome by movie-driven fMRI (md-fMRI), which has become a popular tool for noninvasively mapping the neural patterns generated by rich and naturalistic stimulation. Here, we used md-fMRI in marmosets and humans to identify whole-brain functional correspondences between the two primate species. In particular, we describe functional correlates for the well-known human face, body, and scene patches in marmosets. We find that these networks have a similar organization in both species, suggesting a largely conserved organization of higher-order visual areas between New World marmoset monkeys and humans. However, while face patches in humans and marmosets were activated by marmoset faces, only human face patches responded to the faces of other animals. Together, the results demonstrate that higher-order visual processing might be a conserved feature between humans and New World marmoset monkeys but that small, potentially important functional differences exist.
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