Dariusz Zapała

• PhD
• Professor (Assistant) at John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin

Brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) allow control of various applications or external devices solely by brain activity, e.g., measured by electroencephalography during motor imagery. Many users are unable to modulate their brain activity sufficiently in order to control a BCI. Most of the studies have been focusing on improving the accuracy of BCI con...

Recent studies show that during a simple movement imagery task, the power of sensorimotor rhythms differs according to handedness. However, the effects of motor imagery perspectives on these differences have not been investigated yet. Our study aimed to check how handedness impacts the activity of alpha (8-13 Hz) and beta (15-30 Hz) oscillations du...

It is widely recognized that opening and closing the eyes can direct attention to external or internal stimuli processing. This has been confirmed by studies showing the effects of changes in visual stimulation changes on cerebral activity during different tasks, e.g., motor imagery and execution. However, an essential aspect of creating a mental r...

Hemispheric Asymmetry Reduction in Old Adults (HAROLD) is one of the most well-known models of compensatory brain involvement in older adults. Most evidence supports its occurrence from the perspective of PET and fMRI studies, with a deficiency in electroencephalographic research in this domain. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the possibility of...

Motor imagery (MI) encompasses kinesthetic motor imagery (KMI), internal visual-motor motor imagery (IVMI), and external visual-motor motor imagery (EVMI). This study explored α/β oscillations during MI of left-/right-hand movement from KMI/IVMI/EVMI perspectives in a group of left- (N = 20) and right-handed (N = 20), volunteers selected based on t...

Previous neuroimaging studies indicate differences in movement execution, motor imagery (MI), and brain activity patterns between sighted individuals (SI) and congenitally blind (CB). However, these experiments don’t consider perspectives (e.g. 1PP; 3PP), and strategies during MI performance. To address this problem, we designed an experiment that...

In neuroimaging research, efforts to enhance replication and reproducibility have increased the focus on improving transparency, particularly in the complex data analysis processes. We conducted a multi-lab collaborative study involving 38 international teams that analyzed two functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) datasets. These teams test...

Introduction Cognitive ability is one of the most important enablers for successful aging. At the same time, cognitive decline is a well-documented phenomenon accompanying the aging process. Nevertheless, it is acknowledged that aging can also be related to positive processes that allow one to compensate for the decline. These processes include the...

joint attention gaze cueing paradigm eyetracking mobile brain/body imaging real-life situations Joint attention has been long investigated using behavioral measures. However, there is a need to know more about humans' processing of gaze cueing, linking both mind, brain, and body dynamics. This review aims at presenting past and current research con...

Motor imagery (MI) can be defined as the mental simulation of a movement without any real action. There is a long tradition of MI research, but several fundamental neurocognitive processes underlying MI have not been studied. One poorly understood aspect of MI is the difference between reproducing movement (isomorphic MI, IMI) and creating new imag...

Self-concept clarity (SCC) refers to the extent to which self-beliefs are clearly and confidently defined, internally consistent, and stable. While there is an abundance of research showing an association between SCC, well-being, and effective self-regulation, there is little knowledge about how SCC relates to basic cognitive processes such as atte...

EEG signals may be affected by physiological and non-physiological artifacts hindering the analysis of brain activity. Blind source separation methods such as independent component analysis (ICA) are effective ways of improving signal quality by removing components representing non-brain activity. However, most ICA-based artifact removal strategies...

This poster presents the results of validation tests of a new multi-channel wearable functional near-infrared spectroscopy device (fNIRS). The device has 16 emitters and 10 detectors forming up to 37 channels. A continuous-wave principle of operation is used. We evaluated the ability of this device to measure the hemodynamic properties of the human...

The mental representation of movement (or motor imagery, MI) can take different forms and perspectives, depending on the needs and the subject’s preferences. The same action can be simulated, for example, as a sensation coming from the body while performing it (kinesthetic motor imagery, KMI), the visual scene in which the movement is observed from...

An improvement in ecological validity is one of the significant challenges for 21st-century neuroscience. At the same time, the study of neurocognitive processes in real-life situations requires good control of all variables relevant to the results. One possible solution that combines the capability of creating realistic experimental scenarios with...

An improvement in ecological validity is one of the major challenges for 21st-century neuroscience. At the same time, the study of neurocognitive processes in real-life situations requires good control of all variables relevant to the results. One possible solution that combines the capability of creating realistic experimental scenarios with adequ...

In order to facilitate communication and collaboration between researchers, Brain–computer interfaces (BCI) require a generally applicable functional model as well as a common vocabulary. The IEEE P2731 working group is in the process of developing such a functional model and a lexicon of BCI terminology. Such a functional model has multiple aspect...

The development of Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) gathers experts and specialists in various fields, such as engineering, computer science, medicine, or cognitive neuroscience. Each of these disciplines has specific terminology, which makes mutual understanding and research collaboration difficult. The IEEE P2731 working group aims to improve comm...

The study aimed to find out whether the imagery ability within the two subcomponents of motor imagery (visual and kinesthetic) allows predicting the results in simple response time task and eye-hand coordination task in a group of young male soccer players (9-15 years old). Non-specific simple response time and eye-hand coordination play a key role...

Brain Computer Interface (BCI) technology is a critical area both for researchers and clinical practitioners. The IEEE P2731 working group is developing a comprehensive BCI lexicography and a functional model of BCI. The glossary and the functional model are inextricably intertwined. The functional model guides the development of the glossary. Term...

Recent studies show that during a simple movement imagery task, the power of sensorimotor rhythms differs according to handedness. However, the effects of motor imagery perspectives on these differences have not been investigated yet. Our study aimed to check how handedness impacts the activity of alpha (8 - 13 Hz) and beta (15 - 30 Hz) oscillation...

Evaluation of cognitive workload finds its application in many areas, from educational program assessment through professional driver health examination to monitoring the mental state of people carrying out jobs of high responsibility, such as pilots or airline traffic dispatchers. Estimation of multilevel cognitive workload is a task usually reali...

The aim of this study was to verify if selected temperament traits may be useful as predictors of motor imagery brain-computer interface (BCI) performance. In our experiment, 40 BCI-naive subjects were instructed to imagine the movement of clenching his/her right or left hand, in accordance with the visual cue. The activity of sensorimotor rhythms...

The purpose of the present study was to identify the effect of acoustic neurofeedback on brain activity during consecutive stages of mental rotation of 3D objects. Given the fact that the process of mental rotation of objects is associated with desynchronisation of beta rhythm (beta ERD), it was expected that suppression in this band would be great...

The paper presents the results of a comparative study of the artifact subspace re-construction (ASR) method and two other popular methods dedicated to correct EEG artifacts: independent component analysis (ICA) and principal component analysis (PCA). The comparison is based on automatic rejection of EEG signal epochs performed on a dataset of motor...

Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) constitute an alternative channel of communication between humans and environment. There are a number of different technologies which enable the recording of brain activity. One of these is electroencephalography (EEG). The most common EEG methods include interfaces whose operation is based on changes in the activity...

Technological advancements, on the one hand, facilitate everyday activities and, on the other hand, may lead to problematic behavior. These include problematic video gaming (PVG) and problematic Internet use. The purpose of this article is to present the specificity of these behavioral addictions in a group of Polish young adults and to determine t...

Kosslyn’s visual imagery model contains attention shifting system which plays crucial role in this process. Previous studies indicate that parietal beta ERD is connected with mental rotation process. The purpose of our studies was to estimate the impact of acoustic neurofeedback on the process of mental rotation of 3D objects. Thirty-three subjects...

The challenges of research into brain–computer interfaces (BCI) include significant individual differences in learning pace and in the effective operation of BCI devices. The use of neurofeedback training is a popular method of improving the effectiveness BCI operation. The purpose of the present study was to determine to what extent it is possible...

Brain-computer interfaces (BCI) are devices that enable transmission of signals outside the nervous system without engaging muscles. One of the fi elds in which BCI can be used is aviation and astronautics. However, the way of assessing the utility of BCIs under specifi c conditions of fl ight and outer space is controversial. This review aims to p...

The purpose of the study was to test whether aesthetic judgments of music are affected by expertise or harmonic violation of musical sequences. The participants were 14 musical experts and 13 laypersons; they were asked to judge the beauty and correctness of extracts from J.S. Bach's chorales. Experts and laypersons showed different late positive p...

Brain-computer interfaces (BCI) are systems that enable the conversion of CNS bioelectrical signal to the external reactions of applications or devices without a muscular activity. The most popular BCIs use the oscillations of sensorimotor rhythms registered during movement imagery (Motor Imagery BCI; MI-BCI) (Hwang et al. 2013). There are several...

The authors’ aim was to examine whether short-term kinesthetic training affects the level of sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) in different frequency band: alpha (8–12 Hz), lower beta (12.5–16 Hz) and beta (16.5–20 Hz) during the execution of a motor imagery task of closing and opening the right and the left hand by experts (jugglers, practicing similar ex...

\A brain computer interface (BCI) is communications system that enables humans to interact with their surroundings, without the involvement of peripheral nerves and muscles, by using control signals generated from e.g. EEG activity. One of the biggest challenges in BCI research is to understand and solve the problem of ''BCI Illiteracy''or "BCI aph...

Interfejsy mózg-komputer (brain-computer interfaces – BCI) umożliwiają sterowanie urządzeniami elektronicznymi i aplikacjami komputerowymi za pomocą aktywności umysłowej użytkownika, bez pośrednictwa zwykłych dróg zstępujących mózgu, takich jak nerwy obwodowe czy mięśnie. Powstają one w oparciu o techniki obrazowania pracy mózgu, wyrażającej się gł...

People with physical disabilities experience difficulties in controlling various devices, including PC. Overcoming communication barriers is a significant step towards self-determination and active interaction with the environment. This article presents a case study of application and the comparison of the efficiency of eye movements and head movem...

To explore the question of physical thinking – using the body as an instrument of cognition – we collected extensive video and interview data on the creative process of a noted choreographer and his company as they made a new dance. A striking case of physical thinking is found in the phenomenon of marking. Mar-king refers to dancing a phrase in a...