Mangor Pedersen

Mangor Pedersen
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Mangor verified their affiliation via an institutional email.
Verified
Mangor verified their affiliation via an institutional email.
Auckland University of Technology | AUT · Psychology and Neuroscience

PhD

About

88
Publications
17,642
Reads
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1,093
Citations
Introduction
- Brain markers of recovery from brain injury - Artificial intelligence for diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy - Brain imaging development
Additional affiliations
January 2020 - present
Auckland University of Technology
Position
  • Professor (Associate)
September 2010 - September 2011
University of Essex
Position
  • Master's Student
June 2007 - June 2010
University of Essex
Position
  • BA

Publications

Publications (88)
Article
Full-text available
Focal epilepsy is conceived of as activating local areas of the brain as well as engaging regional brain networks. Graph theory represents a powerful quantitative framework for investigation of brain networks. Here we investigate whether functional network changes are present in extratemporal focal epilepsy. Task-free functional magnetic resonance...
Article
Objective: To present a case that demonstrates that seizures and interictal disturbances can be driven by a small area of functionally abnormal cortex. Methods: Two novel functional MRI network analysis methods were used to supplement conventional seizure and lesion localization methods: (1) regional homogeneity to quantify local connectivity, or...
Article
Full-text available
The brain operates in a complex way. The temporal complexity underlying macroscopic and spontaneous brain network activity is still to be understood. In this study, we explored the brain’s complexity by combining functional connectivity, graph theory, and entropy analyses in 25 healthy people using task-free functional magnetic resonance imaging. W...
Article
Individuals with focal epilepsy have heterogeneous sites of seizure origin. However, there may be brain regions that are common to most cases of intractable focal epilepsy. In this study we aim to identify these using multivariate analysis of task-free functional MRI. Fourteen subjects with extratemporal focal epilepsy and fourteen healthy controls...
Article
Full-text available
Epileptic spikes occur on the sub-second timescale and are known to involve not only epileptic foci but also large-scale distributed brain networks. There is likely to be a sequence of neural activity in multiple brain regions that occurs within the duration of a single spike, but standard electroencephalography-functional magnetic resonance imagin...
Preprint
Full-text available
Despitevulnerabilitytomicrostructuraltissuedamagefollowingmildtraumaticbraininjury(mTBI),keysubcorticalbrainregionshave been overlooked in quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) studies. Alterations to tissue composition in the functionally and structurally distinct hippocampal subfields and basal ganglia regions may reflect distinct symptomatol...
Article
Full-text available
Connectomes’ topological organization can be quantified using graph theory. Here, we investigated brain networks in higher dimensional spaces defined by up to 10 graph theoretic nodal properties. These properties assign a score to nodes, reflecting their meaning in the network. Using 100 healthy unrelated subjects from the Human Connectome Project,...
Preprint
Full-text available
Quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) has been applied to map brain iron distribution after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), to understand properties of neural tissue which may be related to microstructural damage. However, mTBI is a heterogeneous injury associated with microstructural brain changes, and 'traditional' group-wise statistical...
Article
After a first epileptic seizure, anti-seizure medications (ASM) can change the likelihood of having a further event. This prospective study aimed to quantify brain network changes associated with taking ASM monotherapy. We applied graph theoretical network analysis to longitudinal resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) data from 28 participants who ha...
Preprint
Full-text available
The causal relationships between pornography use, masturbation, moral incongruence, and mental health are poorly understood. While the link between problematic pornography use (PPU) and depression is well documented, the affective dynamics (i.e., emotional shifts over time) associated with pornography use and masturbation have not yet been quantifi...
Preprint
Full-text available
Evidence has linked head trauma to increased risk factors for neuropathology, including mechanical deformation of the sulcal fundus and, later, perivascular accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau adjacent to these spaces related to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). However, little is known about microstructural abnormalities and cellular dys...
Article
Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), often called concussion, is a prevalent condition that can have significant implications for people’s health, functioning and well-being. Current clinical practice relies on self-reported symptoms to guide decision-making regarding return to sport, employment, and education. Unfortunately, reliance on subjective...
Preprint
Full-text available
Intro Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is a common condition, particularly pervasive in contact sports environments. A range of symptoms can accompany this type of injury and negatively impact people’s lives. As mTBI diagnosis and recovery largely rely on subjective reports, more objective injury markers are needed. Methods The current study com...
Preprint
UNSTRUCTURED Online research has exploded in popularity in recent years, enabling researchers to offer both investigations and interventions to broader participant populations than ever before. However, challenges associated with online research have also increased – notably difficulties verifying participant data and deliberate data manipulation b...
Article
Full-text available
Background Psychologists are at known risk of work-related stress, secondary trauma, and burnout. The COVID-19 pandemic increased stress and anxiety for communities worldwide and corresponded with an increased demand for mental health services. Our study investigated the impact of COVID-19 on psychologists’ professional quality of life, psychologic...
Article
The amygdala is important for human fear processing. However, recent research has failed to reveal specificity, with evidence that the amygdala also responds to other emotions. A more nuanced understanding of the amygdala's role in emotion processing, particularly relating to fear, is needed given the importance of effective emotional functioning f...
Preprint
Full-text available
Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), often called concussion, is a prevalent condition that can have significant implications for people’s health, functioning and well-being. Current clinical practice relies on self-reported symptoms to inform return to sport, work or school decisions, which can be highly problematic. An objective technique to detec...
Article
Full-text available
Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a prevalent and disabling mental health condition, characterized by excessive fear and anxiety in social situations. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigms have been increasingly used to understand the neurobiological underpinnings of SAD in the absence of threat-related stimuli. Previo...
Preprint
Background The COVID-19 pandemic had an extensive impact on people’s personal and professional lives across the world. Psychologists, among other professionals, were required to suddenly work remotely via telehealth during a period of global uncertainty, illness and mortality, community anxiety and lockdowns. This drastically altered the psychology...
Preprint
Full-text available
We investigated the feasibility of using directed connectivity analysis for magnetoencephalography data recorded via Optically Pumped Magnetometers (OPM-MEG). Ten healthy adult participants were scanned twice in an OPM-MEG system, and Beamformer source localisation was employed to obtain source time series within 62 cortical brain regions. Multivar...
Preprint
Full-text available
Withdrawal Statement The authors have withdrawn their manuscript owing to reviewer feedback. A revised version of this work will be uploaded with significant changes. Therefore, the authors do not wish this work to be cited as a reference for the project. If you have any questions, please contact the corresponding author.
Preprint
The value-loading problem is a significant challenge for researchers aiming to create artificial intelligence (AI) systems that align with human values and preferences. This problem requires a method to define and regulate safe and optimal limits of AI behaviors. In this work, we propose HALO (Hormetic ALignment via Opponent processes), a regulator...
Article
Full-text available
Diffusion MRI has provided insight into the widespread structural connectivity changes that characterize epilepsies. Although syndrome-specific white matter abnormalities have been demonstrated, studies to date have predominantly relied on statistical comparisons between patient and control groups. For diffusion MRI techniques to be of clinical val...
Article
Full-text available
The brain is the control centre of the human body. Injury to the brain can have diverse and disabling effects. Yet there remain important unanswered questions for clinicians, those affected and their families. This special collection aims to advance understanding of how we can better diagnose, treat and support those affected by brain injury across...
Preprint
Full-text available
Recommendation systems are prevalent on the Internet but are prone to feedback loops that cause ‘echo chamber’ effects. We present an allostatic regulator for recommendation systems based on opponent process theory and behavioral posology principles to combat these effects. When applied as a code wrapper to a supervised K-Nearest Neighbors algorith...
Preprint
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is an increasing issue causing significant health, economic and societal impacts worldwide. Mild TBI (mTBI), the most common type of TBI, often presents with resolving symptoms and no gross pathological changes that a clinical-grade CT scan can detect. However, in some cases of mTBI, short and long-term neurological con...
Preprint
Full-text available
Objectives After a first epileptic seizure, anti-seizure medications (ASM) change the likelihood of having a further event. This prospective study aimed to quantify the brain network changes associated with the administration of ASM monotherapy. Methods We applied graph theoretical network analysis to longitudinal resting-state functional MRI (fMR...
Preprint
Full-text available
Background: Psychologists are at known risk of work-related stress, secondary trauma, and burnout. The COVID-19 pandemic increased stress and anxiety for communities worldwide and corresponded with an increased demand for mental health services. Our study investigated the impact of COVID-19 on psychologists’ professional quality of life, psychologi...
Article
Full-text available
One of the challenges faced by behavioral scientists is the lack of modeling methodologies for accurately determining when a behavior becomes problematic. The authors propose “behavioral posology” as a novel modeling paradigm for quantifying the healthy limits of behaviors through the concept of behavioral dose. As an example of this paradigm, a ph...
Article
Full-text available
Although injury mechanisms of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) may be similar across patients, it is becoming increasingly clear that patients cannot be treated as one homogenous group. Several predominant symptom clusters (PSC) have been identified, each requiring specific and individualised treatment plans. However, objective methods to support...
Preprint
Full-text available
Stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms can be reduced by listening to music, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. To address this gap, we measured brain connectivity while participants listened to songs of different genres: ambient, pop, and metal. Additionally, affective ratings were obtained while participants (n = 30) listened to the...
Preprint
Full-text available
The topological organization of brain networks, or connectomes, can be quantified using graph theory. Here, we investigated brain networks in higher dimensional spaces defined by up to ten node-level graph theoretical invariants. Nodal invariants are intrinsic nodal properties which reflect the topological characteristics of the nodes with respect...
Preprint
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a multidisciplinary scientific field that uses machines to solve real-world problems and predict outcomes. Despite the current enthusiasm about AI's potential as a clinical support tool, there is also a growing awareness and concern about the potentially harmful effects of AI. Because AI will likely impact expert-bas...
Preprint
We introduce ‘behavioral posology’ as a novel modeling paradigm to analyze digital addictions through the concept of behavioral dose. As an example of this paradigm, a pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic model of a hypothetical digital behavior is presented, based on opponent process theory. Our simulation results replicate Solomon & Corbit’s model of...
Preprint
Full-text available
Diffusion MRI has provided insight into the widespread structural connectivity changes that characterise the epilepsies. Although syndrome-specific white matter abnormalities have been demonstrated, studies have predominantly relied on statistical comparisons between patient and control groups. For diffusion MRI techniques to be of clinical value,...
Article
Full-text available
Auditory processing disorder (APD) is a listening impairment that some school-aged children may experience despite having normal peripheral hearing. Recent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has revealed an alteration in regional functional brain topology in children with APD. However, little is known about the structural org...
Preprint
Full-text available
Auditory processing disorder (APD) is a listening impairment that some school-aged children may experience as difficulty understanding speech in background noise despite having normal peripheral hearing. Recent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has revealed an alteration in regional, but not global, functional brain topology...
Article
Full-text available
Sports-related concussion, a form of mild traumatic brain injury, is characterised by transient disturbances of brain function. There is increasing evidence that functional brain changes may be driven by subtle abnormalities in white matter microstructure, and diffusion MRI has been instrumental in demonstrating these white matter abnormalities in...
Article
Full-text available
Magnetoencephalography with optically pumped magnometers (OPM‐MEG) is an emerging and novel, cost‐effective wearable system that can simultaneously record neuronal activity with high temporal resolution ("when" neuronal activity occurs) and spatial resolution ("where" neuronal activity occurs). This paper will first outline recent methodological ad...
Article
Full-text available
Children with auditory processing disorder (APD) experience hearing difficulties, particularly in the presence of competing sounds, despite having normal audiograms. There is considerable debate on whether APD symptoms originate from bottom-up (e.g., auditory sensory processing) and/or top-down processing (e.g., cognitive, language, memory). A rela...
Article
Full-text available
Background: Several mobile apps are currently available that purportedly help with managing pornography addiction. However, the utility of these apps is unclear, given the lack of literature on the effectiveness of mobile health solutions for problematic pornography use. Little is also known about the content, structure, and features of these apps...
Preprint
BACKGROUND Several mobile apps are currently available that purportedly help with managing pornography addiction. However, the utility of these apps is unclear, given the lack of literature on the effectiveness of m-Health solutions for problematic pornography use (PPU). OBJECTIVE This study aimed to characterize the purpose and content of mobile...
Preprint
Full-text available
Children with auditory processing disorder (APD) experience hearing difficulties, particularly in the presence of competing sounds, despite having normal audiograms. There is considerable debate on whether APD symptoms originate from bottom-up (e.g., auditory sensory processing) and/or top-down processing (e.g., cognitive, language, memory). A rela...
Preprint
Full-text available
Background Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a prevalent and disabling mental health condition, characterized by excessive fear and anxiety in social situations. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigms have been increasingly used to understand the neurobiological underpinnings of SAD in the absence of threat-related stim...
Chapter
Deep learning techniques are ideally suited to find patterns in high-dimensional and complex imaging data, which means that it has the potential to change medicine and healthcare. In this chapter, we will highlight how deep learning can improve the lives of people living with treatment-resistant focal epilepsy by identifying brain surgery targets i...
Preprint
Full-text available
Sports-related concussion, a form of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is characterised by transient disturbances of brain function. There is increasing evidence that functional brain changes are driven by subtle abnormalities in white matter microstructure, and diffusion MRI has been instrumental in demonstrating these white matter abnormalities...
Article
Full-text available
Airflow through the left-and-right nostrils is said to be entrained by an endogenous nasal cycle paced by both poles of the hypothalamus. Yogic practices suggest, and scientific evidence demonstrates, that right-nostril breathing is involved with relatively higher sympathetic activity (arousal states), while left-nostril breathing is associated wit...
Article
Full-text available
There has been a growing interest in resting-state brain alterations in people with social anxiety disorder. However, the evidence has been mixed and contested and further understanding of the neurobiology of this disorder may aid in informing methods to increase diagnostic accuracy and treatment targets. With this systematic review, we aimed to sy...
Article
The extent to which functional MRI (fMRI) reflects direct neuronal changes remains unknown. Using 160 simultaneous electrical stimulation (es-fMRI) and intracranial brain stimulation recordings acquired in 26 individuals with epilepsy (with varying electrode locations), we tested whether brain networks dynamically change during intracranial brain s...
Article
Full-text available
Objective Markup of generalized interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) on EEG is an important step in the diagnosis and characterization of epilepsy. However, manual EEG markup is a time-consuming, subjective, and highly specialized task where the human reviewer needs to visually inspect a large amount of data to facilitate accurate clinical dec...
Article
Full-text available
It has been hypothesized that resting state networks (RSNs) likely display unique temporal complexity fingerprints, quantified by their multi-scale entropy patterns McDonough and Nashiro (2014). This is a hypothesis with a potential capacity for developing digital biomarkers of normal brain function, as well as pathological brain dysfunction. Never...
Preprint
Full-text available
The extent to which resting-state fMRI (rsfMRI) reflects direct neuronal changes remains unknown. Using 160 simultaneous rsfMRI and intracranial brain stimulation recordings acquired in 26 individuals with epilepsy (with varying electrode locations), we tested whether brain networks dynamically change during intracranial brain stimulation, aiming t...
Article
Full-text available
Purpose Bottom-of-sulcus dysplasia (BOSD) is a type of focal cortical dysplasia and an important cause of intractable epilepsy. While the MRI features of BOSD have been well documented, the contribution of PET to the identification of these small lesions has not been widely explored. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of F-18 fluorod...
Article
Full-text available
Artificial intelligence is one of the most exciting methodological shifts in our era. It holds the potential to transform healthcare as we know it, to a system where humans and machines work together to provide better treatment for our patients. It is now clear that cutting edge artificial intelligence models in conjunction with high-quality clinic...
Article
We present a 23‐year‐old male professional Australian Football player who experienced a total of seven sports‐related concussions between May‐2015‐March‐2019, not associated with loss of consciousness (see supplementary materials for clinical details). Advanced brain imaging was performed after the latter four of these, revealing that his brain und...
Article
Full-text available
Both natural and engineered networks are often modular. Whether a network node interacts with only nodes from its own module or nodes from multiple modules provides insight into its functional role. The participation coefficient (PC) is typically used to measure this attribute, although its value also depends on the size and connectedness of the mo...
Preprint
Full-text available
Objective: Mark-up of generalized interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) on EEG is an important step in the diagnosis and characterization of epilepsy. However, manual EEG mark-up is a time-consuming, subjective, and highly specialized task where the human reviewer needs to visually inspect a large amount of data to facilitate accurate clinical...
Preprint
Full-text available
In 2014, McDonough and Nashiro derived multiscale entropy --a marker of signal complexity-- from resting state functional MRI data (rsfMRI), and found that functional brain networks displayed unique multiscale entropy fingerprints. This is a finding with potential impact as an imaging-based marker of normal brain function, as well as pathological b...
Preprint
Full-text available
Both natural and engineered networks are often modular. Whether a network node interacts with only nodes from its own module or nodes from multiple modules provides insight into its functional role. The participation coefficient ( PC ) is typically used to measure this attribute although its value also depends on the size of the module it belongs t...
Article
Full-text available
Aim To determine whether acute sport-related concussion is associated with functional brain changes in Australian rules footballers. Methods Twenty acutely concussed professional Australian footballers were studied with 3 T magnetic resonance imaging and compared to 20 age-matched control subjects. We statistically compared whole-brain local funct...
Article
Objective The objective of the study was to quantify effective connectivity from the piriform cortex to mediodorsal thalamus, in Genetic Absence Epilepsy Rats from Strasbourg (GAERS). Methods Local field potentials (LFPs) were recorded using microelectrode arrays implanted in the mediodorsal thalamus and piriform cortex, in three urethane anesthet...
Article
Full-text available
Objective: To map functional MRI (fMRI) connectivity within and between the somatosensory cortex, putamen, and ventral thalamus in individuals from a family with a GABAergic deficit segregating with febrile seizures and genetic generalized epilepsy. Methods: We studied 5 adults from a family with early-onset absence epilepsy and/or febrile seizu...
Chapter
Imaging Biomarkers in Epilepsy - edited by Andrea Bernasconi January 2019
Article
Cambridge Core - Medical Imaging - Imaging Biomarkers in Epilepsy - edited by Andrea Bernasconi