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The article studies the initial stage of a Chinese reader acquaintance with Ivan Bunin’s creativity. The translation features of his texts into Chinese and the publication circumstances of the first writer’s stories are revealed. The biography of Chinese scientists involved in Ivan Bunin popularization is given. The research process of the works by Russian writer in China is described.

Perceptual learning is defined by increased effectiveness of completing perceptual tasks as a result of experience or training. This review presents the analysis of changes in the components of event-related potentials (ERPs) after visual and auditory perceptual learning in humans. The use of the EEG method, which has a high temporal resolution, makes it possible to trace the spatio-temporal dynamics of changes in the functioning of the brain during learning, which remains hidden in behavioral experimental studies. A review of neurophysiological studies indicates that perceptual learning induces changes across all levels of cortical hierarchy, starting with the early sensory components of ERPs (C1) and ending with the later integrative components (N170, MMN, P2). We also analyzed the short-term and long-term effects of learning. The reviewed neurophysiological data can serve as the basis for the development of new approaches of effective learning, as well as for the objective evaluation of existing methodics by assessing neuronal dynamics at different stages of stimuli processing.

Most studies of semantic processing address changes in the late (300–800 msec) components of evoked potentials. However, recent years have seen the appearance of data showing that humans can perceive the sense of stimuli presented to them in significantly shorter periods of time. We report here studies of the mechanism of semantic analysis of written abstract and concrete words in four series of experiments: 1) reading of words on a monitor screen; 2) simple classification of all presented words into the categories “abstract” and “concrete;” 3) complex, i.e., selective classification of words written only in a specified color with a prompt as to which color would be used for the word; 4) complex classification of words of only a specified color without a prior prompt. Early (40–100 msec) differences in evoked brain potentials were seen on comparison of responses to abstract and concrete words, predominantly in the frontal areas in the case of simple reading of words and in the more dorsal areas in the case of tasks with simple classification. All cases of explicit classification of words were characterized by differences in late (450–700 msec) components in the left frontal zone. The results indicate the existence of two semantic systems: a rapid, implicit system associated with activation of the right frontal area, and a slow, explicit system of word classification which is predominantly associated with activity in the left frontal area. The relationship between the two systems is to a certain extent reciprocal: the rapid system can by inhibited by introduction of a word classification task. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyses the attributes of the costume in Leo Tolstoy's novel “Anna Karenina”. The polyfunctionality of the costume in the literary work is based on the fact that it is both a thing and a sign, acting as an artistic detail, a mean of expressing the author's attitude to reality, a mean of creating the colour of the historical era, a mean of plotting. The authors of this work prove that costume details in the image of the main character despite the laconism of the description are an important part of Anna's psychological portrait. In addition, through repeated costume detail the authors give mutual evaluation of the characters.

Numerous behavioral studies have demonstrated a rhythmic priming effect (RPE) on grammatical processing using grammaticality judgment tasks (GJT), where participants performed better following regular rhythmic sequences compared to baseline conditions or irregular rhythmic sequences (i.e. auditory rhythmic sequences with violated metrical structure). Only a few studies, however, have explored neurophysiological RPE in grammatical processing. Such neurophysiological investigations have been limited to GJT presented auditorily, have been primarily focused on the French- and German-speaking adult participants, and have rarely used baseline nonpriming conditions. The objective of the present study was to investigate neurophysiological correlates of the RPE in the GJT presented in visual modality. In the current study, we registered a 128-channel electroencephalogram while Russian-speaking adolescents performed a visual GJT, where each sentence was presented word by word in a self-paced manner. Before each experimental block, participants listened to regular rhythmic sequences, irregular rhythmic sequences, or silence. We observed that the late negativity in the event-related potential was larger for the ungrammatical condition compared to the grammatical condition only after the presentation of irregular rhythmic sequences. This effect, referred to as the N600 component in previous research, has been associated with increased cognitive complexity. In conclusion, results suggest that exposure to irregular rhythmic stimulation may lead to increased cognitive demand. This is attributed to the complexity associated with concurrently executing the GJT and managing rhythmic disruption, consequently increasing the strain on working memory resources., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Major depressive disorder (MDD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are psychiatric disorders that often co-occur. We aimed to investigate whether their high comorbidity could be traced not only by clinical manifestations, but also at the level of functional brain activity. In this paper, we examined the differences in functional connectivity (FC) at the whole-brain level and within the default mode network (DMN). Resting-state EEG was obtained from 43 controls, 26 OCD patients, and 34 MDD patients. FC was analyzed between 68 cortical sources, and between-group differences in the 4-30 Hz range were assessed via the Network Based Statistic method. The strength of DMN intra-connectivity was compared between groups in the theta, alpha and beta frequency bands. A cluster of 67 connections distinguished the OCD, MDD and control groups. The majority of the connections, 8 of which correlated with depressive symptom severity, were found to be weaker in the clinical groups. Only 3 connections differed between the clinical groups, and one of them correlated with OCD severity. The DMN strength was reduced in the clinical groups in the alpha and beta bands. It can be concluded that the high comorbidity of OCD and MDD can be traced at the level of FC., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None of the authors have potential conflicts of interest to be disclosed., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Aim: The current study aimed to infer neurophysiological mechanisms of auditory processing in children with Rett syndrome (RTT)-rare neurodevelopmental disorders caused by MECP2 mutations. We examined two brain responses elicited by 40-Hz click trains: auditory steady-state response (ASSR), which reflects fine temporal analysis of auditory input, and sustained wave (SW), which is associated with integral processing of the auditory signal., Methods: We recorded electroencephalogram findings in 43 patients with RTT (aged 2.92-17.1 years) and 43 typically developing children of the same age during 40-Hz click train auditory stimulation, which lasted for 500 ms and was presented with interstimulus intervals of 500 to 800 ms. Mixed-model ancova with age as a covariate was used to compare amplitude of ASSR and SW between groups, taking into account the temporal dynamics and topography of the responses., Results: Amplitude of SW was atypically small in children with RTT starting from early childhood, with the difference from typically developing children decreasing with age. ASSR showed a different pattern of developmental changes: the between-group difference was negligible in early childhood but increased with age as ASSR increased in the typically developing group, but not in those with RTT. Moreover, ASSR was associated with expressive speech development in patients, so that children who could use words had more pronounced ASSR., Conclusion: ASSR and SW show promise as noninvasive electrophysiological biomarkers of auditory processing that have clinical relevance and can shed light onto the link between genetic impairment and the RTT phenotype., (© 2024 The Authors. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences © 2024 Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology.)

Introduction: Mental disorders are a significant concern in contemporary society, with a pressing need to identify biological markers. Long-range temporal correlations (LRTC) of brain rhythms have been widespread in clinical cohort studies, especially in major depressive disorder (MDD). However, research on LRTC in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is severely limited. Given the high co-occurrence of OCD and MDD, we conducted a comparative LRTC investigation. We assumed that the LRTC patterns will allow us to compare measures of brain cortical balance of excitation and inhibition in OCD and MDD, which will be useful in the area of differential diagnosis., Methods: In this study, we used the 64-channel resting state EEG of 29 MDD participants, 26 OCD participants, and a control group of 37 volunteers. Detrended fluctuation analyzes was used to assess LRTC., Results: Our results indicate that all scaling exponents of the three subject groups exhibited persistent LRTC of EEG oscillations. There was a tendency for LRTC to be higher in disorders than in controls, but statistically significant differences were found between the OCD and control groups in the entire frontal and left parietal occipital areas, and between the MDD and OCD groups in the middle and right frontal areas., Discussion: We believe that these results indicate abnormalities in the inhibitory and excitatory neurotransmitter systems, predominantly affecting areas related to executive functions., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Proshina, Martynova, Portnova, Khayrullina and Sysoeva.)

Background: Rett syndrome (RS) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by mutations in the MECP2 gene. Patients with RS have severe motor abnormalities and are often unable to walk, use hands and speak. The preservation of perceptual and cognitive functions is hard to assess, while clinicians and care-givers point out that these patients need more time to process information than typically developing peers. Neurophysiological correlates of auditory processing have been also found to be distorted in RS, but sound presentation rates were relatively quick in these studies (stimulus onset asynchrony, SOA < 1000 ms). As auditory event-related potential (ERP) is typically increased with prolongation of SOA we aim to study if SOA prolongation might compensate for observed abnormalities., Methods: We presented a repetitive stimulus (1000 Hz) at three different SOAs of 900 ms, 1800 ms, and 3600 ms in children with RS (N = 24, Mean age = 9.0 ± 3.1) and their typical development (TD) peers (N = 27, Mean age = 9.7 ± 3.4) while recording 28-channels electroencephalogram, EEG. Some RS participants (n = 10) did not show clear ERP and were excluded from the analysis., Results: Major ERP components (here assessed as N1P1 and P2N1 peak-to-peak values) were smaller at SOA 900 than at longer SOAs in both groups, pointing out that the basic mechanism of adaptation in the auditory system is preserved in at least in RS patients with evident ERPs. At the same time the latencies of these components were significantly delayed in the RS than in TD. Moreover, late components (P2N1 and N2P2) were drastically reduced in Rett syndrome irrespective of the SOA, suggesting a largely affected mechanism of integration of upcoming sensory input with memory. Moreover, developmental stagnation of auditory ERP characterized patients with RS: absence of typical P2N1 enlargement and P1 and N1 shortening with age at least for shortest SOA., Limitations: We could not figure out the cause for the high percentage of no-evident ERP RS participants and our final sample of the RS group was rather small. Also, our study did not include a control clinical group., Conclusions: Thus, auditory ERPs inform us about abnormalities within auditory processing that cannot be fully overcomed by slowing presentation rate., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Our study describes the effects of sensory tetanization on neurophysiological and behavioral measures in humans linking cellular studies of long-term potentiation with high-level brain processes. Rapid (every 75ms) presentation of pure tone (1020 Hz, 50ms) for 2 minutes was preceded and followed by oddball blocks that contained the same stimulus presented as deviant (probability of 5-10%) interspersed with standard (80-90%) and deviant tones (5-10%) of adjacent frequencies (1000 and 980Hz, respectively). Mismatch negativity (MMN) component in response to tetanized tone (1020Hz), while being similar to MMN for non-tetanized tone before tetanization, became larger than that after tetanization, pointing to the increase in cortical differentiation of these tones. However, this differentiation was partially due to the MMN decrease after tetanization for tones adjacent to tetanized frequency, suggesting the influence of lateral inhibition to this effect. Although MMN correlated with tone discriminability in a psychophysical task, the behavioral improvement after tetanization was not statistically detectable. To conclude, short-term auditory tetanization affects cortical representation of tones that are not limited to the tetanized stimuli., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2023 Kostanian et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Spontaneous EEG contains important information about neuronal network properties that is valuable for understanding different neurological and psychiatric conditions. Rett syndrome (RTT) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder, caused by mutation in the MECP2 gene. RTT is characterized by severe motor impairments that prevent adequate assessment of cognitive functions. Here we probe EEG parameters obtained in no visual input condition from a 28-channels system in 23 patients with Rett Syndrome and 38 their typically developing peers aged 3-17 years old. Confirming previous results, RTT showed a fronto-central theta power (4-6.25 Hz) increase that correlates with a progression of the disease. Alpha power (6.75-11.75 Hz) across multiple regions was, on the contrary, decreased in RTT, also corresponding to general background slowing reported previously. Among novel results we found an increase in gamma power (31-39.5 Hz) across frontal, central and temporal electrodes, suggesting elevated excitation/inhibition ratio. Long-range temporal correlation measured by detrended fluctuation analysis within 6-13 Hz was also increased, pointing to a more predictable oscillation pattern in RTT. Overall measured EEG parameters allow to differentiate groups with high accuracy, ROC AUC value of 0.92 ± 0.08, indicating clinical relevance., (© 2023. Springer Nature Limited.)