Papers by Alexandru Berceanu
This project introduces a set of tools for humans to co-create music with AI-based architectures.... more This project introduces a set of tools for humans to co-create music with AI-based architectures. The aim is for human musicians or non-musicians to be able to augment their creative capabilities and guide neural architectures to understand language and musical nuances. This work is akin to learning a new instrument: the human learns how to co-create with the AI system for musical applications. One of the main goals of the project is accessibility. We want people with various abilities and disabilities to be empowered to explore music creation by interacting with machines and using language and/or their voice. The tools we propose can be used for composition, improvisation, and/or performance.
Psychophysiology, 2024
Oxytocin (OXT) modulates social behaviors. However, the administration of exogenous OXT in humans... more Oxytocin (OXT) modulates social behaviors. However, the administration of exogenous OXT in humans produces inconsistent behavioral changes, affecting future consideration of OXT as a treatment for autism and other disorders with social symptoms. Inter-individual variability in social functioning traits might play a key role in how OXT changes brain activity and, therefore, behavior. Here, we investigated if inter-individual variability might dictate how single-dose intranasal OXT administration (IN-OXT) changes spontaneous neural activity during the eyes-open resting state. We used a double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled, cross-over design on 30 typically developing young adult men to investigate the dynamics of EEG microstates corresponding to activity in defined neural networks. We confirmed previous reports that, at the group level, IN-OXT increases the representation of the attention and salience microstates. Furthermore, we identified a decreased representation of microstates associated with the default mode network. Using multivariate partial least square statistical analysis, we found that social functioning traits associated with IN-OXT-induced changes in microstate dynamics in specific spectral bands. Correlation analysis further revealed that the higher the social functioning, the more IN-OXT increased the appearance of the visual network-associated microstate, and suppressed the appearance of a default mode network-related microstate. The lower the social functioning, the more IN-OXT increases the appearance of the salience microstate. The effects we report on the salience microstate support the hypothesis that OXT regulates behavior by enhancing social salience. Moreover, our findings indicate that social functioning traits modulate responses to IN-OXT and could partially explain the inconsistent reports on IN-OXT effects.
Role play is one of the core creative processes in theatrical performance. Play leads to positive... more Role play is one of the core creative processes in theatrical performance. Play leads to positive emotions in both children and adults. Role-play, a distinctive type of play is used in several types of therapeutic interventions to increase social competence as well as for other benefits. The highly individualized use of role-play in psychotherapy, drama therapy and psychodrama is effective but not generalizable. In the present study we developed a standardized controlled procedure to promote role-play in 38 participants, and we monitored its impact on affect, anxiety, prosocial attitudes, and salivary oxytocin dynamics. Compared to the control condition where participants participated as selves, role-play significantly increased perceived levels of positive affect and prosocial attitudes and decreased self-reported levels of anxiety. Basal salivary oxytocin levels predicted gains in positive affect following the role-play procedure. Our study points to standardized role-play as a me...
Naturalistic stimulation has had increasing influence on cognitive neuroscience in the last decad... more Naturalistic stimulation has had increasing influence on cognitive neuroscience in the last decade. Several studies have used naturalistic stimulation to investigate the connectivity dynamics under pathological condition or in healthy children for studying the developing brain. However, little is known about the connectivity changes during watching a movie in healthy, adult population. Our aim is to delineate the potential dynamic connectivity pattern of the healthy, mature brain during naturalistic movie watching compared to complete rest. In an observational case series, eleven healthy adult volunteers with no history of psychiatric or neurological illness underwent two magnetic resonance echo-planar imaging acquisitions. During the first acquisition they were asked to rest with their eyes closed and during the subsequent acquisition they watched a movie clip with slow human body movements. The Independent Component Analysis provided neural components which were further submitted ...
Frontiers in Psychology, 2020
Frontiers in Psychology, 2020
Training of autobiographical memory has been proposed as an intervention to improve cognitive fun... more Training of autobiographical memory has been proposed as an intervention to improve cognitive function. The neural substrates for such improvements are poorly understood. Several brain areas have been previously linked to autobiographical recollection, including structures in the default mode network (DMN) and the sensorimotor network. Here we tested the hypothesis that changes in connectivity within different neural networks support distinct aspects of memory improvement in response to training on a group of 59 human subjects. We found that memory training using olfactory cues increases resting-state intra-network DMN connectivity, and this associates with improved recollection of cue-specific memories. On the contrary, training decreased resting-state connectivity within the sensorimotor network, a decrease that correlated 45 with improved ability for voluntary recall. Moreover, preliminary data indicate that only the decrease in sensorimotor connectivity associated with the training-induced decrease in the TNFα factor, an immune modulation previously linked to improved cognitive performance. We identified functional and biochemical factors that associate with distinct memory processes improved by autobiographical training. Pathways which connect autobiographical memory with both high-level cognition and somatic physiology are discussed.
CINETic Review, 2020
The present article is a summary of a study conducted at the CINETic center regarding transversal... more The present article is a summary of a study conducted at the CINETic center regarding transversal competences in bachelor programs providing education for creative industries specialists. Creative industries have a substantial impact on the global economy and are one of the key sectors of the EU economy. Our findings point at international level to the diversification of competences beyond traditional fields of university curricula. We found educational models that successfully joined domains to create cross-disciplinary studies that emphasize the importance of training students in diverse fields in order to be able to adapt to an ever-changing production environment. Based on our study, we identified three possible lines of action for art universities in Romania in order to absorb and develop the most relevant trends in the field. This article presents key findings for the development of a BA program that would combine artistic and technical abilities required by the field of creative industries. The study presents a proposed structure for a bachelor's degree program adapted
to the Romanian educational system, in line with European tendencies in
setting up university networks and partnerships, in order to better respond to identified needs.
Frontiers in Psychology , 2020
In humans and animal models, oxytocin increases social closeness, attachment and prosocial behavi... more In humans and animal models, oxytocin increases social closeness, attachment and prosocial behaviors, while decreasing anxiety and stress levels. Efficiently triggering the release of endogenous oxytocin could serve as a powerful therapeutic intervention for disorders of social behavior and for anxiety. We designed a new version of a social sensorimotor synchronization task to investigate the role of social approval in inducing biochemical and psychological changes following behavioral synchrony in a sample of 80 college students. Social approval in the form of real time positive feedback increased well-being only in women, while increasing social closeness in both genders. Social disapproval in the form of real time negative feedback prevented a decrease in stress levels that otherwise women reported following engagement in either social or non-social synchronization. Surprisingly, for certain personality traits, negative social feedback during sensorimotor synchronization was psychologically beneficial irrespective of gender. Salivary oxytocin levels increased only in women after the social but not the non-social synchronization tasks. Oxytocin dynamics were independent of the type of real time feedback that subjects received, indicating the existence of distinct mechanisms for hormonal versus behavioral changes following synchronization. Nevertheless, changes in salivary oxytocin after positive social feedback correlated with changes in well-being and predicted changes in prosocial attitudes. Our findings show evidence of distinct mechanisms for behavioral versus hormonal changes following social sensorimotor synchronization, and indicate that gender and personality traits should be carefully considered when designing behavioral therapies for improving social attitudes and for stress management.
Berceanu Ion Alexandru, 2015
Abstract: In the project inter@FAŢA, the creative team developed various
algorithms for the gener... more Abstract: In the project inter@FAŢA, the creative team developed various
algorithms for the generation of music, starting from real time monitored
EEG. Among the music generating algorithms, together with other models,
an EEG alpha spectrum analysis software was used, which was based on the difference of valence of sensors AF3-AF4. The post-performance analysis signals the correlation of these valence changes (change of potential difference between the left and right brain hemispheres) with the most intense moments of the performance and, respectively, with the most marked alternations of performance styles. The use of music and of the background sound produced, based on the EEG, emphasizes, thus, a deep, stable structure of the performance, measurable and reproducible in a number of performances. The spectator’s emotional participation is thus removed from its shroud of invisibility, and it becomes an element of visible action, accessible to other spectators.
With the aid of a BCI conceived and developed by the
research team, EEG parameters are streamed f... more With the aid of a BCI conceived and developed by the
research team, EEG parameters are streamed from the
Emotiv EPOC headset to generate sound algorithmically.
Parameter translation is performed by eegOSC, and the
stage music is generated through EEGmus, two original
pieces of software developed within the project.
Thesis Chapters by Alexandru Berceanu
The Spectacle of Violence - from Hypnotic Power to Social Responsibility, 2018
Representation of violent actions is a basic component of conflict-based dramaturgy. In the docto... more Representation of violent actions is a basic component of conflict-based dramaturgy. In the doctoral research The Spectacle of Violence - from Hypnotic Power to Social Responsibility, we highlighted the effects of the representation of violent action at the psycho-neurophysiological level, having as tools questionnaires of evaluation, EEG and memory tasks. Neuro-physiological results confirm the hypothesis that observing a conflicting or aggressive action creates a special attention to the approach avoidance complex necessary for survival in potentially dangerous situations. At the psychological level, the representation of violent acts has increased the level of anxiety and depression of actors and viewers, and, more importantly, some of the actors who have performed violent actions in the experiment have reported positive emotions about them. The latter observation corresponds to Elbert's (2017) two pedal model of aggression (2017), according to which the repetition of aggressive behaviors leads to the transformation in time of the negative emotions, that initially accompany them, in positive emotions. The results contribute to the possibility to develop methods of theater therapeutic intervention for the management of aggressive behaviors, highlight the responsibility generated by the representation of aggressive actions towards actors and spectators, and argue the need for the development of a new drama, beyond the scripts of punishment, with the role of creating a sense of the community and the common human condition.
Books by Alexandru Berceanu
Presa Universitară Clujeană, 2023
Cercetarea artistica: practici si metode / Alexandru I.
Berceanu. - Cluj-Napoca : Presa Universit... more Cercetarea artistica: practici si metode / Alexandru I.
Berceanu. - Cluj-Napoca : Presa Universitara Clujeana, 2023
Contine bibliografie
ISBN 978-606-37-1927-1
Neuroaesthetics A Methods-Based Introduction edited by Tudor Balinisteanu and Kerry Priest, 2024
Symmetry is what we see at a glance; based on the fact that there is no reason for any difference... more Symmetry is what we see at a glance; based on the fact that there is no reason for any difference. And based also on the face of man; Whence it happens that symmetry is only wanted in breadth, not in height or depth. (Pascal, 2003) Tyger, Tyger burning bright, In the forests of the night: What immortal hand or eye, Dare frame thy fearful symmetry? (Blake, 1969) Symmetry is often considered a visual primitive by scholars such as the French philosopher Blaise Pascal, who suggested that there is no need to be particularly attentive to perceive it (Pascal, 2003). Symmetry is also important for Gestalt psychology, which formulated one of the laws of perception in their framework regarding symmetry (Wagemans et al., 2012). What Is Symmetry and Where It Can Be Found Symmetry is a natural occurring phenomenon in living organisms, structures as well as in various human artefacts or creations. Sometimes symmetry occurs out of necessity or by design, sometimes it appears as having a solely aesthetic aim. Naturally occurring symmetry fascinates humans and other species, for example in the cases of flowers or butterflies, identical twins, the reflection of a landscape in a lake, symmetrical patterns in tiles, rhymes, or music.
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Papers by Alexandru Berceanu
to the Romanian educational system, in line with European tendencies in
setting up university networks and partnerships, in order to better respond to identified needs.
algorithms for the generation of music, starting from real time monitored
EEG. Among the music generating algorithms, together with other models,
an EEG alpha spectrum analysis software was used, which was based on the difference of valence of sensors AF3-AF4. The post-performance analysis signals the correlation of these valence changes (change of potential difference between the left and right brain hemispheres) with the most intense moments of the performance and, respectively, with the most marked alternations of performance styles. The use of music and of the background sound produced, based on the EEG, emphasizes, thus, a deep, stable structure of the performance, measurable and reproducible in a number of performances. The spectator’s emotional participation is thus removed from its shroud of invisibility, and it becomes an element of visible action, accessible to other spectators.
research team, EEG parameters are streamed from the
Emotiv EPOC headset to generate sound algorithmically.
Parameter translation is performed by eegOSC, and the
stage music is generated through EEGmus, two original
pieces of software developed within the project.
Thesis Chapters by Alexandru Berceanu
Books by Alexandru Berceanu
Berceanu. - Cluj-Napoca : Presa Universitara Clujeana, 2023
Contine bibliografie
ISBN 978-606-37-1927-1
to the Romanian educational system, in line with European tendencies in
setting up university networks and partnerships, in order to better respond to identified needs.
algorithms for the generation of music, starting from real time monitored
EEG. Among the music generating algorithms, together with other models,
an EEG alpha spectrum analysis software was used, which was based on the difference of valence of sensors AF3-AF4. The post-performance analysis signals the correlation of these valence changes (change of potential difference between the left and right brain hemispheres) with the most intense moments of the performance and, respectively, with the most marked alternations of performance styles. The use of music and of the background sound produced, based on the EEG, emphasizes, thus, a deep, stable structure of the performance, measurable and reproducible in a number of performances. The spectator’s emotional participation is thus removed from its shroud of invisibility, and it becomes an element of visible action, accessible to other spectators.
research team, EEG parameters are streamed from the
Emotiv EPOC headset to generate sound algorithmically.
Parameter translation is performed by eegOSC, and the
stage music is generated through EEGmus, two original
pieces of software developed within the project.
Berceanu. - Cluj-Napoca : Presa Universitara Clujeana, 2023
Contine bibliografie
ISBN 978-606-37-1927-1