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The Behavioral and Brain Sciences Dec 2021To support the claim that the approximate number system (ANS) represents rational numbers, Clarke and Beck (C&B) argue that number perception is abstract and...
To support the claim that the approximate number system (ANS) represents rational numbers, Clarke and Beck (C&B) argue that number perception is abstract and characterized by a second-order character. However, converging evidence from visual illusions and psychophysics suggests that perceived number is not abstract, but rather, is perceptually interdependent with other magnitudes. Moreover, number, as a concept, is second-order, but number, as a percept, is not.
Topics: Humans; Optical Illusions; Psychophysics
PubMed: 34907877
DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X21001102 -
Pain Management Nursing : Official... Aug 2023For over 100 years, psychophysics ..÷ the scientific study between physical stimuli and sensation ... has been successfully employed in numerous scientific and...
For over 100 years, psychophysics ..÷ the scientific study between physical stimuli and sensation ... has been successfully employed in numerous scientific and healthcare disciplines, as an objective measure of sensory phenomena. This manuscript provides an overview of fundamental psychophysical concepts, emphasizing pain and research application..÷defining common terms, methods, and procedures.Psychophysics can provide systematic and objective measures of sensory perception that can be used by nursing scientists to explore complex, subjective phenomena..÷such as pain perception. While there needs to be improved standardization of terms and techniques, psychophysical approaches are diverse and may be tailored to address or augment current research paradigms. The interdisciplinary nature of psychophysics..÷like nursing..÷provides a unique lens for understanding how our perceptions are influenced by measurable sensations. While the quest to understand human perception is far from complete, nursing science has an opportunity to contribute to pain research by using the techniques and methods available through psychophysical procedures.
Topics: Humans; Pain; Sensation; Pain Perception; Psychophysics; Pain Measurement
PubMed: 36948969
DOI: 10.1016/j.pmn.2023.02.006 -
Multisensory Research Apr 2022In this review, we discuss how specific sensory channels can mediate the learning of properties of the environment. In recent years, schools have increasingly been using... (Review)
Review
In this review, we discuss how specific sensory channels can mediate the learning of properties of the environment. In recent years, schools have increasingly been using multisensory technology for teaching. However, it still needs to be sufficiently grounded in neuroscientific and pedagogical evidence. Researchers have recently renewed understanding around the role of communication between sensory modalities during development. In the current review, we outline four principles that will aid technological development based on theoretical models of multisensory development and embodiment to foster in-depth, perceptual, and conceptual learning of mathematics. We also discuss how a multidisciplinary approach offers a unique contribution to development of new practical solutions for learning in school. Scientists, engineers, and pedagogical experts offer their interdisciplinary points of view on this topic. At the end of the review, we present our results, showing that one can use multiple sensory inputs and sensorimotor associations in multisensory technology to improve the discrimination of angles, but also possibly for educational purposes. Finally, we present an application, the 'RobotAngle' developed for primary (i.e., elementary) school children, which uses sounds and body movements to learn about angles.
Topics: Child; Computers; Humans; Learning; Perception; Psychophysics
PubMed: 35985654
DOI: 10.1163/22134808-bja10072 -
Physics of Life Reviews Dec 2019The paper is devoted to the relationship between psychophysics and physics of mind. The basic trends in psychophysics development are briefly discussed with special... (Review)
Review
The paper is devoted to the relationship between psychophysics and physics of mind. The basic trends in psychophysics development are briefly discussed with special attention focused on Teghtsoonian's hypotheses. These hypotheses pose the concept of the universality of inner psychophysics and enable us to speak about psychological space as an individual object with its own properties. Turning to the two-component description of human behavior I. Lubashevsky (2017) [9] the notion of mental space is formulated and human perception of external stimuli is treated as the emergence of the corresponding images in the mental space. On one hand, these images are caused by external stimuli and their magnitude bears the information about the intensity of the corresponding stimuli. On the other hand, the individual structure of such images as well as their persistence after emergence is determined only by the properties of mental space on its own. Finally, the mental operations of image comparison and their scaling are defined in a way allowing for the bounded capacity of human cognition. As demonstrated, the developed theory of stimulus perception is able to explain the basic regularities of psychophysics, e.g., (i) the regression and range effects leading to the overestimation of weak stimuli and the underestimation of strong stimuli, (ii) scalar variability (Weber's and Ekman' laws), and (iii) the sequential (memory) effects. As the final result, a solution to the Fechner-Stevens dilemma is proposed. This solution posits that Fechner's logarithmic law is not a consequences of Weber's law but stems from the interplay of uncertainty in evaluating stimulus intensities and the multi-step scaling required to overcome the stimulus incommensurability.
Topics: Humans; Mental Processes; Models, Neurological; Psychophysics
PubMed: 30660449
DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2018.10.003 -
Neuron Oct 2019Scientific experimentation depends on the artificial control of natural phenomena. The inaccessibility of cognitive processes to direct manipulation can make such... (Review)
Review
Scientific experimentation depends on the artificial control of natural phenomena. The inaccessibility of cognitive processes to direct manipulation can make such control difficult to realize. Here, we discuss approaches for overcoming this challenge. We advocate the incorporation of experimental techniques from sensory psychophysics into the study of cognitive processes such as decision making and executive control. These techniques include the use of simple parameterized stimuli to precisely manipulate available information and computational models to jointly quantify behavior and neural responses. We illustrate the potential for such techniques to drive theoretical development, and we examine important practical details of how to conduct controlled experiments when using them. Finally, we highlight principles guiding the use of computational models in studying the neural basis of cognition.
Topics: Animals; Cognition; Cognitive Neuroscience; Computer Simulation; Decision Making; Decision Theory; Executive Function; Humans; Psychophysics; Research Design
PubMed: 31600507
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2019.09.016 -
The European Journal of Neuroscience Mar 2020Several behavioural studies in humans have shown that listening to sounds with two ears that is binaural hearing, provides the human auditory system with extra... (Review)
Review
Several behavioural studies in humans have shown that listening to sounds with two ears that is binaural hearing, provides the human auditory system with extra information on the sound source that is not available when sounds are only perceived through one ear that is monaurally. Binaural processing involves the analysis of phase and level differences between the two ear signals. As monaural cochlea processing (in each ear) precedes the neural stages responsible for binaural processing properties it is reasonable to assume that properties of the cochlea may also be observed in binaural processing. A main characteristic of cochlea processing is its frequency selectivity. In psychoacoustics, there is an ongoing discussion on the frequency selectivity of the binaural auditory system. While some psychoacoustic experiments seem to indicate poorer frequency selectivity of the binaural system than that of the monaural processing others seem to indicate the same frequency selectivity for monaural and binaural processing. This study provides an overview of these seemingly controversial results and the different explanations that were provided to account for the different results.
Topics: Auditory Perception; Hearing; Humans; Psychoacoustics
PubMed: 29359360
DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13837 -
Journal of Neurophysiology Apr 2023The spatial limits of sensory acquisition (its sensory horizon) are a fundamental property of any sensorimotor system. In the present study, we sought to determine...
The spatial limits of sensory acquisition (its sensory horizon) are a fundamental property of any sensorimotor system. In the present study, we sought to determine whether there is a sensory horizon for the human haptic modality. At first blush, it seems obvious that the haptic system is bounded by the space where the body can interact with the environment (e.g., the arm span). However, the human somatosensory system is exquisitely tuned to sensing with tools-blind-cane navigation being a classic example of this. The horizon of haptic perception therefore extends beyond body space, but to what extent is unknown. We first used neuromechanical modeling to determine the theoretical horizon, which we pinpointed as 6 m. We then used a psychophysical localization paradigm to behaviorally confirm that humans can haptically localize objects using a 6-m rod. This finding underscores the incredible flexibility of the brain's sensorimotor representations, as they can be adapted to sense an object many times longer than the user's own body. There are often spatial limits to where an active sensory system can sample information from the environment. Hand-held tools can extend human haptic perception beyond the body, but the limits of this extension are unknown. We used theoretical modeling and psychophysics to determine these spatial limits. We find that the ability to spatially localize objects through a tool extends at least 6 m beyond the user's body.
Topics: Humans; Stereognosis; Psychophysics; Touch Perception; Touch; Visual Perception
PubMed: 36812143
DOI: 10.1152/jn.00442.2022 -
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal... Jan 2023The dominant inferential approach to human 3D perception assumes a model of spatial encoding based on a physical description of objects and space. Prevailing models... (Review)
Review
The dominant inferential approach to human 3D perception assumes a model of spatial encoding based on a physical description of objects and space. Prevailing models based on this physicalist approach assume that the visual system infers an objective, unitary and mostly veridical representation of the external world. However, careful consideration of the phenomenology of 3D perception challenges these assumptions. I review important aspects of phenomenology, psychophysics and neurophysiology which suggest that human visual perception of 3D objects and space is underwritten by distinct and dissociated spatial encodings that are optimized for specific regions of space. Specifically, I argue that 3D perception is underwritten by at least three distinct encodings for (1) egocentric distance perception at the ambulatory scale, (2) exocentric distance (scaled depth) perception optimized for near space, and (3) perception of object shape and layout (unscaled depth). This tripartite division can more satisfactorily account for the phenomenology, psychophysics and adaptive logic of human 3D perception. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'New approaches to 3D vision'.
Topics: Humans; Depth Perception; Psychophysics; Distance Perception; Visual Perception; Space Perception
PubMed: 36511412
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0454 -
Journal of Experimental Psychology.... Jan 2020There is considerable evidence for computationally complex behavior, that is, behavior that appears to require the equivalent of mathematical calculation by the... (Review)
Review
There is considerable evidence for computationally complex behavior, that is, behavior that appears to require the equivalent of mathematical calculation by the organism. Spatial navigation by path integration is perhaps the best example. The most influential account of such behavior has been Gallistel's (1990) computational-representational theory, which assumes that organisms represent key environmental variables such as direction and distance traveled as real numbers stored in engrams and are able to perform arithmetic computations on those representations. But how are these computations accomplished? A novel perspective is gained from the historical development of algebra. We propose that computationally complex behavior suggests that the perceptual system represents an algebraic field, which is a mathematical concept that expresses the structure underlying arithmetic. Our field representation hypothesis predicts that the perceptual system computes 2 operations on represented magnitudes, not 1. We review recent research in which human observers were trained to estimate differences and ratios of stimulus pairs in a nonsymbolic task without explicit instruction (Grace, Morton, Ward, Wilson, & Kemp, 2018). Results show that the perceptual system automatically computes two operations when comparing stimulus magnitudes. A field representation offers a resolution to longstanding controversies in psychophysics about which of 2 algebraic operations is fundamental (e.g., the Fechner-Stevens debate), overlooking the possibility that both might be. In terms of neural processes that might support computationally complex behavior, our hypothesis suggests that we should look for evidence of 2 operations and for symmetries corresponding to the additive and multiplicative groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
Topics: Animals; Behavior, Animal; Humans; Mathematical Concepts; Psychophysics; Spatial Navigation
PubMed: 31647265
DOI: 10.1037/xan0000227 -
Attention, Perception & Psychophysics Nov 2019Repeated contexts yield faster response time in visual search, compared with novel contexts. This effect is known as contextual cueing. Despite extensive study over the... (Review)
Review
Repeated contexts yield faster response time in visual search, compared with novel contexts. This effect is known as contextual cueing. Despite extensive study over the past two decades, there remains a spirited debate over whether repeated displays expedite search before the target is found (early locus) or facilitate response after the target is found (late locus). Here, we provide a tutorial review of contextual cueing, with a focus on assessing the locus of the effect. We evaluate the evidence from psychophysics, EEG, and eye tracking. Existing studies support an early locus of contextual cueing, consistent with attentional guidance accounts. Evidence for a late locus exists, though it is less conclusive. Existing literature also highlights a distinction between habit-guided attention learned through experience and changes in spatial priority driven by task goals and stimulus salience.
Topics: Adult; Attention; Cues; Electroencephalography; Eye Movements; Female; Humans; Learning; Male; Psychophysics; Reaction Time; Recognition, Psychology; Young Adult
PubMed: 31410759
DOI: 10.3758/s13414-019-01832-2