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Journal of Neurophysiology Nov 2022Self-motion through an environment induces various sensory signals, i.e., visual, vestibular, auditory, or tactile. Numerous studies have investigated the role of visual...
Self-motion through an environment induces various sensory signals, i.e., visual, vestibular, auditory, or tactile. Numerous studies have investigated the role of visual and vestibular stimulation for the perception of self-motion direction (heading). Here, we investigated the rarely considered interaction of visual and tactile stimuli in heading perception. Participants were presented optic flow simulating forward self-motion across a horizontal ground plane (visual), airflow toward the participants' forehead (tactile), or both. In separate blocks of trials, participants indicated perceived heading from unimodal visual or tactile or bimodal sensory signals. In bimodal trials, presented headings were either spatially congruent or incongruent with a maximum offset between visual and tactile heading of 30°. To investigate the reference frame in which visuo-tactile heading is encoded, we varied head and eye orientation during presentation of the stimuli. Visual and tactile stimuli were designed to achieve comparable precision of heading reports between modalities. Nevertheless, in bimodal trials heading perception was dominated by the visual stimulus. A change of head orientation had no significant effect on perceived heading, whereas, surprisingly, a change in eye orientation affected tactile heading perception. Overall, we conclude that tactile flow is more important to heading perception than previously thought. We investigated heading perception from visual-only (optic flow), tactile-only (tactile flow), or bimodal self-motion stimuli in different conditions varying in head and eye position. Overall, heading perception was body or world centered and non-Bayes optimal and revealed a centripetal bias. Although being visually dominated, tactile flow revealed a significant influence during bimodal heading perception.
Topics: Humans; Motion Perception; Optic Flow; Vestibule, Labyrinth; Touch Perception; Touch; Photic Stimulation; Visual Perception
PubMed: 36259667
DOI: 10.1152/jn.00231.2022 -
Pflugers Archiv : European Journal of... Sep 2021
Topics: Animals; Humans; Photoreceptor Cells; Vision, Ocular; Visual Perception
PubMed: 34245377
DOI: 10.1007/s00424-021-02605-3 -
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews Mar 2023Several authors have proposed that perceptual information carries labels that identify temporal features, including time of occurrence, ordinal temporal relations, and... (Review)
Review
Several authors have proposed that perceptual information carries labels that identify temporal features, including time of occurrence, ordinal temporal relations, and brief durations. These labels serve to locate and organise perceptual objects, features, and events in time. In some proposals time marking has local, specific functions such as synchronisation of different features in perceptual processing. In other proposals time marking has general significance and is responsible for rendering perceptual experience temporally coherent, just as various forms of spatial information render the visual environment spatially coherent. These proposals, which all concern time marking on the millisecond time scale, are reviewed. It is concluded that time marking is vital to the construction of a multisensory perceptual world in which things are orderly with respect to both space and time, but that much more research is needed to ascertain its functions in perception and its neurophysiological foundations.
Topics: Humans; Visual Perception; Time Factors; Photic Stimulation; Acoustic Stimulation; Time Perception; Auditory Perception
PubMed: 36642288
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105043 -
Cortex; a Journal Devoted To the Study... Jun 2021Prosopometamorphopsia is an extremely rare disorder of visual perception characterised by facial distortions. We here review 81 cases (eight new ones and 73 cases... (Review)
Review
Prosopometamorphopsia is an extremely rare disorder of visual perception characterised by facial distortions. We here review 81 cases (eight new ones and 73 cases published over the past century) to shed light on the perception of face gestalts. Our analysis indicates that the brain systems underlying the perception of face gestalts have genuine network properties, in the sense that they are widely disseminated and built such that spatially normal perception of faces can be maintained even when large parts of the network are compromised. We found that bilateral facial distortions were primarily associated with right-sided and bilateral occipital lesions, and unilateral facial distortions with lesions ipsilateral to the distorted hemifield and with the splenium of the corpus callosum. We also found tentative evidence for the involvement of the left frontal regions in the fusing of vertical hemi-images of faces, and of right parietal regions in the fusing of horizontal hemi-images. Evidence supporting the remarkable adaptability of the network comes from the relatively high recovery rates that we found, from the ipsilateral hemifield predominance of hemi-prosopometamorphopsia, and from a phenomenon called cerebral asthenopia (heightened visual fatigability) which points to the dynamic nature of compensatory mechanisms maintaining normal face perception, even in chronic cases of prosopometamorphopsia. Finally, our analysis suggests that specialised networks for the representation of face gestalts in familiar-versus-unfamiliar faces and for own-versus-other face may be present, although this is in need of further study.
Topics: Brain; Brain Mapping; Corpus Callosum; Facial Recognition; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Pattern Recognition, Visual; Visual Perception
PubMed: 33865569
DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.03.001 -
Annual Review of Vision Science Sep 2020Area V4-the focus of this review-is a mid-level processing stage along the ventral visual pathway of the macaque monkey. V4 is extensively interconnected with other... (Review)
Review
Area V4-the focus of this review-is a mid-level processing stage along the ventral visual pathway of the macaque monkey. V4 is extensively interconnected with other visual cortical areas along the ventral and dorsal visual streams, with frontal cortical areas, and with several subcortical structures. Thus, it is well poised to play a broad and integrative role in visual perception and recognition-the functional domain of the ventral pathway. Neurophysiological studies in monkeys engaged in passive fixation and behavioral tasks suggest that V4 responses are dictated by tuning in a high-dimensional stimulus space defined by form, texture, color, depth, and other attributes of visual stimuli. This high-dimensional tuning may underlie the development of object-based representations in the visual cortex that are critical for tracking, recognizing, and interacting with objects. Neurophysiological and lesion studies also suggest that V4 responses are important for guiding perceptual decisions and higher-order behavior.
Topics: Animals; Form Perception; Humans; Macaca mulatta; Pattern Recognition, Visual; Visual Cortex; Visual Pathways; Visual Perception
PubMed: 32580663
DOI: 10.1146/annurev-vision-030320-041306 -
Annual Review of Psychology Jan 2023Color is a pervasive feature of our psychological experience, having a role in many aspects of human mind and behavior such as basic vision, scene perception, object... (Review)
Review
Color is a pervasive feature of our psychological experience, having a role in many aspects of human mind and behavior such as basic vision, scene perception, object recognition, aesthetics, and communication. Understanding how humans encode, perceive, talk about, and use color has been a major interdisciplinary effort. Here, we present the current state of knowledge on how color perception and cognition develop. We cover the development of various aspects of the psychological experience of color, ranging from low-level color vision to perceptual mechanisms such as color constancy to phenomena such as color naming and color preference. We also identify neurodiversity in the development of color perception and cognition and implications for clinical and educational contexts. We discuss the theoretical implications of the research for understanding mature color perception and cognition, for identifying the principles of perceptual and cognitive development, and for fostering a broader debate in the psychological sciences.
Topics: Humans; Color Perception; Cognition; Visual Perception
PubMed: 35973406
DOI: 10.1146/annurev-psych-032720-040512 -
Proceedings. Biological Sciences Dec 2023We reveal a unique visual perception before feature-integration of colour and motion in infants. Visual perception is established by the integration of multiple...
We reveal a unique visual perception before feature-integration of colour and motion in infants. Visual perception is established by the integration of multiple features, such as colour and motion direction. The mechanism of feature integration benefits from the ongoing interplay between feedforward and feedback loops, yet our comprehension of this causal connection remains incomplete. Researchers have explored the role of recurrent processing in feature integration by studying a visual illusion called 'misbinding', wherein visual characteristics are erroneously merged, resulting in a perception distinct from the originally presented stimuli. Anatomical investigations have revealed that the neural pathways responsible for recurrent connections are underdeveloped in early infants. Therefore, there is a possibility that younger infants could potentially perceive the physically presented visual information that adults miss due to misbinding. Here, we demonstrate that infants less than half a year old showed no misbinding; thus, they perceived the physically presented visual information, while infants more than half a year old perceived incorrectly integrated visual information, showing misbinding. Our findings indicate that recurrent processing barely functions in infants younger than six months of age and that visual information that should have been originally integrated is perceived as it is without being integrated.
Topics: Adult; Humans; Infant; Motion Perception; Visual Perception; Illusions
PubMed: 38052443
DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2134 -
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review Apr 2024How do we perceptually and cognitively organize incoming stimulation? A century ago, Gestalt psychologists posited the law of Prägnanz: psychological organization will...
How do we perceptually and cognitively organize incoming stimulation? A century ago, Gestalt psychologists posited the law of Prägnanz: psychological organization will always be as 'good' as possible given the prevailing conditions. To make the Prägnanz law a useful statement, it needs to be specified further (a) what a 'good' psychological organization entails, (b) how the Prägnanz tendency can be realized, and (c) which conditions need to be taken into account. Although the Gestalt school did provide answers to these questions, modern-day mentions of Prägnanz or good Gestalt often lack these clarifications. The concept of Prägnanz has been (mis)understood in many different ways, and by looking back on the rich history of the concept, we will attempt to present a more fine-grained view and promote a renewed understanding of the central role of Prägnanz in visual perception and beyond. We review Gestalt psychology's answers to the questions listed above, and also discuss the four main uses of the Prägnanz concept in more detail: (a) a Prägnanz tendency in each organizational process, (b) Prägnanz as a property of a Gestalt, (c) Prägnanz steps as internal reference points, and (d) Prägnanz in relation to aesthetic appreciation. As a key takeaway, Prägnanz is a multifaceted Gestalt psychological concept indicating the "goodness" of an experienced organization. Both the removal of unnecessary details and the emphasis on characteristic features of the overall organization compared to a reference organization can contribute to the emergence of a 'better' Gestalt. The stimulus constellation is not the only factor in determining the goodness of an organization, also the stimulus' interaction with an individual in a specific spatial and temporal context plays a role. Taking the ideas on Prägnanz as a generative framework and keeping the original Gestalt psychological context in mind, future research on perceptual organization can improve our understanding of the principles underlying psychological organization by further specifying how different organizational principles interact in concrete situations. Public significance statement: This paper reviews what a 'good' psychological organization entails, and how the incoming stimulation is clarified in human perception to achieve the best possible psychological organization. The review debunks common misconceptions on the meaning of "goodness" and synthesizes the most important perspectives and developments on "goodness" from its conception until now.
Topics: Humans; Gestalt Theory; Visual Perception
PubMed: 37787874
DOI: 10.3758/s13423-023-02344-9 -
Trends in Neurosciences Jun 2023Human visual performance changes with visual field location. It is best at the center of gaze and declines with eccentricity, and also varies markedly with polar angle.... (Review)
Review
Human visual performance changes with visual field location. It is best at the center of gaze and declines with eccentricity, and also varies markedly with polar angle. These perceptual polar angle asymmetries are linked to asymmetries in the organization of the visual system. We review and integrate research quantifying how performance changes with visual field location and how this relates to neural organization at multiple stages of the visual system. We first briefly review how performance varies with eccentricity and the neural foundations of this effect. We then focus on perceptual polar angle asymmetries and their neural foundations. Characterizing perceptual and neural variations across and around the visual field contributes to our understanding of how the brain translates visual signals into neural representations which form the basis of visual perception.
Topics: Humans; Visual Cortex; Visual Perception; Vision, Ocular; Visual Fields
PubMed: 37031051
DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2023.03.006 -
Scientific Reports Feb 2023Visual perception is limited by spatial resolution, the ability to discriminate fine details. Spatial resolution not only declines with eccentricity but also differs for...
Visual perception is limited by spatial resolution, the ability to discriminate fine details. Spatial resolution not only declines with eccentricity but also differs for polar angle locations around the visual field, also known as 'performance fields'. To compensate for poor peripheral resolution, we make rapid eye movements-saccades-to bring peripheral objects into high-acuity foveal vision. Already before saccade onset, visual attention shifts to the saccade target location and prioritizes visual processing. This presaccadic shift of attention improves performance in many visual tasks, but whether it changes resolution is unknown. Here, we investigated whether presaccadic attention sharpens peripheral spatial resolution; and if so, whether such effect interacts with performance fields asymmetries. We measured acuity thresholds in an orientation discrimination task during fixation and saccade preparation around the visual field. The results revealed that presaccadic attention sharpens acuity, which can facilitate a smooth transition from peripheral to foveal representation. This acuity enhancement is similar across the four cardinal locations; thus, the typically robust effect of presaccadic attention does not change polar angle differences in resolution.
Topics: Visual Perception; Visual Fields; Vision, Ocular; Visual Acuity; Saccades; Photic Stimulation
PubMed: 36807313
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-29990-2