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BioRxiv : the Preprint Server For... May 2024Albinism is an inherited disorder characterized by disrupted melanin production in the eye, and often in the skin and hair. This retinal hypopigmentation is accompanied...
Albinism is an inherited disorder characterized by disrupted melanin production in the eye, and often in the skin and hair. This retinal hypopigmentation is accompanied by pathological decussation of many temporal retinal afferents at the optic chiasm during development, ultimately resulting in partially superimposed representations of opposite visual hemifields in each cortical hemisphere. Within these aberrant regions of hemifield overlap, individual voxels have been shown to have bilateral, dual population receptive fields (pRFs) responding to roughly mirror-image locations across the vertical meridian. Nonetheless, how these two conflicting inputs combine to determine a voxel's response to image contrast is still unknown. To address this, we stimulated the right and left hemifields with separately controlled sinusoidal gratings, each having a variety of contrasts (0, 8, 20, 45, 100%), and extracted voxel-wise BOLD response amplitudes to each contrast combination in visual areas V1-V3. We then compared voxels' responses to each hemifield stimulated individually with conditions when both hemifields were stimulated simultaneously. We hypothesized that simultaneous stimulation of the two pRF components will result in either a suppressive or facilitative interaction. However, we found that BOLD responses to simultaneous stimulation appeared to reflect simple summation of the neural activity from the individual hemifield conditions. This suggests that the superimposed opposite hemifield representations do not interact. Thus, dual pRFs in albinism likely reflect two co-localized, but functionally independent populations of neurons each of which respond to a single hemifield. This finding is commensurate with psychophysical studies which have shown no clear perceptual interaction between opposite visual hemifields in human albinism.
PubMed: 38853944
DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.26.595603 -
Accident; Analysis and Prevention Jun 2024A two-factor experiment was devised to assess the appropriateness of the quantity and arrangement of information on multi-information guide signs at unique, spacious...
A two-factor experiment was devised to assess the appropriateness of the quantity and arrangement of information on multi-information guide signs at unique, spacious exits on elevated expressway sections. This experiment investigated 77 signs containing varying amounts of road name information and different placements of destination road names. The research entailed an indoor experiment that incorporated eye-tracking technology and involved the analysis of a total of twenty-eight indicators. A comprehensive index system was developed, identifying three key aspects: visual recognition efficiency, visual recognition difficulty, and visual fatigue. Utilizing repeated measure analysis of variances, the impact of these two factors was examined to identify significant indicators and establish a comprehensive assessment indicator system. The Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution method, in conjunction with the coefficient of entropy weight, was employed to assess the effectiveness of these two factors. The findings demonstrated that the 28 eye-movement indicators utilized in this study effectively constitute a valuable indicator system for evaluating drivers' visual recognition characteristics. These indicators capture the subtle psychophysical traits inherent in the process of recognizing signs, including visual recognition efficiency, difficulty, and fatigue. Regarding the first experimental factor, the number of sign road names significantly influences drivers' visual recognition characteristics (Sig < 0.05). Specifically, an increase in the number of sign road names leads to diminished visual recognition efficiency and heightened visual recognition difficulty and fatigue. Consequently, it is advisable to restrict the number of sign road names to a maximum of six per sign under typical circumstances, with nine being the limit under special conditions. As for the second experimental factor, the placement of the destination road name within the sign layout exerts a significant impact on visual recognition characteristics (Sig < 0.05). Each type of multi-information sign exhibits a distinct visual recognition pattern. Generally, the upper portion of the sign is more easily recognized, while the lower part poses greater recognition challenges. Therefore, to mitigate visual recognition risks, it is recommended that road information placement be prioritized based on actual usage conditions.
PubMed: 38852222
DOI: 10.1016/j.aap.2024.107637 -
Sexual Medicine Reviews Jun 2024Gynecologic cancer has a negative impact on the sexuality of women who are or have been affected by this disease. In fact, gynecologic cancers cause negative changes in...
INTRODUCTION
Gynecologic cancer has a negative impact on the sexuality of women who are or have been affected by this disease. In fact, gynecologic cancers cause negative changes in female sexuality, affecting body image and psychophysical well-being, with serious consequences for women's sex lives.
OBJECTIVES
The aim of this study is to analyze the differences in sexuality among women who have or have had gynecologic cancer in Europe and in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). We also explored possible factors that may influence women's sexuality in the 2 populations compared.
METHODS
The literature search was carried out using PubMed and Google Scholar, considering the 10-year period of 2013 to 2023. Studies were initially selected according to the criterion that the title and abstract were in English. We then reviewed all the articles selected in the first phase and analyzed the following information: author, year of publication, type of gynecologic cancer, country in which the study was conducted, design, and materials used. Finally, we defined the inclusion criteria for the present paper: women 18 years of age or older, diagnosed with gynecologic cancer, and who had undergone treatment (surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy). The studies reviewed were conducted between 2013 and 2023 in Europe and MENA, and all analyzed sexual function after the disease, understood as a general dimension that includes physiological and psychological aspects.
RESULTS
The results of this research show that patients in both geographical areas (Europe and MENA) report changes in sexuality as a result of the cancer. Studies show that cancer reduces, interrupts, and impairs women's sexual activity, resulting in experiences of discomfort, anxiety, guilt, inadequacy, pain, and poorer quality of life.
CONCLUSIONS
The data analyzed in this review show that cancer causes changes and deterioration in sexuality in both populations studied. No cultural or social factors were found to cause differences between the variables studied in the 2 populations. In the future, it may be interesting to carry out further studies to improve the treatment of women with gynecologic cancer, as sexuality is a very important part of a person's life.
PubMed: 38850565
DOI: 10.1093/sxmrev/qeae039 -
Turk Psikiyatri Dergisi = Turkish... 2024disease, characterized by motor and vocal tics with no changes in the ocular structures in the ophthalmological evaluations. The visual field evaluations suggest a...
disease, characterized by motor and vocal tics with no changes in the ocular structures in the ophthalmological evaluations. The visual field evaluations suggest a reduction in central visual field sensitivity. The studies on visual function in this population is scarce. In this case report we present a patient with GTS who has significant alterations in the measure of contrast sensitivity for second order vision without any vision complaints. This reduction occurred in the measure of contrast sensitivity with a white noise carrier for practically all tested space frequencies. The mean contrast sensitivity for first and second-order stimuli with a pink-noise carrier was normal. The second order contrast sensitivity with a white noise carrier is dependent on local and lateral inhibition since it includes many local luminance components. The existence of this sensitivity suggests that specific visual processing mechanisms are affected. Keywords: Tourette Syndrome, Contrast Sensitivity, Contrast Psychophysical Channels, Second-Order Perception.
Topics: Humans; Tourette Syndrome; Contrast Sensitivity; Male; Diagnosis, Differential; Adult
PubMed: 38842157
DOI: 10.5080/u26835 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2024The validity of psychological measurement is crucially connected to a peculiar form of epistemic circularity. This circularity can be a threat when there are no... (Review)
Review
The validity of psychological measurement is crucially connected to a peculiar form of epistemic circularity. This circularity can be a threat when there are no independent ways to assess whether a certain procedure is actually measuring the intended target of measurement. This paper focuses on how Fechner addressed the measurement circularity that emerged in his psychophysical research. First, I show that Fechner's approach to the problem of circular measurement involved a core idealizing assumption of a shared human physiology. Second, I assess Fechner's approach to this issue against the backdrop of his own epistemology of measurement and the measurement context of his time. Third, I claim that, from a coherentist and historically-situated perspective, Fechner's quantification can be regarded as a first successful step of a longer-term quantification process. To conclude, I draw from these insights some general epistemological reflections that are relevant to current quantitative psychology.
PubMed: 38840738
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1354392 -
Anesthesia and Analgesia Jun 2024Although patients with chronic pain show behavioral signs of impaired endogenous pain modulation, responsible cerebral networks have yet to be anatomically delineated....
BACKGROUND
Although patients with chronic pain show behavioral signs of impaired endogenous pain modulation, responsible cerebral networks have yet to be anatomically delineated. We used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to examine the white-matter alterations in patients with chronic pain compared with healthy subjects. We further measured thermal pain modulatory responses using the offset analgesia (OA) paradigm. We tested whether the white-matter indices be associated with psychophysical parameters reflecting morbidity and modulatory responses of pain in patients, and whether they could serve as diagnostic biomarkers of chronic pain.
METHODS
Twenty-six patients with chronic pain and 18 age- and gender-matched healthy controls were enrolled. After completing psychophysical questionnaires, they underwent OA measurement and whole-brain DTI in a 3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging scanner. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and radial diffusivity (RD) of the white-matter were computed and compared between the groups with tract-based spatial statistics using the FMRIB Software Library (FSL) software. Correlations were sought among white-matter indices, thermal pain responses, and psychophysical parameters. The white-matter indices and OA-related parameters were tested whether they distinguish patients from controls by receiver operating characteristic analysis.
RESULTS
During OA, patients showed a shorter latency to the maximum (maximum visual analog scale [VAS] latency, 16.0 ± 3.7 vs 18.9 ± 3.1 second [mean ± standard deviation, SD]; P = .032) but a longer latency to the minimum pain (OA latency, 15.6 ± 3.5 vs 11.1 ± 4.2 seconds; P = .004) than controls. They showed a smaller mean FA (0.44 ± 0.12 vs 0.45 ± 0.11; P = .012) and a larger mean RD of the global white-matter (0.00057 ± 0.00002 vs 0.00056 ± 0.00002; P = .038) than controls, at specific areas including the corpus callosum, anterior thalamic radiation, and forceps major. FA of the splenium of the corpus callosum was associated with maximum VAS latency (r = 0.493) and OA latency (r = -0.552). The Pain Catastrophizing Scale scores showed strong negative correlations with FA across those specific areas (r = -0.405). Those latencies during OA and white-matter metrics distinguished patients from controls (P < .05).
CONCLUSIONS
Patients with chronic pain showed dysfunction of the white matter concerned with interhemispheric communication of sensorimotor information as well as descending corticothalamic modulation of pain in association with affective morbidity and altered temporal dynamics of pain perception. We suggest that an impaired interhemispheric modulation of pain, through the corpus callosum, might be a novel cerebral mechanism in chronification of pain.
PubMed: 38837907
DOI: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000006992 -
Molecular Autism Jun 2024Categorization and its influence on perceptual discrimination are essential processes to organize information efficiently. Individuals with Autism Spectrum Condition...
BACKGROUND
Categorization and its influence on perceptual discrimination are essential processes to organize information efficiently. Individuals with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) are suggested to display enhanced discrimination on the one hand, but also to experience difficulties with generalization and ignoring irrelevant differences on the other, which underlie categorization. Studies on categorization and discrimination in ASC have mainly focused on one process at a time, however, and typically only used either behavioral or neural measures in isolation. Here, we aim to investigate the interrelationships between these perceptual processes using novel stimuli sampled from a well-controlled artificial stimulus space. In addition, we complement standard behavioral psychophysical tasks with frequency-tagging EEG (FT-EEG) to obtain a direct, non-task related neural index of discrimination and categorization.
METHODS
The study was completed by 38 adults with ASC and 38 matched neurotypical (NT) individuals. First, we assessed baseline discrimination sensitivity by administering FT-EEG measures and a complementary behavioral task. Second, participants were trained to categorize the stimuli into two groups. Finally, participants again completed the neural and behavioral discrimination sensitivity measures.
RESULTS
Before training, NT participants immediately revealed a categorical tuning of discrimination, unlike ASC participants who showed largely similar discrimination sensitivity across the stimuli. During training, both autistic and non-autistic participants were able to categorize the stimuli into two groups. However, in the initial training phase, ASC participants were less accurate and showed more variability, as compared to their non-autistic peers. After training, ASC participants showed significantly enhanced neural and behavioral discrimination sensitivity across the category boundary. Behavioral indices of a reduced categorical processing and perception were related to the presence of more severe autistic traits. Bayesian analyses confirmed overall results.
LIMITATIONS
Data-collection occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.
CONCLUSIONS
Our behavioral and neural findings indicate that adults with and without ASC are able to categorize highly similar stimuli. However, while categorical tuning of discrimination sensitivity was spontaneously present in the NT group, it only emerged in the autistic group after explicit categorization training. Additionally, during training, adults with autism were slower at category learning. Finally, this multi-level approach sheds light on the mechanisms underlying sensory and information processing issues in ASC.
Topics: Humans; Male; Adult; Female; Electroencephalography; Young Adult; Autistic Disorder; Discrimination, Psychological; Learning; Photic Stimulation; Visual Perception; Autism Spectrum Disorder
PubMed: 38831439
DOI: 10.1186/s13229-024-00604-6 -
ELife Jun 2024
PubMed: 38829696
DOI: 10.7554/eLife.100253 -
Rhinology Jun 2024With the recent proliferation of novel therapeutics for chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP), there is an immediate need for comprehensive means to assess...
BACKGROUND
With the recent proliferation of novel therapeutics for chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP), there is an immediate need for comprehensive means to assess CRSwNP disease status as well as to determine treatment efficacy. Outcome measures exist in different forms. Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) allow patients to provide direct input about their condition that is not possible to obtain in any other way. Common constructs that are measured using PROMs include quality of life or the burden of disease manifestations (e.g., symptom severity). Outcomes may also include the results of objective diagnostic testing/measurement of clinical signs or measured using psychophysical tests. Biomarkers represent an emerging class of outcome measures for CRSwNP and are chosen to directly reflect the active pathophysiologic processes of CRSwNP in the peripheral blood, sinus/polyp tissues, and sinonasal mucus.
METHODS
Narrative review of the literature, identifying and describing outcome measures that may be used in the evaluation of CRSwNP and for assessment of treatment responses.
RESULTS
In this review, we identify many different outcome measures for CRSwNP that fall under the categories of PROM, objective test, psychophysical test or biomarker. We describe the history of each - including seminal studies - and demonstrate the formal validation, psychometric performance, and limitations of each.
CONCLUSIONS
PROMs, objective tests, psychophysical tests and biomarkers represent different classes of outcome measures that are complementary means of assessing CRSwNP disease status and treatment efficacy. The choice or interpretation of a CRSwNP outcome measure should be undertaken with full knowledge of its formal validation, psychometric performance, and limitations.
PubMed: 38829175
DOI: 10.4193/Rhin24.090 -
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2024Our brain constantly integrates afferent information, such as visual and tactile information, to perceive the world around us. According to the maximum-likelihood...
Our brain constantly integrates afferent information, such as visual and tactile information, to perceive the world around us. According to the maximum-likelihood estimation (MLE) model, imprecise information will be weighted less than precise, making the multisensory percept as precise as possible. Individuals with fibromyalgia (FM), a chronic pain syndrome, show alterations in the integration of tactile information. This could lead to a decrease in their weight in a multisensory percept or a general disruption of multisensory integration, making it less beneficial. To assess multisensory integration, 15 participants with FM and 18 pain-free controls performed a temporal-order judgment task in which they received pairs of sequential visual, tactile (unisensory conditions), or visuotactile (multisensory condition) stimulations on the index and the thumb of the non-dominant hand and had to determine which finger was stimulated first. The task enabled us to measure the precision and accuracy of the percept in each condition. Results indicate an increase in precision in the visuotactile condition compared to the unimodal conditions in controls only, although we found no intergroup differences. The observed visuotactile precision was correlated to the precision predicted by the MLE model in both groups, suggesting an optimal integration. Finally, the weights of the sensory information were not different between the groups; however, in the group with FM, higher pain intensity was associated with smaller tactile weight. This study shows no alterations of the visuotactile integration in individuals with FM, though pain may influence tactile weight in these participants.
PubMed: 38826615
DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2024.1390609