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Biomedical subjects

E G Heinemann

Publications and source records attributed to E G Heinemann.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

A quantitative model for simultaneous brightness induction.

The brightness that results from stimulating a particular test-region of the retina may be depressed or enhanced by simultaneous stimulation of other "inducing"-regions. The test-region brightness may be affected by contiguous inducing-regions (local contrast effects), and by non-contiguous inducing regions (long-range effects sometimes called "assimilation"). We describe a computational model for early vision that can predict the results of brightness-matching procedures commonly used to measure these phenomena. According to this model, brightness depression reflects primarily lateral inhibition that underlies local contrast effects; whereas brightness enhancement results from processes similar, in spirit, to those described in Helson's adaptation-level theory.

Contrast Sensitivity

Retroactive interference in discrimination learning.

In stage 1 of this experiment pigeons were trained to discriminate between two levels of noise or two colors by pecking on one of two disks. In stage 2 the discriminative stimuli were not presented, but pecking on the disks was rewarded on a random schedule. The second procedure caused the pigeons to forget the discrimination they had learned.

Acoustic Stimulation

On the development of stimulus control.

Pigeons were trained to peck one key when presented with white noise at any of five intensities lower than a reference intensity, and to peck another key when presented with white noise at any of five intensities greater than the reference intensity. The shape of the stimulus control curves (proportion of responses to one key versus stimulus intensity) changed from a horizontal line at the beginning of training to the sigmoid form of typical psychometric functions at the end of training. The development of stimulus control is described in terms of a model based on the theory of signal recognition and a concept of attention.

Acoustic Stimulation

Discriminative control of "attention".

Three pigeons were trained to discriminate between two tones differing in frequency in the presence of light of one color (A), and not to discriminate between the tones in the presence of light of another color (B). Generalization functions that were determined in the presence of light A showed control of behavior by the frequency of the tone; those determined in the presence of light B did not.

Animals