The neurobiology of perception.
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The effect of stereoscopic depth on perceived lightness was studied using a simple, achromatic stimulus arrangement. In Experiment 1, depth/lightness interactions were sought between a single test field and a single induction field. In Experiment 2, depth/lightness interactions were looked for between a single test field and two induction fields. Stimuli were presented on a computer screen and viewed with a stereoscope. The subjects reported perceived lightness of the achromatic test field by rating its apparent blackness along a dimension of 0%-100%. In Experiment 1, they reported lightness judgments of the test field across 13 perceived depth levels and 8 contrast levels. In Experiment 2, they gave lightness judgments of the test field across 7 perceived depth levels and 16 contrast levels. We were particularly interested in observing the generality of Gilchrist's coplanar ratio hypothesis. The results showed that when stereopsis and contrast levels are the available cues, depth and lightness percepts are independent, and it is retinal ratios, not coplanar ratios, that dictate lightness perception. We conclude that before the relative depth location of an object is determined, its lightness value is known through sensory-level processes.
This paper reports a study of a multi-agent model of working memory (WM) in the context of Boolean concept learning. The model aims to assess the compressibility of information processed in WM. Concept complexity is described as a function of communication resources (i.e., the number of agents and the structure of communication between agents) required in WM to learn a target concept. This model has been successfully applied in measuring learning times for three-dimensional (3D) concepts (Mathy and Bradmetz in Curr Psychol Cognit 22(1):41-82, 2004). In this previous study, learning time was found to be a function of compression time. To assess the effect of decompression time, this paper presents an extended intra-conceptual study of response times for two- and 3D concepts. Response times are measured in recognition phases. The model explains why the time required to compress a sample of examples into a rule is directly linked to the time to decompress this rule when categorizing examples. Three experiments were conducted with 65, 49, and 84 undergraduate students who were given Boolean concept learning tasks in two and three dimensions (also called rule-based classification tasks). The results corroborate the metric of decompression given by the multi-agent model, especially when the model is parameterized following static serial processing of information. Also, this static serial model better fits the patterns of response times than an exemplar-based model.
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Two studies were conducted to investigate the existence of an unusual U-shaped developmental function described by Wishart et al (1978) for human infants reaching towards invisible sounds. In study 1, 2-7 month olds were presented with four conditions: (i) an invisible auditory stimulus alone, (ii) a glowing visual stimulus alone, (iii) auditory and visual stimuli on the same side (ie combined), and (iv) auditory and visual stimuli on opposite sides (ie in conflict). Study 2 was designed to examine the effects of practice and possible associations made when using the 'combined conflict' paradigm. Infants of 5 and 7 months of age were given five trials with the auditory stimulus, with or without prior visual experience, and five trials with the visual stimulus, with the position of the stimulus varied on each trial. Stimuli were presented individually at the midline, and +/- 30 and +/- 60 degrees from the midline. In both studies testing was conducted in complete darkness. Results indicated that the auditory-alone condition was slower to elicit a reach from the infants, relative to the visual-alone one, and reaches were least frequent to the auditory target. No U-shaped function was obtained, and reaching for auditory targets occurred later in age than for visual targets, but even at 7 months of age did not occur as often and was achieved by fewer infants. In both studies the quality of the reach was significantly poorer to auditory than to visual targets, but there were some accurate reaches. This research adds to our understanding of the development of auditory-manual coordination in sighted infants and is relevant to theories of auditory localization, visually guided reaching, and programming for the blind.
PURPOSE: To provide a comprehensive description of vision function beyond acuity in older individuals. METHODS: A sample of 900 individuals between the ages of 58 and 102 years (mean age of 75.5) was binocularly tested wearing habitual correction on a battery of psychophysical tests including high and low contrast acuity, low contrast low luminance acuity, disability glare, contrast sensitivity, color vision, stereoacuity, recovery from glare, and attentional visual fields. RESULTS: High contrast acuity is reasonably well maintained on average, even into very old ages. Spatial vision measures under conditions of reduced contrast or luminance, or glare reveal significant impairment in a large portion of the aged. Many older individuals also have greatly reduced stereopsis, poor color discrimination, and severely restricted peripheral fields under conditions of divided attention. A single exponential function relating performance to age fits all spatial vision data sets. The function for individual spatial measures lies at different positions along the age scale. The derived aging function with a time constant of approximately 15 years also fits results from other recent aging studies of acuity and contrast sensitivity. CONCLUSIONS: Standard visual acuity underestimates the degree of vision function loss suffered by many older individuals under the nonoptimal viewing conditions encountered in daily life. All spatial vision functions show a similar rate of decline with age of the population, but the age at which decline begins varies among measures.
Individual-differences multidimensional scaling was applied to a set of proximity data for equiluminant lights (Paramei & Cavonius, 1999) to explore any differences between two data collection procedures (rated dissimilarities, and same/different response times [RTs]), as well as between color-normal and abnormal observers. Two conclusions emerged: (1) The pattern of similarities from observers with anomalous color vision can be understood in terms of a compressed color plane (the weighted Euclidean model of individual differences); and (2) there is evidence that the color "plane" is either curved or governed by a non-Euclidean distance function. When color-normal observers are examined in the weighted-Euclidean framework, minor differences emerge between RT and rating data. But the main distinguishing feature of RT data is a pattern of decreasing accuracy for larger color distances. This must be taken into account, since it can itself induce curvature.
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We investigated temporal properties of vertical-size and horizontal-size disparity processing for slant perception. Subjects indicated perceived slants for a stereoscopic stimulus in which the two magnitudes of vertical-size or horizontal-size disparities were oscillated stepwise with various frequencies (from 0.2 to 10 Hz). For the stimulus with vertical-size disparity oscillation, two slants corresponding to the two magnitudes of disparity were perceived for low-frequency conditions, whereas only a static mean slant of the two slants was perceived for high frequencies (5 and 10 Hz). For the stimulus with horizontal-size disparity oscillation, two slants were perceived for all the temporal frequency conditions. These results indicate that temporal properties of vertical- and horizontal-size disparity processing are clearly different and vertical-size disparities are temporally integrated over a period of around 500 ms for slant perception.
Perceived stereomotion trajectory was measured before and after adaptation to lateral motion in the dominant or nondominant eye to assess the relative contributions of 2 cues: changing disparity and interocular velocity difference. Perceived speed for monocular lateral motion and perceived binocular visual direction (BVD) was also assessed. Unlike stereomotion trajectory perception, the BVD of static targets showed an ocular dominance bias, even without adaptation. Adaptation caused equivalent biases in perceived trajectory and monocular motion speed, without significantly affecting perceived BVD. Predictions from monocular motion data closely match trajectory perception data, unlike those from BVD sources. The results suggest that the interocular velocity differences make a significant contribution to stereomotion trajectory perception.
The present experiment was undertaken to study the effect of the addition of stimulation in the peripheral visual field on perceived self-motion (vection). The parameters were axes of motion, "Central + Peripheral" versus "Central vision, frequencies of sinusoidal motion (0.2 Hz to 1.0 Hz), and amplitudes. Vection generally increased with increased amplitudes and frequencies. In the "Central + Peripheral" condition, there was an interaction between frequencies and amplitudes. When stimuli were presented in "Central" vision only, vection was generally higher. It has been concluded that, for vection, the addition of visual stimulation in the periphery is more important at low sinusoidal frequencies and high amplitudes; at higher frequencies, this produces a decrease in vection probably attributable to an increase in object motion perception.
The role of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) neurotransmitter system in relation to psychoses is not completely understood, but represent a challenge in neurobiological research. The psychotic states induced by NMDA antagonists such as phencyclidine and ketamine have been described as being most similar to schizophrenia and the NMDA system has been implicated in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. Binocular depth inversion, an illusion of visual perception, has been shown to be impaired in psychotic and psychotomimetic states in healthy and schizophrenic subjects. In this study, pictures of natural and artificial objects were presented stereoscopically to 12 healthy male volunteers and depth perception assessed using an operationalized method. The effects of the psychotomimetic S-enantiomer of the anaesthetic ketamine in two different subanaesthetic doses were compared with those of a placebo. In spite of dose dependence and grave subjective and significant objective psychopathology, no significant impairment of binocular depth perception was found with (S)-ketamine. Implications related to memory function, perceptogenesis and 'bottom-up' processing in ketamine model psychosis and schizophrenia are discussed.
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