All EyeLink Publications
All 8000+ peer-reviewed EyeLink research publications up until 2019 (with some early 2020s) are listed below by year. You can search the publications library using key words such as Visual Search, Smooth Pursuit, Parkinsons, etc. You can also search for individual author names. Eye tracking studies grouped by research area can be found on the solutions pages. If we missed any EyeLink eye tracking paper, please email us!
All EyeLink publications are also available for download / import into reference management software as a single Bibtex (.bib) file.
2019 |
Luca Wollenberg; Heiner Deubel; Martin Szinte Investigating the deployment of visual attention before accurate and averaging saccades via eye tracking and assessment of visual sensitivity Journal Article Journal of Visualized Experiments, (145), pp. 1–9, 2019. @article{Wollenberg2019, title = {Investigating the deployment of visual attention before accurate and averaging saccades via eye tracking and assessment of visual sensitivity}, author = {Luca Wollenberg and Heiner Deubel and Martin Szinte}, doi = {10.3791/59162}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Journal of Visualized Experiments}, number = {145}, pages = {1--9}, abstract = {This experimental protocol was designed to investigate whether visual attention is obligatorily deployed at the endpoint of saccades. To this end, we recorded the eye position of human participants engaged in a saccade task via eye tracking and assessed visual orientation discrimination performance at various locations during saccade preparation. Importantly, instead of using a single saccade target paradigm for which the saccade endpoint typically coincides roughly with the target, this protocol comprised the presentation of two nearby saccade targets, leading to a distinct spatial dissociation between target locations and saccade endpoint on a substantial number of trials. The paradigm allowed us to compare presaccadic visual discrimination performance at the endpoint of accurate saccades (landing at one of the saccade targets) and of averaging saccades (landing at an intermediate location in between the two targets). We observed a selective enhancement of visual sensitivity at the endpoint of accurate saccades but not at the endpoint of averaging saccades. Rather, before the execution of averaging saccades, visual sensitivity was equally enhanced at both targets, suggesting that saccade averaging follows from unresolved attentional selection among the saccade targets. These results argue against a mandatory coupling between visual attention and saccade programming based on a direct measure of presaccadic visual sensitivity rather than saccadic reaction times, which have been used in other protocols to draw similar conclusions. While our protocol provides a useful framework to investigate the relationship between visual attention and saccadic eye movements at the behavioral level, it can also be combined with electrophysiological measures to extend insights at the neuronal level.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } This experimental protocol was designed to investigate whether visual attention is obligatorily deployed at the endpoint of saccades. To this end, we recorded the eye position of human participants engaged in a saccade task via eye tracking and assessed visual orientation discrimination performance at various locations during saccade preparation. Importantly, instead of using a single saccade target paradigm for which the saccade endpoint typically coincides roughly with the target, this protocol comprised the presentation of two nearby saccade targets, leading to a distinct spatial dissociation between target locations and saccade endpoint on a substantial number of trials. The paradigm allowed us to compare presaccadic visual discrimination performance at the endpoint of accurate saccades (landing at one of the saccade targets) and of averaging saccades (landing at an intermediate location in between the two targets). We observed a selective enhancement of visual sensitivity at the endpoint of accurate saccades but not at the endpoint of averaging saccades. Rather, before the execution of averaging saccades, visual sensitivity was equally enhanced at both targets, suggesting that saccade averaging follows from unresolved attentional selection among the saccade targets. These results argue against a mandatory coupling between visual attention and saccade programming based on a direct measure of presaccadic visual sensitivity rather than saccadic reaction times, which have been used in other protocols to draw similar conclusions. While our protocol provides a useful framework to investigate the relationship between visual attention and saccadic eye movements at the behavioral level, it can also be combined with electrophysiological measures to extend insights at the neuronal level. |
Christian Wolf; Alexander C Schütz Choice-induced inter-trial inhibition is modulated by idiosyncratic choice-consistency Journal Article PLoS ONE, 14 (12), pp. 1–14, 2019. @article{Wolf2019, title = {Choice-induced inter-trial inhibition is modulated by idiosyncratic choice-consistency}, author = {Christian Wolf and Alexander C Schütz}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0226982}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {14}, number = {12}, pages = {1--14}, abstract = {Humans constantly decide among multiple action plans. Carrying out one action usually implies that other plans are suppressed. Here we make use of inter-trial effects to determine whether suppression of non-chosen action plans is due to proactively preparing for upcoming decisions or due to retroactive influences from previous decisions. Participants received rewards for timely and accurate saccades to targets appearing left or right from fixation. Each block interleaved trials with one (single-trial) or two targets (choice-trial). Whereas single-trial rewards were always identical, rewards for the two targets in choice-trials could either be identical (unbiased) or differ (biased) within one block. We analyzed single-trial latencies as a function of idiosyncratic choice-consistency or reward-bias, the previous trial type and whether the same or the other target was selected in the preceding trial. After choice-trials, single-trial responses to the previously non-chosen target were delayed. For biased choices, inter-trial effects were strongest when choices were followed by a singletrial to the non-chosen target. In the unbiased condition, inter-trial effects increased with increasing individual consistency of choice behavior. These findings suggest that the suppression of alternative action plans is not coupled to target selection and motor execution but instead depends on top-down signals like the overall preference of one target over another.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Humans constantly decide among multiple action plans. Carrying out one action usually implies that other plans are suppressed. Here we make use of inter-trial effects to determine whether suppression of non-chosen action plans is due to proactively preparing for upcoming decisions or due to retroactive influences from previous decisions. Participants received rewards for timely and accurate saccades to targets appearing left or right from fixation. Each block interleaved trials with one (single-trial) or two targets (choice-trial). Whereas single-trial rewards were always identical, rewards for the two targets in choice-trials could either be identical (unbiased) or differ (biased) within one block. We analyzed single-trial latencies as a function of idiosyncratic choice-consistency or reward-bias, the previous trial type and whether the same or the other target was selected in the preceding trial. After choice-trials, single-trial responses to the previously non-chosen target were delayed. For biased choices, inter-trial effects were strongest when choices were followed by a singletrial to the non-chosen target. In the unbiased condition, inter-trial effects increased with increasing individual consistency of choice behavior. These findings suggest that the suppression of alternative action plans is not coupled to target selection and motor execution but instead depends on top-down signals like the overall preference of one target over another. |
Samantha Withnell; Christopher R Sears; Kristin M von Ranson Journal of Experimental Psychopathology, 10 (2), pp. 1–16, 2019. @article{Withnell2019, title = {How malleable are attentional biases in women with body dissatisfaction? Priming effects and their impact on attention to images of women's bodies}, author = {Samantha Withnell and Christopher R Sears and Kristin M von Ranson}, doi = {10.1177/2043808719837137}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Journal of Experimental Psychopathology}, volume = {10}, number = {2}, pages = {1--16}, abstract = {Understanding attentional biases associated with body dissatisfaction can aid in devising and refining programs to reduce body dissatisfaction. This study compared attention to images of women's bodies before and after a body satisfaction or body dissatisfaction priming task. Attention was assessed using eye-gaze tracking, by measuring participants' fixations to images of “thin” models, “fat” models, and images of average women over an 8-s presentation. Women with high (n = 65) and low (n = 43) levels of trait body dissatisfaction, as measured by the Body Shape Questionnaire, were randomly assigned to a body satisfaction or body dissatisfaction priming task. Results indicated that both priming tasks were effective at modifying participants' state body satisfaction. Women with high body dissatisfaction exhibited an attentional bias to thin and fat model images prior to the priming procedure, replicating previous findings. Contrary to predictions, body dissatisfaction priming increased attention to body images for women with both high and low body dissatisfaction, whereas body satisfaction priming had no effect on attention for either group. These findings show that women with high and low body dissatisfaction are vulnerable to the effects of body dissatisfaction priming.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Understanding attentional biases associated with body dissatisfaction can aid in devising and refining programs to reduce body dissatisfaction. This study compared attention to images of women's bodies before and after a body satisfaction or body dissatisfaction priming task. Attention was assessed using eye-gaze tracking, by measuring participants' fixations to images of “thin” models, “fat” models, and images of average women over an 8-s presentation. Women with high (n = 65) and low (n = 43) levels of trait body dissatisfaction, as measured by the Body Shape Questionnaire, were randomly assigned to a body satisfaction or body dissatisfaction priming task. Results indicated that both priming tasks were effective at modifying participants' state body satisfaction. Women with high body dissatisfaction exhibited an attentional bias to thin and fat model images prior to the priming procedure, replicating previous findings. Contrary to predictions, body dissatisfaction priming increased attention to body images for women with both high and low body dissatisfaction, whereas body satisfaction priming had no effect on attention for either group. These findings show that women with high and low body dissatisfaction are vulnerable to the effects of body dissatisfaction priming. |
Matthew B Winn; Alan Kan; Ruth Y Litovsky Temporal dynamics and uncertainty in binaural hearing revealed by anticipatory eye movements Journal Article The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 145 (2), pp. 676–691, 2019. @article{Winn2019b, title = {Temporal dynamics and uncertainty in binaural hearing revealed by anticipatory eye movements}, author = {Matthew B Winn and Alan Kan and Ruth Y Litovsky}, doi = {10.1121/1.5088591}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America}, volume = {145}, number = {2}, pages = {676--691}, abstract = {Accurate perception of binaural cues is essential for left-right sound localization. Much literature focuses on threshold measures of perceptual acuity and accuracy. This study focused on suprathreshold perception using an anticipatory eye movement (AEM) paradigm designed to capture subtle aspects of perception that might not emerge in behavioral-motor responses, such as the accumulation of certainty, and rapid revisions in decision-making. Participants heard interaural timing differences (ITDs) or interaural level differences in correlated or uncorrelated narrowband noises, respectively. A cartoon ball moved behind an occluder and then emerged from the left or right side, consistent with the binaural cue. Participants anticipated the correct answer (before it appeared) by looking where the ball would emerge. Results showed quicker and more steadfast gaze fixations for stimuli with larger cue magnitudes. More difficult stimuli elicited a wider distribution of saccade times and greater number of corrective saccades before final judgment, implying perceptual uncertainty or competition. Cue levels above threshold elicited some wrong-way saccades that were quickly corrected. Saccades to ITDs were earlier and more reliable for low-frequency noises. The AEM paradigm reveals the time course of uncertainty and changes in perceptual decision-making for supra-threshold binaural stimuli even when behavioral responses are consistently correct.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Accurate perception of binaural cues is essential for left-right sound localization. Much literature focuses on threshold measures of perceptual acuity and accuracy. This study focused on suprathreshold perception using an anticipatory eye movement (AEM) paradigm designed to capture subtle aspects of perception that might not emerge in behavioral-motor responses, such as the accumulation of certainty, and rapid revisions in decision-making. Participants heard interaural timing differences (ITDs) or interaural level differences in correlated or uncorrelated narrowband noises, respectively. A cartoon ball moved behind an occluder and then emerged from the left or right side, consistent with the binaural cue. Participants anticipated the correct answer (before it appeared) by looking where the ball would emerge. Results showed quicker and more steadfast gaze fixations for stimuli with larger cue magnitudes. More difficult stimuli elicited a wider distribution of saccade times and greater number of corrective saccades before final judgment, implying perceptual uncertainty or competition. Cue levels above threshold elicited some wrong-way saccades that were quickly corrected. Saccades to ITDs were earlier and more reliable for low-frequency noises. The AEM paradigm reveals the time course of uncertainty and changes in perceptual decision-making for supra-threshold binaural stimuli even when behavioral responses are consistently correct. |
Michael T Willoughby; Benjamin Piper; Dunston Kwayumba; Megan McCune Measuring executive function skills in young children in Kenya Journal Article Child Neuropsychology, 25 (4), pp. 425–444, 2019. @article{Willoughby2019, title = {Measuring executive function skills in young children in Kenya}, author = {Michael T Willoughby and Benjamin Piper and Dunston Kwayumba and Megan McCune}, doi = {10.1080/09297049.2018.1486395}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Child Neuropsychology}, volume = {25}, number = {4}, pages = {425--444}, publisher = {Routledge}, abstract = {Interest in measuring executive function skills in young children in low- and middle-income country contexts has been stymied by the lack of assessments that are both easy to deploy and scalable. This study reports on an initial effort to develop a tablet-based battery of executive function tasks, which were designed and extensively studied in the United States, for use in Kenya. Participants were 193 children, aged 3–6 years old, who attended early childhood development and education centers. The rates of individual task completion were high (65–100%), and 85% of children completed three or more tasks. Assessors indicated that 90% of all task administrations were of acceptable quality. An executive function composite score was approximately normally distributed, despite higher-than-expected floor and ceiling effects on inhibitory control tasks. Children's simple reaction time ($beta$ = –0.20, p = .004), attention-related behaviors during testing ($beta$ = 0.24, p = .0005), and age ($beta$ = –0.24, p = .0009) were all uniquely related to performance on the executive function composite. Results are discussed as they inform efforts to develop valid and reliable measures of executive function skills among young children in developing country contexts.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Interest in measuring executive function skills in young children in low- and middle-income country contexts has been stymied by the lack of assessments that are both easy to deploy and scalable. This study reports on an initial effort to develop a tablet-based battery of executive function tasks, which were designed and extensively studied in the United States, for use in Kenya. Participants were 193 children, aged 3–6 years old, who attended early childhood development and education centers. The rates of individual task completion were high (65–100%), and 85% of children completed three or more tasks. Assessors indicated that 90% of all task administrations were of acceptable quality. An executive function composite score was approximately normally distributed, despite higher-than-expected floor and ceiling effects on inhibitory control tasks. Children's simple reaction time ($beta$ = –0.20, p = .004), attention-related behaviors during testing ($beta$ = 0.24, p = .0005), and age ($beta$ = –0.24, p = .0009) were all uniquely related to performance on the executive function composite. Results are discussed as they inform efforts to develop valid and reliable measures of executive function skills among young children in developing country contexts. |
Glenn P Williams; Anuenue Kukona; Yuki Kamide Spatial narrative context modulates semantic (but not visual) competition during discourse processing Journal Article Journal of Memory and Language, 108 , pp. 1–18, 2019. @article{Williams2019b, title = {Spatial narrative context modulates semantic (but not visual) competition during discourse processing}, author = {Glenn P Williams and Anuenue Kukona and Yuki Kamide}, doi = {10.1016/j.jml.2019.104030}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Journal of Memory and Language}, volume = {108}, pages = {1--18}, publisher = {Elsevier}, abstract = {Recent research highlights the influence of (e.g., task) context on conceptual retrieval. To assess whether conceptual representations are context-dependent rather than static, we investigated the influence of spatial narrative context on accessibility for lexical-semantic information by exploring competition effects. In two visual world experiments, participants listened to narratives describing semantically related (piano-trumpet; Experiment 1) or visually similar (bat-cigarette; Experiment 2) objects in the same or separate narrative locations while viewing arrays displaying these (‘target' and ‘competitor') objects and other distractors. Upon re-mention of the target, we analysed eye movements to the competitor. In Experiment 1, we observed semantic competition only when targets and competitors were described in the same location; in Experiment 2, we observed visual competition regardless of context. We interpret these results as consistent with context-dependent approaches, such that spatial narrative context dampens accessibility for semantic but not visual information in the visual world.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Recent research highlights the influence of (e.g., task) context on conceptual retrieval. To assess whether conceptual representations are context-dependent rather than static, we investigated the influence of spatial narrative context on accessibility for lexical-semantic information by exploring competition effects. In two visual world experiments, participants listened to narratives describing semantically related (piano-trumpet; Experiment 1) or visually similar (bat-cigarette; Experiment 2) objects in the same or separate narrative locations while viewing arrays displaying these (‘target' and ‘competitor') objects and other distractors. Upon re-mention of the target, we analysed eye movements to the competitor. In Experiment 1, we observed semantic competition only when targets and competitors were described in the same location; in Experiment 2, we observed visual competition regardless of context. We interpret these results as consistent with context-dependent approaches, such that spatial narrative context dampens accessibility for semantic but not visual information in the visual world. |
Elin H Williams; Fil Cristino; Emily S Cross Human body motion captures visual attention and elicits pupillary dilation Journal Article Cognition, 193 , pp. 1–10, 2019. @article{Williams2019a, title = {Human body motion captures visual attention and elicits pupillary dilation}, author = {Elin H Williams and Fil Cristino and Emily S Cross}, doi = {10.1016/j.cognition.2019.104029}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Cognition}, volume = {193}, pages = {1--10}, abstract = {The social motivation theory proposes that individuals naturally orient their attention to the social world. Research has documented the rewarding value of social stimuli, such as biological motion, to typically developed individuals. Here, we used complementary eye tracking measures to investigate how social motion cues affect attention and arousal. Specifically, we examined whether viewing the human body moving naturally versus mechanically leads to greater attentional engagement and changes in autonomic arousal (as assessed by pupil size measures). Participants completed an attentional disengagement task in two independent experiments, while pupillary responses were recorded. We found that natural, human-like motion produced greater increases in attention and arousal than mechanical motion, whether the moving agent was human or not. These findings contribute an important piece to our understanding of social motivation by demonstrating that human motion is a key social stimulus that engages visual attention and induces autonomic arousal in the viewer.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } The social motivation theory proposes that individuals naturally orient their attention to the social world. Research has documented the rewarding value of social stimuli, such as biological motion, to typically developed individuals. Here, we used complementary eye tracking measures to investigate how social motion cues affect attention and arousal. Specifically, we examined whether viewing the human body moving naturally versus mechanically leads to greater attentional engagement and changes in autonomic arousal (as assessed by pupil size measures). Participants completed an attentional disengagement task in two independent experiments, while pupillary responses were recorded. We found that natural, human-like motion produced greater increases in attention and arousal than mechanical motion, whether the moving agent was human or not. These findings contribute an important piece to our understanding of social motivation by demonstrating that human motion is a key social stimulus that engages visual attention and induces autonomic arousal in the viewer. |
Chad C Williams; Mitchel Kappen; Cameron D Hassall; Bruce Wright; Olave E Krigolson Thinking theta and alpha: Mechanisms of intuitive and analytical reasoning Journal Article NeuroImage, 189 , pp. 574–580, 2019. @article{Williams2019, title = {Thinking theta and alpha: Mechanisms of intuitive and analytical reasoning}, author = {Chad C Williams and Mitchel Kappen and Cameron D Hassall and Bruce Wright and Olave E Krigolson}, doi = {10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.01.048}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {NeuroImage}, volume = {189}, pages = {574--580}, publisher = {Elsevier Ltd}, abstract = {Humans have a unique ability to engage in different modes of thinking. Intuitive thinking (coined System 1, see Kahneman, 2011) is fast, automatic, and effortless whereas analytical thinking (coined System 2) is slow, contemplative, and effortful. We extend seminal pupillometry research examining these modes of thinking by using electroencephalography (EEG) to decipher their respective underlying neural mechanisms. We demonstrate that System 1 thinking is characterized by an increase in parietal alpha EEG power reflecting autonomic access to long-term memory and a release of attentional resources whereas System 2 thinking is characterized by an increase in frontal theta EEG power indicative of the engagement of cognitive control and working memory processes. Consider our results in terms of an example - a child may need cognitive control and working memory when contemplating a mathematics problem yet an adullt can drive a car with little to no attention by drawing on easily accessed memories. Importantly, the unravelling of intuitive and analytical thinking mechanisms and their neural signatures will provide insight as to how different modes of thinking drive our everyday lives.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Humans have a unique ability to engage in different modes of thinking. Intuitive thinking (coined System 1, see Kahneman, 2011) is fast, automatic, and effortless whereas analytical thinking (coined System 2) is slow, contemplative, and effortful. We extend seminal pupillometry research examining these modes of thinking by using electroencephalography (EEG) to decipher their respective underlying neural mechanisms. We demonstrate that System 1 thinking is characterized by an increase in parietal alpha EEG power reflecting autonomic access to long-term memory and a release of attentional resources whereas System 2 thinking is characterized by an increase in frontal theta EEG power indicative of the engagement of cognitive control and working memory processes. Consider our results in terms of an example - a child may need cognitive control and working memory when contemplating a mathematics problem yet an adullt can drive a car with little to no attention by drawing on easily accessed memories. Importantly, the unravelling of intuitive and analytical thinking mechanisms and their neural signatures will provide insight as to how different modes of thinking drive our everyday lives. |
Konstantin F Willeke; Xiaoguang Tian; Antimo Buonocore; Joachim Bellet; Araceli Ramirez-Cardenas; Ziad M Hafed Memory-guided microsaccades Journal Article Nature Communications, 10 , pp. 1–14, 2019. @article{Willeke2019, title = {Memory-guided microsaccades}, author = {Konstantin F Willeke and Xiaoguang Tian and Antimo Buonocore and Joachim Bellet and Araceli Ramirez-Cardenas and Ziad M Hafed}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-019-11711-x}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Nature Communications}, volume = {10}, pages = {1--14}, publisher = {Springer US}, abstract = {Despite strong evidence to the contrary in the literature, microsaccades are overwhelmingly described as involuntary eye movements. Here we show in both human subjects and monkeys that individual microsaccades of any direction can easily be triggered: (1) on demand, based on an arbitrary instruction, (2) without any special training, (3) without visual guidance by a stimulus, and (4) in a spatially and temporally accurate manner. Subjects voluntarily generated instructed “memory-guided” microsaccades readily, and similarly to how they made normal visually-guided ones. In two monkeys, we also observed midbrain superior colliculus neurons that exhibit movement-related activity bursts exclusively for memory-guided microsaccades, but not for similarly-sized visually-guided movements. Our results demonstrate behavioral and neural evidence for voluntary control over individual microsaccades, supporting recently discovered functional contributions of individual microsaccade generation to visual performance alterations and covert visual selection, as well as observations that microsaccades optimize eye position during high acuity visually-guided behavior.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Despite strong evidence to the contrary in the literature, microsaccades are overwhelmingly described as involuntary eye movements. Here we show in both human subjects and monkeys that individual microsaccades of any direction can easily be triggered: (1) on demand, based on an arbitrary instruction, (2) without any special training, (3) without visual guidance by a stimulus, and (4) in a spatially and temporally accurate manner. Subjects voluntarily generated instructed “memory-guided” microsaccades readily, and similarly to how they made normal visually-guided ones. In two monkeys, we also observed midbrain superior colliculus neurons that exhibit movement-related activity bursts exclusively for memory-guided microsaccades, but not for similarly-sized visually-guided movements. Our results demonstrate behavioral and neural evidence for voluntary control over individual microsaccades, supporting recently discovered functional contributions of individual microsaccade generation to visual performance alterations and covert visual selection, as well as observations that microsaccades optimize eye position during high acuity visually-guided behavior. |
Thomas D W Wilcockson; Emmanuel M Pothos; Andrew C Parrott Substance usage intention does not affect attentional bias: Implications from Ecstasy/MDMA users and alcohol drinkers Journal Article Addictive Behaviors, 88 , pp. 175–181, 2019. @article{Wilcockson2019b, title = {Substance usage intention does not affect attentional bias: Implications from Ecstasy/MDMA users and alcohol drinkers}, author = {Thomas D W Wilcockson and Emmanuel M Pothos and Andrew C Parrott}, doi = {10.1016/j.addbeh.2018.09.001}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Addictive Behaviors}, volume = {88}, pages = {175--181}, publisher = {Elsevier}, abstract = {Background: An attentional bias towards substance-related stimuli has been demonstrated with alcohol drinkers and many other types of substance user. There is evidence to suggest that the strength of an attentional bias may vary as a result of context (or use intention), especially within Ecstasy/MDMA users. Objective: Our aim was to empirically investigate attentional biases by observing the affect that use intention plays in recreational MDMA users and compare the findings with that of alcohol users. Method: Regular alcohol drinkers were compared with MDMA users. Performance was assessed for each group separately using two versions of an eye-tracking attentional bias task with pairs of matched neutral, and alcohol or MDMA-related visual stimuli. Dwell time was recorded for alcohol or MDMA. Participants were tested twice, when intending and not intending to use MDMA or alcohol. Note, participants in the alcohol group did not complete any tasks which involved MDMA-related stimuli and vice versa. Results: Significant attentional biases were found with both MDMA and alcohol users for respective substance-related stimuli, but not control stimuli. Critically, use intention did not affect attentional biases. Attentional biases were demonstrated with both MDMA users and alcohol drinkers when usage was and was not intended. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate the robust nature of attentional biases i.e. once an attentional bias has developed, it is not readily affected by intention.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Background: An attentional bias towards substance-related stimuli has been demonstrated with alcohol drinkers and many other types of substance user. There is evidence to suggest that the strength of an attentional bias may vary as a result of context (or use intention), especially within Ecstasy/MDMA users. Objective: Our aim was to empirically investigate attentional biases by observing the affect that use intention plays in recreational MDMA users and compare the findings with that of alcohol users. Method: Regular alcohol drinkers were compared with MDMA users. Performance was assessed for each group separately using two versions of an eye-tracking attentional bias task with pairs of matched neutral, and alcohol or MDMA-related visual stimuli. Dwell time was recorded for alcohol or MDMA. Participants were tested twice, when intending and not intending to use MDMA or alcohol. Note, participants in the alcohol group did not complete any tasks which involved MDMA-related stimuli and vice versa. Results: Significant attentional biases were found with both MDMA and alcohol users for respective substance-related stimuli, but not control stimuli. Critically, use intention did not affect attentional biases. Attentional biases were demonstrated with both MDMA users and alcohol drinkers when usage was and was not intended. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate the robust nature of attentional biases i.e. once an attentional bias has developed, it is not readily affected by intention. |
Thomas D W Wilcockson; Diako Mardanbegi; Peter Sawyer; Hans Gellersen; Baiqiang Xia; Trevor J Crawford Oculomotor and inhibitory control in dyslexia Journal Article Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience, 12 , pp. 1–10, 2019. @article{Wilcockson2019a, title = {Oculomotor and inhibitory control in dyslexia}, author = {Thomas D W Wilcockson and Diako Mardanbegi and Peter Sawyer and Hans Gellersen and Baiqiang Xia and Trevor J Crawford}, doi = {10.3389/fnsys.2018.00066}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience}, volume = {12}, pages = {1--10}, abstract = {Previous research has suggested that people with dyslexia may have an impairment of inhibitory control. The oculomotor system is vulnerable to interference at various levels of the system, from high level cognitive control to peripheral neural pathways. Therefore, in this work we examined two forms of oculomotor inhibition and two forms of oculomotor interference at high and low levels of the control system. This study employed a prosaccade, antisaccade, and a recent distractor eyemovement task (akin to a spatial negative priming) in order to explore high level cognitive control and the inhibition of a competing distractor. To explore low-level control we examined the frequency of microsaccades and post-saccade oscillations. The findings demonstrated that dyslexics have an impairment of volitional inhibitory control, reflected in the antisaccade task. In contrast, inhibitory control at the location of a competing distractor was equivalent in the dyslexic and non-dyslexic groups. There was no difference in the frequency of microsaccades between the two groups. However, the dyslexic group generated larger microsaccades prior to the target onset in the prosaccade and the antisaccade tasks.The groups did not differ in the frequency or in the morphology of the post-saccade oscillations. These findings reveal that the word reading and attentional difficulties of dyslexic readers cannot be attributed to an impairment in the inhibition of a visual distractor or interference from low-level oculomotor instability. We propose that the inhibitory impairment in dyslexia occurs at a higher cognitive level, perhaps in relation to the process of attentional disengagement.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Previous research has suggested that people with dyslexia may have an impairment of inhibitory control. The oculomotor system is vulnerable to interference at various levels of the system, from high level cognitive control to peripheral neural pathways. Therefore, in this work we examined two forms of oculomotor inhibition and two forms of oculomotor interference at high and low levels of the control system. This study employed a prosaccade, antisaccade, and a recent distractor eyemovement task (akin to a spatial negative priming) in order to explore high level cognitive control and the inhibition of a competing distractor. To explore low-level control we examined the frequency of microsaccades and post-saccade oscillations. The findings demonstrated that dyslexics have an impairment of volitional inhibitory control, reflected in the antisaccade task. In contrast, inhibitory control at the location of a competing distractor was equivalent in the dyslexic and non-dyslexic groups. There was no difference in the frequency of microsaccades between the two groups. However, the dyslexic group generated larger microsaccades prior to the target onset in the prosaccade and the antisaccade tasks.The groups did not differ in the frequency or in the morphology of the post-saccade oscillations. These findings reveal that the word reading and attentional difficulties of dyslexic readers cannot be attributed to an impairment in the inhibition of a visual distractor or interference from low-level oculomotor instability. We propose that the inhibitory impairment in dyslexia occurs at a higher cognitive level, perhaps in relation to the process of attentional disengagement. |
Anne M Wienholz Amy Lieberman Semantic processing of adjectives and nouns in American Sign Language: Effects of reference ambiguity and word order across development Journal Article Journal of Cultural Cognitive Science, pp. 1–18, 2019. @article{WienholzAmyLieberman2019, title = {Semantic processing of adjectives and nouns in American Sign Language: Effects of reference ambiguity and word order across development}, author = {Anne M {Wienholz Amy Lieberman}}, doi = {10.1007/s41809-019-00024-6}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Journal of Cultural Cognitive Science}, pages = {1--18}, abstract = {When processing spoken language sentences , listeners continuously make and revise predictions about the upcoming linguistic signal. In contrast, during comprehension of American Sign Language (ASL), signers must simultaneously attend to the unfolding linguistic signal and the surrounding scene via the visual modality. This may affect how signers activate potential lexical candidates and allocate visual attention as a sentence unfolds. To determine how signers resolve referential ambiguity during real-time comprehension of ASL adjectives and nouns, we presented deaf adults (n = 18, 19-61 years) and deaf children (n = 20, 4-8 years) with videos of ASL sentences in a visual world paradigm. Sentences had either an adjective-noun (e.g., ''SEE YELLOW WHAT? FLOWER'') or a noun-adjective (e.g., ''SEE FLOWER WHICH? YELLOW'') structure. The degree of ambiguity in the visual scene was manipulated at the adjective and noun levels (e.g., including one or more yellow items and one or more flowers in the visual array). We investigated effects of ambiguity and word order on target looking at early and late points in the sentence. Analysis revealed that adults and children made anticipatory looks to a target when it could be identified early in the sentence. Further, signers looked more to potential lexical candidates than to unrelated competitors in the early window, and more to matched than unrelated competitors in the late window. Chil-dren's gaze patterns largely aligned with those of adults, although they made fewer anticipatory fixations to the target in the early window and were more susceptible to competitors in the late window. Together, these findings suggest that signers allocate referential attention strategically based on the amount and type of ambiguity at different points in the sentence when processing adjectives and nouns in ASL.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } When processing spoken language sentences , listeners continuously make and revise predictions about the upcoming linguistic signal. In contrast, during comprehension of American Sign Language (ASL), signers must simultaneously attend to the unfolding linguistic signal and the surrounding scene via the visual modality. This may affect how signers activate potential lexical candidates and allocate visual attention as a sentence unfolds. To determine how signers resolve referential ambiguity during real-time comprehension of ASL adjectives and nouns, we presented deaf adults (n = 18, 19-61 years) and deaf children (n = 20, 4-8 years) with videos of ASL sentences in a visual world paradigm. Sentences had either an adjective-noun (e.g., ''SEE YELLOW WHAT? FLOWER'') or a noun-adjective (e.g., ''SEE FLOWER WHICH? YELLOW'') structure. The degree of ambiguity in the visual scene was manipulated at the adjective and noun levels (e.g., including one or more yellow items and one or more flowers in the visual array). We investigated effects of ambiguity and word order on target looking at early and late points in the sentence. Analysis revealed that adults and children made anticipatory looks to a target when it could be identified early in the sentence. Further, signers looked more to potential lexical candidates than to unrelated competitors in the early window, and more to matched than unrelated competitors in the late window. Chil-dren's gaze patterns largely aligned with those of adults, although they made fewer anticipatory fixations to the target in the early window and were more susceptible to competitors in the late window. Together, these findings suggest that signers allocate referential attention strategically based on the amount and type of ambiguity at different points in the sentence when processing adjectives and nouns in ASL. |
Bogusława Whyatt In search of directionality effects in the translation process and in the end product Journal Article Translation, Cognition & Behavior, 2 (1), pp. 79–100, 2019. @article{Whyatt2019, title = {In search of directionality effects in the translation process and in the end product}, author = {Bogus{ł}awa Whyatt}, doi = {10.1075/tcb.00020.why}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Translation, Cognition & Behavior}, volume = {2}, number = {1}, pages = {79--100}, abstract = {This article tackles directionality as one of the most contentious issues in translation studies, still without solid empirical footing. The research presented here shows that, to understand directionality effects on the process of translation and its end product, performance in L2 → L1 and L1 → L2 translation needs to be compared in a specific setting in which more factors than directionality are considered-especially text type. For 26 professional translators who participated in an experimental study, L1 → L2 translation did not take significantly more time than L2 → L1 translation and the end products of both needed improvement from proofreaders who are native speakers of the target language. A close analysis of corrections made by the proofreaders shows that different aspects of translation quality are affected by directionality. A case study of two translators who produced high quality L1 → L2 translations reveals that their performance was affected more by text type than by directionality.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } This article tackles directionality as one of the most contentious issues in translation studies, still without solid empirical footing. The research presented here shows that, to understand directionality effects on the process of translation and its end product, performance in L2 → L1 and L1 → L2 translation needs to be compared in a specific setting in which more factors than directionality are considered-especially text type. For 26 professional translators who participated in an experimental study, L1 → L2 translation did not take significantly more time than L2 → L1 translation and the end products of both needed improvement from proofreaders who are native speakers of the target language. A close analysis of corrections made by the proofreaders shows that different aspects of translation quality are affected by directionality. A case study of two translators who produced high quality L1 → L2 translations reveals that their performance was affected more by text type than by directionality. |
Veronica Whitford; Debra Titone Lexical entrenchment and cross-language activation: Two sides of the same coin for bilingual reading across the adult lifespan Journal Article Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 22 (1), pp. 58–77, 2019. @article{Whitford2019, title = {Lexical entrenchment and cross-language activation: Two sides of the same coin for bilingual reading across the adult lifespan}, author = {Veronica Whitford and Debra Titone}, doi = {10.1017/S1366728917000554}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Bilingualism: Language and Cognition}, volume = {22}, number = {1}, pages = {58--77}, abstract = {We used eye movement measures of paragraph reading to examine whether two consequences of bilingualism, namely, reduced lexical entrenchment (i.e., reduced lexical quality and accessibility arising from less absolute language experience) and cross-language activation (i.e., simultaneous co-activation of target- and non-target-language lexical representations) interact during word processing in bilingual younger and older adults. Specifically, we focused on the interaction between word frequency (a predictor of lexical entrenchment) and cross-language neighborhood density (a predictor of cross-language activation) during first- and second-language reading. Across both languages and both age groups, greater cross-language (and within-language) neighborhood density facilitated word processing, indexed by smaller word frequency effects. Moreover, word frequency effects and, to a lesser extent, cross-language neighborhood density effects were larger in older versus younger adults, potentially reflecting age-related changes in lexical accessibility and cognitive control. Thus, lexical entrenchment and cross-language activation multiplicatively influence bilingual word processing across the adult lifespan.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } We used eye movement measures of paragraph reading to examine whether two consequences of bilingualism, namely, reduced lexical entrenchment (i.e., reduced lexical quality and accessibility arising from less absolute language experience) and cross-language activation (i.e., simultaneous co-activation of target- and non-target-language lexical representations) interact during word processing in bilingual younger and older adults. Specifically, we focused on the interaction between word frequency (a predictor of lexical entrenchment) and cross-language neighborhood density (a predictor of cross-language activation) during first- and second-language reading. Across both languages and both age groups, greater cross-language (and within-language) neighborhood density facilitated word processing, indexed by smaller word frequency effects. Moreover, word frequency effects and, to a lesser extent, cross-language neighborhood density effects were larger in older versus younger adults, potentially reflecting age-related changes in lexical accessibility and cognitive control. Thus, lexical entrenchment and cross-language activation multiplicatively influence bilingual word processing across the adult lifespan. |
Kael J White; Ethan S Bromberg-Martin; Sarah R Heilbronner; Kaining Zhang; Julia Pai; Suzanne N Haber; Ilya E Monosov A neural network for information seeking Journal Article Nature Communications, 10 (1), pp. 1–19, 2019. @article{White2019b, title = {A neural network for information seeking}, author = {Kael J White and Ethan S Bromberg-Martin and Sarah R Heilbronner and Kaining Zhang and Julia Pai and Suzanne N Haber and Ilya E Monosov}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-019-13135-z}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Nature Communications}, volume = {10}, number = {1}, pages = {1--19}, publisher = {Springer US}, abstract = {Humans and other animals often show a strong desire to know the uncertain rewards their future has in store, even when they cannot use this information to influence the outcome. However, it is unknown how the brain predicts opportunities to gain information and motivates this information-seeking behavior. Here we show that neurons in a network of interconnected subregions of primate anterior cingulate cortex and basal ganglia predict the moment of gaining information about uncertain rewards. Spontaneous increases in their information prediction signals are followed by gaze shifts toward objects associated with resolving uncertainty, and pharmacologically disrupting this network reduces the motivation to seek information. These findings demonstrate a cortico-basal ganglia mechanism responsible for motivating actions to resolve uncertainty by seeking knowledge about the future.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Humans and other animals often show a strong desire to know the uncertain rewards their future has in store, even when they cannot use this information to influence the outcome. However, it is unknown how the brain predicts opportunities to gain information and motivates this information-seeking behavior. Here we show that neurons in a network of interconnected subregions of primate anterior cingulate cortex and basal ganglia predict the moment of gaining information about uncertain rewards. Spontaneous increases in their information prediction signals are followed by gaze shifts toward objects associated with resolving uncertainty, and pharmacologically disrupting this network reduces the motivation to seek information. These findings demonstrate a cortico-basal ganglia mechanism responsible for motivating actions to resolve uncertainty by seeking knowledge about the future. |
Brian J White; Laurent Itti; Douglas P Munoz Superior colliculus encodes visual saliency during smooth pursuit eye movements Journal Article European Journal of Neuroscience, pp. 1–11, 2019. @article{White2019a, title = {Superior colliculus encodes visual saliency during smooth pursuit eye movements}, author = {Brian J White and Laurent Itti and Douglas P Munoz}, doi = {10.1111/ejn.14432}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {European Journal of Neuroscience}, pages = {1--11}, abstract = {The saliency map has played a long-standing role in models and theories of visual attention, and it is now supported by neurobiological evidence from several cortical and subcortical brain areas. While visual saliency is computed during moments of active fixation, it is not known whether the same is true while engaged in smooth pursuit of a moving stimulus, which is very common in real-world vision. Here, we examined extrafoveal saliency coding in the superior colliculus, a midbrain area associated with attention and gaze, during smooth pursuit eye movements. We found that SC neurons from the superficial visual layers showed a robust representation of peripheral saliency evoked by a conspicuous stimulus embedded in a wide-field array of goal-irrelevant stimuli. In contrast, visuomotor neurons from the intermediate saccade-related layers showed a poor saliency representation, even though most of these neurons were visually responsive during smooth pursuit. These results confirm and extend previous findings that place the SCs in a unique role as a saliency map that monitors peripheral vision during foveation of stationary and now moving objects.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } The saliency map has played a long-standing role in models and theories of visual attention, and it is now supported by neurobiological evidence from several cortical and subcortical brain areas. While visual saliency is computed during moments of active fixation, it is not known whether the same is true while engaged in smooth pursuit of a moving stimulus, which is very common in real-world vision. Here, we examined extrafoveal saliency coding in the superior colliculus, a midbrain area associated with attention and gaze, during smooth pursuit eye movements. We found that SC neurons from the superficial visual layers showed a robust representation of peripheral saliency evoked by a conspicuous stimulus embedded in a wide-field array of goal-irrelevant stimuli. In contrast, visuomotor neurons from the intermediate saccade-related layers showed a poor saliency representation, even though most of these neurons were visually responsive during smooth pursuit. These results confirm and extend previous findings that place the SCs in a unique role as a saliency map that monitors peripheral vision during foveation of stationary and now moving objects. |
Alex L White; John Palmer; Geoffrey M Boynton Visual word recognition: Evidence for a serial bottleneck in lexical access Journal Article Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, pp. 1–18, 2019. @article{White2019, title = {Visual word recognition: Evidence for a serial bottleneck in lexical access}, author = {Alex L White and John Palmer and Geoffrey M Boynton}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics}, pages = {1--18}, publisher = {Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics}, abstract = {Reading is a demanding task, constrained by inherent processing capacity limits. Do those capacity limits allow for multiple words to be recognized in parallel? In a recent study, we measured semantic categorization accuracy for nouns presented in pairs. The words were replaced by post-masks after an interval that was set to each subject's threshold, such that with focused attention they could categorize one word with ~80% accuracy. When subjects tried to divide attention between both words, their accuracy was so impaired that it supported a serial processing model: on each trial, subjects could categorize one word but had to guess about the other. In the experiments reported here, we investigated how our previous result generalizes across two tasks that require lexical access but vary in the depth of semantic processing (semantic categorization and lexical decision), and across different masking stimuli, word lengths, lexical frequencies and visual field positions. In all cases, the serial processing model was supported by two effects: (1) a sufficiently large accuracy deficit with divided compared to focused attention; and (2) a trial-by-trial stimulus processing tradeoff, mean- ing that the response to one word was more likely to be correct if the response to the other was incorrect. However, when the task was to detect colored letters, neither of those effects occurred, even though the post-masks limited accuracy in the same way. Altogether, the results are consistent with the hypothesis that visual processing of words is parallel but lexical access is serial.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Reading is a demanding task, constrained by inherent processing capacity limits. Do those capacity limits allow for multiple words to be recognized in parallel? In a recent study, we measured semantic categorization accuracy for nouns presented in pairs. The words were replaced by post-masks after an interval that was set to each subject's threshold, such that with focused attention they could categorize one word with ~80% accuracy. When subjects tried to divide attention between both words, their accuracy was so impaired that it supported a serial processing model: on each trial, subjects could categorize one word but had to guess about the other. In the experiments reported here, we investigated how our previous result generalizes across two tasks that require lexical access but vary in the depth of semantic processing (semantic categorization and lexical decision), and across different masking stimuli, word lengths, lexical frequencies and visual field positions. In all cases, the serial processing model was supported by two effects: (1) a sufficiently large accuracy deficit with divided compared to focused attention; and (2) a trial-by-trial stimulus processing tradeoff, mean- ing that the response to one word was more likely to be correct if the response to the other was incorrect. However, when the task was to detect colored letters, neither of those effects occurred, even though the post-masks limited accuracy in the same way. Altogether, the results are consistent with the hypothesis that visual processing of words is parallel but lexical access is serial. |
Jacob A Westerberg; Michele A Cox; Kacie Dougherty; Alexander Maier V1 microcircuit dynamics: Altered signal propagation suggests intracortical origins for adaptation in response to visual repetition Journal Article Journal of Neurophysiology, 121 (5), pp. 1938–1952, 2019. @article{Westerberg2019, title = {V1 microcircuit dynamics: Altered signal propagation suggests intracortical origins for adaptation in response to visual repetition}, author = {Jacob A Westerberg and Michele A Cox and Kacie Dougherty and Alexander Maier}, doi = {10.1152/jn.00113.2019}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Journal of Neurophysiology}, volume = {121}, number = {5}, pages = {1938--1952}, abstract = {Repetitive visual stimulation profoundly changes sensory processing in the primary visual cortex (V1). We show how the associated adaptive changes are linked to an altered flow of synaptic activation across the V1 laminar microcircuit. Using repeated visual stimulation, we recorded layer-specific responses in V1 of two fixating monkeys. We found that repetition-related spiking suppression was most pronounced outside granular V1 layers that receive the main retinogeniculate input. This repetition-related response suppression was robust to alternating stimuli between the eyes, in line with the notion that repetition-related adaptation is predominantly of cortical origin. Most importantly, current source density (CSD) analysis, which provides an estimate of local net depolarization, revealed that synaptic processing during repeated stimulation was most profoundly affected within supragranular layers, which harbor the bulk of corticocortical connections. Direct comparison of the temporal evolution of laminar CSD and spiking activity showed that stimulus repetition first affected supragranular synaptic currents, which translated into a reduction of stimulus-evoked spiking across layers. Together, these results suggest that repetition induces an altered state of intracortical processing that underpins visual adaptation.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Repetitive visual stimulation profoundly changes sensory processing in the primary visual cortex (V1). We show how the associated adaptive changes are linked to an altered flow of synaptic activation across the V1 laminar microcircuit. Using repeated visual stimulation, we recorded layer-specific responses in V1 of two fixating monkeys. We found that repetition-related spiking suppression was most pronounced outside granular V1 layers that receive the main retinogeniculate input. This repetition-related response suppression was robust to alternating stimuli between the eyes, in line with the notion that repetition-related adaptation is predominantly of cortical origin. Most importantly, current source density (CSD) analysis, which provides an estimate of local net depolarization, revealed that synaptic processing during repeated stimulation was most profoundly affected within supragranular layers, which harbor the bulk of corticocortical connections. Direct comparison of the temporal evolution of laminar CSD and spiking activity showed that stimulus repetition first affected supragranular synaptic currents, which translated into a reduction of stimulus-evoked spiking across layers. Together, these results suggest that repetition induces an altered state of intracortical processing that underpins visual adaptation. |
Jessica Werthmann; Mima Simic; Anna Konstantellou; Phoebe Mansfield; Daniela Mercado; Welmoed van Ens; Ulrike Schmidt Same, same but different: Attention bias for food cues in adults and adolescents with anorexia nervosa Journal Article International Journal of Eating Disorders, 52 (6), pp. 681–690, 2019. @article{Werthmann2019, title = {Same, same but different: Attention bias for food cues in adults and adolescents with anorexia nervosa}, author = {Jessica Werthmann and Mima Simic and Anna Konstantellou and Phoebe Mansfield and Daniela Mercado and Welmoed van Ens and Ulrike Schmidt}, doi = {10.1002/eat.23064}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {International Journal of Eating Disorders}, volume = {52}, number = {6}, pages = {681--690}, abstract = {Objective: Attention processing for food may be biased in people with Anorexia Nervosa (AN). However, previous studies have had inconsistent results. This is likely to be due to indirect assessment of attention, which does not inform on the underlying attention processes, and/or the heterogeneity of participants across studies, testing either adults or adolescents with AN, that is, people at very different developmental and illness stages. Method: Eye-tracking was employed as a direct assessment of attention during a visual probe task with food versus non-food pictures. Attention bias for food was measured in 39 adults and 34 adolescents with AN and in 53 adults and 31 adolescents without AN. Results: All participants had a direction bias for food, specifically for high-calorie food. However, adults with AN subsequently avoided maintaining attention on food versus non-food cues, compared to adults without AN. Adolescents with or without AN demonstrated increased attention maintenance on food versus non-food cues, and, contrary to our hypothesis, did not differ in their attention bias for food cues. Accordingly, adults with AN differed significantly from adolescents with AN in attention maintenance for food cues: while adolescents with AN showed significantly increased attention maintenance on food stimuli, adults avoided maintaining attention on food cues. Discussion: Adults with AN may apply attention strategies to facilitate restrictive eating. This strategy is absent in adolescents with AN. This difference in food-related attention bias between adolescents and adults with AN suggests that attention biases develop over time as the illness progresses.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Objective: Attention processing for food may be biased in people with Anorexia Nervosa (AN). However, previous studies have had inconsistent results. This is likely to be due to indirect assessment of attention, which does not inform on the underlying attention processes, and/or the heterogeneity of participants across studies, testing either adults or adolescents with AN, that is, people at very different developmental and illness stages. Method: Eye-tracking was employed as a direct assessment of attention during a visual probe task with food versus non-food pictures. Attention bias for food was measured in 39 adults and 34 adolescents with AN and in 53 adults and 31 adolescents without AN. Results: All participants had a direction bias for food, specifically for high-calorie food. However, adults with AN subsequently avoided maintaining attention on food versus non-food cues, compared to adults without AN. Adolescents with or without AN demonstrated increased attention maintenance on food versus non-food cues, and, contrary to our hypothesis, did not differ in their attention bias for food cues. Accordingly, adults with AN differed significantly from adolescents with AN in attention maintenance for food cues: while adolescents with AN showed significantly increased attention maintenance on food stimuli, adults avoided maintaining attention on food cues. Discussion: Adults with AN may apply attention strategies to facilitate restrictive eating. This strategy is absent in adolescents with AN. This difference in food-related attention bias between adolescents and adults with AN suggests that attention biases develop over time as the illness progresses. |
Stephanie Wermelinger; Anja Gampe; Moritz M Daum The dynamics of the interrelation of perception and action across the life span Journal Article Psychological Research, 83 , pp. 116–131, 2019. @article{Wermelinger2019, title = {The dynamics of the interrelation of perception and action across the life span}, author = {Stephanie Wermelinger and Anja Gampe and Moritz M Daum}, doi = {10.1007/s00426-018-1058-8}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Psychological Research}, volume = {83}, pages = {116--131}, publisher = {Springer Berlin Heidelberg}, abstract = {Successful social interaction relies on the interaction partners' perception, anticipation and understanding of their respective actions. The perception of a particular action and the capability to produce this action share a common representational ground. So far, no study has explored the interrelation between action perception and production across the life span using the same tasks and the same measurement techniques. This study was designed to fill this gap. Participants between 3 and 80 years (N = 214) observed two multistep actions of different familiarities and then reproduced the according actions. Using eye tracking, we measured participants' action perception via their prediction of action goals during observation. To capture subtler perceptual processes, we additionally analysed the dynamics and recurrent patterns within participants' gaze behaviour. Action production was assessed via the accuracy of the participants' reproduction of the observed actions. No age-related differences were found for the perception of the familiar action, where participants of all ages could rely on previous experience. In the unfamiliar action, where participants had less experience, action goals were predicted more frequently with increasing age. The recurrence in participants' gaze behaviour was related to both, age and action production: gaze behaviour was more recurrent (i.e. less flexible) in very young and very old participants, and lower levels of recurrence (i.e. greater flexibility) were related to higher scores in action production across participants. Incorporating a life-span perspective, this study illustrates the dynamic nature of developmental differences in the associations of action production with action perception.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Successful social interaction relies on the interaction partners' perception, anticipation and understanding of their respective actions. The perception of a particular action and the capability to produce this action share a common representational ground. So far, no study has explored the interrelation between action perception and production across the life span using the same tasks and the same measurement techniques. This study was designed to fill this gap. Participants between 3 and 80 years (N = 214) observed two multistep actions of different familiarities and then reproduced the according actions. Using eye tracking, we measured participants' action perception via their prediction of action goals during observation. To capture subtler perceptual processes, we additionally analysed the dynamics and recurrent patterns within participants' gaze behaviour. Action production was assessed via the accuracy of the participants' reproduction of the observed actions. No age-related differences were found for the perception of the familiar action, where participants of all ages could rely on previous experience. In the unfamiliar action, where participants had less experience, action goals were predicted more frequently with increasing age. The recurrence in participants' gaze behaviour was related to both, age and action production: gaze behaviour was more recurrent (i.e. less flexible) in very young and very old participants, and lower levels of recurrence (i.e. greater flexibility) were related to higher scores in action production across participants. Incorporating a life-span perspective, this study illustrates the dynamic nature of developmental differences in the associations of action production with action perception. |
Shannon E Weissman; Alexander Lithopoulos; Jennifer R Tomasone; Amy E Latimer-Cheung Exploring gaze behaviors toward images of physically active individuals with a physical disability Journal Article Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 45 , pp. 1–9, 2019. @article{Weissman2019, title = {Exploring gaze behaviors toward images of physically active individuals with a physical disability}, author = {Shannon E Weissman and Alexander Lithopoulos and Jennifer R Tomasone and Amy E Latimer-Cheung}, doi = {10.1016/j.psychsport.2019.05.002}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Psychology of Sport and Exercise}, volume = {45}, pages = {1--9}, publisher = {Elsevier}, abstract = {Objectives: The study had two main objectives: (1) to characterize able-bodied adults' gaze behaviors when viewing images of people with and without physical disabilities and in turn, (2) to examine whether portraying a person with a disability as physically active (shown participating in physical activity [i.e, sport/exercise]) versus inactive (not engaging in physical activity) affects gaze behavior. The study also had an exploratory objective: to examine the specific physical traits able-bodied adults gaze at when viewing active versus inactive people with physical disabilities. Design: Within-subjects cross-sectional design consisting of 63 men and women without self-reported disabilities (Mage = 21.22 ± 2.52 years). Method: Participants viewed a series of 48 images for 5 s each. Images featured an able-bodied or disabled, active or inactive model. Eye movements were recorded while viewing each image. Differences in gaze behavior were assessed using a series of repeated measures multivariate factorial ANOVAs with Bonferroni-corrected pairwise comparisons to decompose interactions. Results: Participants gazed significantly more at images of individuals with physical disabilities than images of able-bodied individuals. Furthermore, participants gazed significantly less at images portraying active versus inactive individuals with physical disabilities. A greater proportion of gaze behavior was directed toward the assistive device when the person with a disability was portrayed as active versus inactive. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that able-bodied adults may gaze less at images of individuals with physical disabilities who are depicted as active versus inactive. Further research is needed to examine how these gaze patterns translate to live social situations.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Objectives: The study had two main objectives: (1) to characterize able-bodied adults' gaze behaviors when viewing images of people with and without physical disabilities and in turn, (2) to examine whether portraying a person with a disability as physically active (shown participating in physical activity [i.e, sport/exercise]) versus inactive (not engaging in physical activity) affects gaze behavior. The study also had an exploratory objective: to examine the specific physical traits able-bodied adults gaze at when viewing active versus inactive people with physical disabilities. Design: Within-subjects cross-sectional design consisting of 63 men and women without self-reported disabilities (Mage = 21.22 ± 2.52 years). Method: Participants viewed a series of 48 images for 5 s each. Images featured an able-bodied or disabled, active or inactive model. Eye movements were recorded while viewing each image. Differences in gaze behavior were assessed using a series of repeated measures multivariate factorial ANOVAs with Bonferroni-corrected pairwise comparisons to decompose interactions. Results: Participants gazed significantly more at images of individuals with physical disabilities than images of able-bodied individuals. Furthermore, participants gazed significantly less at images portraying active versus inactive individuals with physical disabilities. A greater proportion of gaze behavior was directed toward the assistive device when the person with a disability was portrayed as active versus inactive. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that able-bodied adults may gaze less at images of individuals with physical disabilities who are depicted as active versus inactive. Further research is needed to examine how these gaze patterns translate to live social situations. |
Kira Wegner-Clemens; Johannes Rennig; John F Magnotti; Michael S Beauchamp Using principal component analysis to characterize eye movement fixation patterns during face viewing Journal Article Journal of vision, 19 (13), pp. 1–15, 2019. @article{Wegner-Clemens2019, title = {Using principal component analysis to characterize eye movement fixation patterns during face viewing}, author = {Kira Wegner-Clemens and Johannes Rennig and John F Magnotti and Michael S Beauchamp}, doi = {10.1167/19.13.2}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Journal of vision}, volume = {19}, number = {13}, pages = {1--15}, abstract = {Human faces contain dozens of visual features, but viewers preferentially fixate just two of them: the eyes and the mouth. Face-viewing behavior is usually studied by manually drawing regions of interest (ROIs) on the eyes, mouth, and other facial features. ROI analyses are problematic as they require arbitrary experimenter decisions about the location and number of ROIs, and they discard data because all fixations within each ROI are treated identically and fixations outside of any ROI are ignored. We introduce a data-driven method that uses principal component analysis (PCA) to characterize human face-viewing behavior. All fixations are entered into a PCA, and the resulting eigenimages provide a quantitative measure of variability in face-viewing behavior. In fixation data from 41 participants viewing four face exemplars under three stimulus and task conditions, the first principal component (PC1) separated the eye and mouth regions of the face. PC1 scores varied widely across participants, revealing large individual differences in preference for eye or mouth fixation, and PC1 scores varied by condition, revealing the importance of behavioral task in determining fixation location. Linear mixed effects modeling of the PC1 scores demonstrated that task condition accounted for 41% of the variance, individual differences accounted for 28% of the variance, and stimulus exemplar for less than 1% of the variance. Fixation eigenimages provide a useful tool for investigating the relative importance of the different factors that drive human face-viewing behavior.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Human faces contain dozens of visual features, but viewers preferentially fixate just two of them: the eyes and the mouth. Face-viewing behavior is usually studied by manually drawing regions of interest (ROIs) on the eyes, mouth, and other facial features. ROI analyses are problematic as they require arbitrary experimenter decisions about the location and number of ROIs, and they discard data because all fixations within each ROI are treated identically and fixations outside of any ROI are ignored. We introduce a data-driven method that uses principal component analysis (PCA) to characterize human face-viewing behavior. All fixations are entered into a PCA, and the resulting eigenimages provide a quantitative measure of variability in face-viewing behavior. In fixation data from 41 participants viewing four face exemplars under three stimulus and task conditions, the first principal component (PC1) separated the eye and mouth regions of the face. PC1 scores varied widely across participants, revealing large individual differences in preference for eye or mouth fixation, and PC1 scores varied by condition, revealing the importance of behavioral task in determining fixation location. Linear mixed effects modeling of the PC1 scores demonstrated that task condition accounted for 41% of the variance, individual differences accounted for 28% of the variance, and stimulus exemplar for less than 1% of the variance. Fixation eigenimages provide a useful tool for investigating the relative importance of the different factors that drive human face-viewing behavior. |
Tamara L Watson; Markus Lappe Fixation related shifts of perceptual localization counter to saccade direction Journal Article Journal of Vision, 19 (13), pp. 1–13, 2019. @article{Watson2019, title = {Fixation related shifts of perceptual localization counter to saccade direction}, author = {Tamara L Watson and Markus Lappe}, doi = {10.1167/19.13.18}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Journal of Vision}, volume = {19}, number = {13}, pages = {1--13}, abstract = {Perisaccadic compression of the perceived location of flashed visual stimuli toward a saccade target occurs from about 50 ms before a saccade. Here we show that between 150 and 80 ms before a saccade, perceived locations are shifted toward the fixation point. To establish the cause of the "reverse" presaccadic perceptual distortion, participants completed several versions of a saccade task. After a cue to saccade, a probe bar stimulus was briefly presented within the saccade trajectory. In Experiment 1 participants made (a) overlap saccades with immediate return saccades, (b) overlap saccades, and (c) step saccades. In Experiment 2 participants made gap saccades in complete darkness. In Experiment 3 participants maintained fixation with the probe stimuli masked at various interstimulus intervals. Participants indicated the bar's location using a mouse cursor. In all conditions in Experiment 1 presaccadic compression was preceded by compression toward the initial fixation. In Experiment 2, saccadic compression was maintained but the preceding countercompression was not observed. Stimuli masked at fixation were not compressed. This suggests the two opposing compression effects are related to the act of executing an eye movement. They are also not caused by the requirement to make two sequential saccades ending at the initial fixation location and are not caused by continuous presence of the fixation markers. We propose that countercompression is related to fixation activity and is part of the sequence of motor preparations to execute a cued saccade.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Perisaccadic compression of the perceived location of flashed visual stimuli toward a saccade target occurs from about 50 ms before a saccade. Here we show that between 150 and 80 ms before a saccade, perceived locations are shifted toward the fixation point. To establish the cause of the "reverse" presaccadic perceptual distortion, participants completed several versions of a saccade task. After a cue to saccade, a probe bar stimulus was briefly presented within the saccade trajectory. In Experiment 1 participants made (a) overlap saccades with immediate return saccades, (b) overlap saccades, and (c) step saccades. In Experiment 2 participants made gap saccades in complete darkness. In Experiment 3 participants maintained fixation with the probe stimuli masked at various interstimulus intervals. Participants indicated the bar's location using a mouse cursor. In all conditions in Experiment 1 presaccadic compression was preceded by compression toward the initial fixation. In Experiment 2, saccadic compression was maintained but the preceding countercompression was not observed. Stimuli masked at fixation were not compressed. This suggests the two opposing compression effects are related to the act of executing an eye movement. They are also not caused by the requirement to make two sequential saccades ending at the initial fixation location and are not caused by continuous presence of the fixation markers. We propose that countercompression is related to fixation activity and is part of the sequence of motor preparations to execute a cued saccade. |
Noriya Watanabe; Jamil P Bhanji; Hiroki C Tanabe; Mauricio R Delgado Ventromedial prefrontal cortex contributes to performance success by controlling reward-driven arousal representation in amygdala Journal Article NeuroImage, 202 , pp. 1–8, 2019. @article{Watanabe2019b, title = {Ventromedial prefrontal cortex contributes to performance success by controlling reward-driven arousal representation in amygdala}, author = {Noriya Watanabe and Jamil P Bhanji and Hiroki C Tanabe and Mauricio R Delgado}, doi = {10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116136}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {NeuroImage}, volume = {202}, pages = {1--8}, publisher = {Elsevier Ltd}, abstract = {When preparing for a challenging task, potential rewards can cause physiological arousal that may impair performance. In this case, it is important to control reward-driven arousal while preparing for task execution. We recently examined neural representations of physiological arousal and potential reward magnitude during preparation, and found that performance failure was explained by relatively increased reward representation in the left caudate nucleus and arousal representation in the right amygdala (Watanabe, et al., 2019). Here we examine how prefrontal cortex influences the amygdala and caudate to control reward-driven arousal. Ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) exhibited activity that was negatively correlated with trial-wise physiological arousal change, which identified this region as a potential modulator of amygdala and caudate. Next we tested the VMPFC - amygdala - caudate effective network using dynamic causal modeling (Friston et al., 2003). Post-hoc Bayesian model selection (Friston and Penny, 2011) identified a model that best fit data, in which amygdala activation was suppressively controlled by the VMPFC only in success trials. Furthermore, fixed connectivity strength from VMPFC to amygdala explained individual task performance. These findings highlight the role of effective connectivity from VMPFC to amygdala in order to control arousal during preparation for successful performance.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } When preparing for a challenging task, potential rewards can cause physiological arousal that may impair performance. In this case, it is important to control reward-driven arousal while preparing for task execution. We recently examined neural representations of physiological arousal and potential reward magnitude during preparation, and found that performance failure was explained by relatively increased reward representation in the left caudate nucleus and arousal representation in the right amygdala (Watanabe, et al., 2019). Here we examine how prefrontal cortex influences the amygdala and caudate to control reward-driven arousal. Ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) exhibited activity that was negatively correlated with trial-wise physiological arousal change, which identified this region as a potential modulator of amygdala and caudate. Next we tested the VMPFC - amygdala - caudate effective network using dynamic causal modeling (Friston et al., 2003). Post-hoc Bayesian model selection (Friston and Penny, 2011) identified a model that best fit data, in which amygdala activation was suppressively controlled by the VMPFC only in success trials. Furthermore, fixed connectivity strength from VMPFC to amygdala explained individual task performance. These findings highlight the role of effective connectivity from VMPFC to amygdala in order to control arousal during preparation for successful performance. |
Noriya Watanabe; Jamil P Bhanji; Hideki Ohira; Mauricio R Delgado Reward-driven arousal impacts preparation to perform a task via amygdala-caudate mechanisms Journal Article Cerebral Cortex, 29 (7), pp. 3010–3022, 2019. @article{Watanabe2019a, title = {Reward-driven arousal impacts preparation to perform a task via amygdala-caudate mechanisms}, author = {Noriya Watanabe and Jamil P Bhanji and Hideki Ohira and Mauricio R Delgado}, doi = {10.1093/cercor/bhy166}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Cerebral Cortex}, volume = {29}, number = {7}, pages = {3010--3022}, abstract = {Preparing for a challenging task can increase physiological arousal, in particular when potential incentives are large (e.g., a solo musical performance in front of an audience). Here, we examine how potential reward and its influence on arousal, measured by pupil dynamics, are represented in the brain while preparing for a challenging task. We further ask how neural representations during preparation relate to actual performance. Trials resulting in performance failure were characterized by increased pupil dilation as a function of increasing reward magnitude during preparation. Such failure trials were also associated with activation of the right amygdala representing pupil dilation, and the left caudate representing reward magnitude. Notably, increases in functional connectivity between amygdala and caudate preceded performance failure. These findings highlight increased connectivity between neural regions representing reward and arousal in circumstances where reward-driven arousal impairs performance.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Preparing for a challenging task can increase physiological arousal, in particular when potential incentives are large (e.g., a solo musical performance in front of an audience). Here, we examine how potential reward and its influence on arousal, measured by pupil dynamics, are represented in the brain while preparing for a challenging task. We further ask how neural representations during preparation relate to actual performance. Trials resulting in performance failure were characterized by increased pupil dilation as a function of increasing reward magnitude during preparation. Such failure trials were also associated with activation of the right amygdala representing pupil dilation, and the left caudate representing reward magnitude. Notably, increases in functional connectivity between amygdala and caudate preceded performance failure. These findings highlight increased connectivity between neural regions representing reward and arousal in circumstances where reward-driven arousal impairs performance. |
Leonhard Waschke; Sarah Tune; Jonas Obleser Local cortical desynchronization and pupil-linked arousal differentially shape brain states for optimal sensory performance Journal Article eLife, 8 , pp. 1–27, 2019. @article{Waschke2019, title = {Local cortical desynchronization and pupil-linked arousal differentially shape brain states for optimal sensory performance}, author = {Leonhard Waschke and Sarah Tune and Jonas Obleser}, doi = {10.7554/eLife.51501}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {eLife}, volume = {8}, pages = {1--27}, abstract = {Instantaneous brain states have consequences for our sensation, perception, and behaviour. Fluctuations in arousal and neural desynchronization likely pose perceptually relevant states. However, their relationship and their relative impact on perception is unclear. We here show that, at the single-trial level in humans, local desynchronization in sensory cortex (expressed as time-series entropy) versus pupil-linked arousal differentially impact perceptual processing. While we recorded electroencephalography (EEG) and pupillometry data, stimuli of a demanding auditory discrimination task were presented into states of high or low desynchronization of auditory cortex via a real-time closed-loop setup. Desynchronization and arousal distinctly influenced stimulus-evoked activity and shaped behaviour displaying an inverted u-shaped relationship: States of intermediate desynchronization elicited minimal response bias and fastest responses, while states of intermediate arousal gave rise to highest response sensitivity. Our results speak to a model in which independent states of local desynchronization and global arousal jointly optimise sensory processing and performance.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Instantaneous brain states have consequences for our sensation, perception, and behaviour. Fluctuations in arousal and neural desynchronization likely pose perceptually relevant states. However, their relationship and their relative impact on perception is unclear. We here show that, at the single-trial level in humans, local desynchronization in sensory cortex (expressed as time-series entropy) versus pupil-linked arousal differentially impact perceptual processing. While we recorded electroencephalography (EEG) and pupillometry data, stimuli of a demanding auditory discrimination task were presented into states of high or low desynchronization of auditory cortex via a real-time closed-loop setup. Desynchronization and arousal distinctly influenced stimulus-evoked activity and shaped behaviour displaying an inverted u-shaped relationship: States of intermediate desynchronization elicited minimal response bias and fastest responses, while states of intermediate arousal gave rise to highest response sensitivity. Our results speak to a model in which independent states of local desynchronization and global arousal jointly optimise sensory processing and performance. |
Kayleigh L Warrington; Fang Xie; Jingxin Wang; Kevin B Paterson Aging effects on the visual span for alphabetic stimuli Journal Article Experimental Aging Research, 45 (5), pp. 387–399, 2019. @article{Warrington2019a, title = {Aging effects on the visual span for alphabetic stimuli}, author = {Kayleigh L Warrington and Fang Xie and Jingxin Wang and Kevin B Paterson}, doi = {10.1080/0361073X.2019.1664465}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Experimental Aging Research}, volume = {45}, number = {5}, pages = {387--399}, publisher = {Routledge}, abstract = {Background: The visual span (i.e., an estimate of the number of letters that can be recognized reliably on a single glance) is widely considered to impose an important sensory limitation on reading speed. With the present research, we investigated adult age differences in the visual span for alphabetic stimuli (i.e., Latin alphabetic letters), as aging effects on span size may make an important contribution to slower reading speeds in older adulthood. Method: A trigram task, in which sets of three letters were displayed randomly at specified locations to the right and left of a central fixation point, was used to estimate the size of the visual span for young (18–30 years) and older (65+years) adults while an eye tracker was used to ensure accurate central fixation during stimulus presentation. Participants also completed tests of visual acuity and visual crowding. Results: There were clear age differences in the size of the visual span. The older adults produced visual spans which were on average 1.2 letters smaller than the spans of young adults. However, both young and older adults produced spans smaller than those previously reported. In addition, span size correlated with measures of both visual acuity and measures of visual crowding. Conclusion: The findings show that the size of the visual span is smaller for older compared to young adults. The age-related reduction in span size is relatively small but may make a significant contribution to reduced parafoveal processing during natural reading so may play a role in the greater difficulty experienced by older adult readers. Moreover, these results highlight the importance of carefully controlling fixation location in visual span experiments.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Background: The visual span (i.e., an estimate of the number of letters that can be recognized reliably on a single glance) is widely considered to impose an important sensory limitation on reading speed. With the present research, we investigated adult age differences in the visual span for alphabetic stimuli (i.e., Latin alphabetic letters), as aging effects on span size may make an important contribution to slower reading speeds in older adulthood. Method: A trigram task, in which sets of three letters were displayed randomly at specified locations to the right and left of a central fixation point, was used to estimate the size of the visual span for young (18–30 years) and older (65+years) adults while an eye tracker was used to ensure accurate central fixation during stimulus presentation. Participants also completed tests of visual acuity and visual crowding. Results: There were clear age differences in the size of the visual span. The older adults produced visual spans which were on average 1.2 letters smaller than the spans of young adults. However, both young and older adults produced spans smaller than those previously reported. In addition, span size correlated with measures of both visual acuity and measures of visual crowding. Conclusion: The findings show that the size of the visual span is smaller for older compared to young adults. The age-related reduction in span size is relatively small but may make a significant contribution to reduced parafoveal processing during natural reading so may play a role in the greater difficulty experienced by older adult readers. Moreover, these results highlight the importance of carefully controlling fixation location in visual span experiments. |
Kayleigh L Warrington; Victoria A McGowan; Kevin B Paterson; Sarah J White Effects of adult aging on letter position coding in reading: Evidence from eye movements Journal Article Psychology and Aging, 34 (4), pp. 598–612, 2019. @article{Warrington2019, title = {Effects of adult aging on letter position coding in reading: Evidence from eye movements}, author = {Kayleigh L Warrington and Victoria A McGowan and Kevin B Paterson and Sarah J White}, doi = {10.1037/pag0000342}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Psychology and Aging}, volume = {34}, number = {4}, pages = {598--612}, abstract = {It is well-established that young adults encode letter position flexibly during natural reading. However, given the visual changes that occur with normal aging, it is important to establish whether letter position coding is equivalent across adulthood. In 2 experiments, young (18-25 years) and older (65+ years) adults' were recorded while reading sentences with words containing transposed adjacent letters. Transpositions occurred at beginning (rpoblem), internal (porblem), or end (problme) locations in words. In Experiment 1, these transpositions were present throughout reading. By comparison, Experiment 2 used a gaze-contingent paradigm such that once the reader's gaze moved past a word containing a transposition, this word was shown correctly and did not subsequently change. Both age groups showed normal levels of comprehension for text including words with transposed letters. The pattern of letter transposition effects on eye movements was similar for the young and older adults, with greater increases in reading times when external relative to internal letters were transposed. In Experiment 1, however, effects of word beginning transpositions during rereading were larger for the older adults. In Experiment 2 there were no interactions, confirming that letter position coding is similar for both age groups at least during first-pass processing of words. These findings show that flexibility in letter position encoding during the initial processing of words is preserved across adulthood, although the interaction effect in rereading in Experiment 1 also suggests that older readers may use more stringent postlexical verification processes, for which the accuracy of word beginning letters is especially important.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } It is well-established that young adults encode letter position flexibly during natural reading. However, given the visual changes that occur with normal aging, it is important to establish whether letter position coding is equivalent across adulthood. In 2 experiments, young (18-25 years) and older (65+ years) adults' were recorded while reading sentences with words containing transposed adjacent letters. Transpositions occurred at beginning (rpoblem), internal (porblem), or end (problme) locations in words. In Experiment 1, these transpositions were present throughout reading. By comparison, Experiment 2 used a gaze-contingent paradigm such that once the reader's gaze moved past a word containing a transposition, this word was shown correctly and did not subsequently change. Both age groups showed normal levels of comprehension for text including words with transposed letters. The pattern of letter transposition effects on eye movements was similar for the young and older adults, with greater increases in reading times when external relative to internal letters were transposed. In Experiment 1, however, effects of word beginning transpositions during rereading were larger for the older adults. In Experiment 2 there were no interactions, confirming that letter position coding is similar for both age groups at least during first-pass processing of words. These findings show that flexibility in letter position encoding during the initial processing of words is preserved across adulthood, although the interaction effect in rereading in Experiment 1 also suggests that older readers may use more stringent postlexical verification processes, for which the accuracy of word beginning letters is especially important. |
Zepeng Wang; Wan Zhang; Hongting Zhou Perception-guided multi-channel visual feature fusion for image retargeting Journal Article Signal Processing: Image Communication, 79 , pp. 63–70, 2019. @article{Wang2019n, title = {Perception-guided multi-channel visual feature fusion for image retargeting}, author = {Zepeng Wang and Wan Zhang and Hongting Zhou}, doi = {10.1016/j.image.2019.08.015}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Signal Processing: Image Communication}, volume = {79}, pages = {63--70}, publisher = {Elsevier Ltd}, abstract = {Image retargeting aims to arbitrarily change the aspect ratio of images with minimal visual artifacts, that is, preserving salient regions within the image. Conventional approaches have achieved impressive performance, however, only low-level features are exploited. Besides, these approaches do not take human visual system into account. To solve these problems, we propose a perception-guided multi-channel visual feature fusion method for image retargeting, where human visual perception is well encoded. Specifically, we first construct a series of graphlets which represent salient regions that might attract human attention, where both low-level and high-level features are utilized to describe graphlets. Considering that only a few regions can attract human attention when observing the image, we engineer a sparsity-constraint algorithm to select these regions, which will be further concatenated to form human gaze shifting paths (GSPs). Subsequently, we design a statistic-based CNN architecture to extract the deep representation of GSPs. Afterward, a probabilistic model is built to learn the priors of GSPs and the learned probabilistic model will guide image retargeting. A test image whose distribution is similar to the learned probabilistic model is deemed as the aesthetic image and thus should be shrunk slightly. Comprehensive experiments demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Image retargeting aims to arbitrarily change the aspect ratio of images with minimal visual artifacts, that is, preserving salient regions within the image. Conventional approaches have achieved impressive performance, however, only low-level features are exploited. Besides, these approaches do not take human visual system into account. To solve these problems, we propose a perception-guided multi-channel visual feature fusion method for image retargeting, where human visual perception is well encoded. Specifically, we first construct a series of graphlets which represent salient regions that might attract human attention, where both low-level and high-level features are utilized to describe graphlets. Considering that only a few regions can attract human attention when observing the image, we engineer a sparsity-constraint algorithm to select these regions, which will be further concatenated to form human gaze shifting paths (GSPs). Subsequently, we design a statistic-based CNN architecture to extract the deep representation of GSPs. Afterward, a probabilistic model is built to learn the priors of GSPs and the learned probabilistic model will guide image retargeting. A test image whose distribution is similar to the learned probabilistic model is deemed as the aesthetic image and thus should be shrunk slightly. Comprehensive experiments demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method. |
Zepeng Wang; Ping Li; Luming Zhang; Ling Shao Community-aware photo quality evaluation by deeply encoding human perception Journal Article IEEE Transactions on Multimedia, pp. 1–11, 2019. @article{Wang2019mb, title = {Community-aware photo quality evaluation by deeply encoding human perception}, author = {Zepeng Wang and Ping Li and Luming Zhang and Ling Shao}, doi = {10.1109/TMM.2019.2938664}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {IEEE Transactions on Multimedia}, pages = {1--11}, publisher = {IEEE}, abstract = {Computational photo quality evaluation is a useful technique in many tasks of computer vision and graphics, e.g., photo retaregeting, 3D rendering, and fashion recommendation. Conventional photo quality models are designed by characterizing pictures from all communities (e.g., “architecture” and “colorful”) indiscriminately, wherein community-specific features are not encoded explicitly. In this work, we develop a new community-aware photo quality evaluation framework. It uncovers the latent community-specific topics by a regularized latent topic model (LTM), and captures human visual quality perception by exploring multiple attributes. More specifically, given massive-scale online photos from multiple communities, a novel ranking algorithm is proposed to measure the visual/semantic attractiveness of regions inside each photo. Meanwhile, three attributes: photo quality scores, weak semantic tags, and inter-region correlations, are seamlessly and collaboratively incorporated during ranking. Subsequently, we construct gaze shifting path (GSP) for each photo by sequentially linking the top-ranking regions from each photo, and an aggregation-based deep CNN calculates the deep representation for each GSP. Based on this, an LTM is proposed to model the GSP distribution from multiple communities in the latent space. To mitigate the overfitting problem caused by communities with very few photos, a regularizer is added into our LTM. Finally, given a test photo, we obtain its deep GSP representation and its quality score is determined by the posterior probability of the regularized LTM. Comprehensive comparative studies on four image sets have shown the competitiveness of our method. Besides, eye tracking experiments demonstrated that our ranking-based GSPs are highly consistent with real human gaze movements.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Computational photo quality evaluation is a useful technique in many tasks of computer vision and graphics, e.g., photo retaregeting, 3D rendering, and fashion recommendation. Conventional photo quality models are designed by characterizing pictures from all communities (e.g., “architecture” and “colorful”) indiscriminately, wherein community-specific features are not encoded explicitly. In this work, we develop a new community-aware photo quality evaluation framework. It uncovers the latent community-specific topics by a regularized latent topic model (LTM), and captures human visual quality perception by exploring multiple attributes. More specifically, given massive-scale online photos from multiple communities, a novel ranking algorithm is proposed to measure the visual/semantic attractiveness of regions inside each photo. Meanwhile, three attributes: photo quality scores, weak semantic tags, and inter-region correlations, are seamlessly and collaboratively incorporated during ranking. Subsequently, we construct gaze shifting path (GSP) for each photo by sequentially linking the top-ranking regions from each photo, and an aggregation-based deep CNN calculates the deep representation for each GSP. Based on this, an LTM is proposed to model the GSP distribution from multiple communities in the latent space. To mitigate the overfitting problem caused by communities with very few photos, a regularizer is added into our LTM. Finally, given a test photo, we obtain its deep GSP representation and its quality score is determined by the posterior probability of the regularized LTM. Comprehensive comparative studies on four image sets have shown the competitiveness of our method. Besides, eye tracking experiments demonstrated that our ranking-based GSPs are highly consistent with real human gaze movements. |
Xiaotong Wang; Xue Sui; Sarah J White Searching for a word in Chinese text: Insights from eye movement behaviour Journal Article Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 31 , pp. 145–156, 2019. @article{Wang2019l, title = {Searching for a word in Chinese text: Insights from eye movement behaviour}, author = {Xiaotong Wang and Xue Sui and Sarah J White}, doi = {10.1080/20445911.2019.1585435}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Journal of Cognitive Psychology}, volume = {31}, pages = {145--156}, publisher = {Taylor & Francis}, abstract = {Locating relevant information in text is an important aspect of the reading process, however relatively few studies have examined this, especially for logographic languages such as Chinese. The present study examines eye movement behaviour during search for a target word in Chinese sentences, compared with reading the sentences for comprehension. Although there were clear effects of word frequency during reading for comprehension, the study shows no evidence for an influence of the word frequency of non-target words on eye movement behaviour during target word search. The results are in line with previous research undertaken in English (Rayner, K., & Fischer, M. H. (1996). Mindless reading revisited: Eye movements during reading and scanning are different. Perception & Psychophysics, 58, 734–747.), such that during search for a target word, eye movement behaviour for non-target words is largely driven by superficial processing of those words. The study also highlights the prevalence of word skipping, indicating that words are often sampled only in visually degraded parafoveal vision during target word search in Chinese.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Locating relevant information in text is an important aspect of the reading process, however relatively few studies have examined this, especially for logographic languages such as Chinese. The present study examines eye movement behaviour during search for a target word in Chinese sentences, compared with reading the sentences for comprehension. Although there were clear effects of word frequency during reading for comprehension, the study shows no evidence for an influence of the word frequency of non-target words on eye movement behaviour during target word search. The results are in line with previous research undertaken in English (Rayner, K., & Fischer, M. H. (1996). Mindless reading revisited: Eye movements during reading and scanning are different. Perception & Psychophysics, 58, 734–747.), such that during search for a target word, eye movement behaviour for non-target words is largely driven by superficial processing of those words. The study also highlights the prevalence of word skipping, indicating that words are often sampled only in visually degraded parafoveal vision during target word search in Chinese. |
Xiaoming Wang; Xinbo Zhao; Jinchang Ren; Jungong Han A new type of eye movement model based on recurrent neural networks for simulating the gaze behavior of human reading Journal Article Complexity, 2019 , pp. 1–12, 2019. @article{Wang2019m, title = {A new type of eye movement model based on recurrent neural networks for simulating the gaze behavior of human reading}, author = {Xiaoming Wang and Xinbo Zhao and Jinchang Ren and Jungong Han}, doi = {10.1155/2019/8641074}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Complexity}, volume = {2019}, pages = {1--12}, abstract = {Traditional eye movement models are based on psychological assumptions and empirical data that are not able to simulate eye movement on previously unseen text data. To address this problem, a new type of eye movement model is presented and tested in this paper. In contrast to conventional psychology-based eye movement models, ours is based on a recurrent neural network (RNN) to generate a gaze point prediction sequence, by using the combination of convolutional neural networks (CNN), bidirectional long short-term memory networks (LSTM), and conditional random fields (CRF). The model uses the eye movement data of a reader reading some texts as training data to predict the eye movements of the same reader reading a previously unseen text. A theoretical analysis of the model is presented to show its excellent convergence performance. Experimental results are then presented to demonstrate that the proposed model can achieve similar prediction accuracy while requiring fewer features than current machine learning models.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Traditional eye movement models are based on psychological assumptions and empirical data that are not able to simulate eye movement on previously unseen text data. To address this problem, a new type of eye movement model is presented and tested in this paper. In contrast to conventional psychology-based eye movement models, ours is based on a recurrent neural network (RNN) to generate a gaze point prediction sequence, by using the combination of convolutional neural networks (CNN), bidirectional long short-term memory networks (LSTM), and conditional random fields (CRF). The model uses the eye movement data of a reader reading some texts as training data to predict the eye movements of the same reader reading a previously unseen text. A theoretical analysis of the model is presented to show its excellent convergence performance. Experimental results are then presented to demonstrate that the proposed model can achieve similar prediction accuracy while requiring fewer features than current machine learning models. |
Xi Wang; Kenneth Holmqvist The mean point of vergence is biased under projection Journal Article Journal of Eye Movement Research, 12 , pp. 1–27, 2019. @article{Wang2019k, title = {The mean point of vergence is biased under projection}, author = {Xi Wang and Kenneth Holmqvist}, doi = {10.16910/jemr.12.4.2}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Journal of Eye Movement Research}, volume = {12}, pages = {1--27}, abstract = {The point of interest in three-dimensional space in eye tracking is often computed based on intersecting the lines of sight with geometry, or finding the point closest to the two lines of sight. We first start by theoretical analysis with synthetic simulations. We show that the mean point of vergence is generally biased for centrally symmetric errors and that the bias depends on the horizontal vs. vertical noise distribution of the tracked eye positions. Our analysis continues with an evaluation on real experimental data. The estimated mean vergence points seem to contain different errors among individuals but they generally show the same bias towards the observer. And it tends to be larger with an increased viewing distance. We also provided a recipe to minimize the bias, which applies to general computations of gaze estimation under projection. These findings not only have implications for choosing the calibration method in eye tracking experiments and interpreting the observed eye movements data; but also suggest to us that we shall consider the mathematical models of calibration as part of the experiment.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } The point of interest in three-dimensional space in eye tracking is often computed based on intersecting the lines of sight with geometry, or finding the point closest to the two lines of sight. We first start by theoretical analysis with synthetic simulations. We show that the mean point of vergence is generally biased for centrally symmetric errors and that the bias depends on the horizontal vs. vertical noise distribution of the tracked eye positions. Our analysis continues with an evaluation on real experimental data. The estimated mean vergence points seem to contain different errors among individuals but they generally show the same bias towards the observer. And it tends to be larger with an increased viewing distance. We also provided a recipe to minimize the bias, which applies to general computations of gaze estimation under projection. These findings not only have implications for choosing the calibration method in eye tracking experiments and interpreting the observed eye movements data; but also suggest to us that we shall consider the mathematical models of calibration as part of the experiment. |
Shuo Wang; Adam N Mamelak; Ralph Adolphs; Ueli Rutishauser Abstract goal representation in visual search by neurons in the human pre-supplementary motor area Journal Article Brain, 142 (11), pp. 3530–3549, 2019. @article{Wang2019j, title = {Abstract goal representation in visual search by neurons in the human pre-supplementary motor area}, author = {Shuo Wang and Adam N Mamelak and Ralph Adolphs and Ueli Rutishauser}, doi = {10.1093/brain/awz279}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Brain}, volume = {142}, number = {11}, pages = {3530--3549}, abstract = {The medial frontal cortex is important for goal-directed behaviours such as visual search. The pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA) plays a critical role in linking higher-level goals to actions, but little is known about the responses of individual cells in this area in humans. Pre-SMA dysfunction is thought to be a critical factor in the cognitive deficits that are observed in diseases such as Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia, making it important to develop a better mechanistic understanding of the pre-SMA's role in cognition. We simultaneously recorded single neurons in the human pre-SMA and eye movements while subjects performed goal-directed visual search tasks. We characterized two groups of neurons in the pre-SMA. First, 40% of neurons changed their firing rate whenever a fixation landed on the search target. These neurons responded to targets in an abstract manner across several conditions and tasks. Responses were invariant to motor output (i.e. button press or not), and to different ways of defining the search target (by instruction or pop-out). Second, ∼50% of neurons changed their response as a function of fixation order. Together, our results show that human pre-SMA neurons carry abstract signals during visual search that indicate whether a goal was reached in an action- and cue-independent manner. This suggests that the pre-SMA contributes to goal-directed behaviour by flexibly signalling goal detection and time elapsed since start of the search, and this process occurs regardless of task. These observations provide insights into how pre-SMA dysfunction might impact cognitive function.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } The medial frontal cortex is important for goal-directed behaviours such as visual search. The pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA) plays a critical role in linking higher-level goals to actions, but little is known about the responses of individual cells in this area in humans. Pre-SMA dysfunction is thought to be a critical factor in the cognitive deficits that are observed in diseases such as Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia, making it important to develop a better mechanistic understanding of the pre-SMA's role in cognition. We simultaneously recorded single neurons in the human pre-SMA and eye movements while subjects performed goal-directed visual search tasks. We characterized two groups of neurons in the pre-SMA. First, 40% of neurons changed their firing rate whenever a fixation landed on the search target. These neurons responded to targets in an abstract manner across several conditions and tasks. Responses were invariant to motor output (i.e. button press or not), and to different ways of defining the search target (by instruction or pop-out). Second, ∼50% of neurons changed their response as a function of fixation order. Together, our results show that human pre-SMA neurons carry abstract signals during visual search that indicate whether a goal was reached in an action- and cue-independent manner. This suggests that the pre-SMA contributes to goal-directed behaviour by flexibly signalling goal detection and time elapsed since start of the search, and this process occurs regardless of task. These observations provide insights into how pre-SMA dysfunction might impact cognitive function. |
Shuo Wang; Nand Chandravadia; Adam N Mamelak; Ueli Rutishauser Simultaneous eye tracking and single-neuron recordings in human epilepsy patients Journal Article Journal of Visualized Experiments, (148), pp. 1–7, 2019. @article{Wang2019i, title = {Simultaneous eye tracking and single-neuron recordings in human epilepsy patients}, author = {Shuo Wang and Nand Chandravadia and Adam N Mamelak and Ueli Rutishauser}, doi = {10.3791/59117}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Journal of Visualized Experiments}, number = {148}, pages = {1--7}, abstract = {Intracranial recordings from patients with intractable epilepsy provide a unique opportunity to study the activity of individual human neurons during active behavior. An important tool for quantifying behavior is eye tracking, which is an indispensable tool for studying visual attention. However, eye tracking is challenging to use concurrently with invasive electrophysiology and this approach has consequently been little used. Here, we present a proven experimental protocol to conduct single-neuron recordings with simultaneous eye tracking in humans. We describe how the systems are connected and the optimal settings to record neurons and eye movements. To illustrate the utility of this method, we summarize results that were made possible by this setup. This data shows how using eye tracking in a memory-guided visual search task allowed us to describe a new class of neurons called target neurons, whose response was reflective of top-down attention to the current search target. Lastly, we discuss the significance and solutions to potential problems of this setup. Together, our protocol and results suggest that single-neuron recordings with simultaneous eye tracking in humans are an effective method to study human brain function. It provides a key missing link between animal neurophysiology and human cognitive neuroscience.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Intracranial recordings from patients with intractable epilepsy provide a unique opportunity to study the activity of individual human neurons during active behavior. An important tool for quantifying behavior is eye tracking, which is an indispensable tool for studying visual attention. However, eye tracking is challenging to use concurrently with invasive electrophysiology and this approach has consequently been little used. Here, we present a proven experimental protocol to conduct single-neuron recordings with simultaneous eye tracking in humans. We describe how the systems are connected and the optimal settings to record neurons and eye movements. To illustrate the utility of this method, we summarize results that were made possible by this setup. This data shows how using eye tracking in a memory-guided visual search task allowed us to describe a new class of neurons called target neurons, whose response was reflective of top-down attention to the current search target. Lastly, we discuss the significance and solutions to potential problems of this setup. Together, our protocol and results suggest that single-neuron recordings with simultaneous eye tracking in humans are an effective method to study human brain function. It provides a key missing link between animal neurophysiology and human cognitive neuroscience. |
Maya Zhe Wang; Benjamin Y Hayden Monkeys are curious about counterfactual outcomes Journal Article Cognition, 189 , pp. 1–10, 2019. @article{Wang2019g, title = {Monkeys are curious about counterfactual outcomes}, author = {Maya Zhe Wang and Benjamin Y Hayden}, doi = {10.1016/j.cognition.2019.03.009}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Cognition}, volume = {189}, pages = {1--10}, publisher = {Elsevier}, abstract = {Many non-human animals show exploratory behaviors. It remains unclear whether any possess human-like curiosity. We previously proposed three criteria for applying the term curiosity to animal behavior: (1) the subject is willing to sacrifice reward to obtain information, (2) the information provides no immediate instrumental or strategic benefit, and (3) the amount the subject is willing to pay depends systematically on the amount of information available. In previous work on information-seeking in animals, information generally predicts upcoming rewards, and animals' decisions may therefore be a byproduct of reinforcement processes. Here we get around this potential confound by taking advantage of macaques' ability to reason counterfactually (that is, about outcomes that could have occurred had the subject chosen differently). Specifically, macaques sacrificed fluid reward to obtain information about counterfactual outcomes. Moreover, their willingness to pay scaled with the information (Shannon entropy) offered by the counterfactual option. These results demonstrate the existence of human-like curiosity in non-human primates according to our criteria, which circumvent several confounds associated with less stringent criteria.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Many non-human animals show exploratory behaviors. It remains unclear whether any possess human-like curiosity. We previously proposed three criteria for applying the term curiosity to animal behavior: (1) the subject is willing to sacrifice reward to obtain information, (2) the information provides no immediate instrumental or strategic benefit, and (3) the amount the subject is willing to pay depends systematically on the amount of information available. In previous work on information-seeking in animals, information generally predicts upcoming rewards, and animals' decisions may therefore be a byproduct of reinforcement processes. Here we get around this potential confound by taking advantage of macaques' ability to reason counterfactually (that is, about outcomes that could have occurred had the subject chosen differently). Specifically, macaques sacrificed fluid reward to obtain information about counterfactual outcomes. Moreover, their willingness to pay scaled with the information (Shannon entropy) offered by the counterfactual option. These results demonstrate the existence of human-like curiosity in non-human primates according to our criteria, which circumvent several confounds associated with less stringent criteria. |
Liping Wang; Marie Amalric; Wen Fang; Xinjian Jiang; Christophe Pallier; Santiago Figueira; Mariano Sigman; Stanislas Dehaene Representation of spatial sequences using nested rules in human prefrontal cortex Journal Article NeuroImage, 186 , pp. 245–255, 2019. @article{Wang2019f, title = {Representation of spatial sequences using nested rules in human prefrontal cortex}, author = {Liping Wang and Marie Amalric and Wen Fang and Xinjian Jiang and Christophe Pallier and Santiago Figueira and Mariano Sigman and Stanislas Dehaene}, doi = {10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.10.061}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {NeuroImage}, volume = {186}, pages = {245--255}, publisher = {Elsevier Ltd}, abstract = {Memory for spatial sequences does not depend solely on the number of locations to be stored, but also on the presence of spatial regularities. Here, we show that the human brain quickly stores spatial sequences by detecting geometrical regularities at multiple time scales and encoding them in a format akin to a programming language. We measured gaze-anticipation behavior while spatial sequences of variable regularity were repeated. Participants' behavior suggested that they quickly discovered the most compact description of each sequence in a language comprising nested rules, and used these rules to compress the sequence in memory and predict the next items. Activity in dorsal inferior prefrontal cortex correlated with the amount of compression, while right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex encoded the presence of embedded structures. Sequence learning was accompanied by a progressive differentiation of multi-voxel activity patterns in these regions. We propose that humans are endowed with a simple “language of geometry” which recruits a dorsal prefrontal circuit for geometrical rules, distinct from but close to areas involved in natural language processing.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Memory for spatial sequences does not depend solely on the number of locations to be stored, but also on the presence of spatial regularities. Here, we show that the human brain quickly stores spatial sequences by detecting geometrical regularities at multiple time scales and encoding them in a format akin to a programming language. We measured gaze-anticipation behavior while spatial sequences of variable regularity were repeated. Participants' behavior suggested that they quickly discovered the most compact description of each sequence in a language comprising nested rules, and used these rules to compress the sequence in memory and predict the next items. Activity in dorsal inferior prefrontal cortex correlated with the amount of compression, while right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex encoded the presence of embedded structures. Sequence learning was accompanied by a progressive differentiation of multi-voxel activity patterns in these regions. We propose that humans are endowed with a simple “language of geometry” which recruits a dorsal prefrontal circuit for geometrical rules, distinct from but close to areas involved in natural language processing. |
Lihui Wang; Florian Baumgartner; Falko R Kaule; Michael Hanke; Stefan Pollmann Individual face- and house-related eye movement patterns distinctively activate FFA and PPA Journal Article Nature Communications, 10 , pp. 1–16, 2019. @article{Wang2019e, title = {Individual face- and house-related eye movement patterns distinctively activate FFA and PPA}, author = {Lihui Wang and Florian Baumgartner and Falko R Kaule and Michael Hanke and Stefan Pollmann}, doi = {10.1038/s41467-019-13541-3}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Nature Communications}, volume = {10}, pages = {1--16}, publisher = {Springer US}, abstract = {We investigated if the fusiform face area (FFA) and the parahippocampal place area (PPA) contain a representation of fixation sequences that are typically used when looking at faces or houses. Here, we instructed observers to follow a dot presented on a uniform background. The dot's movements represented gaze paths acquired separately from observers looking at face or house pictures. Even when gaze dispersion differen ces were controlled, face- and house-associated gaze patterns could be discriminated by fMRI multivariate pattern analysis in FFA and PPA, more so for the current observer's own gazes than for another observer's gaze. The discrimination of the observer's own gaze patterns was not observed in early visual areas (V1 – V4) or superior parietal lobule and frontal eye fields. These findings indicate a link between perception and action—the complex gaze patterns that are used to explore faces and houses—in the FFA and PPA.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } We investigated if the fusiform face area (FFA) and the parahippocampal place area (PPA) contain a representation of fixation sequences that are typically used when looking at faces or houses. Here, we instructed observers to follow a dot presented on a uniform background. The dot's movements represented gaze paths acquired separately from observers looking at face or house pictures. Even when gaze dispersion differen ces were controlled, face- and house-associated gaze patterns could be discriminated by fMRI multivariate pattern analysis in FFA and PPA, more so for the current observer's own gazes than for another observer's gaze. The discrimination of the observer's own gaze patterns was not observed in early visual areas (V1 – V4) or superior parietal lobule and frontal eye fields. These findings indicate a link between perception and action—the complex gaze patterns that are used to explore faces and houses—in the FFA and PPA. |
Jessica J Wang; Philip Tseng; Chi Hung Juan; Steven Frisson; Ian A Apperly Perspective-taking across cultures: Shared biases in Taiwanese and British adults Journal Article Royal Society Open Science, 6 , pp. 1–15, 2019. @article{Wang2019d, title = {Perspective-taking across cultures: Shared biases in Taiwanese and British adults}, author = {Jessica J Wang and Philip Tseng and Chi Hung Juan and Steven Frisson and Ian A Apperly}, doi = {10.1098/rsos.190540}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Royal Society Open Science}, volume = {6}, pages = {1--15}, abstract = {The influential hypothesis by Markus & Kitayama (Markus, Kitayama 1991. Psychol. Rev. 98, 224) postulates that individuals from interdependent cultures place others above self in interpersonal contexts. This led to the prediction and finding that individuals from interdependent cultures are less egocentric than those from independent cultures (Wu, Barr, Gann, Keysar 2013. Front. Hum. Neurosci. 7, 1–7; Wu, Keysar. 2007 Psychol. Sci. 18, 600–606). However, variation in egocentrism can only provide indirect evidence for the Markus and Kitayama hypothesis. The current study sought direct evidence by giving British (independent) and Taiwanese (interdependent) participants two perspective-taking tasks on which an other-focused ‘altercentric' processing bias might be observed. One task assessed the calculation of simple perspectives; the other assessed the use of others' perspectives in communication. Sixty-two Taiwanese and British adults were tested in their native languages at their home institutions of study. Results revealed similar degrees of both altercentric and egocentric interference between the two cultural groups. This is the first evidence that listeners account for a speaker's limited perspective at the cost of their own performance. Furthermore, the shared biases point towards similarities rather than differences in perspective-taking across cultures.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } The influential hypothesis by Markus & Kitayama (Markus, Kitayama 1991. Psychol. Rev. 98, 224) postulates that individuals from interdependent cultures place others above self in interpersonal contexts. This led to the prediction and finding that individuals from interdependent cultures are less egocentric than those from independent cultures (Wu, Barr, Gann, Keysar 2013. Front. Hum. Neurosci. 7, 1–7; Wu, Keysar. 2007 Psychol. Sci. 18, 600–606). However, variation in egocentrism can only provide indirect evidence for the Markus and Kitayama hypothesis. The current study sought direct evidence by giving British (independent) and Taiwanese (interdependent) participants two perspective-taking tasks on which an other-focused ‘altercentric' processing bias might be observed. One task assessed the calculation of simple perspectives; the other assessed the use of others' perspectives in communication. Sixty-two Taiwanese and British adults were tested in their native languages at their home institutions of study. Results revealed similar degrees of both altercentric and egocentric interference between the two cultural groups. This is the first evidence that listeners account for a speaker's limited perspective at the cost of their own performance. Furthermore, the shared biases point towards similarities rather than differences in perspective-taking across cultures. |
Hongyan Wang; Zhongling Pi; Weiping Hu The instructor's gaze guidance in video lectures improves learning Journal Article Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 35 (1), pp. 42–50, 2019. @article{Wang2019c, title = {The instructor's gaze guidance in video lectures improves learning}, author = {Hongyan Wang and Zhongling Pi and Weiping Hu}, doi = {10.1111/jcal.12309}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Journal of Computer Assisted Learning}, volume = {35}, number = {1}, pages = {42--50}, abstract = {Instructor behaviour is known to affect learning performance, but it is unclear which specific instructor behaviours can optimize learning. We used eye-tracking technology and questionnaires to test whether the instructor's gaze guidance affected learners' visual attention, social presence, and learning performance, using four video lectures: declarative knowledge with and without the instructor's gaze guidance and procedural knowledge with and without the instructor's gaze guidance. The results showed that the instructor's gaze guidance not only guided learners to allocate more visual attention to corresponding learning content but also increased learners' sense of social presence and learning. Furthermore, the link between the instructor's gaze guidance and better learning was especially strong for participants with a high sense of social connection with the instructor when they learned procedural knowledge. The findings lead to a strong recommendation for educational practitioners: Instructors should provide gaze guidance in video lectures for better learning performance.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Instructor behaviour is known to affect learning performance, but it is unclear which specific instructor behaviours can optimize learning. We used eye-tracking technology and questionnaires to test whether the instructor's gaze guidance affected learners' visual attention, social presence, and learning performance, using four video lectures: declarative knowledge with and without the instructor's gaze guidance and procedural knowledge with and without the instructor's gaze guidance. The results showed that the instructor's gaze guidance not only guided learners to allocate more visual attention to corresponding learning content but also increased learners' sense of social presence and learning. Furthermore, the link between the instructor's gaze guidance and better learning was especially strong for participants with a high sense of social connection with the instructor when they learned procedural knowledge. The findings lead to a strong recommendation for educational practitioners: Instructors should provide gaze guidance in video lectures for better learning performance. |
Chao Wang; Hanna Haponenko; Xingze Liu; Hongjin Sun; Guang Zhao How attentional guidance and response selection boost contextual learning: Evidence from eye movement Journal Article Advances in Cognitive Psychology, 15 (4), pp. 265–275, 2019. @article{Wang2019b, title = {How attentional guidance and response selection boost contextual learning: Evidence from eye movement}, author = {Chao Wang and Hanna Haponenko and Xingze Liu and Hongjin Sun and Guang Zhao}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Advances in Cognitive Psychology}, volume = {15}, number = {4}, pages = {265--275}, abstract = {The contextual cueing effect (CCE) refers to the learned association between predictive configuration and target location, speeding up response times for targets. Previous studies have examined the underlying processes (initial perceptual process, attentional guidance, and response selection) of CCE but have not reached a general consensus on their contributions to CCE. In the present study, we used eye tracking to address this question by analyzing the oculomotor correlates of context-guided learning in visual search and eliminating indefinite response factors during response priming. The results show that both attentional guidance and response selection contribute to contextual learning.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } The contextual cueing effect (CCE) refers to the learned association between predictive configuration and target location, speeding up response times for targets. Previous studies have examined the underlying processes (initial perceptual process, attentional guidance, and response selection) of CCE but have not reached a general consensus on their contributions to CCE. In the present study, we used eye tracking to address this question by analyzing the oculomotor correlates of context-guided learning in visual search and eliminating indefinite response factors during response priming. The results show that both attentional guidance and response selection contribute to contextual learning. |
Benchi Wang; Iliana Samara; Jan Theeuwes Statistical regularities bias overt attention Journal Article Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 81 , pp. 1813–1821, 2019. @article{Wang2019a, title = {Statistical regularities bias overt attention}, author = {Benchi Wang and Iliana Samara and Jan Theeuwes}, doi = {10.3758/s13414-019-01708-5}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics}, volume = {81}, pages = {1813--1821}, publisher = {Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics}, abstract = {A previous study employing the additional singleton paradigm showed that a singleton distractor that appeared more often in one specific location interfered less with target search than when it appeared at any other location. These findings suggested that through statistical learning the location that was likely to contain a distractor was suppressed relative to all other locations. Even though feasible, it is also possible that this effect is due to faster disengagement of attention from the high-probability distractor location. The present study tested this hypothesis using a variant of the additional singleton task adapted for eye tracking in which observers made a speeded saccade to a shape singleton and gave a manual response. The singleton distractor was presented more often at one location than all other locations. Consistent with the suppression hypothesis, we found that fewer saccades landed at the high-probability distractor location than any other location. Also, when a target appeared at the high-probability location, saccade latencies towards the target were higher than latencies towards the target when it was presented at other locations. Furthermore, in addition to suppression, we also found evidence for faster disengagement from the high-probability distractor location than the low-probability distractor location; however, this effect was relatively small. The current findings support the notion that through statistical learning plasticity is induced in the spatial priority map of attentional selection so that the high-probability distractor location is suppressed compared to any other location.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } A previous study employing the additional singleton paradigm showed that a singleton distractor that appeared more often in one specific location interfered less with target search than when it appeared at any other location. These findings suggested that through statistical learning the location that was likely to contain a distractor was suppressed relative to all other locations. Even though feasible, it is also possible that this effect is due to faster disengagement of attention from the high-probability distractor location. The present study tested this hypothesis using a variant of the additional singleton task adapted for eye tracking in which observers made a speeded saccade to a shape singleton and gave a manual response. The singleton distractor was presented more often at one location than all other locations. Consistent with the suppression hypothesis, we found that fewer saccades landed at the high-probability distractor location than any other location. Also, when a target appeared at the high-probability location, saccade latencies towards the target were higher than latencies towards the target when it was presented at other locations. Furthermore, in addition to suppression, we also found evidence for faster disengagement from the high-probability distractor location than the low-probability distractor location; however, this effect was relatively small. The current findings support the notion that through statistical learning plasticity is induced in the spatial priority map of attentional selection so that the high-probability distractor location is suppressed compared to any other location. |
Amy T Walsh; David Carmel; Gina M Grimshaw Reward elicits cognitive control over emotional distraction: Evidence from pupillometry Journal Article Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Neuroscience, 19 (3), pp. 537–554, 2019. @article{Walsh2019, title = {Reward elicits cognitive control over emotional distraction: Evidence from pupillometry}, author = {Amy T Walsh and David Carmel and Gina M Grimshaw}, doi = {10.3758/s13415-018-00669-w}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Neuroscience}, volume = {19}, number = {3}, pages = {537--554}, publisher = {Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience}, abstract = {Attention is biased toward emotional stimuli, even when they are irrelevant to current goals. Motivation, elicited by performance-contingent reward, reduces behavioural emotional distraction. In emotionally neutral contexts, reward is thought to encourage use of a proactive cognitive control strategy, altering anticipatory attentional settings to more effectively suppress distractors. The current preregistered study investigates whether a similar proactive shift occurs even when distractors are highly arousing emotional images. We monitored pupil area, an online measure of both cognitive and emotional processing, to examine how reward influences the time course of control. Participants (n = 110) identified a target letter flanking an irrelevant central image. Images were meaningless scrambles on 75% of trials; on the remaining 25%, they were intact positive (erotic), negative (mutilation), or neutral images. Half the participants received financial rewards for fast and accurate performance, while the other half received no performance-contingent reward. Emotional distraction was greater than neutral distraction, and both were attenuated by reward. Consistent with behavioural findings, pupil dilation was greater following emotional than neutral distractors, and dilation to intact distractors (regardless of valence) was decreased by reward. Although reward did not enhance tonic pupil dilation (an index of sustained proactive control), exploratory analyses showed that reward altered the time course of control—eliciting a sharp, rapid, increase in dilation immediately preceding stimulus onset (reflecting dynamic use of anticipatory control), that extended until well after stimulus offset. These findings suggest that reward alters the time course of control by encouraging proactive preparation to rapidly disengage from emotional distractors.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Attention is biased toward emotional stimuli, even when they are irrelevant to current goals. Motivation, elicited by performance-contingent reward, reduces behavioural emotional distraction. In emotionally neutral contexts, reward is thought to encourage use of a proactive cognitive control strategy, altering anticipatory attentional settings to more effectively suppress distractors. The current preregistered study investigates whether a similar proactive shift occurs even when distractors are highly arousing emotional images. We monitored pupil area, an online measure of both cognitive and emotional processing, to examine how reward influences the time course of control. Participants (n = 110) identified a target letter flanking an irrelevant central image. Images were meaningless scrambles on 75% of trials; on the remaining 25%, they were intact positive (erotic), negative (mutilation), or neutral images. Half the participants received financial rewards for fast and accurate performance, while the other half received no performance-contingent reward. Emotional distraction was greater than neutral distraction, and both were attenuated by reward. Consistent with behavioural findings, pupil dilation was greater following emotional than neutral distractors, and dilation to intact distractors (regardless of valence) was decreased by reward. Although reward did not enhance tonic pupil dilation (an index of sustained proactive control), exploratory analyses showed that reward altered the time course of control—eliciting a sharp, rapid, increase in dilation immediately preceding stimulus onset (reflecting dynamic use of anticipatory control), that extended until well after stimulus offset. These findings suggest that reward alters the time course of control by encouraging proactive preparation to rapidly disengage from emotional distractors. |
Pascal Wallisch; J Anthony Movshon Responses of neurons in macaque MT to unikinetic plaids Journal Article Journal of Neurophysiology, 122 (5), pp. 1937–1945, 2019. @article{Wallisch2019, title = {Responses of neurons in macaque MT to unikinetic plaids}, author = {Pascal Wallisch and J {Anthony Movshon}}, doi = {10.1152/jn.00486.2019}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Journal of Neurophysiology}, volume = {122}, number = {5}, pages = {1937--1945}, abstract = {Response properties of MT neurons are often studied with “bikinetic” plaid stimuli, which consist of two superimposed sine wave gratings moving in different directions. Oculomotor studies using “unikinetic plaids” in which only one of the two superimposed gratings moves suggest that the eyes first move reflexively in the direction of the moving grating and only later converge on the perceived direction of the moving pattern. MT has been implicated as the source of visual signals that drives these responses. We wanted to know whether stationary gratings, which have little effect on MT cells when presented alone, would influence MT responses when paired with a moving grating. We recorded extracellularly from neurons in area MT and measured responses to stationary and moving gratings, and to their sums: bikinetic and unikinetic plaids. As expected, stationary gratings presented alone had a very modest influence on the activity of MT neurons. Responses to moving gratings and bikinetic plaids were similar to those previously reported and revealed cells selective for the motion of plaid patterns and of their components (pattern and component cells). When these neurons were probed with unikinetic plaids, pattern cells shifted their direction preferences in a way that revealed the influence of the static grating. Component cell preferences shifted little or not at all. These results support the notion that pattern-selective neurons in area MT integrate component motions that differ widely in speed, and that they do so in a way that is consistent with an intersection-of-constraints model.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Response properties of MT neurons are often studied with “bikinetic” plaid stimuli, which consist of two superimposed sine wave gratings moving in different directions. Oculomotor studies using “unikinetic plaids” in which only one of the two superimposed gratings moves suggest that the eyes first move reflexively in the direction of the moving grating and only later converge on the perceived direction of the moving pattern. MT has been implicated as the source of visual signals that drives these responses. We wanted to know whether stationary gratings, which have little effect on MT cells when presented alone, would influence MT responses when paired with a moving grating. We recorded extracellularly from neurons in area MT and measured responses to stationary and moving gratings, and to their sums: bikinetic and unikinetic plaids. As expected, stationary gratings presented alone had a very modest influence on the activity of MT neurons. Responses to moving gratings and bikinetic plaids were similar to those previously reported and revealed cells selective for the motion of plaid patterns and of their components (pattern and component cells). When these neurons were probed with unikinetic plaids, pattern cells shifted their direction preferences in a way that revealed the influence of the static grating. Component cell preferences shifted little or not at all. These results support the notion that pattern-selective neurons in area MT integrate component motions that differ widely in speed, and that they do so in a way that is consistent with an intersection-of-constraints model. |
Thomas Sa Wallis; Christina M Funke; Alexander S Ecker; Leon A Gatys; Felix A Wichmann; Matthias Bethge Image content is more important than Bouma's law for scene metamers Journal Article eLife, 8 , pp. 1–43, 2019. @article{Wallis2019, title = {Image content is more important than Bouma's law for scene metamers}, author = {Thomas Sa Wallis and Christina M Funke and Alexander S Ecker and Leon A Gatys and Felix A Wichmann and Matthias Bethge}, doi = {10.7554/eLife.42512}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {eLife}, volume = {8}, pages = {1--43}, abstract = {We subjectively perceive our visual field with high fidelity, yet peripheral distortions can go unnoticed and peripheral objects can be difficult to identify (crowding). Prior work showed that humans could not discriminate images synthesised to match the responses of a mid-level ventral visual stream model when information was averaged in receptive fields with a scaling of about half their retinal eccentricity. This result implicated ventral visual area V2, approximated ‘Bouma's Law' of crowding, and has subsequently been interpreted as a link between crowding zones, receptive field scaling, and our perceptual experience. However, this experiment never assessed natural images. We find that humans can easily discriminate real and model-generated images at V2 scaling, requiring scales at least as small as V1 receptive fields to generate metamers. We speculate that explaining why scenes look as they do may require incorporating segmentation and global organisational constraints in addition to local pooling.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } We subjectively perceive our visual field with high fidelity, yet peripheral distortions can go unnoticed and peripheral objects can be difficult to identify (crowding). Prior work showed that humans could not discriminate images synthesised to match the responses of a mid-level ventral visual stream model when information was averaged in receptive fields with a scaling of about half their retinal eccentricity. This result implicated ventral visual area V2, approximated ‘Bouma's Law' of crowding, and has subsequently been interpreted as a link between crowding zones, receptive field scaling, and our perceptual experience. However, this experiment never assessed natural images. We find that humans can easily discriminate real and model-generated images at V2 scaling, requiring scales at least as small as V1 receptive fields to generate metamers. We speculate that explaining why scenes look as they do may require incorporating segmentation and global organisational constraints in addition to local pooling. |
Siegfried Wahl; Denitsa Dragneva; Katharina Rifai The limits of fixation-Keeping the ametropic eye on target Journal Article Journal of vision, 19 (13), pp. 1–11, 2019. @article{Wahl2019, title = {The limits of fixation-Keeping the ametropic eye on target}, author = {Siegfried Wahl and Denitsa Dragneva and Katharina Rifai}, doi = {10.1167/19.13.8}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Journal of vision}, volume = {19}, number = {13}, pages = {1--11}, abstract = {Accurate positioning of the naked eye is a prerequisite in many ophthalmic measurement and intervention systems. In most of these procedures the eyeball is stabilized through fixation of a target. Fixation is initiated, as well as sustained by a whole set of oculomotor processes: saccadic movements and drift, as well as vergence. Target appearance influences sustained fixation, but the influence of target information on the initiation of fixation has not been evaluated in detail. The current study evaluates the accuracy of fixation initiation as well as sustained fixation under refractive error. Twenty-one ametrope subjects repeatedly fixated a laser speckle-based fixation target for an extended duration of 3 s. Fixational area, fixational saccade rate as well as fixational saccade amplitude were analyzed during two different time intervals, namely in fixation initiation and sustained fixation. Fixation initiation was evaluated within the first 500 ms of fixation, whereas sustained fixation was evaluated 1 s after the eyes were directed toward the fixation target. During fixation initiation, fixation accuracy decreased in comparison to sustained fixation; fixational saccades occurred more frequently, and with larger amplitudes. During sustained fixation, an impact of refractive error was shown. With increasing refractive error, fixational saccade amplitude and fixational saccade rate increased. Fixational area increased in high ametropia through larger and more frequent saccades, but at a rather moderate rate of 10 arcmin/diopter (dpt) radial increase.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Accurate positioning of the naked eye is a prerequisite in many ophthalmic measurement and intervention systems. In most of these procedures the eyeball is stabilized through fixation of a target. Fixation is initiated, as well as sustained by a whole set of oculomotor processes: saccadic movements and drift, as well as vergence. Target appearance influences sustained fixation, but the influence of target information on the initiation of fixation has not been evaluated in detail. The current study evaluates the accuracy of fixation initiation as well as sustained fixation under refractive error. Twenty-one ametrope subjects repeatedly fixated a laser speckle-based fixation target for an extended duration of 3 s. Fixational area, fixational saccade rate as well as fixational saccade amplitude were analyzed during two different time intervals, namely in fixation initiation and sustained fixation. Fixation initiation was evaluated within the first 500 ms of fixation, whereas sustained fixation was evaluated 1 s after the eyes were directed toward the fixation target. During fixation initiation, fixation accuracy decreased in comparison to sustained fixation; fixational saccades occurred more frequently, and with larger amplitudes. During sustained fixation, an impact of refractive error was shown. With increasing refractive error, fixational saccade amplitude and fixational saccade rate increased. Fixational area increased in high ametropia through larger and more frequent saccades, but at a rather moderate rate of 10 arcmin/diopter (dpt) radial increase. |
Anita E Wagner; Leanne Nagels; Paolo Toffanin; Jane M Opie; Deniz Başkent Individual variations in effort: Assessing pupillometry for the hearing impaired Journal Article Trends in Hearing, 23 , pp. 1–18, 2019. @article{Wagner2019, title = {Individual variations in effort: Assessing pupillometry for the hearing impaired}, author = {Anita E Wagner and Leanne Nagels and Paolo Toffanin and Jane M Opie and Deniz Başkent}, doi = {10.1177/2331216519845596}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Trends in Hearing}, volume = {23}, pages = {1--18}, abstract = {Assessing effort in speech comprehension for hearing-impaired (HI) listeners is important, as effortful processing of speech can limit their hearing rehabilitation. We examined the measure of pupil dilation in its capacity to accommodate the heterogeneity that is present within clinical populations by studying lexical access in users with sensorineural hearing loss, who perceive speech via cochlear implants (CIs). We compared the pupillary responses of 15 experienced CI users and 14 age-matched normal-hearing (NH) controls during auditory lexical decision. A growth curve analysis was applied to compare the responses between the groups. NH listeners showed a coherent pattern of pupil dilation that reflects the task demands of the experimental manipulation and a homogenous time course of dilation. CI listeners showed more variability in the morphology of pupil dilation curves, potentially reflecting variable sources of effort across individuals. In follow-up analyses, we examined how speech perception, a task that relies on multiple stages of perceptual analyses, poses multiple sources of increased effort for HI listeners, wherefore we might not be measuring the same source of effort for HI as for NH listeners. We argue that interindividual variability among HI listeners can be clinically meaningful in attesting not only the magnitude but also the locus of increased effort. The understanding of individual variations in effort requires experimental paradigms that (a) differentiate the task demands during speech comprehension, (b) capture pupil dilation in its time course per individual listeners, and (c) investigate the range of individual variability present within clinical and NH populations.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Assessing effort in speech comprehension for hearing-impaired (HI) listeners is important, as effortful processing of speech can limit their hearing rehabilitation. We examined the measure of pupil dilation in its capacity to accommodate the heterogeneity that is present within clinical populations by studying lexical access in users with sensorineural hearing loss, who perceive speech via cochlear implants (CIs). We compared the pupillary responses of 15 experienced CI users and 14 age-matched normal-hearing (NH) controls during auditory lexical decision. A growth curve analysis was applied to compare the responses between the groups. NH listeners showed a coherent pattern of pupil dilation that reflects the task demands of the experimental manipulation and a homogenous time course of dilation. CI listeners showed more variability in the morphology of pupil dilation curves, potentially reflecting variable sources of effort across individuals. In follow-up analyses, we examined how speech perception, a task that relies on multiple stages of perceptual analyses, poses multiple sources of increased effort for HI listeners, wherefore we might not be measuring the same source of effort for HI as for NH listeners. We argue that interindividual variability among HI listeners can be clinically meaningful in attesting not only the magnitude but also the locus of increased effort. The understanding of individual variations in effort requires experimental paradigms that (a) differentiate the task demands during speech comprehension, (b) capture pupil dilation in its time course per individual listeners, and (c) investigate the range of individual variability present within clinical and NH populations. |
Cécile Vullings; Laurent Madelain Discriminative control of saccade latencies Journal Article Journal of Vision, 19 (3), pp. 1–15, 2019. @article{Vullings2019a, title = {Discriminative control of saccade latencies}, author = {Cécile Vullings and Laurent Madelain}, doi = {10.1167/19.3.16}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Journal of Vision}, volume = {19}, number = {3}, pages = {1--15}, abstract = {Recent studies have demonstrated that saccadic reaction times (SRTs) are influenced by the temporal regularities of dynamic environments (Vullings & Madelain, 2018). Here, we ask whether discriminative control (i.e., the possibility to use external stimuli signaling the future state of the environment) of latencies in a search task might be established using reinforcement contingencies. Eight participants made saccades within 80-750 ms toward a target displayed among distractors. We constructed two latency classes, ''short'' and ''long,'' using the first and last quartiles of the individual baseline distributions. We then used a latency-contingent display paradigm in which finding the visual target among other items was made contingent upon specific SRTs. For a first group, the postsaccadic target was displayed only following short latencies with leftward saccades, and following long latencies with rightward saccades. The opposite was true for a second group. When short- and long-latency saccades were reinforced (i.e., the target was displayed) depending on the saccade direction, median latencies differed by 74 ms on average (all outside the 98% null hypothesis confidence intervals). Posttraining, in the absence of reinforcement, we still observed strong differences in latency distributions, averaging 64 ms for leftward versus rightward saccades. Our results demonstrate the discriminative control of SRTs, further supporting the effects of reinforcement learning for saccade. This study reveals that saccade triggering is finely controlled by learned temporal and spatial properties of the environment using predictive mechanisms.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Recent studies have demonstrated that saccadic reaction times (SRTs) are influenced by the temporal regularities of dynamic environments (Vullings & Madelain, 2018). Here, we ask whether discriminative control (i.e., the possibility to use external stimuli signaling the future state of the environment) of latencies in a search task might be established using reinforcement contingencies. Eight participants made saccades within 80-750 ms toward a target displayed among distractors. We constructed two latency classes, ''short'' and ''long,'' using the first and last quartiles of the individual baseline distributions. We then used a latency-contingent display paradigm in which finding the visual target among other items was made contingent upon specific SRTs. For a first group, the postsaccadic target was displayed only following short latencies with leftward saccades, and following long latencies with rightward saccades. The opposite was true for a second group. When short- and long-latency saccades were reinforced (i.e., the target was displayed) depending on the saccade direction, median latencies differed by 74 ms on average (all outside the 98% null hypothesis confidence intervals). Posttraining, in the absence of reinforcement, we still observed strong differences in latency distributions, averaging 64 ms for leftward versus rightward saccades. Our results demonstrate the discriminative control of SRTs, further supporting the effects of reinforcement learning for saccade. This study reveals that saccade triggering is finely controlled by learned temporal and spatial properties of the environment using predictive mechanisms. |
Cécile Vullings; Mark R Harwood; Laurent Madelain Reinforcement reduces the size-latency phenomenon: A cost- benefit evaluation of saccade triggering Journal Article Journal of Vision, 19 (4), pp. 1–9, 2019. @article{Vullings2019, title = {Reinforcement reduces the size-latency phenomenon: A cost- benefit evaluation of saccade triggering}, author = {Cécile Vullings and Mark R Harwood and Laurent Madelain}, doi = {10.1167/19.4.16}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Journal of Vision}, volume = {19}, number = {4}, pages = {1--9}, abstract = {Saccadic latencies are known to change as a function of target eccentricity and size. Recently, it has been shown that latencies consistently change according to the amplitude of the step in proportion to the size of the target (Madelain, Krauzlis, & Wallman, 2005; Harwood, Madelain, Krauzlis, & Wallman, 2008; De Vries, Azadi, & Harwood, 2016). This effect, called the size-latency phenomenon, might be seen as a function of a cost-benefit relationship: Longer latencies might be explained by the lower benefit of making a saccade while the target mostly remains within the attentional field. Here, we probe this hypothesis by manipulating the cost-benefit relationship using a reinforcement procedure. Participants tracked a target stepping horizontally with varying amplitudes and sizes such that the stepto- size ratio was equal to either 0.3 or 1.5.We used a dynamic-reinforcement criterion in the blocked conditions. In the 0.3-ratio condition, any latency shorter than the criterion was reinforced. In the 1.5- ratio condition, any latency longer than the criterion was reinforced. During baseline, we observed the size-latency effect with large differences in latencies depending on the ratio in force (229 and 161 ms, respectively, for 0.3 and 1.5). After learning, distributions shifted toward the shorter or longer value (198 and 236 ms, respectively, for 0.3 and 1.5). On average, latencies decreased by 31 ms and increased by 75 ms according to the ongoing reinforcement contingencies. Our results indicate that reinforcement contingencies can considerably affect saccadic-latency distributions, and support the idea of a cost-benefit evaluation of saccade triggering.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Saccadic latencies are known to change as a function of target eccentricity and size. Recently, it has been shown that latencies consistently change according to the amplitude of the step in proportion to the size of the target (Madelain, Krauzlis, & Wallman, 2005; Harwood, Madelain, Krauzlis, & Wallman, 2008; De Vries, Azadi, & Harwood, 2016). This effect, called the size-latency phenomenon, might be seen as a function of a cost-benefit relationship: Longer latencies might be explained by the lower benefit of making a saccade while the target mostly remains within the attentional field. Here, we probe this hypothesis by manipulating the cost-benefit relationship using a reinforcement procedure. Participants tracked a target stepping horizontally with varying amplitudes and sizes such that the stepto- size ratio was equal to either 0.3 or 1.5.We used a dynamic-reinforcement criterion in the blocked conditions. In the 0.3-ratio condition, any latency shorter than the criterion was reinforced. In the 1.5- ratio condition, any latency longer than the criterion was reinforced. During baseline, we observed the size-latency effect with large differences in latencies depending on the ratio in force (229 and 161 ms, respectively, for 0.3 and 1.5). After learning, distributions shifted toward the shorter or longer value (198 and 236 ms, respectively, for 0.3 and 1.5). On average, latencies decreased by 31 ms and increased by 75 ms according to the ongoing reinforcement contingencies. Our results indicate that reinforcement contingencies can considerably affect saccadic-latency distributions, and support the idea of a cost-benefit evaluation of saccade triggering. |
Eelke de Vries; Daniel Baldauf Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 31 (10), pp. 1573–1588, 2019. @article{Vries2019, title = {Attentional weighting in the face processing network: A magnetic response image-guided magnetoencephalography study using multiple cyclic entrainments}, author = {Eelke de Vries and Daniel Baldauf}, doi = {10.1162/jocn}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience}, volume = {31}, number = {10}, pages = {1573--1588}, abstract = {We recorded magnetoencephalography using a neural entrainment paradigm with compound face stimuli that allowed for entraining the processing of various parts of a face (eyes, mouth) as well as changes in facial identity. Our magnetic response image-guided magnetoencephalography analyses revealed that different subnodes of the human face processing network were entrained differentially according to their functional specialization. Whereas the occipital face area was most responsive to the rate at which face parts (e.g., the mouth) changed, and face patches in the STS were mostly entrained by rhythmic changes in the eye region, the fusiform face area was the only subregion that was strongly entrained by the rhythmic changes in facial identity. Furthermore, top–down attention to the mouth, eyes, or identity of the face selectively modulated the neural processing in the respective area (i.e., occipital face area, STS, or fusiform face area), resembling behavioral cue validity effects observed in the participants' RT and detection rate data. Our results show the attentional weighting of the visual processing of different aspects and dimensions of a single face object, at various stages of the involved visual processing hierarchy.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } We recorded magnetoencephalography using a neural entrainment paradigm with compound face stimuli that allowed for entraining the processing of various parts of a face (eyes, mouth) as well as changes in facial identity. Our magnetic response image-guided magnetoencephalography analyses revealed that different subnodes of the human face processing network were entrained differentially according to their functional specialization. Whereas the occipital face area was most responsive to the rate at which face parts (e.g., the mouth) changed, and face patches in the STS were mostly entrained by rhythmic changes in the eye region, the fusiform face area was the only subregion that was strongly entrained by the rhythmic changes in facial identity. Furthermore, top–down attention to the mouth, eyes, or identity of the face selectively modulated the neural processing in the respective area (i.e., occipital face area, STS, or fusiform face area), resembling behavioral cue validity effects observed in the participants' RT and detection rate data. Our results show the attentional weighting of the visual processing of different aspects and dimensions of a single face object, at various stages of the involved visual processing hierarchy. |
Katharina Voigt; Carsten Murawski; Sebastian Speer; Stefan Bode Hard decisions shape the neural coding of preferences Journal Article The Journal of Neuroscience, 39 (4), pp. 718–726, 2019. @article{Voigt2019, title = {Hard decisions shape the neural coding of preferences}, author = {Katharina Voigt and Carsten Murawski and Sebastian Speer and Stefan Bode}, doi = {10.1101/298406}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {The Journal of Neuroscience}, volume = {39}, number = {4}, pages = {718--726}, abstract = {Hard decisions between equally valued alternatives can result in preference changes, meaning that subsequent valuations for chosen items increaseanddecrease for rejected items. Previous research suggests that thisphenomenon is aconsequenceofcognitive dissonance reduction after the decision, induced by the mismatch between initial preferences and decision outcomes. In contrast, this functional magnetic resonance imaging and eye-tracking study with male and female human participants found that preferences are already updated online during the process of decision-making. Preference changes were predicted from activity in left dorsolateral prefrontal cortexandprecuneus whilemakinghard decisions. Fixation durations during this phase predicted both choice outcomesandsubsequent preference changes. These preference adjustments became behaviorally relevant only for choices that were rememberedand were in turn associated with hippocampus activity. Our results suggest that preferences evolve dynamically as decisions arise, potentially as a mechanism to prevent stalemate situations in underdetermined decision scenarios.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Hard decisions between equally valued alternatives can result in preference changes, meaning that subsequent valuations for chosen items increaseanddecrease for rejected items. Previous research suggests that thisphenomenon is aconsequenceofcognitive dissonance reduction after the decision, induced by the mismatch between initial preferences and decision outcomes. In contrast, this functional magnetic resonance imaging and eye-tracking study with male and female human participants found that preferences are already updated online during the process of decision-making. Preference changes were predicted from activity in left dorsolateral prefrontal cortexandprecuneus whilemakinghard decisions. Fixation durations during this phase predicted both choice outcomesandsubsequent preference changes. These preference adjustments became behaviorally relevant only for choices that were rememberedand were in turn associated with hippocampus activity. Our results suggest that preferences evolve dynamically as decisions arise, potentially as a mechanism to prevent stalemate situations in underdetermined decision scenarios. |
Kasper Vinken; Rufin Vogels A behavioral face preference deficit in a monkey with an incomplete face patch system Journal Article NeuroImage, 189 , pp. 415–424, 2019. @article{Vinken2019, title = {A behavioral face preference deficit in a monkey with an incomplete face patch system}, author = {Kasper Vinken and Rufin Vogels}, doi = {10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.01.043}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {NeuroImage}, volume = {189}, pages = {415--424}, abstract = {Primates are experts in face perception and naturally show a preference for faces under free-viewing conditions. The primate ventral stream is characterized by a network of face patches that selectively responds to faces, but it remains uncertain how important such parcellation is for face perception. Here we investigated free-viewing behavior in a female monkey who naturally lacks fMRI-defined posterior and middle lateral face patches. We presented a series of content-rich images of scenes that included faces or other objects to that monkey during a free-viewing task and tested a group of 10 control monkeys on the same task for comparison. We found that, compared to controls, the monkey with missing face patches showed a marked reduction of face viewing preference that was most pronounced for the first few fixations. In addition, her gaze fixation patterns were substantially distinct from those of controls, especially for pictures with a face. These data demonstrate an association between the clustering of neurons in face selective patches and a behavioral bias for faces in natural images.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Primates are experts in face perception and naturally show a preference for faces under free-viewing conditions. The primate ventral stream is characterized by a network of face patches that selectively responds to faces, but it remains uncertain how important such parcellation is for face perception. Here we investigated free-viewing behavior in a female monkey who naturally lacks fMRI-defined posterior and middle lateral face patches. We presented a series of content-rich images of scenes that included faces or other objects to that monkey during a free-viewing task and tested a group of 10 control monkeys on the same task for comparison. We found that, compared to controls, the monkey with missing face patches showed a marked reduction of face viewing preference that was most pronounced for the first few fixations. In addition, her gaze fixation patterns were substantially distinct from those of controls, especially for pictures with a face. These data demonstrate an association between the clustering of neurons in face selective patches and a behavioral bias for faces in natural images. |
Saúl Villameriel; Brendan Costello; Patricia Dias; Marcel Giezen; Manuel Carreiras Language modality shapes the dynamics of word and sign recognition Journal Article Cognition, 191 , pp. 1–15, 2019. @article{Villameriel2019, title = {Language modality shapes the dynamics of word and sign recognition}, author = {Sa{ú}l Villameriel and Brendan Costello and Patricia Dias and Marcel Giezen and Manuel Carreiras}, doi = {10.1016/j.cognition.2019.05.016}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Cognition}, volume = {191}, pages = {1--15}, publisher = {Elsevier}, abstract = {Spoken words and signs both consist of structured sub-lexical units. While phonemes unfold in time in the case of the spoken signal, visual sub-lexical units such as location and handshape are produced simultaneously in signs. In the current study we investigate the role of sub-lexical units in lexical access in spoken Spanish and in Spanish Sign Language (LSE) in hearing early bimodal bilinguals and in hearing second language (L2) learners of LSE, both native speakers of Spanish, using the visual world paradigm. Experiment 1 investigated phonological competition in spoken Spanish from words sharing onset or rhyme. Experiment 2 investigated competition in LSE from signs sharing handshape or location. For Spanish, the results confirm previous findings for word recognition: onset competition comes first and is more salient than rhyme competition. For sign recognition, native bimodal bilinguals (native speakers of spoken and signed languages) showed earlier competition from location than handshape, and overall stronger competition from handshape compared to location. Hearing bimodal bilinguals who learned LSE as a second language also experienced competition from both signed parameters. However, they showed later effects for location competitors and weaker effects for handshape competitors than native signers. Our results demonstrate that the temporal dynamics of spoken words and signs impact the time course of lexical co-activation. Furthermore, age of acquisition of the signed language modulates sub-lexical processing of signs, and may reflect enhanced abilities of native signers to use early phonological cues in transition movements to constrain sign recognition.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Spoken words and signs both consist of structured sub-lexical units. While phonemes unfold in time in the case of the spoken signal, visual sub-lexical units such as location and handshape are produced simultaneously in signs. In the current study we investigate the role of sub-lexical units in lexical access in spoken Spanish and in Spanish Sign Language (LSE) in hearing early bimodal bilinguals and in hearing second language (L2) learners of LSE, both native speakers of Spanish, using the visual world paradigm. Experiment 1 investigated phonological competition in spoken Spanish from words sharing onset or rhyme. Experiment 2 investigated competition in LSE from signs sharing handshape or location. For Spanish, the results confirm previous findings for word recognition: onset competition comes first and is more salient than rhyme competition. For sign recognition, native bimodal bilinguals (native speakers of spoken and signed languages) showed earlier competition from location than handshape, and overall stronger competition from handshape compared to location. Hearing bimodal bilinguals who learned LSE as a second language also experienced competition from both signed parameters. However, they showed later effects for location competitors and weaker effects for handshape competitors than native signers. Our results demonstrate that the temporal dynamics of spoken words and signs impact the time course of lexical co-activation. Furthermore, age of acquisition of the signed language modulates sub-lexical processing of signs, and may reflect enhanced abilities of native signers to use early phonological cues in transition movements to constrain sign recognition. |
Emma Vilarem; Jorge L Armony; Julie Grèzes Action opportunities modulate attention allocation under social threat Journal Article Emotion, pp. 1–15, 2019. @article{Vilarem2019, title = {Action opportunities modulate attention allocation under social threat}, author = {Emma Vilarem and Jorge L Armony and Julie Gr{è}zes}, doi = {10.1037/emo0000598}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Emotion}, pages = {1--15}, abstract = {When entering a subway car affording multiple targets for action, how do we decide, very quickly, where to sit, particularly when in the presence of a potential danger? It is unclear, from existing motor and emotion theories, whether our attention would be allocated toward the seat on which we intend to sit on or whether it would be oriented toward an individual that signals the presence of potential danger. To address this question, we explored spontaneous action choices and attention allocation in a realistic context, where a threat-related signal (an angry or fearful individual) and the target for action in that situation could compete for attentional priority. Results showed that participants chose the actions that avoided angry individuals and were more confident when approaching those with a fearful expression. In addition, covert and overt measures of attention showed a stronger avoidance effect for angry, compared to fearful, individuals. Crucially, these effects of anger and fear on attention allocation required the presence of action possibilities in the scene. Taken together, our findings show that in a realistic context offering competing action possibilities, threat-related distractors shape both action selection and attention allocation accordingly to their social function.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } When entering a subway car affording multiple targets for action, how do we decide, very quickly, where to sit, particularly when in the presence of a potential danger? It is unclear, from existing motor and emotion theories, whether our attention would be allocated toward the seat on which we intend to sit on or whether it would be oriented toward an individual that signals the presence of potential danger. To address this question, we explored spontaneous action choices and attention allocation in a realistic context, where a threat-related signal (an angry or fearful individual) and the target for action in that situation could compete for attentional priority. Results showed that participants chose the actions that avoided angry individuals and were more confident when approaching those with a fearful expression. In addition, covert and overt measures of attention showed a stronger avoidance effect for angry, compared to fearful, individuals. Crucially, these effects of anger and fear on attention allocation required the presence of action possibilities in the scene. Taken together, our findings show that in a realistic context offering competing action possibilities, threat-related distractors shape both action selection and attention allocation accordingly to their social function. |
Lorenzo Vignali; Stefan Hawelka; Florian Hutzler; Fabio Richlan No effect of cathodal tDCS of the posterior parietal cortex on parafoveal preprocessing of words Journal Article Neuroscience Letters, 705 , pp. 219–226, 2019. @article{Vignali2019a, title = {No effect of cathodal tDCS of the posterior parietal cortex on parafoveal preprocessing of words}, author = {Lorenzo Vignali and Stefan Hawelka and Florian Hutzler and Fabio Richlan}, doi = {10.1016/j.neulet.2019.05.003}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Neuroscience Letters}, volume = {705}, pages = {219--226}, publisher = {Elsevier}, abstract = {The present study investigated the functional role of the posterior parietal cortex during the processing of parafoveally presented letter strings. To this end, we simultaneously presented two letter strings (word or pseudoword)– one foveally and one parafoveally – and asked the participants to indicate the presence of a word (i.e., lexical decision flanker task). We applied cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)over the posterior parietal cortex in order to establish causal links between brain activity and lexical decision performance (accuracy and latency). The results indicated that foveal stimulus difficulty affected the amount of parafoveally processed information. Bayes factor analysis showed no effects of brain stimulation suggesting that posterior parietal cathodal tDCS does not modulate attention-related processes during parafoveal preprocessing. This result is discussed in the context of recent tDCS studies on attention and performance.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } The present study investigated the functional role of the posterior parietal cortex during the processing of parafoveally presented letter strings. To this end, we simultaneously presented two letter strings (word or pseudoword)– one foveally and one parafoveally – and asked the participants to indicate the presence of a word (i.e., lexical decision flanker task). We applied cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS)over the posterior parietal cortex in order to establish causal links between brain activity and lexical decision performance (accuracy and latency). The results indicated that foveal stimulus difficulty affected the amount of parafoveally processed information. Bayes factor analysis showed no effects of brain stimulation suggesting that posterior parietal cathodal tDCS does not modulate attention-related processes during parafoveal preprocessing. This result is discussed in the context of recent tDCS studies on attention and performance. |
Lorenzo Vignali; Stefan Hawelka; Florian Hutzler; Fabio Richlan Processing of parafoveally presented words. An fMRI study Journal Article NeuroImage, 184 , pp. 1–9, 2019. @article{Vignali2019, title = {Processing of parafoveally presented words. An fMRI study}, author = {Lorenzo Vignali and Stefan Hawelka and Florian Hutzler and Fabio Richlan}, doi = {10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.08.061}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {NeuroImage}, volume = {184}, pages = {1--9}, publisher = {Elsevier Ltd}, abstract = {The present fMRI study investigated neural correlates of parafoveal preprocessing during reading and the type of information that is accessible from the upcoming - not yet fixated - word. Participants performed a lexical decision flanker task while the constraints imposed by the first three letters (the initial trigram) of parafoveally presented words were controlled. Behavioral results evidenced that the amount of information extracted from parafoveal stimuli, was affected by the difficulty of the foveal stimulus. Easy to process foveal stimuli (i.e., high frequency nouns) allowed parafoveal information to be extracted up to the lexical level. Conversely, when foveal stimuli were difficult to process (orthographically legal nonwords) only constraining trigrams modulated the task performance. Neuroimaging findings showed no effects of lexicality (i.e., difference between words and pseudowords) in the parafovea independently from the difficulty of the foveal stimulus. The constraints imposed by the initial trigrams, however, modulated the hemodynamic response in the left supramarginal gyrus. We interpreted the supramarginal activation as reflecting sublexical (phonological) processes. The missing parafoveal lexicality effect was discussed in relation to findings of experiments which observed effects of parafoveal semantic congruency on electrophysiological correlates.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } The present fMRI study investigated neural correlates of parafoveal preprocessing during reading and the type of information that is accessible from the upcoming - not yet fixated - word. Participants performed a lexical decision flanker task while the constraints imposed by the first three letters (the initial trigram) of parafoveally presented words were controlled. Behavioral results evidenced that the amount of information extracted from parafoveal stimuli, was affected by the difficulty of the foveal stimulus. Easy to process foveal stimuli (i.e., high frequency nouns) allowed parafoveal information to be extracted up to the lexical level. Conversely, when foveal stimuli were difficult to process (orthographically legal nonwords) only constraining trigrams modulated the task performance. Neuroimaging findings showed no effects of lexicality (i.e., difference between words and pseudowords) in the parafovea independently from the difficulty of the foveal stimulus. The constraints imposed by the initial trigrams, however, modulated the hemodynamic response in the left supramarginal gyrus. We interpreted the supramarginal activation as reflecting sublexical (phonological) processes. The missing parafoveal lexicality effect was discussed in relation to findings of experiments which observed effects of parafoveal semantic congruency on electrophysiological correlates. |
Paula Vieweg; Martin Riemer; David Berron; Thomas Wolbers Memory image completion: Establishing a task to behaviorally assess pattern completion in humans Journal Article Hippocampus, 29 , pp. 340–351, 2019. @article{Vieweg2019, title = {Memory image completion: Establishing a task to behaviorally assess pattern completion in humans}, author = {Paula Vieweg and Martin Riemer and David Berron and Thomas Wolbers}, doi = {10.1002/hipo.23030}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Hippocampus}, volume = {29}, pages = {340--351}, abstract = {For memory retrieval, pattern completion is a crucial process that restores memories from partial or degraded cues. Neurocognitive aging models suggest that the aged memory system is biased toward pattern completion, resulting in a behavioral preference for retrieval over encoding of memories. Here, we built on our previously developed behavioral recognition memory paradigm-the Memory Image Completion (MIC) task-a task to specifically target pattern completion. First, we used the original design with concurrent eye-tracking in order to rule out perceptual confounds that could interact with recognition performance. Second, we developed parallel versions of the task to accommodate test settings in clinical environments or longitudinal studies. The results show that older adults have a deficit in pattern completion ability with a concurrent bias toward pattern completion. Importantly, eye-tracking data during encoding could not account for age-related performance differences. At retrieval, spatial viewing patterns for both age groups were more driven by stimulus identity than by response choice, but compared to young adults, older adults' fixation patterns overlapped more between stimuli that they (wrongly) thought had the same identity. This supports the observation that older adults choose responses perceived as similar to a learned stimulus, indicating a bias toward pattern completion. Additionally, two shorter versions of the task yielded comparable results, and no general learning effects were observed for repeated testing. Together, we present evidence that the MIC is a reliable behavioral task that targets pattern completion, that is easily and repeatedly applicable, and that is made freely available online.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } For memory retrieval, pattern completion is a crucial process that restores memories from partial or degraded cues. Neurocognitive aging models suggest that the aged memory system is biased toward pattern completion, resulting in a behavioral preference for retrieval over encoding of memories. Here, we built on our previously developed behavioral recognition memory paradigm-the Memory Image Completion (MIC) task-a task to specifically target pattern completion. First, we used the original design with concurrent eye-tracking in order to rule out perceptual confounds that could interact with recognition performance. Second, we developed parallel versions of the task to accommodate test settings in clinical environments or longitudinal studies. The results show that older adults have a deficit in pattern completion ability with a concurrent bias toward pattern completion. Importantly, eye-tracking data during encoding could not account for age-related performance differences. At retrieval, spatial viewing patterns for both age groups were more driven by stimulus identity than by response choice, but compared to young adults, older adults' fixation patterns overlapped more between stimuli that they (wrongly) thought had the same identity. This supports the observation that older adults choose responses perceived as similar to a learned stimulus, indicating a bias toward pattern completion. Additionally, two shorter versions of the task yielded comparable results, and no general learning effects were observed for repeated testing. Together, we present evidence that the MIC is a reliable behavioral task that targets pattern completion, that is easily and repeatedly applicable, and that is made freely available online. |
Petra Vetter; Stephanie Badde; Elizabeth A Phelps; Marisa Carrasco Emotional faces guide the eyes in the absence of awareness Journal Article eLife, 8 , pp. 1–15, 2019. @article{Vetter2019, title = {Emotional faces guide the eyes in the absence of awareness}, author = {Petra Vetter and Stephanie Badde and Elizabeth A Phelps and Marisa Carrasco}, doi = {10.7554/eLife.43467}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {eLife}, volume = {8}, pages = {1--15}, abstract = {The ability to act quickly to a threat is a key skill for survival. Under awareness, threat-related emotional information, such as an angry or fearful face, has not only perceptual advantages but also guides rapid actions such as eye movements. Emotional information that is suppressed from awareness still confers perceptual and attentional benefits. However, it is unknown whether suppressed emotional information can directly guide actions, or whether emotional information has to enter awareness to do so. We suppressed emotional faces from awareness using continuous flash suppression and tracked eye gaze position. Under successful suppression, as indicated by objective and subjective measures, gaze moved towards fearful faces, but away from angry faces. Our findings reveal that: (1) threat-related emotional stimuli can guide eye movements in the absence of visual awareness; (2) threat-related emotional face information guides distinct oculomotor actions depending on the type of threat conveyed by the emotional expression.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } The ability to act quickly to a threat is a key skill for survival. Under awareness, threat-related emotional information, such as an angry or fearful face, has not only perceptual advantages but also guides rapid actions such as eye movements. Emotional information that is suppressed from awareness still confers perceptual and attentional benefits. However, it is unknown whether suppressed emotional information can directly guide actions, or whether emotional information has to enter awareness to do so. We suppressed emotional faces from awareness using continuous flash suppression and tracked eye gaze position. Under successful suppression, as indicated by objective and subjective measures, gaze moved towards fearful faces, but away from angry faces. Our findings reveal that: (1) threat-related emotional stimuli can guide eye movements in the absence of visual awareness; (2) threat-related emotional face information guides distinct oculomotor actions depending on the type of threat conveyed by the emotional expression. |
Marine Vernet; Chloé Stengel; Romain Quentin; Julià L Amengual; Antoni Valero-Cabré Entrainment of local synchrony reveals a causal role for high-beta right frontal oscillations in human visual consciousness Journal Article Scientific Reports, 9 , pp. 1–15, 2019. @article{Vernet2019, title = {Entrainment of local synchrony reveals a causal role for high-beta right frontal oscillations in human visual consciousness}, author = {Marine Vernet and Chloé Stengel and Romain Quentin and Juli{à} L Amengual and Antoni Valero-Cabré}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-019-49673-1}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {9}, pages = {1--15}, abstract = {Prior evidence supports a critical role of oscillatory activity in visual cognition, but are cerebral oscillations simply correlated or causally linked to our ability to consciously acknowledge the presence of a target in our visual field? Here, EEG signals were recorded on humans performing a visual detection task, while they received brief patterns of rhythmic or random transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) delivered to the right Frontal Eye Field (FEF) prior to the onset of a lateralized target. TMS entrained oscillations, i.e., increased high-beta power and phase alignment (the latter to a higher extent for rhythmic high-beta patterns than random patterns) while also boosting visual detection sensitivity. Considering post-hoc only those participants in which rhythmic stimulation enhanced visual detection, the magnitude of high-beta entrainment correlated with left visual performance increases. Our study provides evidence in favor of a causal link between high-beta oscillatory activity in the Frontal Eye Field and visual detection. Furthermore, it supports future applications of brain stimulation to manipulate local synchrony and improve or restore impaired visual behaviors.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Prior evidence supports a critical role of oscillatory activity in visual cognition, but are cerebral oscillations simply correlated or causally linked to our ability to consciously acknowledge the presence of a target in our visual field? Here, EEG signals were recorded on humans performing a visual detection task, while they received brief patterns of rhythmic or random transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) delivered to the right Frontal Eye Field (FEF) prior to the onset of a lateralized target. TMS entrained oscillations, i.e., increased high-beta power and phase alignment (the latter to a higher extent for rhythmic high-beta patterns than random patterns) while also boosting visual detection sensitivity. Considering post-hoc only those participants in which rhythmic stimulation enhanced visual detection, the magnitude of high-beta entrainment correlated with left visual performance increases. Our study provides evidence in favor of a causal link between high-beta oscillatory activity in the Frontal Eye Field and visual detection. Furthermore, it supports future applications of brain stimulation to manipulate local synchrony and improve or restore impaired visual behaviors. |
Maryam Vaziri-Pashkam; Yaoda Xu An information-driven 2-pathway characterization of occipitotemporal and posterior parietal visual object representations Journal Article Cerebral Cortex, 29 (5), pp. 2034–2050, 2019. @article{Vaziri-Pashkam2019, title = {An information-driven 2-pathway characterization of occipitotemporal and posterior parietal visual object representations}, author = {Maryam Vaziri-Pashkam and Yaoda Xu}, doi = {10.1093/cercor/bhy080}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Cerebral Cortex}, volume = {29}, number = {5}, pages = {2034--2050}, abstract = {Recent studies have demonstrated the existence of rich visual representations in both occipitotemporal cortex (OTC) and posterior parietal cortex (PPC). Using fMRI decoding and a bottom-up data-driven approach, we showed that although robust object category representations exist in both OTC and PPC, there is an information-driven 2-pathway separation among these regions in the representational space, with occipitotemporal regions arranging hierarchically along 1 pathway and posterior parietal regions along another pathway. We obtained 10 independent replications of this 2-pathway distinction, accounting for 58-81% of the total variance of the region-wise differences in visual representation. The separation of the PPC regions from higher occipitotemporal regions was not driven by a difference in tolerance to changes in low-level visual features, did not rely on the presence of special object categories, and was present whether or not object category was task relevant. Our information-driven 2-pathway structure differs from the well-known ventral-what and dorsal-where/how characterization of posterior brain regions. Here both pathways contain rich nonspatial visual representations. The separation we see likely reflects a difference in neural coding scheme used by PPC to represent visual information compared with that of OTC.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Recent studies have demonstrated the existence of rich visual representations in both occipitotemporal cortex (OTC) and posterior parietal cortex (PPC). Using fMRI decoding and a bottom-up data-driven approach, we showed that although robust object category representations exist in both OTC and PPC, there is an information-driven 2-pathway separation among these regions in the representational space, with occipitotemporal regions arranging hierarchically along 1 pathway and posterior parietal regions along another pathway. We obtained 10 independent replications of this 2-pathway distinction, accounting for 58-81% of the total variance of the region-wise differences in visual representation. The separation of the PPC regions from higher occipitotemporal regions was not driven by a difference in tolerance to changes in low-level visual features, did not rely on the presence of special object categories, and was present whether or not object category was task relevant. Our information-driven 2-pathway structure differs from the well-known ventral-what and dorsal-where/how characterization of posterior brain regions. Here both pathways contain rich nonspatial visual representations. The separation we see likely reflects a difference in neural coding scheme used by PPC to represent visual information compared with that of OTC. |
Martin R Vasilev; Fabrice Br Parmentier; Bernhard Angele; Julie A Kirkby Distraction by deviant sounds during reading: An eye-movement study Journal Article Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 72 (7), pp. 1863–1875, 2019. @article{Vasilev2019a, title = {Distraction by deviant sounds during reading: An eye-movement study}, author = {Martin R Vasilev and Fabrice Br Parmentier and Bernhard Angele and Julie A Kirkby}, doi = {10.1177/1747021818820816}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology}, volume = {72}, number = {7}, pages = {1863--1875}, abstract = {Oddball studies have shown that sounds unexpectedly deviating from an otherwise repeated sequence capture attention away from the task at hand. While such distraction is typically regarded as potentially important in everyday life, previous work has so far not examined how deviant sounds affect performance on more complex daily tasks. In this study, we developed a new method to examine whether deviant sounds can disrupt reading performance by recording participants' eye movements. Participants read single sentences in silence and while listening to task-irrelevant sounds. In the latter condition, a 50-ms sound was played contingent on the fixation of five target words in the sentence. On most occasions, the same tone was presented (standard sound), whereas on rare and unexpected occasions it was replaced by white noise (deviant sound). The deviant sound resulted in significantly longer fixation durations on the target words relative to the standard sound. A time-course analysis showed that the deviant sound began to affect fixation durations around 180 ms after fixation onset. Furthermore, deviance distraction was not modulated by the lexical frequency of target words. In summary, fixation durations on the target words were longer immediately after the presentation of the deviant sound, but there was no evidence that it interfered with the lexical processing of these words. The present results are in line with the recent proposition that deviant sounds yield a temporary motor suppression and suggest that deviant sounds likely inhibit the programming of the next saccade.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Oddball studies have shown that sounds unexpectedly deviating from an otherwise repeated sequence capture attention away from the task at hand. While such distraction is typically regarded as potentially important in everyday life, previous work has so far not examined how deviant sounds affect performance on more complex daily tasks. In this study, we developed a new method to examine whether deviant sounds can disrupt reading performance by recording participants' eye movements. Participants read single sentences in silence and while listening to task-irrelevant sounds. In the latter condition, a 50-ms sound was played contingent on the fixation of five target words in the sentence. On most occasions, the same tone was presented (standard sound), whereas on rare and unexpected occasions it was replaced by white noise (deviant sound). The deviant sound resulted in significantly longer fixation durations on the target words relative to the standard sound. A time-course analysis showed that the deviant sound began to affect fixation durations around 180 ms after fixation onset. Furthermore, deviance distraction was not modulated by the lexical frequency of target words. In summary, fixation durations on the target words were longer immediately after the presentation of the deviant sound, but there was no evidence that it interfered with the lexical processing of these words. The present results are in line with the recent proposition that deviant sounds yield a temporary motor suppression and suggest that deviant sounds likely inhibit the programming of the next saccade. |
Martin R Vasilev; Simon P Liversedge; Daniel Rowan; Julie A Kirkby; Bernhard Angele Reading is disrupted by intelligible background speech: Evidence from eye-tracking Journal Article Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 45 (11), pp. 1484–1512, 2019. @article{Vasilev2019, title = {Reading is disrupted by intelligible background speech: Evidence from eye-tracking}, author = {Martin R Vasilev and Simon P Liversedge and Daniel Rowan and Julie A Kirkby and Bernhard Angele}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance}, volume = {45}, number = {11}, pages = {1484--1512}, abstract = {It is not well understood whether background speech affects the initial processing of words during reading or only the later processes of sentence integration. Additionally, it is not clear how eye movements support text compre- hension in the face of distraction by background speech and noise. In the present research, participants read single sentences (Experiment 1) and short paragraphs (Experiments 2–3) in 4 sound conditions: silence, speech-spectrum Gaussian noise, English speech (intelligible to participants), and Mandarin speech (unintelligible to participants). Intelligible speech did not affect the lexical access of words and had a limited effect on the first-pass fixations of words. However, it led to more regressions and more rereading fixations compared with both unintelligible speech and silence. The results suggested that the distraction is mostly semantic in nature, and there was only limited evidence for a contribution of phonology. Finally, intelligible speech disrupted comprehension only when partici- pants were prevented from rereading previous words. These findings suggest that the semantic properties of irrelevant speech can disrupt the ongoing reading process, but that this disruption occurs in the postlexical stages of reading when participants need to integrate words to form the sentence context and to construct a coherent discourse of the text.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } It is not well understood whether background speech affects the initial processing of words during reading or only the later processes of sentence integration. Additionally, it is not clear how eye movements support text compre- hension in the face of distraction by background speech and noise. In the present research, participants read single sentences (Experiment 1) and short paragraphs (Experiments 2–3) in 4 sound conditions: silence, speech-spectrum Gaussian noise, English speech (intelligible to participants), and Mandarin speech (unintelligible to participants). Intelligible speech did not affect the lexical access of words and had a limited effect on the first-pass fixations of words. However, it led to more regressions and more rereading fixations compared with both unintelligible speech and silence. The results suggested that the distraction is mostly semantic in nature, and there was only limited evidence for a contribution of phonology. Finally, intelligible speech disrupted comprehension only when partici- pants were prevented from rereading previous words. These findings suggest that the semantic properties of irrelevant speech can disrupt the ongoing reading process, but that this disruption occurs in the postlexical stages of reading when participants need to integrate words to form the sentence context and to construct a coherent discourse of the text. |
Sonja van Well; John P O'Doherty; Frans van Winden Relief from incidental fear evokes exuberant risk taking Journal Article PLOS ONE, 14 , pp. 1–19, 2019. @article{Well2019, title = {Relief from incidental fear evokes exuberant risk taking}, author = {Sonja van Well and John P O'Doherty and Frans van Winden}, editor = {Darrell A Worthy}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0211018}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {PLOS ONE}, volume = {14}, pages = {1--19}, publisher = {Public Library of Science}, abstract = {Incidental emotions are defined as feelings that are unrelated to a decision task at hand and thereby not normatively relevant for making choices. The precise influence and formal theoretical implications of incidental emotions regarding financial risk taking are still largely unclear. An effect of incidental emotion on decision-making would challenge the main extant formal theoretical economic models because such models do not allow for an effect of incidental emotions. As financial risk taking is pervasive in modern economies, the role of incidental emotions is an important issue. The goal of this experimental study is threefold. First, we examine the impact of incidental fear on the choice between a sure and a risky monetary option. A well-validated method of fear induction, using electric shocks, is employed for that purpose. Based on emotion studies we hypothesize less risk taking under fear and more risk taking when relieved of fear. Our second goal is to investigate the relative performance of the main existing formal theoretical economic models (based on Expected Utility Theory, Prospect Theory, or the Mean-Variance model) in explaining the behavioral data. We also investigate how these models can be adjusted to accommodate any observed influence of incidental emotion. For that reason, we first theoretically model the potential pathways of incidental fear (and the relief thereof) via the valuation of the choice option rewards or risk-assessment. We then estimate the relevant parameters allowing for both additive as well as interactive effects. Our third and final goal is to explore the neural basis of any observed influence of incidental emotions on decision-making by means of a model-based fMRI analysis, using the findings of existing neuroeconomic studies as the basis for our hypotheses. Our results indicate that the relief of fear can give a substantial boost to financial risk taking (suggestive of exuberance). This impact is best captured by Prospect Theory if we allow for an increase in participants' valuation of option outcomes when relieved of fear. Moreover, this impact is manifested at the neural level by the activity of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), a brain area widely regarded as being central for valuation.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Incidental emotions are defined as feelings that are unrelated to a decision task at hand and thereby not normatively relevant for making choices. The precise influence and formal theoretical implications of incidental emotions regarding financial risk taking are still largely unclear. An effect of incidental emotion on decision-making would challenge the main extant formal theoretical economic models because such models do not allow for an effect of incidental emotions. As financial risk taking is pervasive in modern economies, the role of incidental emotions is an important issue. The goal of this experimental study is threefold. First, we examine the impact of incidental fear on the choice between a sure and a risky monetary option. A well-validated method of fear induction, using electric shocks, is employed for that purpose. Based on emotion studies we hypothesize less risk taking under fear and more risk taking when relieved of fear. Our second goal is to investigate the relative performance of the main existing formal theoretical economic models (based on Expected Utility Theory, Prospect Theory, or the Mean-Variance model) in explaining the behavioral data. We also investigate how these models can be adjusted to accommodate any observed influence of incidental emotion. For that reason, we first theoretically model the potential pathways of incidental fear (and the relief thereof) via the valuation of the choice option rewards or risk-assessment. We then estimate the relevant parameters allowing for both additive as well as interactive effects. Our third and final goal is to explore the neural basis of any observed influence of incidental emotions on decision-making by means of a model-based fMRI analysis, using the findings of existing neuroeconomic studies as the basis for our hypotheses. Our results indicate that the relief of fear can give a substantial boost to financial risk taking (suggestive of exuberance). This impact is best captured by Prospect Theory if we allow for an increase in participants' valuation of option outcomes when relieved of fear. Moreover, this impact is manifested at the neural level by the activity of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), a brain area widely regarded as being central for valuation. |
Joanne C Van Slooten; Sara Jahfari; Jan Theeuwes Spontaneous eye blink rate predicts individual differences in exploration and exploitation during reinforcement learning Journal Article Scientific Reports, 9 , pp. 1–13, 2019. @article{VanSlooten2019, title = {Spontaneous eye blink rate predicts individual differences in exploration and exploitation during reinforcement learning}, author = {Joanne C {Van Slooten} and Sara Jahfari and Jan Theeuwes}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-019-53805-y}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {9}, pages = {1--13}, publisher = {Springer US}, abstract = {Spontaneous eye blink rate (sEBR) has been linked to striatal dopamine function and to how individuals make value-based choices after a period of reinforcement learning (RL). While sEBR is thought to reflect how individuals learn from the negative outcomes of their choices, this idea has not been tested explicitly. This study assessed how individual differences in sEBR relate to learning by focusing on the cognitive processes that drive RL. Using Bayesian latent mixture modelling to quantify the mapping between RL behaviour and its underlying cognitive processes, we were able to differentiate low and high sEBR individuals at the level of these cognitive processes. Further inspection of these cognitive processes indicated that sEBR uniquely indexed explore-exploit tendencies during RL: lower sEBR predicted exploitative choices for high valued options, whereas higher sEBR predicted exploration of lower value options. This relationship was additionally supported by a network analysis where, notably, no link was observed between sEBR and how individuals learned from negative outcomes. Our findings challenge the notion that sEBR predicts learning from negative outcomes during RL, and suggest that sEBR predicts individual explore-exploit tendencies. These then influence value sensitivity during choices to support successful performance when facing uncertain reward.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Spontaneous eye blink rate (sEBR) has been linked to striatal dopamine function and to how individuals make value-based choices after a period of reinforcement learning (RL). While sEBR is thought to reflect how individuals learn from the negative outcomes of their choices, this idea has not been tested explicitly. This study assessed how individual differences in sEBR relate to learning by focusing on the cognitive processes that drive RL. Using Bayesian latent mixture modelling to quantify the mapping between RL behaviour and its underlying cognitive processes, we were able to differentiate low and high sEBR individuals at the level of these cognitive processes. Further inspection of these cognitive processes indicated that sEBR uniquely indexed explore-exploit tendencies during RL: lower sEBR predicted exploitative choices for high valued options, whereas higher sEBR predicted exploration of lower value options. This relationship was additionally supported by a network analysis where, notably, no link was observed between sEBR and how individuals learned from negative outcomes. Our findings challenge the notion that sEBR predicts learning from negative outcomes during RL, and suggest that sEBR predicts individual explore-exploit tendencies. These then influence value sensitivity during choices to support successful performance when facing uncertain reward. |
Jacolien van Rij; Petra Hendriks; Hedderik van Rijn; Harald R Baayen; Simon N Wood Analyzing the time course of pupillometric data Journal Article Trends in Hearing, 23 , pp. 1–22, 2019. @article{Rij2019, title = {Analyzing the time course of pupillometric data}, author = {Jacolien van Rij and Petra Hendriks and Hedderik van Rijn and Harald R Baayen and Simon N Wood}, doi = {10.1177/2331216519832483}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Trends in Hearing}, volume = {23}, pages = {1--22}, abstract = {This article provides a tutorial for analyzing pupillometric data. Pupil dilation has become increasingly popular in psychological and psycholinguistic research as a measure to trace language processing. However, there is no general consensus about procedures to analyze the data, with most studies analyzing extracted features from the pupil dilation data instead of analyzing the pupil dilation trajectories directly. Recent studies have started to apply nonlinear regression and other methods to analyze the pupil dilation trajectories directly, utilizing all available information in the continuously measured signal. This article applies a nonlinear regression analysis, generalized additive mixed modeling, and illustrates how to analyze the full-time course of the pupil dilation signal. The regression analysis is particularly suited for analyzing pupil dilation in the fields of psychological and psycholinguistic research because generalized additive mixed models can include complex nonlinear interactions for investigating the effects of properties of stimuli (e.g., formant frequency) or participants (e.g., working memory score) on the pupil dilation signal. To account for the variation due to participants and items, nonlinear random effects can be included. However, one of the challenges for analyzing time series data is dealing with the autocorrelation in the residuals, which is rather extreme for the pupillary signal. On the basis of simulations, we explain potential causes of this extreme autocorrelation, and on the basis of the experimental data, we show how to reduce their adverse effects, allowing a much more coherent interpretation of pupillary data than possible with feature-based techniques.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } This article provides a tutorial for analyzing pupillometric data. Pupil dilation has become increasingly popular in psychological and psycholinguistic research as a measure to trace language processing. However, there is no general consensus about procedures to analyze the data, with most studies analyzing extracted features from the pupil dilation data instead of analyzing the pupil dilation trajectories directly. Recent studies have started to apply nonlinear regression and other methods to analyze the pupil dilation trajectories directly, utilizing all available information in the continuously measured signal. This article applies a nonlinear regression analysis, generalized additive mixed modeling, and illustrates how to analyze the full-time course of the pupil dilation signal. The regression analysis is particularly suited for analyzing pupil dilation in the fields of psychological and psycholinguistic research because generalized additive mixed models can include complex nonlinear interactions for investigating the effects of properties of stimuli (e.g., formant frequency) or participants (e.g., working memory score) on the pupil dilation signal. To account for the variation due to participants and items, nonlinear random effects can be included. However, one of the challenges for analyzing time series data is dealing with the autocorrelation in the residuals, which is rather extreme for the pupillary signal. On the basis of simulations, we explain potential causes of this extreme autocorrelation, and on the basis of the experimental data, we show how to reduce their adverse effects, allowing a much more coherent interpretation of pupillary data than possible with feature-based techniques. |
Daan R van Renswoude; Ingmar Visser; Maartje E J Raijmakers; Tawny Tsang; Scott P Johnson Real-world scene perception in infants: What factors guide attention allocation? Journal Article Infancy, 24 , pp. 693–717, 2019. @article{Renswoude2019a, title = {Real-world scene perception in infants: What factors guide attention allocation?}, author = {Daan R van Renswoude and Ingmar Visser and Maartje E J Raijmakers and Tawny Tsang and Scott P Johnson}, doi = {10.1111/infa.12308}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Infancy}, volume = {24}, pages = {693--717}, abstract = {The foci of visual attention were modeled as a function of perceptual salience, adult fixation locations, and attentional control mechanisms (measured in separate tasks) in infants (N = 45, 3-to 15-month-olds) as they viewed static real-world scenes. After controlling for the center bias, the results showed that low-level perceptual salience predicts where infants look. In addition, high-level factors also played a role: Infants fix-ated parts of the scenes frequently fixated by adults and this effect was stronger for older than younger infants. In line with this finding, infant fixation durations were longer on regions more frequently fixated by adults, implying longer time taken to process the available information. Fixation durations decreased with age, and this decline interacted with orienting skills such that fixation durations decreased faster with age for infants with high orienting skills, relative to infants with low orienting skills. There was a further interaction between fixa-tion durations and selective attention abilities: Infants with low selective attention skills showed a decrease in fixation durations with age, whereas infants with higher selective attention skills showed a slight increase in fixation durations with age. These findings imply that infants' visual processing of static real-world stimuli develops in accord with attentional control.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } The foci of visual attention were modeled as a function of perceptual salience, adult fixation locations, and attentional control mechanisms (measured in separate tasks) in infants (N = 45, 3-to 15-month-olds) as they viewed static real-world scenes. After controlling for the center bias, the results showed that low-level perceptual salience predicts where infants look. In addition, high-level factors also played a role: Infants fix-ated parts of the scenes frequently fixated by adults and this effect was stronger for older than younger infants. In line with this finding, infant fixation durations were longer on regions more frequently fixated by adults, implying longer time taken to process the available information. Fixation durations decreased with age, and this decline interacted with orienting skills such that fixation durations decreased faster with age for infants with high orienting skills, relative to infants with low orienting skills. There was a further interaction between fixa-tion durations and selective attention abilities: Infants with low selective attention skills showed a decrease in fixation durations with age, whereas infants with higher selective attention skills showed a slight increase in fixation durations with age. These findings imply that infants' visual processing of static real-world stimuli develops in accord with attentional control. |
Daan R van Renswoude; Linda van den Berg; Maartje E J Raijmakers; Ingmar Visser Infants' center bias in free viewing of real-world scenes Journal Article Vision Research, 154 , pp. 44–53, 2019. @article{Renswoude2019, title = {Infants' center bias in free viewing of real-world scenes}, author = {Daan R van Renswoude and Linda van den Berg and Maartje E J Raijmakers and Ingmar Visser}, doi = {10.1016/j.visres.2018.10.003}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Vision Research}, volume = {154}, pages = {44--53}, publisher = {Elsevier}, abstract = {This study examines how salience and a center bias drive infants' first fixation while looking at complex scenes. Adults are known to have a strong center bias, their first point of gaze is nearly always in the center of the scene. The center bias is likely to be a strategic bias, as looking towards the center minimizes the distance to other parts of the scene and important objects are often located at the center. In an experimental design varying salience regions of scenes and start positions we examined infants' (N = 48}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } This study examines how salience and a center bias drive infants' first fixation while looking at complex scenes. Adults are known to have a strong center bias, their first point of gaze is nearly always in the center of the scene. The center bias is likely to be a strategic bias, as looking towards the center minimizes the distance to other parts of the scene and important objects are often located at the center. In an experimental design varying salience regions of scenes and start positions we examined infants' (N = 48 |
Dirk van Moorselaar; Heleen A Slagter The Journal of Neuroscience, 39 (35), pp. 6953–6967, 2019. @article{Moorselaar2019, title = {Learning what is irrelevant or relevant: Expectations facilitate distractor inhibition and target facilitation through distinct neural mechanisms}, author = {Dirk van Moorselaar and Heleen A Slagter}, doi = {10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0593-19.2019}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {The Journal of Neuroscience}, volume = {39}, number = {35}, pages = {6953--6967}, abstract = {It is well known that attention can facilitate performance by top-down biasing processing of task-relevant information in advance. Recent findings from behavioral studies suggest that distractor inhibition is not under similar direct control but strongly dependent on expectations derived from previous experience. Yet, how expectations about distracting information influence distractor inhibition at the neural level remains unclear. The current study addressed this outstanding question in three experiments in which search displays with repeating distractor or target locations across trials allowed human observers (male and female) to learn which location to selectively suppress or boost. Behavioral findings demonstrated that both distractor and target location learning resulted in more efficient search, as indexed by faster response times. Crucially, distractor learning benefits were observed without target location foreknowledge, unaffected by the number of possible target locations, and could not be explained by priming alone. To determine how distractor location expectations facilitated performance, we applied a spatial encoding model to EEG data to reconstruct activity in neural populations tuned to distractor or target locations. Target location learning increased neural tuning to target locations in advance, indicative of preparatory biasing. This sensitivity increased after target presentation. By contrast, distractor expectations did not change preparatory spatial tuning. Instead, distractor expectations reduced distractor-specific processing, as reflected in the disappearance of the Pd event-related potential component, a neural marker of distractor inhibition, and decreased decoding accuracy. These findings suggest that the brain may no longer process expected distractors as distractors, once it has learned they can safely be ignored.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We constantly try hard to ignore conspicuous events that distract us from our current goals. Surprisingly, and in contrast to dominant attention theories, ignoring distracting, but irrelevant, events does not seem to be as flexible as is focusing our attention on those same aspects. Instead, distractor suppression appears to strongly rely on learned, context-dependent expectations. Here, we investigated how learning about upcoming distractors changes distractor processing and directly contrasted the underlying neural dynamics to target learning. We show that, while target learning enhanced anticipatory sensory tuning, distractor learning only modulated reactive suppressive processing. These results suggest that expected distractors may no longer be considered distractors by the brain once it has learned that they can safely be ignored.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } It is well known that attention can facilitate performance by top-down biasing processing of task-relevant information in advance. Recent findings from behavioral studies suggest that distractor inhibition is not under similar direct control but strongly dependent on expectations derived from previous experience. Yet, how expectations about distracting information influence distractor inhibition at the neural level remains unclear. The current study addressed this outstanding question in three experiments in which search displays with repeating distractor or target locations across trials allowed human observers (male and female) to learn which location to selectively suppress or boost. Behavioral findings demonstrated that both distractor and target location learning resulted in more efficient search, as indexed by faster response times. Crucially, distractor learning benefits were observed without target location foreknowledge, unaffected by the number of possible target locations, and could not be explained by priming alone. To determine how distractor location expectations facilitated performance, we applied a spatial encoding model to EEG data to reconstruct activity in neural populations tuned to distractor or target locations. Target location learning increased neural tuning to target locations in advance, indicative of preparatory biasing. This sensitivity increased after target presentation. By contrast, distractor expectations did not change preparatory spatial tuning. Instead, distractor expectations reduced distractor-specific processing, as reflected in the disappearance of the Pd event-related potential component, a neural marker of distractor inhibition, and decreased decoding accuracy. These findings suggest that the brain may no longer process expected distractors as distractors, once it has learned they can safely be ignored.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We constantly try hard to ignore conspicuous events that distract us from our current goals. Surprisingly, and in contrast to dominant attention theories, ignoring distracting, but irrelevant, events does not seem to be as flexible as is focusing our attention on those same aspects. Instead, distractor suppression appears to strongly rely on learned, context-dependent expectations. Here, we investigated how learning about upcoming distractors changes distractor processing and directly contrasted the underlying neural dynamics to target learning. We show that, while target learning enhanced anticipatory sensory tuning, distractor learning only modulated reactive suppressive processing. These results suggest that expected distractors may no longer be considered distractors by the brain once it has learned that they can safely be ignored. |
Chayenne Van Meel; Annelies Baeck; Céline R Gillebert; Johan Wagemans; Hans P Op de Beeck The representation of symmetry in multi-voxel response patterns and functional connectivity throughout the ventral visual stream Journal Article NeuroImage, 191 , pp. 216–224, 2019. @article{VanMeel2019, title = {The representation of symmetry in multi-voxel response patterns and functional connectivity throughout the ventral visual stream}, author = {Chayenne {Van Meel} and Annelies Baeck and Céline R Gillebert and Johan Wagemans and Hans P {Op de Beeck}}, doi = {10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.02.030}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {NeuroImage}, volume = {191}, pages = {216--224}, abstract = {Several computational models explain how symmetry might be detected and represented in the human brain. However, while there is an abundance of psychophysical studies on symmetry detection and several neural studies showing where and when symmetry is detected in the brain, important questions remain about how this detection happens and how symmetric patterns are represented. We studied the representation of (vertical) symmetry in regions of the ventral visual stream, using multi-voxel pattern analyses (MVPA) and functional connectivity analyses. Our results suggest that neural representations gradually change throughout the ventral visual stream, from very similar part-based representations for symmetrical and asymmetrical stimuli in V1 and V2, over increasingly different representations for symmetrical and asymmetrical stimuli which are nevertheless still part-based in both V3 and V4, to a more holistic representation for symmetrical compared to asymmetrical stimuli in high-level LOC. This change in representations is accompanied by increased communication between left and right retinotopic areas, evidenced by higher interhemispheric functional connectivity during symmetry perception in areas V2 and V4.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Several computational models explain how symmetry might be detected and represented in the human brain. However, while there is an abundance of psychophysical studies on symmetry detection and several neural studies showing where and when symmetry is detected in the brain, important questions remain about how this detection happens and how symmetric patterns are represented. We studied the representation of (vertical) symmetry in regions of the ventral visual stream, using multi-voxel pattern analyses (MVPA) and functional connectivity analyses. Our results suggest that neural representations gradually change throughout the ventral visual stream, from very similar part-based representations for symmetrical and asymmetrical stimuli in V1 and V2, over increasingly different representations for symmetrical and asymmetrical stimuli which are nevertheless still part-based in both V3 and V4, to a more holistic representation for symmetrical compared to asymmetrical stimuli in high-level LOC. This change in representations is accompanied by increased communication between left and right retinotopic areas, evidenced by higher interhemispheric functional connectivity during symmetry perception in areas V2 and V4. |
Rozemarijn S van Kleef; Claudi L H Bockting; Evelien van Valen; André Aleman; Jan Bernard C Marsman; Marie José van Tol BMC Psychiatry, 19 , pp. 1–11, 2019. @article{Kleef2019, title = {Neurocognitive working mechanisms of the prevention of relapse in remitted recurrent depression (NEWPRIDE): Protocol of a randomized controlled neuroimaging trial of preventive cognitive therapy}, author = {Rozemarijn S van Kleef and Claudi L H Bockting and Evelien van Valen and André Aleman and Jan Bernard C Marsman and Marie José van Tol}, doi = {10.1186/s12888-019-2384-0}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {BMC Psychiatry}, volume = {19}, pages = {1--11}, publisher = {BMC Psychiatry}, abstract = {Background: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a psychiatric disorder with a highly recurrent character, making prevention of relapse an important clinical goal. Preventive Cognitive Therapy (PCT) has been proven effective in preventing relapse, though not for every patient. A better understanding of relapse vulnerability and working mechanisms of preventive treatment may inform effective personalized intervention strategies. Neurocognitive models of MDD suggest that abnormalities in prefrontal control over limbic emotion-processing areas during emotional processing and regulation are important in understanding relapse vulnerability. Whether changes in these neurocognitive abnormalities are induced by PCT and thus play an important role in mediating the risk for recurrent depression, is currently unclear. In the Neurocognitive Working Mechanisms of the Prevention of Relapse In Depression (NEWPRIDE) study, we aim to 1) study neurocognitive factors underpinning the vulnerability for relapse, 2) understand the neurocognitive working mechanisms of PCT, 3) predict longitudinal treatment effects based on pre-treatment neurocognitive characteristics, and 4) validate the pupil dilation response as a marker for prefrontal activity, reflecting emotion regulation capacity and therapy success. Methods: In this randomized controlled trial, 75 remitted recurrent MDD (rrMDD) patients will be included. Detailed clinical and cognitive measurements, fMRI scanning and pupillometry will be performed at baseline and three-month follow-up. In the interval, 50 rrMDD patients will be randomized to eight sessions of PCT and 25 rrMDD patients to a waiting list. At baseline, 25 healthy control participants will be additionally included to objectify cross-sectional residual neurocognitive abnormalities in rrMDD. After 18 months, clinical assessments of relapse status are performed to investigate which therapy induced changes predict relapse in the 50 patients allocated to PCT. Discussion: The present trial is the first to study the neurocognitive vulnerability factors underlying relapse and mediating relapse prevention, their value for predicting PCT success and whether pupil dilation acts as a valuable marker in this regard. Ultimately, a deeper understanding of relapse prevention could contribute to the development of better targeted preventive interventions. Trial registration: Trial registration: Netherlands Trial Register, August 18, 2015, trial number NL5219.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Background: Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a psychiatric disorder with a highly recurrent character, making prevention of relapse an important clinical goal. Preventive Cognitive Therapy (PCT) has been proven effective in preventing relapse, though not for every patient. A better understanding of relapse vulnerability and working mechanisms of preventive treatment may inform effective personalized intervention strategies. Neurocognitive models of MDD suggest that abnormalities in prefrontal control over limbic emotion-processing areas during emotional processing and regulation are important in understanding relapse vulnerability. Whether changes in these neurocognitive abnormalities are induced by PCT and thus play an important role in mediating the risk for recurrent depression, is currently unclear. In the Neurocognitive Working Mechanisms of the Prevention of Relapse In Depression (NEWPRIDE) study, we aim to 1) study neurocognitive factors underpinning the vulnerability for relapse, 2) understand the neurocognitive working mechanisms of PCT, 3) predict longitudinal treatment effects based on pre-treatment neurocognitive characteristics, and 4) validate the pupil dilation response as a marker for prefrontal activity, reflecting emotion regulation capacity and therapy success. Methods: In this randomized controlled trial, 75 remitted recurrent MDD (rrMDD) patients will be included. Detailed clinical and cognitive measurements, fMRI scanning and pupillometry will be performed at baseline and three-month follow-up. In the interval, 50 rrMDD patients will be randomized to eight sessions of PCT and 25 rrMDD patients to a waiting list. At baseline, 25 healthy control participants will be additionally included to objectify cross-sectional residual neurocognitive abnormalities in rrMDD. After 18 months, clinical assessments of relapse status are performed to investigate which therapy induced changes predict relapse in the 50 patients allocated to PCT. Discussion: The present trial is the first to study the neurocognitive vulnerability factors underlying relapse and mediating relapse prevention, their value for predicting PCT success and whether pupil dilation acts as a valuable marker in this regard. Ultimately, a deeper understanding of relapse prevention could contribute to the development of better targeted preventive interventions. Trial registration: Trial registration: Netherlands Trial Register, August 18, 2015, trial number NL5219. |
Jochem van Kempen; Gerard M Loughnane; Daniel P Newman; Simon P Kelly; Alexander Thiele; Redmond G O'Connell; Mark A Bellgrove Behavioural and neural signatures of perceptual decision-making are modulated by pupil-linked arousal Journal Article eLife, 8 (Lc), pp. 1–27, 2019. @article{Kempen2019, title = {Behavioural and neural signatures of perceptual decision-making are modulated by pupil-linked arousal}, author = {Jochem van Kempen and Gerard M Loughnane and Daniel P Newman and Simon P Kelly and Alexander Thiele and Redmond G O'Connell and Mark A Bellgrove}, doi = {10.7554/eLife.42541}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {eLife}, volume = {8}, number = {Lc}, pages = {1--27}, abstract = {The timing and accuracy of perceptual decision-making is exquisitely sensitive to fluctuations in arousal. Although extensive research has highlighted the role of various neural processing stages in forming decisions, our understanding of how arousal impacts these processes remains limited. Here we isolated electrophysiological signatures of decision-making alongside signals reflecting target selection, attentional engagement and motor output and examined their modulation as a function of tonic and phasic arousal, indexed by baseline and task-evoked pupil diameter, respectively. Reaction times were shorter on trials with lower tonic, and higher phasic arousal. Additionally, these two pupil measures were predictive of a unique set of EEG signatures that together represent multiple information processing steps of decision-making. Finally, behavioural variability associated with fluctuations in tonic and phasic arousal, indicative of neuromodulators acting on multiple timescales, was mediated by its effects on the EEG markers of attentional engagement, sensory processing and the variability in decision processing.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } The timing and accuracy of perceptual decision-making is exquisitely sensitive to fluctuations in arousal. Although extensive research has highlighted the role of various neural processing stages in forming decisions, our understanding of how arousal impacts these processes remains limited. Here we isolated electrophysiological signatures of decision-making alongside signals reflecting target selection, attentional engagement and motor output and examined their modulation as a function of tonic and phasic arousal, indexed by baseline and task-evoked pupil diameter, respectively. Reaction times were shorter on trials with lower tonic, and higher phasic arousal. Additionally, these two pupil measures were predictive of a unique set of EEG signatures that together represent multiple information processing steps of decision-making. Finally, behavioural variability associated with fluctuations in tonic and phasic arousal, indicative of neuromodulators acting on multiple timescales, was mediated by its effects on the EEG markers of attentional engagement, sensory processing and the variability in decision processing. |
Mats W J van Es; Jan-Mathijs Schoffelen Stimulus-induced gamma power predicts the amplitude of the subsequent visual evoked response Journal Article NeuroImage, 186 , pp. 703–712, 2019. @article{Es2019p, title = {Stimulus-induced gamma power predicts the amplitude of the subsequent visual evoked response}, author = {Mats W J van Es and Jan-Mathijs Schoffelen}, doi = {10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.11.029}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {NeuroImage}, volume = {186}, pages = {703--712}, publisher = {Elsevier Ltd}, abstract = {The efficiency of neuronal information transfer in activated brain networks may affect behavioral performance. Gamma-band synchronization has been proposed to be a mechanism that facilitates neuronal processing of behaviorally relevant stimuli. In line with this, it has been shown that strong gamma-band activity in visual cortical areas leads to faster responses to a visual go cue. We investigated whether there are directly observable consequences of trial-by-trial fluctuations in non-invasively observed gamma-band activity on the neuronal response. Specifically, we hypothesized that the amplitude of the visual evoked response to a go cue can be predicted by gamma power in the visual system, in the window preceding the evoked response. Thirty-three human subjects (22 female) performed a visual speeded response task while their magnetoencephalogram (MEG) was recorded. The participants had to respond to a pattern reversal of a concentric moving grating. We estimated single trial stimulus-induced visual cortical gamma power, and correlated this with the estimated single trial amplitude of the most prominent event-related field (ERF) peak within the first 100 ms after the pattern reversal. In parieto-occipital cortical areas, the amplitude of the ERF correlated positively with gamma power, and correlated negatively with reaction times. No effects were observed for the alpha and beta frequency bands, despite clear stimulus onset induced modulation at those frequencies. These results support a mechanistic model, in which gamma-band synchronization enhances the neuronal gain to relevant visual input, thus leading to more efficient downstream processing and to faster responses.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } The efficiency of neuronal information transfer in activated brain networks may affect behavioral performance. Gamma-band synchronization has been proposed to be a mechanism that facilitates neuronal processing of behaviorally relevant stimuli. In line with this, it has been shown that strong gamma-band activity in visual cortical areas leads to faster responses to a visual go cue. We investigated whether there are directly observable consequences of trial-by-trial fluctuations in non-invasively observed gamma-band activity on the neuronal response. Specifically, we hypothesized that the amplitude of the visual evoked response to a go cue can be predicted by gamma power in the visual system, in the window preceding the evoked response. Thirty-three human subjects (22 female) performed a visual speeded response task while their magnetoencephalogram (MEG) was recorded. The participants had to respond to a pattern reversal of a concentric moving grating. We estimated single trial stimulus-induced visual cortical gamma power, and correlated this with the estimated single trial amplitude of the most prominent event-related field (ERF) peak within the first 100 ms after the pattern reversal. In parieto-occipital cortical areas, the amplitude of the ERF correlated positively with gamma power, and correlated negatively with reaction times. No effects were observed for the alpha and beta frequency bands, despite clear stimulus onset induced modulation at those frequencies. These results support a mechanistic model, in which gamma-band synchronization enhances the neuronal gain to relevant visual input, thus leading to more efficient downstream processing and to faster responses. |
Daniel Marten Van Es; Tomas Knapen Implicit and explicit learning in reactive and voluntary saccade adaptation Journal Article PLoS ONE, 14 (1), pp. 1–20, 2019. @article{VanEs2019, title = {Implicit and explicit learning in reactive and voluntary saccade adaptation}, author = {Daniel Marten {Van Es} and Tomas Knapen}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0203248}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {14}, number = {1}, pages = {1--20}, abstract = {Saccades can either be elicited automatically by salient peripheral stimuli or can additionally depend on explicit cognitive goals. Similarly, it is thought that motor adaptation is driven by the combination of a more automatic, implicit process and a more explicit, cognitive process. However, the degree to which such implicit and explicit learning contribute to the adaptation of more reactive and voluntary saccades remains elusive. To study this question, we employed a global saccadic adaptation paradigm with both increasing and decreasing saccade amplitudes. We assessed the resulting adaptation using a dual state model of motor adaptation. This model decomposes learning into a fast and slow process, which are thought to constitute explicit and implicit learning, respectively. Our results show that adaptation of reactive saccades is equally driven by fast and slow learning, while fast learning is nearly absent when adapting voluntary (i.e. scanning) saccades. This pattern of results was present both when saccade gain was increased or decreased. Our results suggest that the increased cognitive demands associated with voluntary compared to reactive saccade planning interfere specifically with explicit learning.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Saccades can either be elicited automatically by salient peripheral stimuli or can additionally depend on explicit cognitive goals. Similarly, it is thought that motor adaptation is driven by the combination of a more automatic, implicit process and a more explicit, cognitive process. However, the degree to which such implicit and explicit learning contribute to the adaptation of more reactive and voluntary saccades remains elusive. To study this question, we employed a global saccadic adaptation paradigm with both increasing and decreasing saccade amplitudes. We assessed the resulting adaptation using a dual state model of motor adaptation. This model decomposes learning into a fast and slow process, which are thought to constitute explicit and implicit learning, respectively. Our results show that adaptation of reactive saccades is equally driven by fast and slow learning, while fast learning is nearly absent when adapting voluntary (i.e. scanning) saccades. This pattern of results was present both when saccade gain was increased or decreased. Our results suggest that the increased cognitive demands associated with voluntary compared to reactive saccade planning interfere specifically with explicit learning. |
Welmoed Van Ens; Ulrike Schmidt; Iain C Campbell; Anne Roefs; Jessica Werthmann Test-retest reliability of attention bias for food: Robust eye-tracking and reaction time indices Journal Article Appetite, 136 , pp. 86–92, 2019. @article{VanEns2019, title = {Test-retest reliability of attention bias for food: Robust eye-tracking and reaction time indices}, author = {Welmoed {Van Ens} and Ulrike Schmidt and Iain C Campbell and Anne Roefs and Jessica Werthmann}, doi = {10.1016/j.appet.2019.01.020}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Appetite}, volume = {136}, pages = {86--92}, abstract = {This study assessed internal reliability and test-retest reliability of attention bias scores for food derived from the dot probe task. A visual dot probe task with food and non-food pictures (presented for 3000 ms) was administered to 53 healthy women on two occasions. Attention bias scores for food were calculated based on manual response latencies (reaction time bias) and concurrent assessment of eye-movements (direction bias and dwell-time bias). Subjective hunger and blood glucose levels were measured on both testing occasions. Dietary restraint and eating disorder symptoms were assessed during the second session. Results showed that direction bias had poor internal and test-retest reliability. Dwell time bias had excellent internal and acceptable test-retest reliability. Reaction time bias had acceptable internal and good test-retest reliability. Exploratory correlational analyses found that hunger, blood glucose, dietary restraint and eating disorder symptoms were not consistently significantly correlated with indices of attention bias for food. Overall, these findings contradict previous studies that reported low reliability of attention bias indices derived from the visual dot probe task. The implications are that a longer stimulus presentation time (i.e. ≥ 3000 ms), the use of eye-tracking and the use of appetizing stimuli can yield reliable attention bias scores for food. However, the interpretation of dot-probe scores of attention bias for food based on a dot probe task with 3000 ms presentation time and the score's relationship to theoretically relevant constructs such as hunger, eating restraint and eating disorder symptoms, require further clarification.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } This study assessed internal reliability and test-retest reliability of attention bias scores for food derived from the dot probe task. A visual dot probe task with food and non-food pictures (presented for 3000 ms) was administered to 53 healthy women on two occasions. Attention bias scores for food were calculated based on manual response latencies (reaction time bias) and concurrent assessment of eye-movements (direction bias and dwell-time bias). Subjective hunger and blood glucose levels were measured on both testing occasions. Dietary restraint and eating disorder symptoms were assessed during the second session. Results showed that direction bias had poor internal and test-retest reliability. Dwell time bias had excellent internal and acceptable test-retest reliability. Reaction time bias had acceptable internal and good test-retest reliability. Exploratory correlational analyses found that hunger, blood glucose, dietary restraint and eating disorder symptoms were not consistently significantly correlated with indices of attention bias for food. Overall, these findings contradict previous studies that reported low reliability of attention bias indices derived from the visual dot probe task. The implications are that a longer stimulus presentation time (i.e. ≥ 3000 ms), the use of eye-tracking and the use of appetizing stimuli can yield reliable attention bias scores for food. However, the interpretation of dot-probe scores of attention bias for food based on a dot probe task with 3000 ms presentation time and the score's relationship to theoretically relevant constructs such as hunger, eating restraint and eating disorder symptoms, require further clarification. |
Freek van Ede; Sammi R Chekroud; Anna C Nobre Human gaze tracks attentional focusing in memorized visual space Journal Article Nature Human Behaviour, 3 (5), pp. 462–470, 2019. @article{Ede2019b, title = {Human gaze tracks attentional focusing in memorized visual space}, author = {Freek van Ede and Sammi R Chekroud and Anna C Nobre}, doi = {10.1038/s41562-019-0549-y}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Nature Human Behaviour}, volume = {3}, number = {5}, pages = {462--470}, publisher = {Springer US}, abstract = {Brain areas that control gaze are also recruited for covert shifts of spatial attention 1–9 . In the external space of perception, there is a natural ecological link between the control of gaze and spatial attention, as information sampled at covertly attended locations can inform where to look next 2,10,11 . Attention can also be directed internally to representations held within the spatial layout of visual working memory 12–16. In such cases, the incentive for using attention to direct gaze disappears, as there are no external targets to scan. Here we investigate whether the oculomotor system of the brain also participates in attention focusing within the internal space of memory. Paradoxically, we reveal this participation through gaze behaviour itself. We demonstrate that selecting an item from visual working memory biases gaze in the direction of the memorized location of that item, despite there being nothing to look at and location memory never explicitly being probed. This retrospective ‘gaze bias' occurs only when an item is not already in the internal focus of attention, and it predicts the performance benefit associated with the focusing of internal attention. We conclude that the oculomotor system also participates in focusing attention within memorized space, leaving traces all the way to the eyes.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Brain areas that control gaze are also recruited for covert shifts of spatial attention 1–9 . In the external space of perception, there is a natural ecological link between the control of gaze and spatial attention, as information sampled at covertly attended locations can inform where to look next 2,10,11 . Attention can also be directed internally to representations held within the spatial layout of visual working memory 12–16. In such cases, the incentive for using attention to direct gaze disappears, as there are no external targets to scan. Here we investigate whether the oculomotor system of the brain also participates in attention focusing within the internal space of memory. Paradoxically, we reveal this participation through gaze behaviour itself. We demonstrate that selecting an item from visual working memory biases gaze in the direction of the memorized location of that item, despite there being nothing to look at and location memory never explicitly being probed. This retrospective ‘gaze bias' occurs only when an item is not already in the internal focus of attention, and it predicts the performance benefit associated with the focusing of internal attention. We conclude that the oculomotor system also participates in focusing attention within memorized space, leaving traces all the way to the eyes. |
Joram van Driel; Eduard Ort; Johannes J Fahrenfort; Christian N L Olivers Beta and theta oscillations differentially support free versus forced control over multiple-target search Journal Article The Journal of Neuroscience, 39 (9), pp. 1733–1743, 2019. @article{Driel2019, title = {Beta and theta oscillations differentially support free versus forced control over multiple-target search}, author = {Joram van Driel and Eduard Ort and Johannes J Fahrenfort and Christian N L Olivers}, doi = {10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2547-18.2018}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {The Journal of Neuroscience}, volume = {39}, number = {9}, pages = {1733--1743}, abstract = {Many important situations require human observers to simultaneously search for more than one object. Despite a long history of research into visual search, the behavioral and neural mechanisms associated with multiple-target search are poorly understood. Here we test the novel theory that the efficiency of looking for multiple targets critically depends on the mode of cognitive control the environment affords to the observer. We used an innovative combination of electroencephalogram (EEG) and eye tracking while participants searched for two targets, within two different contexts: either both targets were present in the search display and observers were free to prioritize either one of them, thus enabling proactive control over selection; or only one of the two targets would be present in each search display, which requires reactive control to reconfigure selection when the wrong target has been prioritized. During proactive control, both univariate and multivariate signals of beta-band (15–35 Hz) power suppression before display onset predicted switches between target selections. This signal originated over midfrontal and sensorimotor regions and has previously been associated with endogenous state changes. In contrast, imposed target selections requiring reactive control elicited prefrontal power enhancements in the delta/theta band (2– 8 Hz), but only after display onset. This signal predicted individual differences in associated oculomotor switch costs, reflecting reactive reconfiguration of target selection. The results provide compelling evidence that multiple target representations are differentially prioritized during visual search, and for the first time reveal distinct neural mechanisms underlying proactive and reactive control over multiple-target search.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Many important situations require human observers to simultaneously search for more than one object. Despite a long history of research into visual search, the behavioral and neural mechanisms associated with multiple-target search are poorly understood. Here we test the novel theory that the efficiency of looking for multiple targets critically depends on the mode of cognitive control the environment affords to the observer. We used an innovative combination of electroencephalogram (EEG) and eye tracking while participants searched for two targets, within two different contexts: either both targets were present in the search display and observers were free to prioritize either one of them, thus enabling proactive control over selection; or only one of the two targets would be present in each search display, which requires reactive control to reconfigure selection when the wrong target has been prioritized. During proactive control, both univariate and multivariate signals of beta-band (15–35 Hz) power suppression before display onset predicted switches between target selections. This signal originated over midfrontal and sensorimotor regions and has previously been associated with endogenous state changes. In contrast, imposed target selections requiring reactive control elicited prefrontal power enhancements in the delta/theta band (2– 8 Hz), but only after display onset. This signal predicted individual differences in associated oculomotor switch costs, reflecting reactive reconfiguration of target selection. The results provide compelling evidence that multiple target representations are differentially prioritized during visual search, and for the first time reveal distinct neural mechanisms underlying proactive and reactive control over multiple-target search. |
Stefan Van der Stigchel; Frans S S Leijten; Mariska J Vansteensel; Hendrik Chris Dijkerman; Nick F Ramsey; Zachary V Freudenburg Removal of epileptically compromised tissue in the frontal cortex restores oculomotor selection in the antisaccade task Journal Article Journal of Neuropsychology, 13 (2), pp. 289–304, 2019. @article{VanderStigchel2019, title = {Removal of epileptically compromised tissue in the frontal cortex restores oculomotor selection in the antisaccade task}, author = {Stefan {Van der Stigchel} and Frans S S Leijten and Mariska J Vansteensel and Hendrik Chris Dijkerman and Nick F Ramsey and Zachary V Freudenburg}, doi = {10.1111/jnp.12143}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Journal of Neuropsychology}, volume = {13}, number = {2}, pages = {289--304}, abstract = {The frontal cortex is heavily involved in oculomotor selection. Here, we investigated the neural correlates of eye movement selection during an antisaccade task in a young epileptic patient in whom the seizure focus included the frontal cortex and affected its function. Before resection surgery, the patient had difficulty in performing correct antisaccades towards the visual field contralateral to the seizure focus. Because the FEF is the only area in the human frontal cortex that is known to have a lateralized oculomotor function in the antisaccade task, this behavioural imbalance between the two visual fields suggests a disruption of FEF functioning by the nearby seizure focus. Electrocorticographic recordings at the seizure focus indeed showed that the seizure focus interfered with correct antisaccade performance. These results were in line with fMRI recordings revealing less task-related frontal activity for the hemisphere of the seizure focus, possibly reflecting diminished top-down engagement of the oculomotor system. Two months after removal of the compromised tissue, the seizures had disappeared, and antisaccade performance was the same for both visual hemifields. We conclude that a seizure focus in the frontal cortex can induce a dysfunction in the selection of eye movements, which is resolved after removal of interfering tissue.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } The frontal cortex is heavily involved in oculomotor selection. Here, we investigated the neural correlates of eye movement selection during an antisaccade task in a young epileptic patient in whom the seizure focus included the frontal cortex and affected its function. Before resection surgery, the patient had difficulty in performing correct antisaccades towards the visual field contralateral to the seizure focus. Because the FEF is the only area in the human frontal cortex that is known to have a lateralized oculomotor function in the antisaccade task, this behavioural imbalance between the two visual fields suggests a disruption of FEF functioning by the nearby seizure focus. Electrocorticographic recordings at the seizure focus indeed showed that the seizure focus interfered with correct antisaccade performance. These results were in line with fMRI recordings revealing less task-related frontal activity for the hemisphere of the seizure focus, possibly reflecting diminished top-down engagement of the oculomotor system. Two months after removal of the compromised tissue, the seizures had disappeared, and antisaccade performance was the same for both visual hemifields. We conclude that a seizure focus in the frontal cortex can induce a dysfunction in the selection of eye movements, which is resolved after removal of interfering tissue. |
Nils S Van Den Berg; Rients B Huitema; Jacoba M Spikman; Peter Jan Van Laar; Edward H F De Haan A shrunken world–micropsia after a right occipito-parietal ischemic stroke Journal Article Neurocase, 25 (5), pp. 202–208, 2019. @article{VanDenBerg2019a, title = {A shrunken world–micropsia after a right occipito-parietal ischemic stroke}, author = {Nils S {Van Den Berg} and Rients B Huitema and Jacoba M Spikman and Peter Jan {Van Laar} and Edward H F {De Haan}}, doi = {10.1080/13554794.2019.1656751}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Neurocase}, volume = {25}, number = {5}, pages = {202--208}, publisher = {Routledge}, abstract = {Micropsia is a rare condition in which patients perceive the outside world smaller in size than it actually is. We examined a patient who, after a right occipito-parietal stroke, subjectively reported perceiving everything at seventy percent of the actual size. Using experimental tasks, we confirmed the extent of his micropsia at 70%. Visual half-field tests showed an impaired perception of shape, location and motion in the left visual field. As his micropsia concerns the complete visual field, we suggest that it is caused by a higher-order compensation process in order to reconcile the conflicting information from the two hemifields.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Micropsia is a rare condition in which patients perceive the outside world smaller in size than it actually is. We examined a patient who, after a right occipito-parietal stroke, subjectively reported perceiving everything at seventy percent of the actual size. Using experimental tasks, we confirmed the extent of his micropsia at 70%. Visual half-field tests showed an impaired perception of shape, location and motion in the left visual field. As his micropsia concerns the complete visual field, we suggest that it is caused by a higher-order compensation process in order to reconcile the conflicting information from the two hemifields. |
Raphael Vallat; David Meunier; Alain Nicolas; Perrine Ruby Hard to wake up? The cerebral correlates of sleep inertia assessed using combined behavioral, EEG and fMRI measures Journal Article NeuroImage, 184 , pp. 266–278, 2019. @article{Vallat2019, title = {Hard to wake up? The cerebral correlates of sleep inertia assessed using combined behavioral, EEG and fMRI measures}, author = {Raphael Vallat and David Meunier and Alain Nicolas and Perrine Ruby}, doi = {10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.09.033}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {NeuroImage}, volume = {184}, pages = {266--278}, publisher = {Elsevier Ltd}, abstract = {The first minutes following awakening from sleep are typically marked by reduced vigilance, increased sleepiness and impaired performance, a state referred to as sleep inertia. Although the behavioral aspects of sleep inertia are well documented, its cerebral correlates remain poorly understood. The present study aimed at filling this gap by measuring in 34 participants the changes in behavioral performance (descending subtraction task, DST), EEG spectral power, and resting-state fMRI functional connectivity across three time points: before an early-afternoon 45-min nap, 5 min after awakening from the nap and 25 min after awakening. Our results showed impaired performance at the DST at awakening and an intrusion of sleep-specific features (spectral power and functional connectivity) into wakefulness brain activity, the intensity of which was dependent on the prior sleep duration and depth for the functional connectivity (14 participants awakened from N2 sleep, 20 from N3 sleep). Awakening in N3 (deep) sleep induced the most robust changes and was characterized by a global loss of brain functional segregation between task-positive (dorsal attention, salience, sensorimotor) and task-negative (default mode) networks. Significant correlations were observed notably between the EEG delta power and the functional connectivity between the default and dorsal attention networks, as well as between the percentage of mistake at the DST and the default network functional connectivity. These results highlight (1) significant correlations between EEG and fMRI functional connectivity measures, (2) significant correlations between the behavioral aspect of sleep inertia and measures of the cerebral functioning at awakening (both EEG and fMRI), and (3) the important difference in the cerebral underpinnings of sleep inertia at awakening from N2 and N3 sleep.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } The first minutes following awakening from sleep are typically marked by reduced vigilance, increased sleepiness and impaired performance, a state referred to as sleep inertia. Although the behavioral aspects of sleep inertia are well documented, its cerebral correlates remain poorly understood. The present study aimed at filling this gap by measuring in 34 participants the changes in behavioral performance (descending subtraction task, DST), EEG spectral power, and resting-state fMRI functional connectivity across three time points: before an early-afternoon 45-min nap, 5 min after awakening from the nap and 25 min after awakening. Our results showed impaired performance at the DST at awakening and an intrusion of sleep-specific features (spectral power and functional connectivity) into wakefulness brain activity, the intensity of which was dependent on the prior sleep duration and depth for the functional connectivity (14 participants awakened from N2 sleep, 20 from N3 sleep). Awakening in N3 (deep) sleep induced the most robust changes and was characterized by a global loss of brain functional segregation between task-positive (dorsal attention, salience, sensorimotor) and task-negative (default mode) networks. Significant correlations were observed notably between the EEG delta power and the functional connectivity between the default and dorsal attention networks, as well as between the percentage of mistake at the DST and the default network functional connectivity. These results highlight (1) significant correlations between EEG and fMRI functional connectivity measures, (2) significant correlations between the behavioral aspect of sleep inertia and measures of the cerebral functioning at awakening (both EEG and fMRI), and (3) the important difference in the cerebral underpinnings of sleep inertia at awakening from N2 and N3 sleep. |
Avinash R Vaidya; Lesley K Fellows Ventromedial frontal lobe damage affects interpretation, not exploration, of emotional facial expressions Journal Article Cortex, 113 , pp. 312–328, 2019. @article{Vaidya2019, title = {Ventromedial frontal lobe damage affects interpretation, not exploration, of emotional facial expressions}, author = {Avinash R Vaidya and Lesley K Fellows}, doi = {10.1016/j.cortex.2018.12.013}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Cortex}, volume = {113}, pages = {312--328}, abstract = {Recognizing and distinguishing the emotional states of those around us is crucial for adaptive social behavior. Previous work has shown that damage to the ventromedial frontal lobe (VMF) impairs recognition of subtle emotional facial expressions and affects fixation patterns to face stimuli. However, whether this relates to deficits in acquiring or interpreting facial expression information remains unclear. We tested 37 patients with frontal lobe damage, including 17 subjects with VMF lesions, in a series of emotion recognition tasks with different gaze manipulations. Subjects were asked to rate neutral, subtle and extreme emotional expressions while freely examining faces, while instructed to look only at the eyes, and in a gaze-contingent condition that required top-down direction of eye movements to reveal the stimulus. People with VMF damage were worse at detecting subtle disgust during free viewing and confused extreme emotional expressions more than healthy controls. However, fixation patterns did not differ systematically between groups during free or gaze-contingent viewing conditions. Moreover, instruction to fixate only the eyes did not improve the performance of VMF damaged subjects. These data argue that VMF is not necessary for normal fixations to emotional face stimuli, and that impairments in emotion recognition after VMF damage do not stem from impaired information gathering, as indexed by patterns of fixation.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Recognizing and distinguishing the emotional states of those around us is crucial for adaptive social behavior. Previous work has shown that damage to the ventromedial frontal lobe (VMF) impairs recognition of subtle emotional facial expressions and affects fixation patterns to face stimuli. However, whether this relates to deficits in acquiring or interpreting facial expression information remains unclear. We tested 37 patients with frontal lobe damage, including 17 subjects with VMF lesions, in a series of emotion recognition tasks with different gaze manipulations. Subjects were asked to rate neutral, subtle and extreme emotional expressions while freely examining faces, while instructed to look only at the eyes, and in a gaze-contingent condition that required top-down direction of eye movements to reveal the stimulus. People with VMF damage were worse at detecting subtle disgust during free viewing and confused extreme emotional expressions more than healthy controls. However, fixation patterns did not differ systematically between groups during free or gaze-contingent viewing conditions. Moreover, instruction to fixate only the eyes did not improve the performance of VMF damaged subjects. These data argue that VMF is not necessary for normal fixations to emotional face stimuli, and that impairments in emotion recognition after VMF damage do not stem from impaired information gathering, as indexed by patterns of fixation. |
Israel Vaca-Palomares; Donald C Brien; Brian C Coe; Adriana Ochoa-Morales; Leticia Martínez-Ruano; Douglas P Munoz; Juan Fernandez-Ruiz Implicit learning impairment identified via predictive saccades in Huntington's disease correlates with extended cortico-striatal atrophy Journal Article Cortex, 121 , pp. 89–103, 2019. @article{Vaca-Palomares2019, title = {Implicit learning impairment identified via predictive saccades in Huntington's disease correlates with extended cortico-striatal atrophy}, author = {Israel Vaca-Palomares and Donald C Brien and Brian C Coe and Adriana Ochoa-Morales and Leticia Martínez-Ruano and Douglas P Munoz and Juan Fernandez-Ruiz}, doi = {10.1016/j.cortex.2019.06.013}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Cortex}, volume = {121}, pages = {89--103}, abstract = {The ability to anticipate events and execute motor commands prior to a sensory event is an essential capability for human's everyday life. This implicitly learned anticipatory behavior depends on the past performance of repeated sensorimotor interactions timed with external cues. This kind of predictive behavior has been shown to be compromised in neurological disorders such as Huntington disease (HD), in which neural atrophy includes key cortical and basal ganglia regions. To investigate the neural basis of the anticipatory behavioral deficits in HD we used a predictive-saccade paradigm that requires predictive control to generate saccades in a metronomic temporal pattern. This is ideal because the integrity of the oculomotor network that includes the striatum and prefrontal, parietal, occipital and temporal cortices can be analyzed using structural MRI. Our results showed that the HD patients had severe predictive saccade deficits (i.e., an inability to reduce saccade reaction time in predictive condition), which are accentuated in patients with more severe motor deterioration. Structural imaging analyses revealed that these anticipatory deficits correlated with grey-matter atrophy in frontal, parietal-occipital and striatal regions. These findings indicate that the predictive saccade control deficits in HD are related to an extended cortico-striatal atrophy. This suggests that eye movement measurement could be a reliable marker of the progression of cognitive deficits in HD.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } The ability to anticipate events and execute motor commands prior to a sensory event is an essential capability for human's everyday life. This implicitly learned anticipatory behavior depends on the past performance of repeated sensorimotor interactions timed with external cues. This kind of predictive behavior has been shown to be compromised in neurological disorders such as Huntington disease (HD), in which neural atrophy includes key cortical and basal ganglia regions. To investigate the neural basis of the anticipatory behavioral deficits in HD we used a predictive-saccade paradigm that requires predictive control to generate saccades in a metronomic temporal pattern. This is ideal because the integrity of the oculomotor network that includes the striatum and prefrontal, parietal, occipital and temporal cortices can be analyzed using structural MRI. Our results showed that the HD patients had severe predictive saccade deficits (i.e., an inability to reduce saccade reaction time in predictive condition), which are accentuated in patients with more severe motor deterioration. Structural imaging analyses revealed that these anticipatory deficits correlated with grey-matter atrophy in frontal, parietal-occipital and striatal regions. These findings indicate that the predictive saccade control deficits in HD are related to an extended cortico-striatal atrophy. This suggests that eye movement measurement could be a reliable marker of the progression of cognitive deficits in HD. |
Sabrina E Twilhaar; Jorrit F de Kieviet; Catharina E Bergwerff; Martijn J J Finken; Ruurd M van Elburg; Jaap Oosterlaan Social adjustment in adolescents born very preterm: Evidence for a cognitive basis of social problems Journal Article The Journal of Pediatrics, 213 , pp. 66–73, 2019. @article{Twilhaar2019a, title = {Social adjustment in adolescents born very preterm: Evidence for a cognitive basis of social problems}, author = {Sabrina E Twilhaar and Jorrit F de Kieviet and Catharina E Bergwerff and Martijn J J Finken and Ruurd M van Elburg and Jaap Oosterlaan}, doi = {10.1016/j.jpeds.2019.06.045}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {The Journal of Pediatrics}, volume = {213}, pages = {66--73}, publisher = {Elsevier Inc}, abstract = {Objective: To increase the understanding of social adjustment and autism spectrum disorder symptoms in adolescents born very preterm by studying the role of emotion recognition and cognitive control processes in the relation between very preterm birth and social adjustment. Study design: A Dutch cohort of 61 very preterm and 61 full-term adolescents aged 13 years participated. Social adjustment was rated by parents, teachers, and adolescents and autism spectrum disorder symptoms by parents. Emotion recognition was assessed with a computerized task including pictures of child faces expressing anger, fear, sadness, and happiness with varying intensity. Cognitive control was assessed using a visuospatial span, antisaccade, and sustained attention to response task. Performance measures derived from these tasks served as indicators of a latent cognitive control construct, which was tested using confirmatory factor analysis. Mediation analyses were conducted with emotion recognition and cognitive control as mediators of the relation between very preterm birth and social problems. Results: Very preterm adolescents showed more parent- and teacher-rated social problems and increased autism spectrum disorder symptomatology than controls. No difference in self-reported social problems was observed. Moreover, very preterm adolescents showed deficits in emotion recognition and cognitive control compared with full-term adolescents. The relation between very preterm birth and parent-rated social problems was significantly mediated by cognitive control but not by emotion recognition. Very preterm birth was associated with a 0.67-SD increase in parent-rated social problems through its negative effect on cognitive control. Conclusions: The present findings provide strong evidence for a central role of impaired cognitive control in the social problems of adolescents born very preterm.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Objective: To increase the understanding of social adjustment and autism spectrum disorder symptoms in adolescents born very preterm by studying the role of emotion recognition and cognitive control processes in the relation between very preterm birth and social adjustment. Study design: A Dutch cohort of 61 very preterm and 61 full-term adolescents aged 13 years participated. Social adjustment was rated by parents, teachers, and adolescents and autism spectrum disorder symptoms by parents. Emotion recognition was assessed with a computerized task including pictures of child faces expressing anger, fear, sadness, and happiness with varying intensity. Cognitive control was assessed using a visuospatial span, antisaccade, and sustained attention to response task. Performance measures derived from these tasks served as indicators of a latent cognitive control construct, which was tested using confirmatory factor analysis. Mediation analyses were conducted with emotion recognition and cognitive control as mediators of the relation between very preterm birth and social problems. Results: Very preterm adolescents showed more parent- and teacher-rated social problems and increased autism spectrum disorder symptomatology than controls. No difference in self-reported social problems was observed. Moreover, very preterm adolescents showed deficits in emotion recognition and cognitive control compared with full-term adolescents. The relation between very preterm birth and parent-rated social problems was significantly mediated by cognitive control but not by emotion recognition. Very preterm birth was associated with a 0.67-SD increase in parent-rated social problems through its negative effect on cognitive control. Conclusions: The present findings provide strong evidence for a central role of impaired cognitive control in the social problems of adolescents born very preterm. |
Massimo Turatto; Francesca Bonetti; Cinzia Chiandetti; David Pascucci Context-specific distractors rejection: Contextual cues control long-term habituation of attentional capture by abrupt onsets Journal Article Visual Cognition, 27 (3-4), pp. 291–304, 2019. @article{Turatto2019, title = {Context-specific distractors rejection: Contextual cues control long-term habituation of attentional capture by abrupt onsets}, author = {Massimo Turatto and Francesca Bonetti and Cinzia Chiandetti and David Pascucci}, doi = {10.1080/13506285.2019.1580233}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Visual Cognition}, volume = {27}, number = {3-4}, pages = {291--304}, publisher = {Taylor & Francis}, abstract = {The possibility to counteract visual distraction is fundamental for an efficient interaction with the environment, particularly when a salient but irrelevant stimulation repeatedly impinges our visual system. Previous studies have shown that such unwanted attentional capture is subject to habituation, a widespread form of behavioural plasticity that allows rejecting the unwanted stimulation. Although habituation is generally considered to be a non-associative form of learning, here we directly tested the possibility that habituation of attentional capture triggered by a salient onset is context specific. In two experiments we showed that distractor filtering achieved via habituation was specific for the visual context (naturalistic or geometric) in which the distractor was presented. When the same distractor presented during the training phase appeared in a new context in the test phase, a recovery of the previously habituated capture was observed. By contrast, no recovery of capture was found when the background did not change. Habituation mechanisms provide a straightforward explanation for our findings, which show that distractor filtering is achieved by taking into account the spatial context in which the distracting stimulus is encountered.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } The possibility to counteract visual distraction is fundamental for an efficient interaction with the environment, particularly when a salient but irrelevant stimulation repeatedly impinges our visual system. Previous studies have shown that such unwanted attentional capture is subject to habituation, a widespread form of behavioural plasticity that allows rejecting the unwanted stimulation. Although habituation is generally considered to be a non-associative form of learning, here we directly tested the possibility that habituation of attentional capture triggered by a salient onset is context specific. In two experiments we showed that distractor filtering achieved via habituation was specific for the visual context (naturalistic or geometric) in which the distractor was presented. When the same distractor presented during the training phase appeared in a new context in the test phase, a recovery of the previously habituated capture was observed. By contrast, no recovery of capture was found when the background did not change. Habituation mechanisms provide a straightforward explanation for our findings, which show that distractor filtering is achieved by taking into account the spatial context in which the distracting stimulus is encountered. |
Naime Tugac; David Gonzalez; Kimihiro Noguchi; Ewa Niechwiej-Szwedo Experimental Eye Research, 183 , pp. 76–83, 2019. @article{Tugac2019, title = {The role of somatosensory input in target localization during binocular and monocular viewing while performing a high precision reaching and placement task}, author = {Naime Tugac and David Gonzalez and Kimihiro Noguchi and Ewa Niechwiej-Szwedo}, doi = {10.1016/j.exer.2018.08.013}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Experimental Eye Research}, volume = {183}, pages = {76--83}, publisher = {Elsevier}, abstract = {Binocular vision provides the most accurate and precise depth information; however, many people have impairments in binocular visual function. It is possible that other sensory inputs could be used to obtain reliable depth information when binocular vision is not available. However, it is currently unknown whether depth information from another modality improves target localization in depth during action execution. Therefore, the goal of this study was to assess whether somatosensory input improves target localization during the performance of a precision placement task. Visually normal young adults (n = 15) performed a bead threading task during binocular and monocular viewing in two experimental conditions where needle location was specified by 1) vision only, or 2) vision and somatosensory input, which was provided by the non-dominant limb. Performance on the task was assessed using spatial and temporal kinematic measures. In accordance with the hypothesis, results showed that the interval spent placing the bead on the needle was significantly shorter during monocular viewing when somatosensory input was available in comparison to a vision only condition. In contrast, results showed no evidence to support that somatosensory input about the needle location affects trajectory control. These findings demonstrate that the central nervous system relies predominately on visual input during reach execution, however, somatosensory input can be used to facilitate the performance of the precision placement task.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Binocular vision provides the most accurate and precise depth information; however, many people have impairments in binocular visual function. It is possible that other sensory inputs could be used to obtain reliable depth information when binocular vision is not available. However, it is currently unknown whether depth information from another modality improves target localization in depth during action execution. Therefore, the goal of this study was to assess whether somatosensory input improves target localization during the performance of a precision placement task. Visually normal young adults (n = 15) performed a bead threading task during binocular and monocular viewing in two experimental conditions where needle location was specified by 1) vision only, or 2) vision and somatosensory input, which was provided by the non-dominant limb. Performance on the task was assessed using spatial and temporal kinematic measures. In accordance with the hypothesis, results showed that the interval spent placing the bead on the needle was significantly shorter during monocular viewing when somatosensory input was available in comparison to a vision only condition. In contrast, results showed no evidence to support that somatosensory input about the needle location affects trajectory control. These findings demonstrate that the central nervous system relies predominately on visual input during reach execution, however, somatosensory input can be used to facilitate the performance of the precision placement task. |
Antigoni Tsiami; Petros Koutras; Athanasios Katsamanis; Argiro Vatakis; Petros Maragos A behaviorally inspired fusion approach for computational audiovisual saliency modeling Journal Article Signal Processing: Image Communication, 76 , pp. 186–200, 2019. @article{Tsiami2019, title = {A behaviorally inspired fusion approach for computational audiovisual saliency modeling}, author = {Antigoni Tsiami and Petros Koutras and Athanasios Katsamanis and Argiro Vatakis and Petros Maragos}, doi = {10.1016/j.image.2019.05.001}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Signal Processing: Image Communication}, volume = {76}, pages = {186--200}, publisher = {Elsevier Ltd}, abstract = {Human attention is highly influenced by multi-modal combinations of perceived sensory information and especially audiovisual information. Although systematic behavioral experiments have provided evidence that human attention is multi-modal, most bottom-up computational attention models, namely saliency models for fixation prediction, focus on visual information, largely ignoring auditory input. In this work, we aim to bridge the gap between findings from neuroscience concerning audiovisual attention and the computational attention modeling, by creating a 2-D bottom-up audiovisual saliency model. We experiment with various fusion schemes for integrating state-of-the-art auditory and visual saliency models in a single audiovisual attention/saliency model based on behavioral findings, that we validate in two experimental levels: (1) using results from behavioral experiments aiming to reproduce the results in a mostly qualitative manner and to ensure that our modeling is in line with behavioral findings, and (2) using 6 different databases with audiovisual human eye-tracking data. For this last purpose, we have also collected eye-tracking data for two databases: ETMD, a movie database that contains highly edited videos (movie clips), and SumMe, a database that contains unstructured and unedited user videos. Experimental results indicate that our proposed audiovisual fusion schemes in most cases improve performance compared to visual-only models, without any prior knowledge of the video/audio content. Also, they can be generalized and applied to any auditory saliency model and any visual spatio-temporal saliency model.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Human attention is highly influenced by multi-modal combinations of perceived sensory information and especially audiovisual information. Although systematic behavioral experiments have provided evidence that human attention is multi-modal, most bottom-up computational attention models, namely saliency models for fixation prediction, focus on visual information, largely ignoring auditory input. In this work, we aim to bridge the gap between findings from neuroscience concerning audiovisual attention and the computational attention modeling, by creating a 2-D bottom-up audiovisual saliency model. We experiment with various fusion schemes for integrating state-of-the-art auditory and visual saliency models in a single audiovisual attention/saliency model based on behavioral findings, that we validate in two experimental levels: (1) using results from behavioral experiments aiming to reproduce the results in a mostly qualitative manner and to ensure that our modeling is in line with behavioral findings, and (2) using 6 different databases with audiovisual human eye-tracking data. For this last purpose, we have also collected eye-tracking data for two databases: ETMD, a movie database that contains highly edited videos (movie clips), and SumMe, a database that contains unstructured and unedited user videos. Experimental results indicate that our proposed audiovisual fusion schemes in most cases improve performance compared to visual-only models, without any prior knowledge of the video/audio content. Also, they can be generalized and applied to any auditory saliency model and any visual spatio-temporal saliency model. |
Pei Yi Tsai; Ting Ting Yang; Hsiao-Ching She; Sheng Chang Chen Leveraging college students' scientific evidence-based reasoning performance with eye-tracking-supported metacognition Journal Article Journal of Science Education and Technology, 28 , pp. 613–627, 2019. @article{Tsai2019a, title = {Leveraging college students' scientific evidence-based reasoning performance with eye-tracking-supported metacognition}, author = {Pei Yi Tsai and Ting Ting Yang and Hsiao-Ching She and Sheng Chang Chen}, doi = {10.1007/s10956-019-09791-x}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Journal of Science Education and Technology}, volume = {28}, pages = {613--627}, publisher = {Journal of Science Education and Technology}, abstract = {This study specifically focuses on examining whether the eye-tracking-supported metacognition would benefit science majors' and nonscience majors' scientific evidence-based reasoning performance. Thirty-nine science majors and forty-one nonscience majors were recruited to participate in an online scientific evidence-based reasoning task. Data regarding the students' online learning process and eye movement behaviors were simultaneously collected. The results indicated that the science majors not only significantly outperformed the nonscience majors in terms of reasoning performance but also allocated significantly greater eye movements during their first time of processing scientific evidence-based reasoning task. Immediately after the task, the eye-tracking-supported metacognition provided each student with individualized feedback regarding their eye movement behaviors, such as their eye fixation sequence, durations, and locations. With such immediate feedback, the students were provided an opportunity to engage in self-monitoring, evaluating, and calibrating their approaches in order to revise their final answers. After the application of this eye-tracking-supported metacognition, both the science majors and the nonscience majors all made significant improvements in their scientific evidence-based reasoning performance. However, no statistically significant differences in the reasoning performance or visual attention of the science majors and nonscience majors were found. This study demonstrated that the use of eye-tracking-supported metacognition was not only able to maximize the performance of both the science majors and nonscience majors but that it also bridged the gap in performance between the two groups.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } This study specifically focuses on examining whether the eye-tracking-supported metacognition would benefit science majors' and nonscience majors' scientific evidence-based reasoning performance. Thirty-nine science majors and forty-one nonscience majors were recruited to participate in an online scientific evidence-based reasoning task. Data regarding the students' online learning process and eye movement behaviors were simultaneously collected. The results indicated that the science majors not only significantly outperformed the nonscience majors in terms of reasoning performance but also allocated significantly greater eye movements during their first time of processing scientific evidence-based reasoning task. Immediately after the task, the eye-tracking-supported metacognition provided each student with individualized feedback regarding their eye movement behaviors, such as their eye fixation sequence, durations, and locations. With such immediate feedback, the students were provided an opportunity to engage in self-monitoring, evaluating, and calibrating their approaches in order to revise their final answers. After the application of this eye-tracking-supported metacognition, both the science majors and the nonscience majors all made significant improvements in their scientific evidence-based reasoning performance. However, no statistically significant differences in the reasoning performance or visual attention of the science majors and nonscience majors were found. This study demonstrated that the use of eye-tracking-supported metacognition was not only able to maximize the performance of both the science majors and nonscience majors but that it also bridged the gap in performance between the two groups. |
Pei Yi Tsai; Hsiao-Ching She; Sheng Chang Chen; Li Yu Huang; Wen Chi Chou; Jeng Ren Duann; Tzyy-Ping Jung Eye fixation-related fronto-parietal neural network correlates of memory retrieval Journal Article International Journal of Psychophysiology, 138 , pp. 57–70, 2019. @article{Tsai2019, title = {Eye fixation-related fronto-parietal neural network correlates of memory retrieval}, author = {Pei Yi Tsai and Hsiao-Ching She and Sheng Chang Chen and Li Yu Huang and Wen Chi Chou and Jeng Ren Duann and Tzyy-Ping Jung}, doi = {10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2019.02.008}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {International Journal of Psychophysiology}, volume = {138}, pages = {57--70}, publisher = {Elsevier}, abstract = {Eye movements are considered to be informative with regard to the underlying cognitive processes of human beings. Previous studies have reported that eye movements are associated with which scientific concepts are retrieved correctly. Moreover, other studies have also suggested that eye movements involve the cooperative activity of the human brain's fronto-parietal circuits. Less research has been conducted to investigate whether fronto-parietal EEG oscillations are associated with the retrieval processing of scientific concepts. Our findings in this study demonstrated that the fronto-parietal network is indeed crucial for successful memory retrieval. In short, significantly lower theta augmentation in the frontal midline and lower alpha suppression in the right parietal region were observed at the 5th eye fixation for physics concepts that were correctly retrieved than for those that were incorrectly retrieved. Moreover, the visual cortex in the occipital lobe exhibits a significantly greater theta augmentation followed by an alpha suppression following each eye fixation, while a right fronto-parietal asymmetry was also found for the successful retrieval of presentations of physics concepts. In particular, the study results showed that eye fixation-related frontal midline theta power and right parietal alpha power at the 5th eye fixation have the greatest predictive power regarding the correctness of the retrieval of physics concepts.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Eye movements are considered to be informative with regard to the underlying cognitive processes of human beings. Previous studies have reported that eye movements are associated with which scientific concepts are retrieved correctly. Moreover, other studies have also suggested that eye movements involve the cooperative activity of the human brain's fronto-parietal circuits. Less research has been conducted to investigate whether fronto-parietal EEG oscillations are associated with the retrieval processing of scientific concepts. Our findings in this study demonstrated that the fronto-parietal network is indeed crucial for successful memory retrieval. In short, significantly lower theta augmentation in the frontal midline and lower alpha suppression in the right parietal region were observed at the 5th eye fixation for physics concepts that were correctly retrieved than for those that were incorrectly retrieved. Moreover, the visual cortex in the occipital lobe exhibits a significantly greater theta augmentation followed by an alpha suppression following each eye fixation, while a right fronto-parietal asymmetry was also found for the successful retrieval of presentations of physics concepts. In particular, the study results showed that eye fixation-related frontal midline theta power and right parietal alpha power at the 5th eye fixation have the greatest predictive power regarding the correctness of the retrieval of physics concepts. |
Sébastien Tremblay; Florian Pieper; Adam Sachs; Ridha Joober; Julio Martinez-Trujillo The effects of methylphenidate (Ritalin) on the neurophysiology of the monkey caudal prefrontal cortex Journal Article eNeuro, 6 (1), pp. 1–17, 2019. @article{Tremblay2019, title = {The effects of methylphenidate (Ritalin) on the neurophysiology of the monkey caudal prefrontal cortex}, author = {Sébastien Tremblay and Florian Pieper and Adam Sachs and Ridha Joober and Julio Martinez-Trujillo}, doi = {10.1523/ENEURO.0371-18.2018}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {eNeuro}, volume = {6}, number = {1}, pages = {1--17}, abstract = {Methylphenidate (MPH), commonly known as Ritalin, is the most widely prescribed drug worldwide to treat patients with attention deficit disorders. Although MPH is thought to modulate catecholamine neurotransmission in the brain, it remains unclear how these neurochemical effects influence neuronal activity and lead to attentional enhancements. Studies in rodents overwhelmingly point to the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) as a main site of action of MPH. To understand the mechanism of action of MPH in a primate brain, we recorded the responses of neuronal populations using chronic multielectrode arrays implanted in the caudal LPFC of two macaque monkeys while the animals performed an attention task (N 2811 neuronal recordings). Over different recording sessions (N 55), we orally administered either various doses of MPH or a placebo to the animals. Behavioral analyses revealed positive effects of MPH on task performance at specific doses. However, analyses of individual neurons activity, noise correlations, and neuronal ensemble activity using machine learning algorithms revealed no effects of MPH. Our results suggest that the positive behavioral effects of MPH observed in primates (including humans) may not be mediated by changes in the activity of caudal LPFC neurons. MPH may enhance cognitive performance by modulating neuronal activity in other regions of the attentional network in the primate brain.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Methylphenidate (MPH), commonly known as Ritalin, is the most widely prescribed drug worldwide to treat patients with attention deficit disorders. Although MPH is thought to modulate catecholamine neurotransmission in the brain, it remains unclear how these neurochemical effects influence neuronal activity and lead to attentional enhancements. Studies in rodents overwhelmingly point to the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) as a main site of action of MPH. To understand the mechanism of action of MPH in a primate brain, we recorded the responses of neuronal populations using chronic multielectrode arrays implanted in the caudal LPFC of two macaque monkeys while the animals performed an attention task (N 2811 neuronal recordings). Over different recording sessions (N 55), we orally administered either various doses of MPH or a placebo to the animals. Behavioral analyses revealed positive effects of MPH on task performance at specific doses. However, analyses of individual neurons activity, noise correlations, and neuronal ensemble activity using machine learning algorithms revealed no effects of MPH. Our results suggest that the positive behavioral effects of MPH observed in primates (including humans) may not be mediated by changes in the activity of caudal LPFC neurons. MPH may enhance cognitive performance by modulating neuronal activity in other regions of the attentional network in the primate brain. |
J M Traynor; A Gough; E Duku; D I Shore; G B C Hall Eye tracking effort expenditure and autonomic arousal to social and circumscribed interest stimuli in Autism Spectrum Disorder Journal Article Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49 , pp. 1988–2002, 2019. @article{Traynor2019, title = {Eye tracking effort expenditure and autonomic arousal to social and circumscribed interest stimuli in Autism Spectrum Disorder}, author = {J M Traynor and A Gough and E Duku and D I Shore and G B C Hall}, doi = {10.1007/s10803-018-03877-y}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders}, volume = {49}, pages = {1988--2002}, abstract = {The social communicative deficits and repetitive behaviours seen in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) may be affected by altered stimulus salience and reward attribution. The present study used eye tracking and a behavioural measure to index effort expenditure, arousal, and attention, during viewing of images depicting social scenes and subject-specific circumscribed interests in a group of 10 adults with ASD (mean age 25.4 years) and 19 typically-developing controls (mean age 20.7 years) Split-plot and one-way repeated measures ANOVAs were used to explore results. A significant difference between the ASD and control group was found in the amount of effort expended to view social and circumscribed images. The ASD group also displayed significant differences in pupillary response to social and circumscribed images, indicative of changes in autonomic arousal. Overall, the results support the social motivation hypothesis in ASD (Chevallier et al., Trends Cogn Sci 16(4):231-239, 2012) and suggest a role for autonomic arousal in the ASD symptom dyad.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } The social communicative deficits and repetitive behaviours seen in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) may be affected by altered stimulus salience and reward attribution. The present study used eye tracking and a behavioural measure to index effort expenditure, arousal, and attention, during viewing of images depicting social scenes and subject-specific circumscribed interests in a group of 10 adults with ASD (mean age 25.4 years) and 19 typically-developing controls (mean age 20.7 years) Split-plot and one-way repeated measures ANOVAs were used to explore results. A significant difference between the ASD and control group was found in the amount of effort expended to view social and circumscribed images. The ASD group also displayed significant differences in pupillary response to social and circumscribed images, indicative of changes in autonomic arousal. Overall, the results support the social motivation hypothesis in ASD (Chevallier et al., Trends Cogn Sci 16(4):231-239, 2012) and suggest a role for autonomic arousal in the ASD symptom dyad. |
Tobiasz Trawiński; Natalie Mestry; Beth Harland; Simon P Liversedge; Hayward J Godwin; Nick Donnelly The spectatorship of portraits by naïve beholders Journal Article Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, pp. 1–18, 2019. @article{Trawinski2019, title = {The spectatorship of portraits by naïve beholders}, author = {Tobiasz Trawi{ń}ski and Natalie Mestry and Beth Harland and Simon P Liversedge and Hayward J Godwin and Nick Donnelly}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts}, pages = {1--18}, abstract = {The spectatorship of portraits by naïve viewers (beholders) was explored in a single experiment. Twenty-five participants rated their liking for 142 portraits painted by Courbet (36 paintings), Fantin-Latour (36 paintings), and Manet (70 paintings) on a 4-point Likert scale. The portraits were classified in terms of focused versus ambiguous nature of sitter gaze and the presence of salient features in the context beyond sitters. Participants rated portraits while having their eye movements recorded. The portraits were split into regions of interest (ROIs) defined by faces, bodies, and context. Participants also completed individual difference measures of attention and task focus. Results showed naïve spectatorship to be subject to attentional capture by faces. Paradoxically, the presence of salient features in the context amplified the attentional capture by faces through increasing participants liking of portraits. Attentional capture by faces was also influenced by sitter gaze and task focus. Unsurprisingly, the spectatorship of portraits by naïve beholders is dominated by faces, but the extent of this dominance is influenced by exogenous and endogenous attentional factors.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } The spectatorship of portraits by naïve viewers (beholders) was explored in a single experiment. Twenty-five participants rated their liking for 142 portraits painted by Courbet (36 paintings), Fantin-Latour (36 paintings), and Manet (70 paintings) on a 4-point Likert scale. The portraits were classified in terms of focused versus ambiguous nature of sitter gaze and the presence of salient features in the context beyond sitters. Participants rated portraits while having their eye movements recorded. The portraits were split into regions of interest (ROIs) defined by faces, bodies, and context. Participants also completed individual difference measures of attention and task focus. Results showed naïve spectatorship to be subject to attentional capture by faces. Paradoxically, the presence of salient features in the context amplified the attentional capture by faces through increasing participants liking of portraits. Attentional capture by faces was also influenced by sitter gaze and task focus. Unsurprisingly, the spectatorship of portraits by naïve beholders is dominated by faces, but the extent of this dominance is influenced by exogenous and endogenous attentional factors. |
Matteo Toscani; Ezgi I Yücel; Katja Doerschner Gloss and speed judgments yield different fine tuning of saccadic sampling in dynamic scenes Journal Article i-Perception, 10 (6), pp. 1–10, 2019. @article{Toscani2019, title = {Gloss and speed judgments yield different fine tuning of saccadic sampling in dynamic scenes}, author = {Matteo Toscani and Ezgi I Yücel and Katja Doerschner}, doi = {10.1177/2041669519889070}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {i-Perception}, volume = {10}, number = {6}, pages = {1--10}, abstract = {Image motion contains potential cues about the material properties of objects. In earlier work, we proposed motion cues that could predict whether a moving object would be perceived as shiny or matte. However, whether the visual system uses these cues is still uncertain. Herein, we use the tracking of eye movements as a tool to understand what visual information observers use when engaged in material perception. Observers judged either the gloss or the speed of moving blobby shapes in an eye tracking experiment. Results indicate that during glossiness judgments, participants tend to look at gloss-diagnostic dynamic features more than during speed judgments. This suggests a fine tuning of the visual system to properties of moving stimuli: Task relevant information is actively singled out and processed in a dynamically changing environment.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Image motion contains potential cues about the material properties of objects. In earlier work, we proposed motion cues that could predict whether a moving object would be perceived as shiny or matte. However, whether the visual system uses these cues is still uncertain. Herein, we use the tracking of eye movements as a tool to understand what visual information observers use when engaged in material perception. Observers judged either the gloss or the speed of moving blobby shapes in an eye tracking experiment. Results indicate that during glossiness judgments, participants tend to look at gloss-diagnostic dynamic features more than during speed judgments. This suggests a fine tuning of the visual system to properties of moving stimuli: Task relevant information is actively singled out and processed in a dynamically changing environment. |
David Nicholas Top; Steven G Luke; Kevin G Stephenson; Mikle South Psychophysiological arousal and auditory sensitivity in a cross-clinical sample of autistic and non-autistic anxious adults Journal Article Frontiers in Psychiatry, 9 , pp. 1–12, 2019. @article{Top2019, title = {Psychophysiological arousal and auditory sensitivity in a cross-clinical sample of autistic and non-autistic anxious adults}, author = {David Nicholas Top and Steven G Luke and Kevin G Stephenson and Mikle South}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00783}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Frontiers in Psychiatry}, volume = {9}, pages = {1--12}, abstract = {Many autistic people report overwhelming sensory experiences and also elevated levels of anxiety. Understanding how these experiences are linked to each other can contribute to improved support and intervention for reducing sensory overload and anxiety. This study included 95 young adult participants including autistic adults, non-autistic adults reporting to a psychotherapy clinic with high levels of anxiety, and neurotypical adults with no psychiatric concerns. We measured pupil size using including a baseline task with no auditory stimulus followed by two blocks of simple auditory habituation. In a subset of 80 participants we also measured self-report levels of sensory processing, anxious apprehension, and intolerance of uncertainty. The autism group showed atypical sensory processing on all four measured domains of the Adolescent and Adult Sensory Profile including sensory sensitivity, sensory seeking, sensory avoidance, and low registration subscales. Dimensional analyses across all participants showed significant positive correlations between sensory sensitivity, sensory seeking, and sensory avoidance domains with scores from the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale-Short Form and Penn State Worry Questionnaire. The autism group showed significantly larger pupil size than other groups at baseline, before any auditory stimulation. There were no group differences in the rate of auditory habituation, nonetheless the overall, absolute larger pupil size remained in the autism group throughout the experiment. We suggest that this and other findings could indicate chronic hyperarousal in many autistic people. Treatment for anxiety in autism should be informed by knowledge of unique aspects of anxiety in autism and consider the role of sensory experience and everyday psychophysiological arousal.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Many autistic people report overwhelming sensory experiences and also elevated levels of anxiety. Understanding how these experiences are linked to each other can contribute to improved support and intervention for reducing sensory overload and anxiety. This study included 95 young adult participants including autistic adults, non-autistic adults reporting to a psychotherapy clinic with high levels of anxiety, and neurotypical adults with no psychiatric concerns. We measured pupil size using including a baseline task with no auditory stimulus followed by two blocks of simple auditory habituation. In a subset of 80 participants we also measured self-report levels of sensory processing, anxious apprehension, and intolerance of uncertainty. The autism group showed atypical sensory processing on all four measured domains of the Adolescent and Adult Sensory Profile including sensory sensitivity, sensory seeking, sensory avoidance, and low registration subscales. Dimensional analyses across all participants showed significant positive correlations between sensory sensitivity, sensory seeking, and sensory avoidance domains with scores from the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale-Short Form and Penn State Worry Questionnaire. The autism group showed significantly larger pupil size than other groups at baseline, before any auditory stimulation. There were no group differences in the rate of auditory habituation, nonetheless the overall, absolute larger pupil size remained in the autism group throughout the experiment. We suggest that this and other findings could indicate chronic hyperarousal in many autistic people. Treatment for anxiety in autism should be informed by knowledge of unique aspects of anxiety in autism and consider the role of sensory experience and everyday psychophysiological arousal. |
Xiuhong Tong; Wei Shen; Zhao Li; Mengdi Xu; Liping Pan; Xiuli Tong Phonological, not semantic, activation dominates Chinese character recognition: Evidence from a visual World eye-tracking study Journal Article Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, pp. 1–12, 2019. @article{Tong2019, title = {Phonological, not semantic, activation dominates Chinese character recognition: Evidence from a visual World eye-tracking study}, author = {Xiuhong Tong and Wei Shen and Zhao Li and Mengdi Xu and Liping Pan and Xiuli Tong}, doi = {10.1177/1747021819887956}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology}, pages = {1--12}, abstract = {Combining eye-tracking technique with a revised visual world paradigm, this study examined how positional, phonological, and semantic information of radicals are activated in visual Chinese character recognition. Participants' eye movements were tracked when they looked at four types of invented logographic characters including a semantic radical in the legal and illegal positions, a phonetic radical in the legal and illegal positions. These logographic characters were presented simultaneously with either a sound-cued (e.g., /qiao2/) or meaning-cued (e.g., a picture of a bridge) condition. Participants appeared to allocate more visual attention towards radicals in legal, rather than illegal, positions. In addition, more eye fixations occurred on phonetic, rather than on semantic, radicals across both sound- and meaning-cued conditions, indicating participants' strong preference for phonetic over semantic radicals in visual character processing. These results underscore the universal phonology principle in processing non-alphabetic Chinese logographic characters.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Combining eye-tracking technique with a revised visual world paradigm, this study examined how positional, phonological, and semantic information of radicals are activated in visual Chinese character recognition. Participants' eye movements were tracked when they looked at four types of invented logographic characters including a semantic radical in the legal and illegal positions, a phonetic radical in the legal and illegal positions. These logographic characters were presented simultaneously with either a sound-cued (e.g., /qiao2/) or meaning-cued (e.g., a picture of a bridge) condition. Participants appeared to allocate more visual attention towards radicals in legal, rather than illegal, positions. In addition, more eye fixations occurred on phonetic, rather than on semantic, radicals across both sound- and meaning-cued conditions, indicating participants' strong preference for phonetic over semantic radicals in visual character processing. These results underscore the universal phonology principle in processing non-alphabetic Chinese logographic characters. |
Wilhelmiina Toivo; Christoph Scheepers Pupillary responses to affective words in bilinguals' first versus second language Journal Article PLoS ONE, 14 (4), pp. 1–20, 2019. @article{Toivo2019, title = {Pupillary responses to affective words in bilinguals' first versus second language}, author = {Wilhelmiina Toivo and Christoph Scheepers}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0210450}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {PLoS ONE}, volume = {14}, number = {4}, pages = {1--20}, abstract = {Late bilinguals often report less emotional involvement in their second language, a phenomenon called reduced emotional resonance in L2. The present study measured pupil dilation in response to high-versus low-arousing words (e.g., riot vs. swamp) in German-English and Finnish-English late bilinguals, both in their first and in their second language. A third sample of English monolingual speakers (tested only in English) served as a control group. To improve on previous research, we controlled for lexical confounds such as length, frequency, emotional valence, and abstractness–both within and across languages. Results showed no appreciable differences in post-trial word recognition judgements (98% recognition on average), but reliably stronger pupillary effects of the arousal manipulation when stimuli were presented in participants' first rather than second language. This supports the notion of reduced emotional resonance in L2. Our findings are unlikely to be due to differences in stimulus-specific control variables or to potential word-recognition difficulties in participants' second language. Linguistic relatedness between first and second language (German-English vs. Finnish-English) was also not found to have a modulating influence.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Late bilinguals often report less emotional involvement in their second language, a phenomenon called reduced emotional resonance in L2. The present study measured pupil dilation in response to high-versus low-arousing words (e.g., riot vs. swamp) in German-English and Finnish-English late bilinguals, both in their first and in their second language. A third sample of English monolingual speakers (tested only in English) served as a control group. To improve on previous research, we controlled for lexical confounds such as length, frequency, emotional valence, and abstractness–both within and across languages. Results showed no appreciable differences in post-trial word recognition judgements (98% recognition on average), but reliably stronger pupillary effects of the arousal manipulation when stimuli were presented in participants' first rather than second language. This supports the notion of reduced emotional resonance in L2. Our findings are unlikely to be due to differences in stimulus-specific control variables or to potential word-recognition difficulties in participants' second language. Linguistic relatedness between first and second language (German-English vs. Finnish-English) was also not found to have a modulating influence. |
Leah N Tobin; Amy H Barron; Christopher R Sears; Kristin M von Ranson Greater body appreciation moderates the association between maladaptive attentional biases and body dissatisfaction in undergraduate women Journal Article Journal of Experimental Psychopathology, pp. 1–15, 2019. @article{Tobin2019, title = {Greater body appreciation moderates the association between maladaptive attentional biases and body dissatisfaction in undergraduate women}, author = {Leah N Tobin and Amy H Barron and Christopher R Sears and Kristin M von Ranson}, doi = {10.1177/2043808719838937}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Journal of Experimental Psychopathology}, pages = {1--15}, abstract = {Attentional biases for weight-related information are thought to contribute to maintenance of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders. Women with greater body appreciation may pay less attention to thin-ideal cues if body appreciation protects them from negative effects of thin-ideal media, and if so, they may be less susceptible to development of maladaptive attentional biases. The present study used eye-gaze tracking to measure attention to weight-related words/images in 167 body-dissatisfied undergraduate women (aged 17-39 years) to examine the associations among body dissatisfaction, body appreciation, and attentional biases. Participants viewed displays of thin-related, fat-related, and neutral words/images while their eye fixations were tracked over 8-s intervals. We hypothesized body appreciation (as measured by the Body Appreciation Scale) would moderate the documented association between body dissatisfaction and attentional biases for thin-related information only, such that as body appreciation increased, the strength of the relationship between body dissatisfaction and attentional biases would decrease. Results indicated that body appreciation moderated the association between body dissatisfaction and attentional biases for thin-related words only. With low body appreciation, body dissatisfaction was positively associated with attention to thin-related words. With high body appreciation, there was an inverse association between body dissatisfaction and attention to thin-related words. Results suggest that body appreciation may be an effective prevention target for reducing maladaptive attentional biases.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Attentional biases for weight-related information are thought to contribute to maintenance of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders. Women with greater body appreciation may pay less attention to thin-ideal cues if body appreciation protects them from negative effects of thin-ideal media, and if so, they may be less susceptible to development of maladaptive attentional biases. The present study used eye-gaze tracking to measure attention to weight-related words/images in 167 body-dissatisfied undergraduate women (aged 17-39 years) to examine the associations among body dissatisfaction, body appreciation, and attentional biases. Participants viewed displays of thin-related, fat-related, and neutral words/images while their eye fixations were tracked over 8-s intervals. We hypothesized body appreciation (as measured by the Body Appreciation Scale) would moderate the documented association between body dissatisfaction and attentional biases for thin-related information only, such that as body appreciation increased, the strength of the relationship between body dissatisfaction and attentional biases would decrease. Results indicated that body appreciation moderated the association between body dissatisfaction and attentional biases for thin-related words only. With low body appreciation, body dissatisfaction was positively associated with attention to thin-related words. With high body appreciation, there was an inverse association between body dissatisfaction and attention to thin-related words. Results suggest that body appreciation may be an effective prevention target for reducing maladaptive attentional biases. |
Mehrgol Tiv; Laura Gonnerman; Veronica Whitford; Deanna Friesen; Debra Jared; Debra Titone Figuring out how verb-particle constructions are understood during L1 and L2 reading Journal Article Frontiers in Psychology, 10 (JULY), pp. 1–18, 2019. @article{Tiv2019, title = {Figuring out how verb-particle constructions are understood during L1 and L2 reading}, author = {Mehrgol Tiv and Laura Gonnerman and Veronica Whitford and Deanna Friesen and Debra Jared and Debra Titone}, doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01733}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Frontiers in Psychology}, volume = {10}, number = {JULY}, pages = {1--18}, abstract = {The aim of this paper was to investigate first-language (L1) and second-language (L2) reading of verb particle constructions (VPCs) among English-French bilingual adults. VPCs, or phrasal verbs, are highly common collocations of a verb paired with a particle, such as eat up or chew out, that often convey a figurative meaning. VPCs vary in form (eat up the candy vs. eat the candy up) and in other factors, such as the semantic contribution of the constituent words to the overall meaning (semantic transparency) and form frequency. Much like classic forms of idioms, VPCs are difficult for L2 users. Here, we present two experiments that use eye-tracking to discover factors that influence the ease with which VPCs are processed by bilingual readers. In Experiment 1, we compared L1 reading of adjacent vs. split VPCs, and then explored whether the general pattern was driven by item-level factors. L1 readers did not generally find adjacent VPCs (eat up the candy) easier to process than split VPCs (eat the candy up); however, VPCs low in co-occurrence strength (i.e., low semantic transparency) and high in frequency were easiest to process in the adjacent form during first pass reading. In Experiment 2, we compared L2 reading of adjacent vs split VPCs, and then explored whether the general pattern varied with item-level or participant-level factors. L2 readers generally allotted more second pass reading time to split vs. adjacent forms, and there was some evidence that this pattern was greater for L2 English readers who had less English experience. In contrast with L1 reading, there was no influence of item differences on L2 reading behavior. These data suggest that L1 readers often have lexicalized VPC representations that are directly retrieved during comprehension, whereas L2 readers are more likely to compositionally process VPCs given their more general preference for adjacent particles, as demonstrated by longer second pass reading time for all split items.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } The aim of this paper was to investigate first-language (L1) and second-language (L2) reading of verb particle constructions (VPCs) among English-French bilingual adults. VPCs, or phrasal verbs, are highly common collocations of a verb paired with a particle, such as eat up or chew out, that often convey a figurative meaning. VPCs vary in form (eat up the candy vs. eat the candy up) and in other factors, such as the semantic contribution of the constituent words to the overall meaning (semantic transparency) and form frequency. Much like classic forms of idioms, VPCs are difficult for L2 users. Here, we present two experiments that use eye-tracking to discover factors that influence the ease with which VPCs are processed by bilingual readers. In Experiment 1, we compared L1 reading of adjacent vs. split VPCs, and then explored whether the general pattern was driven by item-level factors. L1 readers did not generally find adjacent VPCs (eat up the candy) easier to process than split VPCs (eat the candy up); however, VPCs low in co-occurrence strength (i.e., low semantic transparency) and high in frequency were easiest to process in the adjacent form during first pass reading. In Experiment 2, we compared L2 reading of adjacent vs split VPCs, and then explored whether the general pattern varied with item-level or participant-level factors. L2 readers generally allotted more second pass reading time to split vs. adjacent forms, and there was some evidence that this pattern was greater for L2 English readers who had less English experience. In contrast with L1 reading, there was no influence of item differences on L2 reading behavior. These data suggest that L1 readers often have lexicalized VPC representations that are directly retrieved during comprehension, whereas L2 readers are more likely to compositionally process VPCs given their more general preference for adjacent particles, as demonstrated by longer second pass reading time for all split items. |
Debra Titone; Kyle Lovseth; Kristina Kasparian; Mehrgol Tiv Are figurative interpretations of idioms directly retrieved, compositionally built, or both? Evidence from eye movement measures of reading Journal Article Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, 73 (4), pp. 216–230, 2019. @article{Titone2019, title = {Are figurative interpretations of idioms directly retrieved, compositionally built, or both? Evidence from eye movement measures of reading}, author = {Debra Titone and Kyle Lovseth and Kristina Kasparian and Mehrgol Tiv}, doi = {10.1037/cep0000175}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology}, volume = {73}, number = {4}, pages = {216--230}, abstract = {Idioms are part of a general class of multiword expressions where the overall interpretation cannot be fully determined through a simple syntactic and semantic (i.e., compositional) analysis of their component words (e.g., kick the bucket, save your skin). Idioms are thus simultaneously amenable to direct retrieval from memory, and to an on-demand compositional analysis, yet it is unclear which processes lead to figurative interpretations of idioms during comprehension. In this eye-tracking study, healthy adults read sentences in their native language that contained idioms, which were followed by figurativeor literal-biased disambiguating sentential information. The results showed that the earliest stages of comprehension are driven by direct retrieval of idiomatic forms; however, later stages of comprehension, after which point the intended meaning of an idiom is known, are driven by both direct retrieval and compositional processing. Of note, at later stages, increased idiom decomposability slowed reading time, suggesting more effortful figurative comprehension. Together, these results are most consistent with multidetermined or hybrid models of idiom processing.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Idioms are part of a general class of multiword expressions where the overall interpretation cannot be fully determined through a simple syntactic and semantic (i.e., compositional) analysis of their component words (e.g., kick the bucket, save your skin). Idioms are thus simultaneously amenable to direct retrieval from memory, and to an on-demand compositional analysis, yet it is unclear which processes lead to figurative interpretations of idioms during comprehension. In this eye-tracking study, healthy adults read sentences in their native language that contained idioms, which were followed by figurativeor literal-biased disambiguating sentential information. The results showed that the earliest stages of comprehension are driven by direct retrieval of idiomatic forms; however, later stages of comprehension, after which point the intended meaning of an idiom is known, are driven by both direct retrieval and compositional processing. Of note, at later stages, increased idiom decomposability slowed reading time, suggesting more effortful figurative comprehension. Together, these results are most consistent with multidetermined or hybrid models of idiom processing. |
Jordy Thielen; Sander E Bosch; Tessa M van Leeuwen; Marcel A J van Gerven; Rob van Lier Evidence for confounding eye movements under attempted fixation and active viewing in cognitive neuroscience Journal Article Scientific Reports, 9 , pp. 1–8, 2019. @article{Thielen2019, title = {Evidence for confounding eye movements under attempted fixation and active viewing in cognitive neuroscience}, author = {Jordy Thielen and Sander E Bosch and Tessa M van Leeuwen and Marcel A J van Gerven and Rob van Lier}, doi = {10.1038/s41598-019-54018-z}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Scientific Reports}, volume = {9}, pages = {1--8}, abstract = {Eye movements can have serious confounding effects in cognitive neuroscience experiments. Therefore, participants are commonly asked to fixate. Regardless, participants will make so-called fixational eye movements under attempted fixation, which are thought to be necessary to prevent perceptual fading. Neural changes related to these eye movements could potentially explain previously reported neural decoding and neuroimaging results under attempted fixation. In previous work, under attempted fixation and passive viewing, we found no evidence for systematic eye movements. Here, however, we show that participants' eye movements are systematic under attempted fixation when active viewing is demanded by the task. Since eye movements directly affect early visual cortex activity, commonly used for neural decoding, our findings imply alternative explanations for previously reported results in neural decoding.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Eye movements can have serious confounding effects in cognitive neuroscience experiments. Therefore, participants are commonly asked to fixate. Regardless, participants will make so-called fixational eye movements under attempted fixation, which are thought to be necessary to prevent perceptual fading. Neural changes related to these eye movements could potentially explain previously reported neural decoding and neuroimaging results under attempted fixation. In previous work, under attempted fixation and passive viewing, we found no evidence for systematic eye movements. Here, however, we show that participants' eye movements are systematic under attempted fixation when active viewing is demanded by the task. Since eye movements directly affect early visual cortex activity, commonly used for neural decoding, our findings imply alternative explanations for previously reported results in neural decoding. |
Hideko Teruya; Vsevolod Kapatsinski Deciding to look: Revisiting the linking hypothesis for spoken word recognition in the visual world Journal Article Language, Cognition and Neuroscience, 34 (7), pp. 861–880, 2019. @article{Teruya2019, title = {Deciding to look: Revisiting the linking hypothesis for spoken word recognition in the visual world}, author = {Hideko Teruya and Vsevolod Kapatsinski}, doi = {10.1080/23273798.2019.1588338}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Language, Cognition and Neuroscience}, volume = {34}, number = {7}, pages = {861--880}, publisher = {Taylor & Francis}, abstract = {The visual world paradigm (VWP) studies of spoken word recognition rely on a linking hypothesis that connects lexical activation to the probability of looking at the referent of a word. The standard hypothesis is that fixation probabilities track activation levels transformed via the Luce Choice Rule. Under this assumption, given enough power, any difference between positive activations should be detectable using VWP. We argue that looking at a referent of a word is a decision, made when the word's activation exceeds a context-specific threshold. Subthreshold activations do not drive saccades, and differences among such activations are undetectable in VWP. Evidence is provided by VWP experiments on Japanese. Bayesian analyses indicate a relatively high threshold: saccades to cohort competitors do not exceed those to unrelated distractors unless the cohort competitor shares the initial CVC with the target. We argue that threshold setting constitutes an understudied source of variability in VWP data.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } The visual world paradigm (VWP) studies of spoken word recognition rely on a linking hypothesis that connects lexical activation to the probability of looking at the referent of a word. The standard hypothesis is that fixation probabilities track activation levels transformed via the Luce Choice Rule. Under this assumption, given enough power, any difference between positive activations should be detectable using VWP. We argue that looking at a referent of a word is a decision, made when the word's activation exceeds a context-specific threshold. Subthreshold activations do not drive saccades, and differences among such activations are undetectable in VWP. Evidence is provided by VWP experiments on Japanese. Bayesian analyses indicate a relatively high threshold: saccades to cohort competitors do not exceed those to unrelated distractors unless the cohort competitor shares the initial CVC with the target. We argue that threshold setting constitutes an understudied source of variability in VWP data. |
Anne-Marie Marie Ternes; Meaghan Clough; Paige Foletta; Owen White; Joanne Fielding Characterization of inhibitory failure in Multiple Sclerosis: Evidence of impaired conflict resolution Journal Article Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, 41 (3), pp. 320–329, 2019. @article{Ternes2019a, title = {Characterization of inhibitory failure in Multiple Sclerosis: Evidence of impaired conflict resolution}, author = {Anne-Marie Marie Ternes and Meaghan Clough and Paige Foletta and Owen White and Joanne Fielding}, doi = {10.1080/13803395.2018.1552756}, year = {2019}, date = {2019-01-01}, journal = {Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology}, volume = {41}, number = {3}, pages = {320--329}, publisher = {Routledge}, abstract = {Introduction: Inhibitory control deficits are frequently reported in Multiple Sclerosis (MS), although it is unclear whether these deficits represent a global or process-specific failure. Notably, most models of inhibitory control recognize at least two dissociable processes, the most consistent being: (a) the inhibition of a dominant response: response suppression, and (b) the inhibition of a dominant response and initiation of a nondominant response: executive control. This study aimed to ascertain the processes underlying inhibitory failure in MS. Method: Twenty-three MS patients and 25 healthy controls completed a battery of commonly used inhibitory tasks, with measures from each task entered into a principal components analysis with orthogonal (varimax) rotation. Results: As anticipated, two components emerged, with tasks evaluating response suppression (stop signal, go/no go) loading on a common component, and tasks evaluating executive control (Stroop, antisaccade, endogenously-cued saccade) loading on a separate common component. Composite scores were generated for each component and compared between groups. Unlike response suppression scores, executive control scores were significantly poorer for MS patients. Conclusions: Inhibitory control deficits in MS may reflect poor resolution in the context of competing processes, rather than difficulty in preventing the execution of an inappropriate response.}, keywords = {}, pubstate = {published}, tppubtype = {article} } Introduction: Inhibitory control deficits are frequently reported in Multiple Sclerosis (MS), although it is unclear whether these deficits represent a global or process-specific failure. Notably, most models of inhibitory control recognize at least two dissociable processes, the most consistent being: (a) the inhibition of a dominant response: response suppression, and (b) the inhibition of a dominant response and initiation of a nondominant response: executive control. This study aimed to ascertain the processes underlying inhibitory failure in MS. Method: Twenty-three MS patients and 25 healthy controls completed a battery of commonly used inhibitory tasks, with measures from each task entered into a principal components analysis with orthogonal (varimax) rotation. Results: As anticipated, two components emerged, with tasks evaluating response suppression (stop signal, go/no go) loading on a common component, and tasks evaluating executive control (Stroop, antisaccade, endogenously-cued saccade) loading on a separate common component. Composite scores were generated for each component and compared between groups. Unlike response suppression scores, executive control scores were significantly poorer for MS patients. Conclusions: Inhibitory control deficits in MS may reflect poor resolution in the context of competing processes, rather than difficulty in preventing the execution of an inappropriate response. |