Aspects Of Perceptual Processing Research Articles

Обзор современных исследований влияния видеоигр на когнитивные процессы

<p style="text-align: justify;">This review is aimed at systematizing the results of empirical and meta-analytical work on the problem of the influence of video games on cognitive processes. Psychology has accumulated a lot of facts indicating that computer games have positive effects, but sometimes it is impossible to fix them. Analysis of the literature has shown that video games have a positive effect on cognitive processes, but the size of this effect depends on the genre of the game. There is a largest effect of puzzle-games and the “arcade” genre on spatial thinking. “Action”, “shooter”, and “arcade” games have small but significant effects on some aspects of perceptual processing, as well as “action” games have a strong positive effect on problem solving speed. The effects on executive functions were small. A review of modern trends in gamification has shown that video games can be effective in teaching specific professional skills, for example, in the field of medicine, and in the treatment of psychological disorders, in particular dementia. The effectiveness of videogames as a part of cognitive learning products has not been confirmed, this area needs to be studied in more details. At the same time, only moderate video gaming is safe for development. Studies show that excessive video game passion causes gaming addiction and negatively affects attention, academic performance and emotional state. An analysis of the literature has shown that video games potentially have a positive effect on cognitive processes, but the size of this effect depends on the genre of the game. There is a largest effects of puzzle-games and the «arcade» genre on spatial thinking. «Action», «shooter», and «arcade» games have small but significant effects on some aspects of perceptual processing, as well as «action» games have a strong positive effect on problem solving speed. The effects on executive functions were small. A review of modern trends in gamification has shown that video games can be effective in teaching specific professional skills, for example, in the field of medicine, and in the treatment of certain psychological disorders, in particular dementia. The effectiveness of videogames as part of cognitive learning products has not been confirmed, this area need more detailed research. At the same time, despite the some positive effects of computer games, only moderate gaming is safe for development, studies show that excessive video game passion causes the gambling addiction and negatively affects attention, academic performance and emotional state.</p>

Investigating the Serotonergic Modulation of Orientation Tuning of Neurons in Primary Visual Cortex of Anesthetized Mice

Introduction: Sensory processing is profoundly regulated by brain neuromodulatory systems. One of the main neuromodulators is serotonin which influences higher cognitive functions, such as different aspects of perceptual processing. Accordingly, malfunction in the serotonergic system may lead to visual illusion in psychiatric disorders, such as autism and schizophrenia. This study aims to investigate the serotonergic modulation of visual responses of neurons to stimulus orientation in the primary visual cortex. Methods: Eight-week-old naive mice were anesthetized and a craniotomy was done on the region of interest in the primary visual cortex. Spontaneous and visual-evoked activities of neurons were recorded before and during the electrical stimulation of the dorsal raphe nucleus using in vivo whole-cell patch-clamp recording. The square-wave grating of 12 orientations was presented. The data were analyzed and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to compare the data of two conditions that belong to the same neurons, with or without electrical stimulation. Results: The serotonergic system changed the orientation tuning of nearly 60% of recorded neurons by decreasing the mean firing rate in two independent visual response components, namely gain and baseline response. It also increased the mean firing rate in a small number of neurons (about 20%). Additionally, it left the preferred orientation and sensitivity of neurons unchanged. Conclusion: Serotonergic modulation showed a bidirectional effect. It causes predominately divisive and subtractive decreases in the visual responses of the neurons in the primary visual cortex that can modify the balance between internal and external sensory signals and result in disorders.

Children’s perception of visual and auditory ambiguity and its link to executive functions and creativity

The phenomenon of perceptual bistability provides insights into aspects of perceptual processing not normally accessible to everyday experience. However, most experiments have been conducted in adults, and it is not clear to what extent key aspects of perceptual switching change through development. The current research examined the ability of 6-, 8-, and 10-year-old children (N = 66) to switch between competing percepts of ambiguous visual and auditory stimuli and links between switching rate, executive functions, and creativity. The numbers of switches participants reported in two visual tasks (ambiguous figure and ambiguous structure from motion) and two auditory tasks (verbal transformation and auditory streaming) were measured in three 60-s blocks. In addition, inhibitory control was measured with a Stroop task, set shifting was measured with a verbal fluency task, and creativity was measured with a divergent thinking task. The numbers of perceptual switches increased in all four tasks from 6 to 10 years of age but differed across tasks in that they were higher in the verbal transformation and ambigous structure-from-motion tasks than in the ambigous figure and auditory streaming tasks for all age groups. Although perceptual switching rates differed across tasks, there were predictive relationships between switching rates in some tasks. However, little evidence for the influence of central processes on perceptual switching was found. Overall, the results support the notion that perceptual switching is largely modality and task specific and that this property is already evident when perceptual switching emerges.

Neuroelectric correlates of auditory attentional blink

Attentional blink (AB) refers to the situation where the correct identification of a first target causes a processing deficit of a second target. The present study aims to clarify the stage at which the auditory AB occurs by means of scalp-recorded event-related potentials. On each trial, participants indicated whether predefined target sounds were presented in a rapid series of distractor sounds. The results showed a large AB when the presentation rate was fast. This auditory AB was paralleled by a suppression of the P3b wave to the second target. During the AB, the second target generated N1 and P2 waves, suggesting that some aspects of perceptual processing were preserved. The magnitude of the AB decreased with decreasing presentation rate. The improvement in detecting the second target was accompanied by an increased and delayed P3b. These results suggest that the auditory AB reflects a limitation of short-term consolidation and provides evidence for a common underlying processing limitation during the AB in both visual and auditory modalities.

Individual gains from auditory training of English vowels for Greek native speakers.

Several studies have shown that high‐variability auditory training can improve the perception of second‐language (L2) sounds by adult learners. However, even when testing a homogenous L2 group, considerable differences are commonly found between individuals not only in pre‐training performance but also in how each trainee responds to training. Additionally, it is not clear what aspects of perceptual processing are actually being trained. To address these issues the present study trained Greek native speakers in perceiving the vowels of Southern British English. The trainees received five sessions of high‐variability auditory training (including multiple words spoken by multiple talkers). The pre‐ and post‐training tests included identification and discrimination tasks in L1 (Greek) and L2 (English), and a nonspeech (F2 only) discrimination task. Preliminary results show significant improvement in the trainees’ identification of L2 vowels, but no significant change in their L2 discrimination. The relationships between pre‐training L1, L2, and nonspeech performance and gains in L2 identification for individuals will be discussed.