Visual Backward Masking Research Articles

Alpha peak frequency affects visual performance beyond temporal resolution

Abstract Recent work suggests that the individual alpha peak frequency (IAPF) reflects the temporal resolution of visual processing: individuals with higher IAPF can segregate stimuli at shorter intervals compared to those with lower IAPF. However, this evidence mainly comes from studies focusing on short intervals, with stimulus onset asynchronies (SOA) rarely extending beyond a single alpha cycle (e.g., ~100 ms). Here, we investigated the relationship between IAPF and performance in visual backward masking (VBM), which allowed us to test the effects of IAPF for longer SOAs than an alpha cycle. A group of healthy controls (N = 79) and schizophrenia patients (N = 121), who generally exhibit lower IAPF, were tested in conditions with a Vernier shown alone, a Vernier followed by a mask at two SOAs (30 and 150 ms), or only a mask. Our results show that IAPF can predict VBM performance in all conditions with a Vernier. Furthermore, in both the control and schizophrenia groups, individuals with higher IAPF showed reduced masking effects, even when the SOA of 150 ms exceeded the alpha cycle. These findings challenge the notion that IAPF is exclusively related to temporal resolution and visual processing within a single alpha cycle. We discuss alternative mechanisms by which IAPF determines visual performance.

Visual information processing through the interplay between fine and coarse signal pathways

Object recognition is often viewed as a feedforward, bottom-up process in machine learning, but in real neural systems, object recognition is a complicated process which involves the interplay between two signal pathways. One is the parvocellular pathway (P-pathway), which is slow and extracts fine features of objects; the other is the magnocellular pathway (M-pathway), which is fast and extracts coarse features of objects. It has been suggested that the interplay between the two pathways endows the neural system with the capacity of processing visual information rapidly, adaptively, and robustly. However, the underlying computational mechanism remains largely unknown. In this study, we build a two-pathway model to elucidate the computational properties associated with the interactions between two visual pathways. Specifically, we model two visual pathways using two convolution neural networks: one mimics the P-pathway, referred to as FineNet, which is deep, has small-size kernels, and receives detailed visual inputs; the other mimics the M-pathway, referred to as CoarseNet, which is shallow, has large-size kernels, and receives blurred visual inputs. We show that CoarseNet can learn from FineNet through imitation to improve its performance, FineNet can benefit from the feedback of CoarseNet to improve its robustness to noise; and the two pathways interact with each other to achieve rough-to-fine information processing. Using visual backward masking as an example, we further demonstrate that our model can explain visual cognitive behaviors that involve the interplay between two pathways. We hope that this study gives us insight into understanding the interaction principles between two visual pathways.

Association between eating behavior and the immediate neural activity caused by viewing food images presented in and out of awareness: A magnetoencephalography study.

Obesity is a serious health problem in modern society. Considering the fact that the outcomes of treatments targeting appetitive behavior are suboptimal, one potential reason proposed for these poor outcomes is that appetitive behavior is driven more by unconscious decision-making processes than by the conscious ones targeted by traditional behavioral treatments. In this study, we aimed to investigate both the conscious and unconscious decision-making processes related to eating behavior, and to examine whether an interaction related to eating behavior exists between conscious and unconscious neural processes. The study was conducted on healthy male volunteers who viewed pictures of food and non-food items presented both above and below the awareness threshold. The oscillatory brain activity affected by viewing the pictures was assessed by magnetoencephalography. A visual backward masking procedure was used to present the pictures out of awareness. Neural activity corresponding to the interactions between sessions (i.e., food or non-food) and conditions (i.e., visible or invisible) was observed in left Brodmann's areas 45 and 47 in the high-gamma (60-200 Hz) frequency range. The interactions were associated with eating behavior indices such as emotional eating and cognitive restraint, suggesting that conscious and unconscious neural processes are differently involved in eating behavior. These findings provide valuable clues for devising methods to assess conscious and unconscious appetite regulation in individuals with normal or abnormal eating behavior.

The strength of feedback processing is associated with resistance to visual backward masking during Illusory Contour processing in adult humans

Re-entrant feedback processing is a key mechanism of visual object-recognition, especially under compromised viewing conditions where only sparse information is available and object features must be interpolated. Illusory Contour stimuli are commonly used in conjunction with Visual Evoked Potentials (VEP) to study these filling-in processes, with characteristic modulation of the VEP in the ∼100-150 ms timeframe associated with this re-entrant processing. Substantial inter-individual variability in timing and amplitude of feedback-related VEP modulation is observed, raising the question whether this variability might underlie inter-individual differences in the ability to form strong perceptual gestalts. Backward masking paradig ms have been used to study inter-individual variance in the ability to form robust object perceptions before processing of the mask interferes with object-recognition. Some individuals recognize objects when the time between target object and mask is extremely short, whereas others struggle to do so even at longer target-to-mask intervals. We asked whether timing and amplitude of feedback-related VEP modulations were associated with individual differences in resistance to backward masking. Participants (N=40) showed substantial performance variability in detecting Illusory Contours at intermediate target-to-mask intervals (67 ms and 117 ms), allowing us to use kmeans clustering to divide the population into four performance groups (poor, low-average, high-average, superior). There was a clear relationship between the amplitude (but not the timing) of feedback-related VEP modulation and Illusory Contour detection during backward masking. We conclude that individual differences in the strength of feedback processing in neurotypical humans lead to differences in the ability to quickly establish perceptual awareness of incomplete visual objects.

Perception of invisible masked objects in early infancy

Recurrent loops in the visual cortex play a critical role in visual perception, which is likely not mediated by purely feed-forward pathways. However, the development of recurrent loops is poorly understood. The role of recurrent processing has been studied using visual backward masking, a perceptual phenomenon in which a visual stimulus is rendered invisible by a following mask, possibly because of the disruption of recurrent processing. Anatomical studies have reported that recurrent pathways are immature in early infancy. This raises the possibility that younger infants process visual information mainly in a feed-forward manner, and thus, they might be able to perceive visual stimuli that adults cannot see because of backward masking. Here, we show that infants under 7 mo of age are immune to visual backward masking and that masked stimuli remain visible to younger infants while older infants cannot perceive them. These results suggest that recurrent processing is immature in infants under 7 mo and that they are able to perceive objects even without recurrent processing. Our findings indicate that the algorithm for visual perception drastically changes in the second half of the first year of life.

Segregated Co-activation Patterns in the Emergence of Decision Confidence During Visual Perception.

Visual metacognition—the introspection and evaluation of one’s own visual perceptual processes—is measured through both decision confidence and “metacognitive efficiency.” Metacognitive efficiency refers to an individual’s ability to accurately judge incorrect and correct decisions through confidence ratings given their task performance. Previous imaging studies in humans and nonhuman primates reported widely distributed brain regions being involved in decision confidence and metacognition. However, the neural correlates of metacognition are remarkably inconsistent across studies concerning spatial outline. Therefore, this study investigates the neural correlates of visual metacognition by examining co-activation across regions that scale with visual decision confidence. We hypothesized that interacting processes of perceptual and metacognitive performance contribute to the arising decision confidence in distributed, but segregable co-activating brain regions. To test this hypothesis, we performed task-fMRI in healthy humans during a visual backward masking task with four-scale, post-decision confidence ratings. We measured blood oxygenation covariation patterns, which served as a physiological proxy for co-activation across brain regions. Decision confidence ratings and an individual’s metacognitive efficiency served as behavioral measures for metacognition. We found three distinct co-activation clusters involved in decision confidence: the first included right-centered fronto-temporal-parietal regions, the second included left temporal and parietal regions, and the left basal forebrain (BF), and the third included cerebellar regions. The right fronto-temporal-parietal cluster including the supplementary eye field and the right basal forebrain showed stronger co-activation in subjects with higher metacognitive efficiency. Our results provide novel evidence for co-activation of widely distributed fronto-parieto-temporal regions involved in visual confidence. The supplementary eye field was the only region that activated for both decision confidence and metacognitive efficiency, suggesting the supplementary eye field plays a key role in visual metacognition. Our results link findings in electrophysiology studies and human fMRI studies and provide evidence that confidence estimates arise from the integration of multiple information processing pathways.

P.300 Neurocognitive endophenotypes for bipolar disorder identified by visual backward masking and wisconsin card sorting test

System-level reliability of wind power converter has an essential effect on the operation performance and lifespan of a wind turbine system. In this paper, a wind turbine equipped with a 2 MW direct-drive permanent-magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) serves as a case study. Considering the maximum stator current limitation of the PMSG, several multiple-converter structures and their reliability block diagrams (RBDs) are constructed for the machine side converter (MSC). To investigate the reliability influence caused by the amount of semiconductor components and the current for each component, the structures with four and five bridges in parallel are both configured. Reliability evaluation between two major parallel structures, namely, bridges in parallel and converters in parallel are also compared. In addition, the effect of different wind classes on the MSC system-level reliability has been investigated. A detailed discussion regarding the system reliability cumulative distribution function (CDF) is presented, which could serve as reference for future MSC structure design. It is concluded that the component current dominates in the system-level reliability analysis of the MSC and the standby structure can also improve the reliability under the same current level. Besides, compared with the converter structure changing, various wind classes have a minor impact on the system-level reliability.

Electrophysiological correlates of visual backward masking in patients with bipolar disorder

In visual backward masking (VBM), a target is followed by a mask that decreases target discriminability. Schizophrenia patients (SZ) show strong and reproducible masking impairments, which are associated with reduced EEG amplitudes. Patients with bipolar disorder (BP) show masking deficits, too. Here, we investigated the neural EEG correlates of VBM in BP. 122 SZ, 94 unaffected controls, and 38 BP joined a standard VBM experiment. 123 SZ, 94 unaffected controls and 16 BP joined a corresponding EEG experiment, analyzed in terms of global field power. As in previous studies, SZ and BP show strong masking deficits. Importantly and similarly to SZ, BP show decreased global field power amplitudes at approximately 200 ms after the target onset, compared to controls. These results suggest that VBM deficits are not specific for schizophrenia but for a broader range of functional psychoses. Potentially, both SZ and BP show deficient target enhancement.

Early Visual Processing Is Associated With Social Cognitive Performance in Recent-Onset Schizophrenia.

BackgroundEarly-stage visual processing deficits are evident in chronic schizophrenia. Consistent with a cascade model of information processing, whereby early perceptual processes have downstream effects on higher-order cognition, impaired visual processing is associated with deficits in social cognition in this clinical population. However, the nature of this relationship in the early phase of illness is unknown. Here, we present data from a study of early visual processing and social cognitive performance in recent-onset schizophrenia (ROSz).MethodThirty-two people with ROSz and 20 healthy controls (HC) completed a visual backward masking task using stimuli of real world objects (Object Masking) to assess early-stage (i.e., 0–125 ms post-stimulus onset) visual processing. Subjects also completed two tasks of social cognition, one assessing relatively low-level processes of emotion identification (Emotion Biological Motion, EmoBio), and another assessing more complex, higher-order theory of mind abilities (The Awareness of Social Inference Test, TASIT). Group differences were tested with repeated measures ANOVAs and t-tests. Bivariate correlations and linear regressions tested the strength of associations between early-stage visual processing and social cognitive performance in ROSz.ResultsFor Object Masking, the mask interfered with object identification over a longer interval for ROSz than for HC [F (3.19, 159.35) = 8.51, p < 0.001]. ROSz were less accurate on the EmoBio task [t (50) = −3.36, p = 0.001] and on the TASIT compared to HC [F (1, 50) = 38.37, p < 0.001]. For the TASIT ROSz were disproportionately impaired on items assessing sarcasm detection [F (1, 50) = 4.30, p = 0.04]. In ROSz, better Object Masking performance was associated with better social cognitive performance [r EmoBio = 0.45, p < 0.01; r TASIT = 0.41, p < 0.02]. Regression analyses did not provide significant support for low-level social cognition mediating the relationship between visual processing and high-level social cognition.ConclusionEarly-stage visual processing, low-level social cognition, and high-level social cognition were all significantly impaired in ROSz. Early-stage visual processing was associated with performance on the social cognitive tasks in ROSz, consistent with a cascade model of information processing. However, significant cascading effects within social cognition were not supported. These data suggest that interventions directed at early visual processing may yield downstream effects on social cognitive processes.

The temporal evolution of pre-stimulus slow cortical potentials is associated with an upcoming stimulus' access to visual consciousness.

Slow cortical potentials (SCPs) have been proposed to be essential for the formation of conscious experience. To examine their temporal characteristics, we recorded electroencephalography during a visual backward-masking task, which required participants to localize the missing part of a target stimulus. A subsequent confidence rating was used as a proxy for the target's access to consciousness. Event-related potentials (ERPs) of all correct trials were determined relative to a brief period immediately before the target and then compared among consciousness levels. In an interval ranging from 2s prior to target presentation up to this period, a negative relationship between slowly fluctuating ERP values and the level of consciousness became evident. After target presentation, high conscious awareness was characterized by an enhanced visual awareness negativity, an increased P3 component, and associated positive SCPs. Together, these findings add new evidence to the proposed role of SCPs in the emergence of visual consciousness.

Four-dot masking in monoptic and dichoptic viewing

In visual backward masking paradigms, the visibility of a target is reduced using various kinds of mask stimuli presented immediately after the target. Four-dot masking is one such kind of backward masking, caused by four surrounding dots neither spatially adjacent nor similar to the target. Four-dot masking is often considered to involve object-level interferences. However, low-level contributions such as lateral inhibition and motion detection are also possible. To elucidate the loci of the underlying mechanism within the visual hierarchy, we compared the masking effect between monoptic and dichoptic viewing conditions. A target and a four-dot mask, which also served as a spatial cue to the target location, were presented to the same eye in monoptic viewing, whereas they were presented to different eyes in dichoptic viewing. Observers were then asked to discriminate the target shape. We found a significant decline in the correct response rate compared to the baseline condition in which the four-dot mask was not presented, and the masking effect was equivalent between the monoptic and dichoptic viewings. These results demonstrate that four-dot masking stems exclusively from processing within the binocular pathway.

Involvement of top-down networks in the perception of facial emotions: A magnetoencephalographic investigation

Conscious perception of the emotional valence of faces has been proposed to involve top-down and bottom-up information processing. Yet, the underlying neuronal mechanisms of these two processes and the implementation of their cooperation is still unclear. According to the global workspace model, higher level cognitive processing of visual emotional stimuli relies on both bottom-up and top-down processing. Using masking stimuli in a visual backward masking paradigm with delays at the perceptual threshold, at which stimuli can only partly be detected, suggests that only top-down processing differs between correctly and incorrectly perceived stimuli, while bottom-up visual processing is not compromised and comparable for both conditions. Providing visual stimulation near the perceptual threshold in the backward masking paradigm thus enabled us to compare differences in top-down modulation of the visual information of correctly and incorrectly recognized facial emotions in 12 healthy individuals using magnetoencephalography (MEG). For correctly recognized facial emotions, we found a right-hemispheric fronto-parietal network oscillating in the high-beta and low-gamma band and exerting top-down control as determined by the causality measure of phase slope index (PSI). In contrast, incorrect recognition was associated with enhanced coupling in the gamma band between left frontal and right parietal regions. Our results indicate that the perception of emotional face stimuli relies on the right-hemispheric dominance of synchronized fronto-parietal gamma-band activity.

Can a Low-Cost Eye Tracker Assess the Impact of a Valent Stimulus? A Study Replicating the Visual Backward Masking Paradigm

AbstractCapturing affective response to valent stimuli using eye tracking is of interest not only to academic research but also to commercial equipment developers (e.g. car dashboards). In order to investigate whether a low-cost eye tracker can effectively detect participants’ physiological response to negatively valent stimuli, 44 participants aged 19–24 (mean = 24.7, SD = 5.8) were recruited to complete the visual backward masking paradigm in a repeated-measure experimental design. Saccadic duration and pupil sizes were recorded using a lower-end 60-Hz tracker. Data was analysed using a mix of parametric and non-parametric tests. Our results suggest that valence in the form of fearful vs neutral faces has a significant main effect on both saccadic duration [V = 931, P &amp;lt; 0.001, d = 0.96] and pupil size [t(43) = 29.81, P &amp;lt; 0.001, d = 3.91)]. Our findings were further supported by Bayes factor analysis, which showed that saccadic duration data was 24 times more likely to occur, and pupil size measurement data was 89 times more likely, under the alternative hypothesis, showing that differences in valence had a main effect. The combined evidence produced by our Bayesian analysis, the large effect sizes of our frequentist analysis and the significant effect on two separate measurements lead us to suggest that, under the right conditions, low-cost eye trackers can successfully detect changes in saccadic duration and pupil sizes as a result of physiological responses to threat-relevant visual stimuli.

Независимость простой зрительно-моторной реакции от предсознательной компоненты ощущения при обратной маскировке двухцветными стимулами

The model of visual backward masking in its two-color modification is applicable in the study of the mechanisms of conjugation of the processes of sensory sensation formation and realization of sensorimotor reactions. The effect of the full (100 %) two-color backward masking is reliably implemented with the following values of its parameters: the duration of the test stimulus (red and green) is 0 ms, the stimulus masker (blue) is 45 ms, and the stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) is 0.1 — 25 ms. In the range of SOA values from 25 to 35 ms, the efficiency of backward masking decreases to 14 %, and with an SOA of 40 ms, it completely disappears. The stimulus detection time (sDT) as part of a simple visual-motor reaction in the paradigm of the model of two-color backward masking does not depend on its effectiveness, the color of the test stimulus, the value of asynchrony in the range (0 — 40 ms), the duration of the stimulus-masker in the formation of a conscious light sensation. A comparative analysis of the stimulus detection time values under the conditions of full (100 %) backward masking and in its absence suggests that the mechanism of the two-color backward masking not associated with photoreceptors, but is implemented in the central parts of the visual analyzer.

Electrophysiological correlates of visual backward masking in patients with major depressive disorder

Depression and schizophrenia are two psychiatric diseases with high co-morbidity. For this reason, it is important to find sensitive endophenotypes, which may disentangle the two disorders. The Shine-Through paradigm, a visual backward masking task, is a potential endophenotype for schizophrenia. Masking is strongly deteriorated in schizophrenia patients, which is reflected in reduced EEG amplitudes. Here, we tested whether masking deficits and associated EEG changes are also found in patients with major depressive disorder. First, we replicated previous findings showing that depressive patients exhibit, at most, only weak masking deficits. Second, we found that the EEG amplitudes of depressive patients were reduced compared to controls and slightly increased compared to schizophrenia patients. As a secondary analysis, we compared the performance in the masking paradigm with three cognitive tasks, namely: the Wisconsin card sorting test, a verbal fluency test and a degraded continuous performance test. Performance in all but the verbal fluency test could discriminate schizophrenia from depression.

Spontaneous repulsive adaptation in the absence of attractive serial dependence.

Despite noisy and discontinuous input, vision is remarkably stable and continuous. Recent work suggests that such a remarkable feat is enabled by an active stabilization process integrating information over time, resulting in attractive serial dependence. However, precise mechanisms underlying serial dependence are still unknown. Across three psychophysical experiments, we demonstrate that suppressing high-level modulatory signals on early cortical activity via visual backward masking completely abolishes the serial dependence effect, indicating the critical role of cortical feedback processing on serial dependence. Moreover, we show that the absence of modulatory feedback results in a robust repulsive aftereffect, as in perceptual adaptation, after only 50 ms of stimulation, indicating the presence of a local neurocomputational process for an automatic and spontaneous recalibration of the stimulus representation. These findings collectively illustrate the interplay between two contrasting cortical mechanisms at short timescales that serve as a basis for our perceptual experience.

Schizophrenia patients using atypical medication perform better in visual tasks than patients using typical medication

Schizophrenia (SCZ) patients show deficits in many domains, including cognition and perception. However, results are often mixed. One reason for mixed results may be differences in medication. Very little is known about the role of medication in visual processing. Here, we investigated the effects of typical vs. atypical medication on contrast sensitivity (spatial frequencies ranging from 0.2 to 20 cycles per degree), vernier acuity, and visual backward masking. From a large pool of patients, we selected 50 patients (Study 1, conducted in Brazil) and 97 patients (Study 2, conducted in Georgia) taking either only typical or atypical medication. Patients with atypical medication performed significantly better than patients with typical medication for contrast sensitivity, vernier duration, and backward masking. As a secondary result, we found similar, but not significant, trends for the cognitive tasks (Stroop, Flanker, Trail-Making Test-B, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test and Continuous Performance Test) in the same patients. No correlations were found between demographics, psychopathology, chlorpromazine equivalents and visual processing. A conclusion of our study is that one needs to be careful comparing studies when medication is not comparable.

Electrophysiological correlates of visual backward masking in patients with first episode psychosis

Visual backward masking is strongly impaired in patients with schizophrenia. Masking deficits have been proposed as potential endophenotypes of schizophrenia. Masking performance deficits manifest as strongly reduced amplitudes in the electroencephalogram (EEG). In order to fulfill the criteria of an endophenotype, masking deficits should not vary substantially across time and should be present at the first psychotic event. To verify whether these conditions are met for visual backward masking, we tested patients with first episode psychosis (n = 21) in a longitudinal study. Patients were tested with visual backward masking and EEG three times every six months over a period of one year. We found that the EEG amplitudes of patients with first episode psychosis were higher as compared to those of patients with schizophrenia but lower as compared to those of unaffected controls. More interestingly, we found that the EEG amplitudes of patients with first episode psychosis remained stable over the course of one year. Since chronic schizophrenia patients have strongly reduced amplitudes, we speculate that the neural correlates of masking deficits (EEG amplitudes) continue to decrease as the disease progresses.

Sex-related differences in vision are heterogeneous

Despite well-established sex differences for cognition, audition, and somatosensation, few studies have investigated whether there are also sex differences in visual perception. We report the results of fifteen perceptual measures (such as visual acuity, visual backward masking, contrast detection threshold or motion detection) for a cohort of over 800 participants. On six of the fifteen tests, males significantly outperformed females. On no test did females significantly outperform males. Given this heterogeneity of the sex effects, it is unlikely that the sex differences are due to any single mechanism. A practical consequence of the results is that it is important to control for sex in vision research, and that findings of sex differences for cognitive measures using visually based tasks should confirm that their results cannot be explained by baseline sex differences in visual perception.

T73. NOVEL VISUAL TRAINING FOR COGNITIVE REMEDIATION IN SCHIZOPHRENIA

BackgroundThough cognitive remediation has shown modest benefits for schizophrenia, relatively few training programs for have targeted the visual processing deficits common in the illness. Residual visual processing deficits following cognitive remediation may explain why cognitive remediation has had limited effects on visual learning and memory compared to auditory learning and memory. We sought to test whether training early visual processing would improve visual memory and facial affect recognition by targeting a well-characterized visual deficit in schizophrenia: visual backward masking (VBM). The deficit is so common in schizophrenia, and in non-affected family members to a lesser degree, that it is viewed as an endophenotype. The VBM deficit, however, can normalize as we have previously shown. In our prior open-label pilot study, individuals with schizophrenia (Surti and Wexler, 2012) made substantial gains in VBM performance with rudimentary computerized VBM training. The VBM improvements were also accompanied by improvements in visual memory.To test the hypothesis that improved early sensory training could lead to other cognitive gains in the same domain, we conducted a randomized control study with a new, more sophisticated computerized VBM training program, and compared it to an active control condition. We expected that visual memory and facial affect recognition would improve with the novel visual training (VT), and that VBM would improve with the VT as well.Methods23 individuals with stable schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were randomized to receive 20 sessions of VT or an active control. The VT consisted of VBM training with multiple levels of difficulty, adaptive tracking, virtual rewards, and a variety of letters, numbers, and shapes to train different areas of the visual field. The active control condition was a commercially available computerized typing tutorial (TT) with animation, game narrative, and multiple typing activities. Participants were tested before and after training with: the Matrics Cognitive Consensus Battery (MCCB), including the Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised (BVMT) as the study’s primary outcome; the Profile of Nonverbal Sensitivity (mini-PONS) to assess non-verbal social cues; standardized VBM tests; and typing assessments. Repeated measure ANOVAs were conducted in SPSS24 after checking for normality.Results22 of 23 individuals completed the study, and by participants’ reports, both interventions were well tolerated, equally enjoyable and equally motivating, though the VT was slightly more frustrating for participants. Even when co-varying for education, which was higher in the VT group, there were no condition by time interactions for the BVMT, the mini-PONS, overall MCCB, or typing ability. There was a significant condition by time interactions for VBM performance (F = 5.8, p =0.028), with a substantial improvement in the VT group (Cohen’s d = 0.54; p=0.004).DiscussionPatients with schizophrenia equally tolerated a computerized visual training designed in-house and an off-the shelf highly gamified control training, but only the visual training, specifically designed for individuals with schizophrenia, had effects on the trained task. The effects of the visual training did not generalize to visual memory, facial affect recognition, or global cognition, so further work is needed to facilitate generalization.