Visual Perceptual Abilities Research Articles

The effects of two Alzheimer's disease related genes APOE and MAPT in healthy young adults: An attentional blink study.

Genetic risk factors start to affect the brain and behavior in Alzheimer's disease (AD) before clinical symptoms occur. Although AD is mainly associated with memory deficits, attention and executive dysfunctions can present at the early presymptomatic stages in middle age for those with non-modifiable risks. Here, we investigated whether known risk genes for AD already affected attention in young adulthood. A total of 392 healthy young adults aged around 20 years underwent genetic testing for risks of dementia (APOE and MAPT) and performed a computerized cognitive test for temporal attention called the Attentional Blink (AB) task, in which patients with dementia tested in previous studies often showed reduced performance. Here, the AB task was analyzed using repeated-measurements analysis of variance for the ability of visual perception, attention deployment and temporal memory encoding/binding performance. The results showed that all participants exhibited AB effects. Importantly, genetic risk factors had statistically significant influence on temporal attention depending on sex in healthy young adults. APOE4 status was associated with enhanced attention deployment in males but not females, while MAPT AA carriers had poorer performance in AB but only in females. No genetic effects were found for visual perception and temporal memory binding errors between high and low risk groups. We provided evidence that both APOE and MAPT start to affect attentional function as early as young adulthood. Furthermore, unlike previous findings in older people, these genes had a differential effect for males and females in young adults.

Traffic safety improvement method for highway tunnel entrances based on linear guiding − An engineering practice from China

To improve traffic safety at the entrance of highway tunnels, a comparative analysis of the traffic environment inside and outside the tunnel was conducted, and an improvement scheme based on “linear visual guiding” was developed by considering the human factors. Before and after the improvement of nine experimental tunnels, two batches of vehicle experiments were conducted to analyze the improvement effect of linear guiding scheme on traffic safety. The results show that the linear guiding scheme warns drivers and enables them to make preparations to enter the tunnel earlier. After improvement, the starting position for deceleration (SPD) was 61% earlier and the length of the deceleration section (LDS) has increased by 42%; the starting position for trajectory change (SPTC) was 153% earlier and the length of the trajectory change section (LTCS) has increased by 44%. The improved deceleration and trajectory change are earlier and smoother, and the dramatic changes in speed and trajectory in the tunnel entrance are resolved. When entering the tunnel, drivers sequentially complete deceleration, vehicle trajectory adjustment, and visual adaptation to black-hole effect, disperses driving tasks, reducing the coupling of driving risks. And use linear guiding facilities to enhance the local brightness of the tunnel, enhancing the driver’s visual perception ability in the black-hole effect area. Linear guiding scheme has good results during day, night, and fog, and is able to improve traffic safety at tunnel entrances in all-weather and multiple time periods.

Object detection and tracking for drones: A system design using dynamic visual SLAM

Abstract. Drones can play a quite crucial role in many walks of life today. Enhancing the visual perception ability of drones is crucial to their intelligence level. Among them, it is necessary to focus on strengthening the detection, tracking and mapping capabilities of drones for dynamic objects. However, the existing visual SLAM systems carried by drones do not perform well in dynamic environments. This project designs a monocular visual SLAM system specifically for drones, aiming to achieve efficient three-dimensional mapping and target tracking, surpassing the limitations of simple static mapping and positioning. Besides, this project constructs a drone dynamic SLAM system developed on the ORB-SLAM3 structure, uses drone images to detect, track and map object motion models, and reconstructs environmental maps to obtain motion parameters with real physical scales. This project strives to optimize the input pre-processing module, improve the validity of data and output environmental maps and raster maps. The outcomes demonstrate the system's strong accuracy and adaptability in dynamic installation procedures.

Normative Data for Motor Free Visual Perception Test- 4 in Indian Population Between 50-60 Years in Normal Healthy Individuals

Visual perceptual skills are critical for performing various tasks, making them a key focus in Occupational Therapy, particularly across different diagnoses. The Motor-Free Visual Perception Test (MVPT-4) is a standardized tool used to evaluate visual perception independent of motor abilities in individuals aged 4 to 80+. Although MVPT-4 has been widely used across diverse populations, normative data for adults, especially in the Indian population, is limited. This study aims to establish normative data for healthy North Indian adults aged 50-60. A total of 100 individuals (50 males, 50 females) were assessed using MVPT-4. Test scores were recorded, and statistical analysis was performed. Results indicated an average score of 27.2 (SD = 7.31) in females and 29.32 (SD = 7.45) in males. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of visual perceptual abilities in the Indian population and provide normative data for future research and clinical practice in the region.

Road object detection method based on improved YOLOv5 algorithm

Aiming at the existing network's poor recognition of distant targets in road traffic scenes, insufficient expression of target features, and inaccurate target positioning, a road target detection method based on the improved YOLOv5 algorithm is proposed. Firstly, the feature extraction structure of the YOLOv5 algorithm is summarized, and the shortcomings of the original network structure are analyzed; secondly, a small target detection layer is added on the basis of the original network, and the recognition ability of the network for distant targets is improved by supplementing the fusion feature layer and introducing an additional detection head; thirdly, the original detection head is decoupled, and the expression ability of the network for target features is improved by changing the bounding box regression and target classification process into two branches; then, the prior frame is re-clustered, and the height-width ratio of the prior frame is adjusted by the K-means++ algorithm to enhance the network's positioning ability for the target; finally, ablation, comparison and visualization verification experiments are carried out with AP, mAP and FPS as evaluation indicators. The results show that the detection speed of the proposed algorithm on the BDD100K dataset is 95.2 frames/second, and the average accuracy reaches 55.6%, which is higher than that of the YOLOv5 algorithm 6.7%. It can be seen that the improved YOLOv5 algorithm has good target detection accuracy while meeting the real-time requirements of detection. It is suitable for road target detection tasks in complex traffic environments and has guiding significance for improving the visual perception ability of autonomous vehicles.

Beyond the Gender Binarism: Neural Correlates of Trans Men in a Functional Connectivity–Resting-State fMRI Pilot Study

Introduction: Several studies have investigated the specific neural correlates of trans people, highlighting mixed results. This study aimed to compare the presence of specific functional connectivity and differences in cognitive profile and hormone levels in trans men diagnosed with gender dysphoria (GD), and a homogeneous group of cisgender men and cisgender women. Methods: A total of 42 participants (19 trans men, 11 cisgender men, and 12 cisgender women) underwent a resting state fMRI and were measured for blood levels of testosterone, estradiol, and progesterone. A neuropsychological battery evaluated executive functions, attention, visual-perceptual ability, verbal fluency, manual preference, and general intelligence. Results: Trans men showed weaker functional connectivity in the precentral gyrus, subcallosal cortex, paracingulate gyrus, temporal pole, and cingulate gyrus than cisgender men (p < 0.01). Trans men performed worse than cisgender men in verbal and visuospatial working memory but similarly to cisgender women (p < 0.05). In trans men, functional connectivity of the precentral gyrus correlated positively with testosterone (r = 0.459, p = 0.064) and negatively with estradiol (r = −0.654, p = 0.004) and progesterone blood levels (r = −0.475, p = 0.054). The cluster involving the subcallosal cortex showed a positive correlation with testosterone (r = 0.718, p = 0.001), and a negative correlation with estradiol (r = −0.602, p = 0.011). The functional connectivity from a cluster involving the paracingulate gyrus showed a positive correlation with testosterone (r = 0.592, p = 0.012). Conclusions: This study highlights the importance of overpassing the binary model by underlining the presence of neural pathways that could represent the peculiarity of the neural profile of people with GD.

The effects of cognition and visual perception on activities daily living in the elderly

This study aimed to investigate the influence of cognition and visual perception on activities of daily living (ADL) among community-dwelling elderly individuals. Cognition was assessed using the Korean version of Montreal Cognitive Assessment, visual perception was assessed using the Motor Free Visual Perception Test -3, and ADL were assessed using the Modified Barthel Index. The results indicated that cognition, visual perception, and ADL were all positively correlated. Additionally, both cognition and visual perception were found to impact the ADL in the elderly. This study provides evidence that can be used to develop welfare and rehabilitation programs for the elderly, focusing on managing cognitive and visual perception abilities to support independent ADL and enhance quality of life.

Comparative Analysis of Structure and Motion of Vision Logistics Robotic Arms

This paper combines visual recognition and robotic arm, optimizes the design of robotic arm structure, and researches the logistics robotic arm with six degrees of freedom and visual perception ability to enrich the logistics robotic use scene. Firstly, the visual recognition system is installed on the existing six-degree-of-freedom robotic arm, and the coordinate system is established by the light bar recognition method combined with the D-H parameter method. Secondly, a kinematic simulation model was established by using MATLAB, and the state of the joints was analyzed by using forward and inverse kinematic simulation and fifth degree polynomial interpolation. Finally, the actual logistics fixed-point transportation task is designed for trajectory planning. The results show that the robotic arm is able to be able to perform different grasping tasks in non-structural environments, around the visual analysis of the robotic arm as well as the optimization of the motion track, to enhance the efficiency of the comprehensive use of visual and tactile information, to improve the adaptability of the robotic hand grasping, and to be able to meet the precise control of the pick-up process and the use of the realization of the payload grasping and dexterous movement. The research in this paper provides a certain reference value for the propulsion robot arm to perform intelligent grasping tasks.

Consistent metacognitive efficiency and variable response biases in peripheral vision.

Across the visual periphery, perceptual and metacognitive abilities differ depending on the locus of visual attention, the location of peripheral stimulus presentation, the task design, and many other factors. In this investigation, we aimed to illuminate the relationship between attention and eccentricity in the visual periphery by estimating perceptual sensitivity, metacognitive sensitivity, and response biases across the visual field. In a 2AFC detection task, participants were asked to determine whether a signal was present or absent at one of eight peripheral locations (±10°, 20°, 30°, and 40°), using either a valid or invalid attentional cue. As expected, results revealed that perceptual sensitivity declined with eccentricity and was modulated by attention, with higher sensitivity on validly cued trials. Furthermore, a significant main effect of eccentricity on response bias emerged, with variable (but relatively unbiased) c'a values from 10° to 30°, and conservative c'a values at 40°. Regarding metacognitive sensitivity, significant main effects of attention and eccentricity were found, with metacognitive sensitivity decreasing with eccentricity, and decreasing in the invalid cue condition. Interestingly, metacognitive efficiency, as measured by the ratio of meta-d'a/d'a, was not modulated by attention or eccentricity. Overall, these findings demonstrate (1) that in some circumstances, observers have surprisingly robust metacognitive insights into how performance changes across the visual field and (2) that the periphery may be subject to variable detection biases that are contingent on the exact location in peripheral space.

Supporting Infants' Motor Development through Water Activities: A Preliminary Case-Control Study.

The first twelve months of an infant's life are the most dynamic time in the development of motor activities. Water activities can positively stimulate the motor skills, visual perception, and cognitive abilities of infants. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the motor development of infants aged 3-12 months participating in water activities. Participants in the study included 43 infants aged 3-12 months who attended water activities classes at Warsaw City swimming pools (n = 21) and infants not attending any classes (n = 22). Two methods of assessing motor development were used in the study: the Alberta Infant Motor Scale (AIMS) and the Early Motor Development Questionnaire (EMQ). The raw scores of the AIMS test and the EMQ questionnaire were statistically significantly different (p < 0.05) in both groups between the first and second examinations. In contrast, there was a statistically significant improvement in motor development measured by AIMS and expressed in percentiles (p = 0.002) and in percentiles for Polish children (p = 0.030) in the water group. The age-independent total score of the EMQ before and after the intervention did not change significantly (p = 0.149). The water environment has the potential to support the motor development of infants aged 3-12 months.

Age moderates associations between dementia worry and subjective cognition

ABSTRACT The present study assessed whether dementia worry is associated with adults’ subjective cognitive difficulties, and whether any associations are moderated by age. Participants were 477 adults aged 18–90 years. They completed standard, subjective measures of dementia worry and everyday cognitive difficulties (i.e. attention, language, verbal and visual-spatial memory, and visual-perceptual ability). Moderated regression analyses included dementia worry as a predictor of specific cognitive difficulties, and age as a moderator. Covariates included gender, trait cognitive and somatic anxiety, general aging-related anxiety, depression, stress, mental health treatment status, and health status. Greater overall dementia worry, and specifically more frequent dementia worry, were both associated with greater attentional difficulty in middle-aged and older adults, but not in young adults. Cognitions about developing dementia in reaction to memory lapses were also associated with greater cognitive difficulties across the adult lifespan for multiple cognitive domains. Results highlight a robust relationship between dementia worry and subjective attentional difficulties, especially in middle-aged and older adults. Worry frequency is also more influential with adult aging. A cognitive or meta-cognitive mechanism may underlie subjective cognitive concerns across the adult lifespan.

A Survey Study on the Maturity of Schooling of Young Children in Rural Sichuan Province:Taking the Rural Area of Meishan City,Sichuan Province as An Example

The admission maturity level of preschoolers can predict their performance after entering schools to a certain extent. Therefore, how to prepare for children’s admission to primary school has become a key issue of social concern. In order to improve the admission maturity level of rural preschoolers in Sichuan Province, it is necessary to understand the admission maturity level of 5-6-year-old children in Sichuan Province, so as to provide theoretical and practical basis for taking targeted measures. In this study, the measurement method was used to investigate the admission maturity level of children in rural areas of Meishan City, Sichuan Province as the research sample. It was found that rural children's motor coordination ability did not differ significantly from the national average, and their scores in visual perception ability, auditory perception ability, motor coordination ability, perceptual conversion ability, mathematical preparation ability, verbal communication ability, social adaptation ability and learning quality were significantly lower than the national average, but in auditory perceptual ability, rural children's scores were significantly higher than the national average. The differences in eight abilities between males and females were compared. Except for motor coordination, perceptual conversion ability, and verbal communication ability, there were significant differences in all other aspects, and girls scored higher than boys in all abilities. In addition to this, there is also some discussion on mother's occupation and young children's maturity in school. Based on the findings, targeted improvement measures were proposed to provide a reference for home and school to improve children's admission to primary school.

Detection of Mild Cognitive Impairment Through Hand Motor Function Under Digital Cognitive Test: Mixed Methods Study.

Early detection of cognitive impairment or dementia is essential to reduce the incidence of severe neurodegenerative diseases. However, currently available diagnostic tools for detecting mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia are time-consuming, expensive, or not widely accessible. Hence, exploring more effective methods to assist clinicians in detecting MCI is necessary. In this study, we aimed to explore the feasibility and efficiency of assessing MCI through movement kinetics under tablet-based "drawing and dragging" tasks. We iteratively designed "drawing and dragging" tasks by conducting symposiums, programming, and interviews with stakeholders (neurologists, nurses, engineers, patients with MCI, healthy older adults, and caregivers). Subsequently, stroke patterns and movement kinetics were evaluated in healthy control and MCI groups by comparing 5 categories of features related to hand motor function (ie, time, stroke, frequency, score, and sequence). Finally, user experience with the overall cognitive screening system was investigated using structured questionnaires and unstructured interviews, and their suggestions were recorded. The "drawing and dragging" tasks can detect MCI effectively, with an average accuracy of 85% (SD 2%). Using statistical comparison of movement kinetics, we discovered that the time- and score-based features are the most effective among all the features. Specifically, compared with the healthy control group, the MCI group showed a significant increase in the time they took for the hand to switch from one stroke to the next, with longer drawing times, slow dragging, and lower scores. In addition, patients with MCI had poorer decision-making strategies and visual perception of drawing sequence features, as evidenced by adding auxiliary information and losing more local details in the drawing. Feedback from user experience indicates that our system is user-friendly and facilitates screening for deficits in self-perception. The tablet-based MCI detection system quantitatively assesses hand motor function in older adults and further elucidates the cognitive and behavioral decline phenomenon in patients with MCI. This innovative approach serves to identify and measure digital biomarkers associated with MCI or Alzheimer dementia, enabling the monitoring of changes in patients' executive function and visual perceptual abilities as the disease advances.

Automated lane change behavior prediction and environmental perception based on SLAM technology

In the automatic driving system, the external environment of the vehicle is perceived, in fact, there is also a perception sensor that has been silently dedicated in the system, that is, the positioning module. This paper explores the role of SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) technology in autonomous vehicles, particularly in automatic lane change behavior prediction and environment perception. It emphasizes the limitations of traditional methods and the advantages of SLAM, especially visual SLAM, for accurate positioning and mapping. The discussion covers SLAM fundamentals, challenges, and the significance of visual SLAM's higher perception ability. Case studies on Waymo and Tesla illustrate the application of visual SLAM in achieving high-precision navigation and lane change prediction. The paper concludes by highlighting future research directions to enhance the intelligence and adaptability of automated lane change systems through advancements in AI and sensor technology, alongside optimizing SLAM algorithms for reliable driving in various scenarios.

An artificial visual neuron with multiplexed rate and time-to-first-spike coding.

Human visual neurons rely on event-driven, energy-efficient spikes for communication, while silicon image sensors do not. The energy-budget mismatch between biological systems and machine vision technology has inspired the development of artificial visual neurons for use in spiking neural network (SNN). However, the lack of multiplexed data coding schemes reduces the ability of artificial visual neurons in SNN to emulate the visual perception ability of biological systems. Here, we present an artificial visual spiking neuron that enables rate and temporal fusion (RTF) coding of external visual information. The artificial neuron can code visual information at different spiking frequencies (rate coding) and enables precise and energy-efficient time-to-first-spike (TTFS) coding. This multiplexed sensory coding scheme could improve the computing capability and efficacy of artificial visual neurons. A hardware-based SNN with the RTF coding scheme exhibits good consistency with real-world ground truth data and achieves highly accurate steering and speed predictions for self-driving vehicles in complex conditions. The multiplexed RTF coding scheme demonstrates the feasibility of developing highly efficient spike-based neuromorphic hardware.

Evolutionary change in flight-to-light response in urban moths comes with changes in wing morphology.

Moths and other insects are attracted by artificial light sources. This flight-to-light behaviour disrupts their general activity focused on finding resources, such as mating partners, and increases predation risk. It thus has substantial fitness costs. In illuminated urban areas, spindle ermine moths Yponomeuta cagnagella were reported to have evolved a reduced flight-to-light response. Yet, the specific mechanism remained unknown, and was hypothesized to involve either changes in visual perception or general flight ability or overall mobility traits. Here, we test whether spindle ermine moths from urban and rural populations-with known differences in flight-to-light responses-differ in flight-related morphological traits. Urban individuals were found to have on average smaller wings than rural moths, which in turn correlated with a lower probability of being attracted to an artificial light source. Our finding supports the reduced mobility hypothesis, which states that reduced mobility in urban areas is associated with specific morphological changes in the flight apparatus.

Kesulitan Siswa dalam Menyelesaikan Soal Setara PISA konten Shape and Space ditinjau Berdasarkan Level Tingkat Berpikir van Hiele

This study aims to determine students' difficulties in working on PISA-like mathematical problems on shape and space content based on van Hiele's level of thinking. This type of research was descriptive with a qualitative approach. The research subjects comprised 6 class X at High School in Mataram using VHGT instruments and PISA-like problems. The students' answers were thoroughly examined through in-depth interviews. Data analysis was performed using the Miles and Huberman model with data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing/verification steps. The results showed that students were at the visualization, analysis, and informal deduction levels of thinking. The difficulties experienced by students at the visualization level were the same as students at the analysis level, which is found in several aspects such as language comprehension, visual perception, knowledge transfer, and numeracy. The difficulties of students with informal deduction thinking levels occur in 3 aspects: visual perception, knowledge transfer, and counting ability. Language comprehension includes students' understanding or confusion of the meaning of the problem and students' ability to convert the problem into mathematical form. Difficulties in the visual perception aspect of students relate to students' ability to visualize mathematical concepts in the problem. The knowledge transfer aspect focuses on how students connect existing ideas, and the numeracy aspect is related to students' ability to operate numbers.

Cinematographers’ Perceptual Professionalization from Novices to Experts: Observations from an Eye-tracking Case Study

Abstract Cinematographers represent a group of experts whose professional skills depend to a great extent on their visual perceptual abilities. By the term perceptual professionalization, we emphasize the embodied dynamics of perceptual learning processes that shape the ways in which cinematographers make creative decisions during their daily practices. Novice cinematographers are initiated in film schools and during assisting jobs to a range of technical skills required for working as heads of the camera department in film productions. However, honing one’s perceptual skills as a professional cinematographer is nothing less than a lifelong process. While scientific studies show evidence for behavioral and physiological differences between experts and novices in many different fields, so far no such studies exist between professional cinematographers and novices. As a starting point for studying how cinematographers’ perceptual learning evolves from the level of novice to that of experienced professional, we assumed that the different expertise levels of cinematographers can be observed in the way they view moving images. We then conducted an eye-tracking case study where we identified differences in the gaze patterns between film professionals with different levels of expertise in cinematography during viewing a film trailer. As the experiential heuristics of creative decision-making of professional cinematographers largely rely on the practical skills accumulated in film work, in order to gain access to such knowledge, we also report how involving a practicing cinematographer both in designing the study and in analyzing the results provided us new insights to the topic under scrutiny. Based on our findings, a new study protocol is proposed.

A high-fidelity virtual liver model incorporating biological characteristics

Flexible tissue modeling plays an important role in the field of telemedicine. It is related to whether the soft tissue deformation process can be accurately, real-time and vividly simulated during surgery. However, most existing models lack the unique biological characteristics. To solve this problem, we proposed a high-fidelity virtual liver model incorporating biological characteristics, such as the viscoelastic, anisotropic and nonlinear biological characteristics. Besides, to the best of our knowledge, our study is the first to introduce the viscoplasticity of biological tissues to improve the fidelity of the liver model. This mothod was proposed to describe the viscoplastic characteristics of the diseased liver resection process, when the liver is in a state of excessive deformation and loss of elasticity, however, there are few works focusing on this problem. The 3DMax2020 and OpenGL4.6 were used to build a liver surgery simulation platform, and the PHANTOM OMNI manual controller was used to sense the feedback force during the operation. The proposed model was verified from three aspects of accuracy, fidelity and real-time performance. The experimental results show that the proposed virtual liver model can enhance visual perception ability, improve deformation accuracy and fidelity.

Effect of Frostig Visual Perception Training Program on Visual Perception Skills of First Graders

The study aimed to examine effectiveness of a visual perception training program upon an application period of 14 weeks on primary school first graders. Effects of the Frostig Visual Perception Training Program were evaluated within demographics of gender, age, parental education level, previous kindergarten attainment and family income. The sample group consisted of first graders between the ages of 5-7 at a public primary school in Bursa, Türkiye. The study as an experimental model was designed based on screening-model sampling and conducted in the 2017-2018 academic year. Upon Pretest application of the visual perception instrument, Frostig Visual Perception Training Program was administered to the Treatment group once a week as part of art classes during 14 weeks. Visual perception skills of children were measured before and after training to examine, analyze and evaluate the developmental capacities and scope of children’s visual perception. While there was no significant difference between the Treatment and Control groups at the beginning, Post-test results showed a significant difference between cohorts upon training and utilization of the Frostig Visual Perception Training Program. Results were also compared based on various demographics. It was conclusively supported by the findings that the Frostig Visual Perception Training Program contributed to the children’s visual perceptive abilities positively. It was also concluded that visual perception development may contribute to children’s development to support early literacy-skill development. Therefore, art classes may play a central role especially for preschool and early grade levels.