Visual Perceptual Processing Research Articles

How handedness influences perceptual and attentional processes during rapid serial visual presentation

Stimulus-driven orienting of visual attention is lateralized to the right hemisphere (RH). This lateralization has been studied in the dual-stream rapid serial visual presentation task (dual RSVP). In this task a second target (T2), hard to discern by being embedded in one of two lateral streams of rapidly changing distractors, is better identified on the left than on the right. This phenomenon is called the left visual field advantage (LVFA). Furthermore, in terms of event related potentials (ERPs), the N2pc component and visual evoked potentials (VEPs) are evoked earlier at the RH than at the left hemisphere (LH). All previous dual RSVP experiments were performed on right-handers. In the present study it was investigated how the LVFA and its neural correlates are modulated by handedness. To that end, the size of the LVFA and ERPs (VEPs and N2pc) were compared between right- and left-handers. VEPs were evoked earlier at the RH than the LH in right-handers but not in left-handers. Besides this effect, handedness modulated neither the size of the LVFA nor T2-evoked N2pc. Thus, the LVFA seems to be independent of handedness. Rather than for lateralization of attention, handedness might be relevant for lateralization of early visual perception processes.

Functional hemispheric specialization for verbal and visual perceptual processes in terms of blood flow velocity changes in unilateral brain lesions

Objective : to comparatively analyze the patterns of functional hemispheric specialization in patients with local brain tumor lesions and in healthy participants. Patients and methods . 40 patients (20 men and 20 women) with local unilateral brain tumor lesions (astrocytomas, gliomas, metastases) aged 19–60 years (mean age, 33±9.2 years) were examined for functional hemispheric specialization for verbal and visual perceptual functions when performing cognitive tasks by functional transcranial Doppler ultrasonography. The findings were compared with those in 57 healthy individuals (mean age, 28±5.1 years). All the participants were right-handed. Results. There was a more pronounced increase in blood flow velocity (BFV) while performing verbal cognitive tasks in the vessels of the left hemisphere (LH) and a more marked rise in that when fulfilling non-verbal cognitive tasks in the vessels of the right hemisphere (RH). The trends in the ratio of LH/RH BFV amplification when performing cognitive tasks were observed to be the same as previously observed in the healthy participants.

Human visual perceptual organization beats thinking on speed.

What is the degree to which knowledge influences visual perceptual processes? This question, which is central to the seeing-versus-thinking debate in cognitive science, is often discussed using examples claimed to be proof of one stance or another. It has, however, also been muddled by the usage of different and unclear definitions of perception. Here, for the well-defined process of perceptual organization, I argue that including speed (or efficiency) into the equation opens a new perspective on the limits of top-down influences of thinking on seeing. While the input of the perceptual organization process may be modifiable and its output enrichable, the process itself seems so fast (or efficient) that thinking hardly has time to intrude and is effective mostly after the fact.

Towards human-like and transhuman perception in AI 2.0: a review

Perception is the interaction interface between an intelligent system and the real world. Without sophisticated and flexible perceptual capabilities, it is impossible to create advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems. For the next-generation AI, called ‘AI 2.0’, one of the most significant features will be that AI is empowered with intelligent perceptual capabilities, which can simulate human brain’s mechanisms and are likely to surpass human brain in terms of performance. In this paper, we briefly review the state-of-the-art advances across different areas of perception, including visual perception, auditory perception, speech perception, and perceptual information processing and learning engines. On this basis, we envision several RD (2) auditory perception and computation in an actual auditory setting; (3) speech perception and computation in a natural interaction setting; (4) autonomous learning of perceptual information; (5) large-scale perceptual information processing and learning platforms; and (6) urban omnidirectional intelligent perception and reasoning engines. We believe these research directions should be highlighted in the future plans for AI 2.0.

A systematic review of protocol studies on conceptual design cognition: Design as search and exploration

This paper reports findings from the first systematic review of protocol studies focusing specifically on conceptual design cognition, aiming to answer the following research question: What is our current understanding of the cognitive processes involved in conceptual design tasks carried out by individual designers? We reviewed 47 studies on architectural design, engineering design and product design engineering. This paper reports 24 cognitive processes investigated in a subset of 33 studies aligning with two viewpoints on the nature of designing: (V1) design as search (10 processes, 41.7%); and (V2) design as exploration (14 processes, 58.3%). Studies on search focused on solution search and problem structuring, involving: long-term memory retrieval; working memory; operators and reasoning processes. Studies on exploration investigated: co-evolutionary design; visual reasoning; cognitive actions; and unexpected discovery and situated requirements invention. Overall, considerable conceptual and terminological differences were observed among the studies. Nonetheless, a common focus on memory, semantic, associative, visual perceptual and mental imagery processes was observed to an extent. We suggest three challenges for future research to advance the field: (i) developing general models/theories; (ii) testing protocol study findings using objective methods conducive to larger samples and (iii) developing a shared ontology of cognitive processes in design.

Psychological and Physiological Processes in Figure-Tracing Abilities Measured Using a Tablet Computer: A Study with 7 and 9 Years Old Children.

The present study investigated the use of a tablet computer to assess figure-tracing skills and their relationships with psychological (visual–perceptual processes, cognitive processes, handwriting skills) and physiological (body mass index, isometric strength of arms) parameters with school-children of second (7–8-year-olds) and fourth (9–10-year-olds) grades. We were also interested in gender differences. The task required tracing of geometric figures on a template, shown on a tablet screen in light gray, for the segments that make up the target figure, one at a time. This figure-tracing tablet test allows acquisition and automated analysis of four parameters: number of strokes (pen lift) for each segment; oscillations of lines drawn with respect to reference lines; pressure of pen on tablet; and average speed of tracing. The results show a trade-off between speed and quality for the tablet parameters, with higher speed associated with more oscillations with respect to the reference lines, and lower number of strokes for each segment, in both male and female children. The involvement of visual–motor integration on the ability to reduce the oscillations in this tablet test was only seen for the male children, while both the male and female children showed a relationship between oscillations and more general/abstract visual–spatial processes. These data confirm the role of visual–motor processes in this figure-tracing tablet test only for male children, while more general visual–spatial processes influence the performance in the tablet test for both sexes. We conclude that the test proposed is useful to screen for grapho-motor difficulties.

From Sensory Perception to Lexical-Semantic Processing: An ERP Study in Non-Verbal Children with Autism.

This study examines electrocortical activity associated with visual and auditory sensory perception and lexical-semantic processing in nonverbal (NV) or minimally-verbal (MV) children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Currently, there is no agreement on whether these children comprehend incoming linguistic information and whether their perception is comparable to that of typically developing children. Event-related potentials (ERPs) of 10 NV/MV children with ASD and 10 neurotypical children were recorded during a picture-word matching paradigm. Atypical ERP responses were evident at all levels of processing in children with ASD. Basic perceptual processing was delayed in both visual and auditory domains but overall was similar in amplitude to typically-developing children. However, significant differences between groups were found at the lexical-semantic level, suggesting more atypical higher-order processes. The results suggest that although basic perception is relatively preserved in NV/MV children with ASD, higher levels of processing, including lexical- semantic functions, are impaired. The use of passive ERP paradigms that do not require active participant response shows significant potential for assessment of non-compliant populations such as NV/MV children with ASD.

Toward the influence of temporal attention on the selection of targets in a visual search task: An ERP study.

We used ERPs to investigate whether temporal attention interacts with spatial attention and feature-based attention to enhance visual processing. We presented a visual search display containing one singleton stimulus among a set of homogenous distractors. Participants were asked to respond only to target singletons of a particular color and shape that were presented in an attended spatial position. We manipulated temporal attention by presenting a warning signal before each search display and varying the foreperiod (FP) between the warning signal and the search display in a blocked manner. We observed distinctive ERP effects of both spatial and temporal attention. The amplitudes for the N2pc, SPCN, and P3 were enhanced by spatial attention indicating a processing benefit of relevant stimulus features at the attended side. Temporal attention accelerated stimulus processing; this was indexed by an earlier onset of the N2pc component and a reduction in reaction times to targets. Most importantly, temporal attention did not interact with spatial attention or stimulus features to influence visual processing. Taken together, the results suggest that temporal attention fosters visual perceptual processing in a visual search task independently from spatial attention and feature-based attention; this provides support for the nonspecific enhancement hypothesis of temporal attention.

Through the forest of motor representations.

Following neuroscience, and using different labels, several philosophers have addressed the idea of the presence of a single representational mechanism lying in between (visual) perceptual processes and motor processes involved in different functions and useful for shaping suitable action performances: a motor representation (MR). MRs are the naturalized mental antecedents of action. This paper presents a new, non-monolithic view of MRs, according to which, contrarily to the received view, when looking at in between (visual) perceptual processes and motor processes, we find not only a single representational mechanism with different functions, but an ensemble of different sub-representational phenomena, each of which with a different function. This new view is able to avoid several issues emerging from the literature and to address something the literature is silent about, which however turns out to be crucial for a theory of MRs.

Graph-based inductive reasoning

This article discusses methods of inductive inferences that are methods of visualizations designed in such a way that the “eye” can be employed as a reliable tool for judgment. The term “eye” is used as a stand-in for visual cognition and perceptual processing. In this paper “meaningfulness” has a particular meaning, namely accuracy, which is closeness to truth. Accuracy consists of precision and unbiasedness. Precision is dealt with by statistical methods, but for unbiasedness one needs expert judgment. The common view at the beginning of the twentieth century was to make the most efficient use of this kind of judgment by representing the data in shapes and forms in such a way that the “eye” can function as a reliable judge to reduce bias. The need for judgment of the “eye” is even more necessary when the background conditions of the observations are heterogeneous. Statistical procedures require a certain minimal level of homogeneity, but the “eye” does not. The “eye” is an adequate tool for assessing topological similarities when, due to heterogeneity of the data, metric assessment is not possible. In fact, graphical assessments precedes measurement, or to put it more forcefully, the graphic method is a necessary prerequisite for measurement.

Application of Non-Kolmogorovian Probability and Quantum Adaptive Dynamics to Unconscious Inference in Visual Perception Process

Recently a novel quantum information formalism — quantum adaptive dynamics — was developed and applied to modelling of information processing by bio-systems including cognitive phenomena: from molecular biology (glucose-lactose metabolism for E.coli bacteria, epigenetic evolution) to cognition, psychology. From the foundational point of view quantum adaptive dynamics describes mutual adapting of the information states of two interacting systems (physical or biological) as well as adapting of co-observations performed by the systems. In this paper we apply this formalism to model unconscious inference: the process of transition from sensation to perception. The paper combines theory and experiment. Statistical data collected in an experimental study on recognition of a particular ambiguous figure, the Schröder stairs, support the viability of the quantum(-like) model of unconscious inference including modelling of biases generated by rotation-contexts. From the probabilistic point of view, we study (for concrete experimental data) the problem of contextuality of probability, its dependence on experimental contexts. Mathematically contextuality leads to non-Komogorovness: probability distributions generated by various rotation contexts cannot be treated in the Kolmogorovian framework. At the same time they can be embedded in a “big Kolmogorov space” as conditional probabilities. However, such a Kolmogorov space has too complex structure and the operational quantum formalism in the form of quantum adaptive dynamics simplifies the modelling essentially.

가로 공간 이미지의 시각적 인지과정에 나타난 주시특성 분석

This study analyzed observation characteristics of the subjects revealed in the visual perception process of street space using the image of Guryongpo Modern Culture and History Street where was built to establish modern historical identity. For this study, an observation experiment was conducted using the eye tracker and for obtaining additional information of observation reasons, a retrospective think-aloud interview was carried out and the study findings are as follows: First, when the strength of observation was analyzed, all the subjects were found to look at the FR area(the front) more intensively than other areas. This means that in the space with a vanishing point, people tended to look at the area including the vanishing point, or the deepest point in the screen. Also, they observed the signboard or the left building facade with various elements like the signboard more actively than the right building facade showing the repetition of similar building facade form elements. Second, the frequency of conscious observation was analyzed only using the data which showed 6 consecutive observations of some point. As the result, the strength of observation and the frequency of conscious observation were highly different in east area and the frequency of conscious observation had the highest mean value. This implies that there was a convergent exploration in the left and right building lower areas. Third, additional information about observation data was acquired through a retrospective think-aloud interview. As the result, the main reasons of the subjects for looking at each area according to the observation purposes were 'interest element exploration' and 'disparate element exploration'. When the subjects were asked about the observation elements which remained in their memory, among the 'interest elements', the window showed the highest frequency(85.3%) and it was followed by the wooden panel(67.6%), the sliding door(64.7%) and the plastered wall(50%). Among the 'disparate elements', the telephone pole showed the highest frequency(47.1%) and it was followed by the mailbox(44.1%) and the rainwater tank(26.5%).

Visual processing during natural reading

Reading is a unique human ability that plays a pivotal role in the development and functioning of our modern society. However, its neural basis remains poorly understood since previous research was focused on reading words with fixed gaze. Here we developed a methodological framework for single-trial analysis of fixation onset-related EEG activity (FOREA) that enabled us to investigate visual information processing during natural reading. To reveal the effect of reading skills on orthographic processing during natural reading, we measured how altering the configural properties of the written text by modifying inter-letter spacing affects FOREA. We found that orthographic processing is reflected in FOREA in three consecutive time windows (120–175 ms, 230–265 ms, 345–380 ms after fixation onset) and the magnitude of FOREA effects in the two later time intervals showed a close association with the participants’ reading speed: FOREA effects were larger in fast than in slow readers. Furthermore, these expertise-driven configural effects were clearly dissociable from the FOREA signatures of visual perceptual processes engaged to handle the increased crowding (155–220 ms) as a result of decreasing letter spacing. Our findings revealed that with increased reading skills orthographic processing becomes more sensitive to the configural properties of the written text.

Emotional Processing and Attention Control Impairments in Children with Anxiety: An Integrative Review of Event-Related Potentials Findings.

Anxiety disorders in adults have been associated with biased processing of emotional information which may be due to a deficit in attentional control. This deficit leads to an hypervigilance and a selective attention toward threatening information. Event-related potentials (ERPs) have been used to study this topic in anxious adults. Similar biases have been reported in children with anxiety but researches investigating the ERPs components underpinning these biases are more scarce. However, the understanding of the neural correlates of attentional biases in anxious children seem quite important since they could play a role in the etiology and the maintenance of this disorder. This review summarizes the results of researches having used ERPs to index emotional processing and attention control in children suffering from anxiety. We will focus on the P1, indexing basic visual perceptual processing, the N2, thought to reflect cognitive control process, the P3 typically associated with response inhibition, and the late positive potential (LPP) that indicates sustained attention toward motivationally salient stimuli. We will also examine the error-related negativity (ERN) that indexes monitoring system for detecting errors. Electro-physiological studies generally reported increased amplitudes of these components in anxious children, even when they did not differ from typically developing children at a behavioral level. These results suggest diminished cognitive control that influences children's selective attention mechanisms toward threatening information. Theoretical perspectives and implications for future researches will be discussed in the framework of current models of childhood anxiety.

Direction-dependent activation of the insular cortex during vertical and horizontal hand movements

The planning of any motor action requires a complex multisensory processing by the brain. Gravity – immutable on Earth – has been shown to be a key input to these mechanisms. Seminal fMRI studies performed during visual perception of falling objects and self-motion demonstrated that humans represent the action of gravity in parts of the cortical vestibular system; in particular, the insular cortex and the cerebellum. However, little is known as to whether a specific neural network is engaged when processing non-visual signals relevant to gravity. We asked participants to perform vertical and horizontal hand movements without visual control, while lying in a 3T-MRI scanner. We highlighted brain regions activated in the processing of vertical movements, for which the effects of gravity changed during execution. Precisely, the left insula was activated in vertical movements and not in horizontal movements. Moreover, the network identified by contrasting vertical and horizontal movements overlapped with neural correlates previously associated to the processing of simulated self-motion and visual perception of the vertical direction. Interestingly, we found that the insular cortex activity is direction-dependent which suggests that this brain region processes the effects of gravity on the moving limbs through non-visual signals.

Параметры окуломоторной активности оператора в интерфейсе «мозг–компьютер» на волне P300 и в аналогичных стимульных ситуациях

<p>Hypotheses about the relationship of the processes of visual perception and variations of the task in an identical stimulus environment was tested. The following tasks were tested: 1) a simple observation of the illuminations of the character in the matrix; 2) counting the number of highlights; 3) monitoring of the target symbol highlights and typing text with the P300 BCI. In a group of 14 people showed that the highest average length of visual fixation and the lowest dispersion of fixation observed for the second type of task. Statistically significant differences in the level of dispersion of visual fixations found between 1-2 and 1-3 modes; differences between the modes for the duration of fixations are at trends. Significant differences in the number of visual fixations on the target symbols wasn’t detected. The overall conclusion is the high perspective of pairing methodology brain-computer interface on the P300 wave with eye tracking to optimize the characteristics of the stimulus in the BCI environment. The differences in the parameters of oculomotor activity between the tasks reflect the level of attention concentration in the target symbols of the P300 BCI</p>

Structural connectivity of the human anterior temporal lobe: A diffusion magnetic resonance imaging study.

The anterior temporal lobes (ATL) have been implicated in a range of cognitive functions including auditory and visual perception, language, semantic knowledge, and social-emotional processing. However, the anatomical relationships between the ATLs and the broader cortical networks that subserve these functions have not been fully elucidated. Using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and probabilistic tractography, we tested the hypothesis that functional segregation of information in the ATLs is reflected by distinct patterns of structural connectivity to regions outside the ATLs. We performed a parcellation of the ATLs bilaterally based on the degree of connectivity of each voxel with eight ipsilateral target regions known to be involved in various cognitive networks. Six discrete segments within each ATL showed preferential connectivity to one of the ipsilateral target regions, via four major fiber tracts (uncinate, inferior longitudinal, middle longitudinal, and arcuate fasciculi). Two noteworthy interhemispheric differences were observed: connections between the ATL and orbito-frontal areas were stronger in the right hemisphere, while the consistency of the connection between the ATL and the inferior frontal gyrus through the arcuate fasciculus was greater in the left hemisphere. Our findings support the hypothesis that distinct regions within the ATLs have anatomical connections to different cognitive networks. Hum Brain Mapp 37:2210-2222, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Visual features of cartographic representation in map perception

Abstract The author describes the properties and mechanisms of visual perception in the context of their significance to the principles of symbol design as used in cartography. Map perception relies on the process of visual perception. Therefore, the knowledge of its inner workings in the map environment allows cartographers to construct cartographic symbols in agreement with the properties of the visual system. Visual perception involves neurosensory processes taking place between the eye and the short-term memory. As such, they operate independently of the beholder’s consciousness and significantly influence the information received by the map user. The author discusses the mechanisms of human vision and the nature of the process of visual perception. It also shows the relationships between the image characteristic and the visual system’s properties such as the optical resolution, visual adaptation, reactions of inhibition and reinforcement, reactions to the image characteristics – as well as the phenomena of contrast, grouping and spatial arrangement. The principles of constructing map symbols that have been developed in the long course of cartography, and based mostly on the map makers’ intuition, find validation in the light of properties and mechanisms of visual perception. As discussed in the paper, the fundamental properties and basic mechanisms of human vision support the view that knowledge of how the visual system works provides foundation for articulating new mapping guidelines and cartographers’ calls for stricter observance of cartographic principles are fully justified.

3D visual saliency detection model with generated disparity map

Due to the remarkable distinction between human monocular vision and binocular vision, stereoscopic visual attention becomes an emerging question in the study of 3D applications. Some of existing 3D visual saliency detection models take advantage of ground-truth disparity map to compute center-surround differences of the depth features with high computational cost. In some 3D applications, the ground-truth disparity map may not be always available. In this paper, an efficient and simple 3D visual saliency detection model is proposed without using ground-truth disparity map. The proposed model is based on a band-pass filtering method which coincides with the visual perceptual process in human visual system. Firstly, the monocular luminance, color and texture features are extracted from the left view's image; the binocular depth feature is extracted from the two views' disparity map. Then, all the feature maps are filtered to generate three types of saliency maps, i.e., 2D saliency map, texture saliency map and depth saliency map. Subsequently, the three saliency maps are fused to one 3D saliency map by a linear pooling strategy. Finally, the final 3D visual saliency map is enhanced by the center-bias factor. Experimental results on a public eye tracking database show that the proposed model achieves better detection performance with low computational cost among the existing 3D visual saliency detection models.

The time course of visual influences in letter recognition.

This study builds on a specific characteristic of letters of the Roman alphabet-namely, that each letter name is associated with two visual formats, corresponding to their uppercase and lowercase versions. Participants had to read aloud the names of single letters, and event-related potentials (ERPs) for six pairs of visually dissimilar upper- and lowercase letters were recorded. Assuming that the end product of processing is the same for upper- and lowercase letters sharing the same vocal response, ERPs were compared backward, starting from the onset of articulatory responses, and the first significant divergence was observed 120ms before response onset. Given that naming responses were produced at around 414ms, on average, these results suggest that letter processing is influenced by visual information until 294ms after stimulus onset. This therefore provides new empirical evidence regarding the time course and interactive nature of visual letter perception processes.