Visual Presentation Of Objects Research Articles

Visual objects speak louder than words: Motor planning and weight in tool use and object transport

For theories of embodied cognition, reading a word activates sensorimotor representations in a similar manner to seeing the physical object the word represents. Thus, reading words representing objects of different sizes interfere with motor planning, inducing changes in grip aperture. An outstanding issue is whether word reading can also evoke sensorimotor information about the weight of objects. This issue was addressed in two experiments wherein participants have first to read the name of an object (Experiment 1)/observe the object (Experiment 2) and then to transport versus use bottles of water. The objects presented as primes were either lighter or heavier than the bottles to be grasped. Results indicated that the main parameters of motor planning recorded (initiation times and finger contact points) were not affected by the presentation of words as primes (Experiment 1). By contrast, the presentation of visual objects as primes induced significant changes in these parameters (Experiment 2). Participants changed their way of grasping the bottles, particularly in the use condition. Taken together, these results suggest that the activation of concepts does not automatically evoke sensorimotor representations about the weight of objects, but visual objects do.

Response: Commentary: Viewing photos and reading nouns of natural graspable objects similarly modulate motor responses.

Response: Commentary: Viewing photos and reading nouns of natural graspable objects similarly modulate motor responses.

Object affordance modulates visual responses in the macaque medial posterior parietal cortex.

Area V6A is a visuomotor area of the dorsomedial visual stream that contains cells modulated by object observation and by grip formation. As different objects have different shapes but also evoke different grips, the response selectivity during object presentation could reflect either the coding of object geometry or object affordances. To clarify this point, we here investigate neural responses of V6A cells when monkeys observed two objects with similar visual features but different contextual information, such as the evoked grip type. We demonstrate that many V6A cells respond to the visual presentation of objects and about 30% of them by the object affordance. Given that area V6A is an early stage in the visuomotor processes underlying grasping, these data suggest that V6A may participate in the computation of object affordances. These results add some elements in the recent literature about the role of the dorsal visual stream areas in object representation and contribute in elucidating the neural correlates of the extraction of action-relevant information from general object properties, in agreement with recent neuroimaging studies on humans showing that vision of graspable objects activates action coding in the dorsomedial visual steam.

Accessing embodied object representations from vision: A review.

Theories of embodied cognition (EC) propose that object concepts are represented by reactivations of sensorimotor experiences of different objects. Abundant research from linguistic paradigms provides support for the notion that sensorimotor simulations are involved in cognitive tasks like comprehension. However, it is unclear whether object concepts, as accessed from the visual presentation of objects, are embodied. In the present article we review a large body of visual cognitive research that addresses 5 main predictions of the theory of EC. First, EC accounts predict that visual presentation of manipulable objects, but not nonmanipulable objects, should activate motor representations. Second, EC predicts that sensorimotor activity is necessary to perform visual-cognitive tasks such as object naming. Third, EC posits the existence of distinct neural ensembles that integrate information from action and vision. Fourth, EC predicts that relationships between visual and motor activity change throughout development. Fifth, EC predicts that the visual presentation of objects or actions should prime performance cross-modally. We summarize findings from neuroimaging, neuropsychology, neurophysiology, development, and behavioral paradigms. We show that while much of the research published so far demonstrates that there is a relationship between visual and motoric representations, there is no evidence supporting a strong form of EC. We conclude that sensorimotor simulations may not be required to perform visual cognitive tasks and highlight a number of directions for future research that could provide strong support for EC in visual cognitive paradigms.

Coding of Shape Features in the Macaque Anterior Intraparietal Area

The exquisite ability of primates to grasp and manipulate objects relies on the transformation of visual information into motor commands. To this end, the visual system extracts object affordances that can be used to program and execute the appropriate grip. The macaque anterior intraparietal (AIP) area has been implicated in the extraction of affordances for the purpose of grasping. Neurons in the AIP area respond during visually guided grasping and to the visual presentation of objects. A subset of AIP neurons is also activated by two-dimensional images of objects and even by outline contours defining the object shape, but it is unknown how AIP neurons actually represent object shape. In this study, we used a stimulus reduction approach to determine the minimum effective shape feature evoking AIP responses. AIP neurons responding to outline shapes also responded selectively to very small fragment stimuli measuring only 1-2°. This fragment selectivity could not be explained by differences in eye movements or simple orientation selectivity, but proved to be highly dependent on the relative position of the stimulus in the receptive field. Our findings challenge the current understanding of the AIP area as a critical stage in the dorsal stream for the extraction of object affordances.

Responses to two‐dimensional shapes in the macaque anterior intraparietal area

Neurons in the macaque dorsal visual stream respond to the visual presentation of objects in the context of a grasping task and to three-dimensional (3D) surfaces defined by binocular disparity, but little is known about the neural representation of two-dimensional (2D) shape in the dorsal stream. We recorded the activity of single neurons in the macaque anterior intraparietal area (AIP), which is known to be crucial for grasping, during the presentation of images of objects and silhouette, outline and line-drawing versions of these images (contour stimuli). The vast majority of AIP neurons responding selectively to 2D images were also selective for at least one of the contour stimuli with the same boundary shape, suggesting that the boundary is sufficient for the image selectivity of most AIP neurons. Furthermore, a subset of these neurons with foveal receptive fields generally preserved the shape preference across positions, whereas for more than half of the AIP population the center of the receptive field was at a parafoveal location with less tolerance to changes in stimulus position. AIP neurons frequently exhibited shape selectivity across different stimulus sizes. These results demonstrate that AIP neurons encode not only 3D but also 2D shape features.

Brain Activity during the Illusion of Motion by the Tendon Vibration when Presented of Objects in Visual: fNIRS Study

Purpose) We investigate changes in brain activity during the illusinon of motion by vibrating the tendon of wrist extensor muscles associated with visual presentation of objects. (Method) The 11 subjects selected the illusion of motion that the intensity of 4 or more when you experience the illusion by the tendon vibration. In three conditions, and we do the extensor tendon in all conditions. Condition 1: No objects. Cndition 2: Presention objects in contact with the object distance if you bend the wrist. Condition 3: Presentation objects in no contact with the object distance if you bend the wrist.we measure the brain activity for functional near infrared spectroscopy. we use one-way analysis of variance to compare the different conditions, and then use t-test. (Result) In right parietal and right premotor cortex increased the brain activity in condition 2 than in the other two conditions. (Conclusion) Brain activity by the position of the object has changed. We think that elicited self-perception of movement based on the perception of the body. Also, the background of increasing activity in the right parietal and premotor cortex in condition 2, it is possible that the image evoked in contact with the object.

Stimulus modality and working memory performance in Greek children with reading disabilities: Additional evidence for the pictorial superiority hypothesis

This study investigated the effects of stimulus presentation modality on working memory performance in children with reading disabilities (RD) and in typically developing children (TDC), all native speakers of Greek. It was hypothesized that the visual presentation of common objects would result in improved learning and recall performance as compared to the auditory presentation of stimuli. Twenty children, ages 10–12, diagnosed with RD were matched to 20 TDC age peers. The experimental tasks implemented a multitrial verbal learning paradigm incorporating three modalities: auditory, visual, and auditory plus visual. Significant group differences were noted on language, verbal and nonverbal memory, and measures of executive abilities. A mixed-model MANOVA indicated that children with RD had a slower learning curve and recalled fewer words than TDC across experimental modalities. Both groups of participants benefited from the visual presentation of objects; however, children with RD showed the greatest gains during this condition. In conclusion, working memory for common verbal items is impaired in children with RD; however, performance can be facilitated, and learning efficiency maximized, when information is presented visually. The results provide further evidence for the pictorial superiority hypothesis and the theory that pictorial presentation of verbal stimuli is adequate for dual coding.

Degraded transfer of memories between the visual hemifields in normal macaques revealed by a novel infrared eyetracking method without head fixation

Electrophysiological evidence in macaque monkeys indicates that when the monkey views a visual scene with objects present in both visual hemifields, the cells of the temporal lobe respond to objects in the contralateral field, but are hardly affected by objects in the ipsilateral field. If visual memories are stored in the temporal lobes, as is generally believed, then this implies that the transfer of visual object memories from one hemifield to the other should either fail or at least suffer decrement. Building on a previous study in human subjects, we tested this prediction in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta). We developed a method for tracking the eye movements of the awake, behaving monkey, which does not require the monkey to be restrained or surgically prepared. We optimised the system to provide reliable feedback of eye position in real time, and so provide hemifield-specific presentation of visual objects. In each acquisition phase the monkeys learned several object discriminations concurrently, each object only ever being presented to one hemifield, and with an object present in each hemifield on every trial. In subsequent transfer tests with the same objects, the monkeys performed significantly worse when the objects were shifted to the opposite hemifield than if shifted the same distance within one hemifield. Thus, in monkeys as well as in humans, and in association learning as well as in recognition memory, visual memories can be to a large extent hemifield-specific. This result shows that, like perceptual systems, mnemonic systems of the temporal lobe are largely hemifield-specific, and this has clear implications for studies of the temporal lobes. Further, the validation of our method will allow us to use it, in future experiments, to investigate in monkeys the effects of specific unilateral lesions on visual perception and memory for objects that are presented in known positions in the visual field.

Neural correlates of fovea-related impairment of visual object processing in amblyopia

Event Abstract Back to Event Neural correlates of fovea-related impairment of visual object processing in amblyopia Judit Kortvelyes1, 2*, E. Banko1, Viktor Gal3, 4, G. Papay1, P. Domsa1, Jozsef Nemeth2 and Zoltan Vidnyanszky1, 3, 4 1 Pazmany Peter Catholic University, Hungary 2 Department of Ophthalmology, Semmelweis University, Hungary 3 Magnetic Resonance Research Center, Szentagothai J. Knowledge Center , Semmelweis University, Hungary 4 Neurobionics Research Group, Pazmany Peter Catholic University – Semmelweis University, Hungary Recent findings suggest that object perception is impaired in amblyopia. We used event-related potentials (ERP) to investigate the neural correlates of object processing in amblyopia in the case of foveal and perifoveal presentation of visual objects. Amblyops (N=16) and healthy controls (N=18) participated in the study. Face and hand grayscale images were used as stimuli. Images were presented without adding noise or at three different noise levels. Observers performed a 2AFC face vs hand discrimination task. Neuronal activity was measured using EEG (64 electrodes). In the amblyops, object discrimination performance was significantly decreased when stimuli were presented to the amblyopic eye compared to the fellow eye only in the foveal, but not in the perifoveal presentation condition. In the case of foveal presentation, the amplitude of face-specific N170 component was strongly reduced and its latency was increased when stimuli were presented to the amblyopic eye as compared to the fellow eye. Furthermore, in the case of the amblyopic eye, noise-dependent modulation of P220 component was strongly reduced in the foveal presentation condition. These findings provide evidence that in amblyops foveal representation of visual objects is impaired at the higher, face-specific stages of visual processing and suggest that the P220 component represents an ERP marker of inefficient neural processing of visual objects in the presence of noise in amblyopia. Conference: 12th Meeting of the Hungarian Neuroscience Society, Budapest, Hungary, 22 Jan - 24 Jan, 2009. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Research on the cerebral cortex and related structures Citation: Kortvelyes J, Banko E, Gal V, Papay G, Domsa P, Nemeth J and Vidnyanszky Z (2009). Neural correlates of fovea-related impairment of visual object processing in amblyopia. Front. Syst. Neurosci. Conference Abstract: 12th Meeting of the Hungarian Neuroscience Society. doi: 10.3389/conf.neuro.01.2009.04.208 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 06 Mar 2009; Published Online: 06 Mar 2009. * Correspondence: Judit Kortvelyes, Pazmany Peter Catholic University, Budapest, Hungary, kortvelyes.judit@itk.ppke.hu Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Judit Kortvelyes E. Banko Viktor Gal G. Papay P. Domsa Jozsef Nemeth Zoltan Vidnyanszky Google Judit Kortvelyes E. Banko Viktor Gal G. Papay P. Domsa Jozsef Nemeth Zoltan Vidnyanszky Google Scholar Judit Kortvelyes E. Banko Viktor Gal G. Papay P. Domsa Jozsef Nemeth Zoltan Vidnyanszky PubMed Judit Kortvelyes E. Banko Viktor Gal G. Papay P. Domsa Jozsef Nemeth Zoltan Vidnyanszky Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.

Discontinuity in the enumeration of sequentially presented auditory and visual stimuli

The seeking of discontinuity in enumeration was recently renewed because Cowan [Cowan, N. (2001). The magical number 4 in short-term memory: A reconsideration of mental storage capacity. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 24, 87–185; Cowan, N. (2005). Working memory capacity. Hove: Psychology Press] suggested that it allows evaluating the limit of the focus of attention, currently estimated at four items. A strong argument in favour of a general constraint of the cognitive system is that similar discontinuities should be observed in modalities different from the classic simultaneous presentation of visual objects. Recently, data were provided on tactile stimuli, but the authors diverged in their conclusion about the existence of such discontinuity [Gallace, A., Tan, H. Z., & Spence, C. (2006). Numerosity judgments for tactile stimuli distributed over the body surface. Perception, 35(2), 247–266; Riggs, K. J., Ferrand, L., Lancelin, D., Fryziel, L., Dumur, G., & Simpson, A. (2006). Subitizing in tactile perception. Psychological Science, 17(4), 271–272]. Following a similar rationale, our study aimed at evaluating discontinuity in the enumeration of auditory and visual stimuli presented sequentially. The clear and similar discontinuity observed in error rates, response times and given responses for both modalities favours the general capacity limit view, but also questions the size of this capacity, because the discontinuity occurred here at size 2. However, the masking of stimuli in sensory memory could not be entirely discarded.

Viewing Moving Objects in Virtual Reality Can Change the Dynamics of Sensorimotor EEG Rhythms

We studied the impact of different visual objects such as a moving hand and a moving cube on the bioelectrical brain activity (i.e., electroencephalogram; EEG). The moving objects were presented in a virtual reality (VR) system via a head mounted display (HMD). Nine healthy volunteers were confronted with 3D visual stimulus presentations in four experimental conditions: (i) static hand, (ii) dynamic hand, (iii) static cube, and (iv) dynamic cube. The results reveal that the processing of moving visual stimuli depends on the type of object: viewing a moving hand results in a stronger desynchronization of the central beta rhythm than viewing a moving cube. This provides further evidence for some extent of motor processing related to visual presentation of objects and implies a greater involvement of motor areas in the brain with the observation of action of different body parts than with the observation of non-body part movements.

Pantomime to visual presentation of objects: left hand dyspraxia in patients with complete callosotomy.

Investigations of left hand praxis in imitation and object use in patients with callosal disconnection have yielded divergent results, inducing a debate between two theoretical positions. Whereas Liepmann suggested that the left hemisphere is motor dominant, others maintain that both hemispheres have equal motor competences and propose that left hand apraxia in patients with callosal disconnection is secondary to left hemispheric specialization for language or other task modalities. The present study aims to gain further insight into the motor competence of the right hemisphere by investigating pantomime of object use in split-brain patients. Three patients with complete callosotomy and, as control groups, five patients with partial callosotomy and nine healthy subjects were examined for their ability to pantomime object use to visual object presentation and demonstrate object manipulation. In each condition, 11 objects were presented to the subjects who pantomimed or demonstrated the object use with either hand. In addition, six object pairs were presented to test bimanual coordination. Two independent raters evaluated the videotaped movement demonstrations. While object use demonstrations were perfect in all three groups, the split-brain patients displayed apraxic errors only with their left hands in the pantomime condition. The movement analysis of concept and execution errors included the examination of ipsilateral versus contralateral motor control. As the right hand/left hemisphere performances demonstrated retrieval of the correct movement concepts, concept errors by the left hand were taken as evidence for right hemisphere control. Several types of execution errors reflected a lack of distal motor control indicating the use of ipsilateral pathways. While one split-brain patient controlled his left hand predominantly by ipsilateral pathways in the pantomime condition, the error profile in the other two split-brain patients suggested that the right hemisphere controlled their left hands. In the object use condition, in all three split-brain patients fine-graded distal movements in the left hand indicated right hemispheric control. Our data show left hand apraxia in split-brain patients is not limited to verbal commands, but also occurs in pantomime to visual presentation of objects. As the demonstration with object in hand was unimpaired in either hand, both hemispheres must contain movement concepts for object use. However, the disconnected right hemisphere is impaired in retrieving the movement concept in response to visual object presentation, presumably because of a deficit in associating perceptual object representation with the movement concepts.

Stimulus modality and verbal learning performance in normal aging

The present study investigated the effects of modality presentation on the verbal learning performance of 26 older adults and 26 younger cohorts. A multitrial free-recall paradigm was implemented incorporating three modalities: Auditory, Visual, and simultaneous Auditory plus Visual. Older subjects learned fewer words than younger subjects but their rate of learning was similar to that of the younger group. The visual presentation of objects (with or without the simultaneous auditory presentation of names) resulted in better learning, recall, and retrieval of information than the auditory presentation alone.

Limitations of attentional orienting: Effects of abrupt visual onsets and offsets on naming two objects in a patient with simultanagnosia

It has been proposed that the underlying deficit for some simultanagnosics is the inability to bilaterally orient attention in space due to parietal damage. In five experiments, we examine the performance of a patient with simultanagnosia secondary to bilateral occipito-parietal lesions, IC, in naming pairs of line-drawings. With simultaneous presentation and disappearance of objects (Experiment 1), IC typically named a single object. IC’s performance dramatically improved when the two drawings alternated every 500 ms (Experiment 2). This improvement was not due to the abrupt onset of the second drawing “capturing attention”, as indicated by the results of Experiment 3. Experiments 4 and 5 demonstrated that the crucial factor in improving IC’s performance with simultaneous presentation of visual objects was the offset of one of the two stimuli. We propose that IC’s impairment in naming two objects is attributable to the inability to “unlock” attention from the first object detected to other objects in the array. Visual offset of the first object disengages attention from the first object, allowing it to be allocated to the second object.

Three-dimensional reconstruction of histological sections using modern product-design software.

Computer-based, three-dimensional reconstruction of histological sections is necessary for solving a diversity of questions in morphology and anatomy. Programming software for this purpose is difficult and time-consuming. Therefore, we tested if commercially available product-design software is useful for reconstructing anatomical virtual models. We used Alias Wavefront Studio software on a Silicon Graphics workstation. Sections were projected with a newly developed microslide projector on a digitizing board and digitized interactively. Alternatively, pictures of sections were digitized on screen. The resulting set of contours was used as scaffold around which a surface was created manually. Repeated creation of the same object and subsequent measurements gave results that will be sufficiently reliable for many purposes. The visual presentation of objects satisfy highest demands. Little time is needed to reconstruct simple objects, and the time used for complex virtual models is acceptable. Manipulation of objects on screen is nearly in real time and rendering speed is high. Product-design software packages are a readily available and useful option for anatomists who want to do virtual reconstructions quickly without programming software themselves.

‘UTILIZATION BEHAVIOUR’ AND ITS RELATION TO LESIONS OF THE FRONTAL LOBES

A new type of behaviour, termed 'utilization behaviour', was observed among patients affected with left or right unilateral, or bilateral, frontal lesions. It is an extension of bilateral manual grasping behaviour (magnetic apraxia). The tactile, visuotactile and visual presentation of objects compels the patients to grasp and use them. This behaviour was obtained with miscellaneous utilitarian objects. For the patients, the presentation of objects implies the order to grasp and use them. It is proposed that the balance between the subject's dependence on and independence from the outside world is disturbed. With frontal lesions, the inhibitory function of the frontal lobes on the parietal lobes is suppressed. The result is a release of the activities of the parietal lobes so that the subject becomes dependent on visual and tactile stimulation from the outside world. Five cases are reported as examples: one anatomoclinical case with bilateral lesions of the frontal lobe. The role of lesions affecting different parts of the frontal lobes is discussed. The neuropathological observations lead to the suggestion that lesions of the orbital surface of the frontal lobe, and perhaps of the head of the caudate nucleus, are responsible for this behaviour.