Mental animation: Inferring motion from static displays of mechanical systems

Developing and Validating a Computer-Based Training Tool for Inferring 2D Cross-Sections of Complex 3D Structures

OBJECTIVE

Developing and validating a novel domain-agnostic, computer-based training tool for enhancing 2D cross-section understanding of complex 3D structures.

BACKGROUND

Understanding 2D cross-sections of 3D structures is a crucial skill in many disciplines, from geology to medical imaging . It requires a complex set of spatial/visualization skills including mental rotation, spatial structure understanding, and viewpoint projection. Prior studies show that experts differ from novices in these skills.

METHOD

We have developed a novel training tool for inferring 2D cross-sections of 3D structures using a participatory design methodology. We used a between-subject study design, with 60 participants, to evaluate the training tool. Our primary effectiveness evaluation was based on pre- and postspatial tests that measured both cross-section abilities and specific spatial skills: viewpoint, mental rotation, and card rotation.

RESULTS

Results showed significant performance gains on inferring 2D cross-sections for participants of the training group. Our tool improves two other spatial skills as well: mental rotation and viewpoint visualization.

CONCLUSION

Our training tool was effective not only in enhancing 2D cross-section understanding of complex 3D structures, but also in improving mental rotation and viewpoint visualization skills.

APPLICATION

Our tool can be beneficial in different fields such as medical imaging, biology, geology, and engineering. For example, an application of our tool is in medical/research labs to train novice segmenters in ongoing manual 3D segmentation tasks. It can also be adapted in other contexts, such as training children, older adults, and individuals with very low spatial skills.

The Effect of Cue Labeling in Multimedia Learning: Evidence From Eye Tracking

Cue labels are useful during multimedia learning. According to spatial contiguity principle, people learn more when related words and pictures are displayed spatially near one another. Well-arranged labels of multimedia material can greatly facilitate learning. This study used eye tracking to examine the joint influence of label size (large vs. small) and color (included vs. not) on multimedia learning. The results revealed that larger labels led to better retention test performance and a higher AOI glance count, but no cueing effect was found for color. Cues have a certain attention-leading function that promotes the learner remembering the content. These findings suggest that salient labels that provide explanatory information can guide learners’ attention and facilitate learning, though a combination of label size and color salience did not demonstrate a superior cueing effect.

A role for visual areas in physics simulations

To engage with the world, we must regularly make predictions about the outcomes of physical scenes. How do we make these predictions? Recent computational evidence points to simulation-the idea that we can introspectively manipulate rich, mental models of the world-as one explanation for how such predictions are accomplished. However, questions about the potential neural mechanisms of simulation remain. We hypothesized that the process of simulating physical events would evoke imagery-like representations in visual areas of those same events. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we find that when participants are asked to predict the likely trajectory of a falling ball, motion-sensitive brain regions are activated. We demonstrate that this activity, which occurs even though no motion is being sensed, resembles activity patterns that arise while participants perceive the ball's motion. This finding thus suggests that mental simulations recreate sensory depictions of how a physical scene is likely to unfold.

Counterexample Search in Diagram-Based Geometric Reasoning

Topological relations such as inside, outside, or intersection are ubiquitous to our spatial thinking. Here, we examined how people reason deductively with topological relations between points, lines, and circles in geometric diagrams. We hypothesized in particular that a counterexample search generally underlies this type of reasoning. We first verified that educated adults without specific math training were able to produce correct diagrammatic representations contained in the premisses of an inference. Our first experiment then revealed that subjects who correctly judged an inference as invalid almost always produced a counterexample to support their answer. Noticeably, even if the counterexample always bore a certain level of similarity to the initial diagram, we observed that an object was more likely to be varied between the two drawings if it was present in the conclusion of the inference. Experiments 2 and 3 then directly probed counterexample search. While participants were asked to evaluate a conclusion on the basis of a given diagram and some premisses, we modulated the difficulty of reaching a counterexample from the diagram. Our results indicate that both decreasing the counterexample density and increasing the counterexample distance impaired reasoning performance. Taken together, our results suggest that a search procedure for counterexamples, which proceeds object-wise, could underlie diagram-based geometric reasoning. Transposing points, lines, and circles to our spatial environment, the present study may ultimately provide insights on how humans reason about topological relations between positions, paths, and regions.

Learning a Motor Skill from Video and Static Pictures in Physical Education Students-Effects on Technical Performances, Motivation and Cognitive Load

The purpose of the current study was to compare the effectiveness of a video and three different formats of static pictures (simultaneous-permanent pictures, sequential-transient pictures and sequential-permanent pictures) on the acquisition and retention of a complex judo skill in novice young adults. One hundred and thirty-three first-year students in the certificate in Physical Education (PE) were randomly assigned to either: a static-simultaneous-permanent pictures condition (n = 30), a static-sequential-transient pictures condition (n = 29), a static-sequential permanent pictures condition (n = 36) or a video condition (n = 38). They were instructed to observe and reproduce a complex judo technique (Ippon-Seoi-Nage) immediately after the learning phase (including a sequence of three trials—the acquisition phase) and after one week without observation (the retention phase). The results showed that the continuous video generated better learning performances than all static pictures formats. Moreover, it has been shown that sequential-permanent pictures presentation was more effective than static simultaneous-permanent pictures and sequential-transient pictures. In addition to the human movement effect, complementary explanations in terms of cognitive load theory, perceptual continuity, mental animation and intrinsic motivation are suggested. Implications of the results for the effective design of instructional materials within PE context are discussed.

Visual Design Cues Impacting Food Choice: A Review and Future Research Agenda

This review aims to tackle the challenge of understanding how visual design cues can affect behavioural outcomes in a food context. The review answers two key questions: (1) What are the effects of the most important visual design cues on behavioural outcomes and how can they be explained? (2) What are the research gaps in this area? We start from a comprehensive taxonomy of visual design cues delineating the most important visual design cues. Next, we evaluate the extant research based on a structured, narrative literature review on visual design cues in the food domain. We differentiate between object processed and spatially processed visual design cues in food choice contexts and show how they affect behavioural outcomes through a range of psychological processes (attention, affective-, cognitive- and motivational reactions, food perceptions and attitudes). We end with recommendations which take into account the current food store context, the state-of-art in measuring psychological processes and behavioural outcomes and the specific food-, person- and context-related moderators. This review offers guidance for research to untangle the complexity of the effect of visual design cues in a food choice context.

Mnemonic effects of action simulation from pictures and phrases

Several theoretical approaches suggest that language comprehension and action observation rely on similar mental simulations. Granted that these two simulations partially overlap, we assumed that simulations stemming from action observations are more direct than those stemming from action phrases. The implied prediction was that simulation from action observation should prevail on simulation from action phrases when their effects are contrasted. The results of three experiments confirmed that, when at encoding the phrases were paired with pictures of actions whose kinematics was incongruent with the implied kinematics of the actions described in the phrases, memory for action phrases was impaired (Experiment 1). However, the reverse was not true: when the pictures were paired with phrases representing actions whose kinematics were incongruent with the kinematics of the actions portrayed in the pictures, memory for pictures portraying actions was not impaired (Experiment 2). Also, in line with evidence that simulations from action phrases and those from action observation partially overlap, when their effects were not contrasted their products were misrecognized. In our experiments, when action phrases only presented at recognition described actions depicted in pictures seen at encoding, they were misrecognized as had already been read at encoding (Experiment 1); further, when pictures only presented at recognition portrayed actions described in phrases presented at encoding, they were misrecognized as seen at encoding (Experiment 2). A third experiment excluded the possibility that the pattern of findings was simply a consequence of better memory for pictures of actions as opposed to memory for action phrases (Experiment 3). The implications of our results in relation to the literature on simulation in language comprehension and action observation are discussed.

Are there Sex Differences in Confidence and Metacognitive Monitoring Accuracy for Everyday, Academic, and Psychometrically Measured Spatial Ability?

The current study evaluated sex differences in (1) self-perceptions of everyday and academic spatial ability, and (2) metacognitive monitoring accuracy for measures of spatial visualization and spatial orientation. Undergraduate students completed the Paper Folding Test, Spatial Relations Test, and the Revised Purdue Spatial Visualization Test while making confidence judgments (CJs) for each trial. They also made global estimates of performance and rated their ability to perform several everyday and academic spatial scenarios. Across multiple spatial measures, female students displayed lower confidence in their item-level monitoring and global assessments of performance than did male students, even when no actual differences in spatial performance occurred. Women were also less confident in their self-assessments of their visualspatial ability for scientific domains than were men. However, the absolute and relative accuracy of CJs did not differ as a function of sex suggesting that women can monitor their spatial performance as well as men.

Modeling complexity: cognitive constraints and computational model-building in integrative systems biology

Modern integrative systems biology defines itself by the complexity of the problems it takes on through computational modeling and simulation. However in integrative systems biology computers do not solve problems alone. Problem solving depends as ever on human cognitive resources. Current philosophical accounts hint at their importance, but it remains to be understood what roles human cognition plays in computational modeling. In this paper we focus on practices through which modelers in systems biology use computational simulation and other tools to handle the cognitive complexity of their modeling problems so as to be able to make significant contributions to understanding, intervening in, and controlling complex biological systems. We thus show how cognition, especially processes of simulative mental modeling, is implicated centrally in processes of model-building. At the same time we suggest how the representational choices of what to model in systems biology are limited or constrained as a result. Such constraints help us both understand and rationalize the restricted form that problem solving takes in the field and why its results do not always measure up to expectations.

Eye-Tracking Causality

How do people make causal judgments? What role, if any, does counterfactual simulation play? Counterfactual theories of causal judgments predict that people compare what actually happened with what would have happened if the candidate cause had been absent. Process theories predict that people focus only on what actually happened, to assess the mechanism linking candidate cause and outcome. We tracked participants' eye movements while they judged whether one billiard ball caused another one to go through a gate or prevented it from going through. Both participants' looking patterns and their judgments demonstrated that counterfactual simulation played a critical role. Participants simulated where the target ball would have gone if the candidate cause had been removed from the scene. The more certain participants were that the outcome would have been different, the stronger the causal judgments. These results provide the first direct evidence for spontaneous counterfactual simulation in an important domain of high-level cognition.

Sketching Biological Phenomena and Mechanisms

In many fields of biology, both the phenomena to be explained and the mechanisms proposed to explain them are commonly presented in diagrams. Our interest is in how scientists construct such diagrams. Researchers begin with evidence, typically developed experimentally and presented in data graphs. To arrive at a robust diagram of the phenomenon or the mechanism, they must integrate a variety of data to construct a single, coherent representation. This process often begins as the researchers create a first sketch, and it continues over an extended period as they revise the sketch until they arrive at a diagram they find acceptable. We illustrate this process by examining the sketches developed in the course of two research projects directed at understanding the generation of circadian rhythms in cyanobacteria. One identified a new aspect of the phenomenon itself, whereas the other aimed to develop a new mechanistic account. In both cases, the research resulted in a paper in which the conclusion was presented in a diagram that the authors deemed adequate to convey it. These diagrams violate some of the normative "cognitive design principles" advanced by cognitive scientists as constraints on successful visual communication. We suggest that scientists' sketching is instead governed by norms of success that are broadly explanatory: conveying the phenomenon or mechanism.

The Design of Disciplinarily-Integrated Games as Multirepresentational Systems

Disciplinarily-integrated games represent a generalizable genre and template for designing games to support science learning with a focus on bridging across formal and phenomenological representations of core science relationships (Clark, Sengupta, Brady, Martinez-Garza, and Killingsworth, 2015; Clark, Sengupta, & Virk, 2016; Sengupta & Clark, 2016). By definition, disciplinarily-integrated games (DIGs) are therefore multirepresentational systems with the affordances and challenges associated with that medium. The current paper analyzes the DIG structure through the focal parameters framed by the DeFT framework (Ainsworth, 2006) to synthesize effective design considerations for DIGs in terms of the specific design and intended functions of the representations themselves as well as the overarching environment and activity structures. The authors leverage the literatures on embodied cognition, adaptive scaffolding, representations in science education, and learning from dynamic visualizations to address the challenges, tradeoffs, and questions highlighted by the framework. They apply these research-derived design considerations to an existing DIG (SURGE Symbolic) and to hypothetical examples of other DIGs in other domains to explore generalizability of the design considerations and the genre.

Variation in external representations as part of the classroom lecture:An investigation of virtual cell animations in introductory photosynthesis instruction

The use of external representations (ERs) to introduce concepts in undergraduate biology has become increasingly common. Two of the most prevalent are static images and dynamic animations. While previous studies comparing static images and dynamic animations have resulted in somewhat conflicting findings in regards to learning outcomes, the benefits of each have been shown individually. Using ERs developed by the Virtual Cell Animation project, we aim to further investigate student learning using different ERs as part of an introductory biology lecture. We focus our study on the topic of photosynthesis as reports have noted that students struggle with a number of basic photosynthesis concepts. Students (n = 167) in ten sections of introductory biology laboratory were introduced to photosynthesis concepts by instructional lectures differing only in the format of the embedded ERs. Normalized gain scores were calculated, showing that students who learned with dynamic animations outperformed students who learned from static images on the posttest. The results of this study provide possible instructional guidelines for those delivering photosynthesis instruction in the introductory biology classroom. © 2016 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 45(3):226-234, 2017.

The Martian: Examining Human Physical Judgments across Virtual Gravity Fields

This paper examines how humans adapt to novel physical situations with unknown gravitational acceleration in immersive virtual environments. We designed four virtual reality experiments with different tasks for participants to complete: strike a ball to hit a target, trigger a ball to hit a target, predict the landing location of a projectile, and estimate the flight duration of a projectile. The first two experiments compared human behavior in the virtual environment with real-world performance reported in the literature. The last two experiments aimed to test the human ability to adapt to novel gravity fields by measuring their performance in trajectory prediction and time estimation tasks. The experiment results show that: 1) based on brief observation of a projectile's initial trajectory, humans are accurate at predicting the landing location even under novel gravity fields, and 2) humans' time estimation in a familiar earth environment fluctuates around the ground truth flight duration, although the time estimation in unknown gravity fields indicates a bias toward earth's gravity.

Eye tracking in Educational Science: Theoretical frameworks and research agendas

Eye tracking is increasingly being used in Educational Science and so has the interest of the eye tracking community grown in this topic. In this paper we briefly introduce the discipline of Educational Science and why it might be interesting to couple it with eye tracking research. We then introduce three major research areas in Educational Science that have already successfully used eye tracking: First, eye tracking has been used to improve the instructional design of computer-based learning and testing environments, often using hyper- or multimedia. Second, eye tracking has shed light on expertise and its development in visual domains, such as chess or medicine. Third, eye tracking has recently been also used to promote visual expertise by means of eye movement modeling examples. We outline the main educational theories for these research areas and indicate where further eye tracking research is needed to expand them.

Efficacy of a Meiosis Learning Module Developed for the Virtual Cell Animation Collection

Recent reports calling for change in undergraduate biology education have resulted in the redesign of many introductory biology courses. Reports on one common change to course structure, the active-learning environment, have placed an emphasis on student preparation, noting that the positive outcomes of active learning in the classroom depend greatly on how well the student prepares before class. As a possible preparatory resource, we test the efficacy of a learning module developed for the Virtual Cell Animation Collection. This module presents the concepts of meiosis in an interactive, dynamic environment that has previously been shown to facilitate learning in introductory biology students. Participants (n = 534) were enrolled in an introductory biology course and were presented the concepts of meiosis in one of two treatments: the interactive-learning module or a traditional lecture session. Analysis of student achievement shows that students who viewed the learning module as their only means of conceptual presentation scored significantly higher (d = 0.40, p < 0.001) than students who only attended a traditional lecture on the topic. Our results show the animation-based learning module effectively conveyed meiosis conceptual understanding, which suggests that it may facilitate student learning outside the classroom. Moreover, these results have implications for instructors seeking to expand their arsenal of tools for "flipping" undergraduate biology courses.

An eye movement pre-training fosters the comprehension of processes and functions in technical systems

The main research goal of the present study was to investigate in how far pre-training eye movements can facilitate knowledge acquisition in multimedia (pre-training principle). We combined considerations from research on eye movement modeling and pre-training to design and test a non-verbal eye movement-based pre-training. Participants in the experimental condition watched an animated circle moving in close spatial resemblance to a static visualization of a solar plant accompanied by a narration in a subsequently presented learning environment. This training was expected to foster top-down processes as reflected in gaze behavior during the learning process and enhance knowledge acquisition. We compared two groups (N = 45): participants in the experimental condition received pre-training in a first step and processed the learning material in a second step, whereas the control group underwent the second step without any pre-training. The pre-training group outperformed the control group in their learning outcomes, particularly in knowledge about processes and functions of the solar plant. However, the superior learning outcomes in the pre-training group could not be explained by eye-movement patterns. Furthermore, the pre-training moderated the relationship between experienced stress and learning outcomes. In the control group, high stress levels hindered learning, which was not found for the pre-training group. On a delayed posttest participants were requested to draw a picture of the learning content. Despite a non-significant effect of training on the quality of drawings, the pre-training showed associations between learning outcomes at the first testing time and process-related aspects in the quality of their drawings. Overall, non-verbal pre-training is a successful instructional intervention to promote learning processes in novices although these processes did not directly reflect in learners' eye movement behavior during learning.

Physics instruction induces changes in neural knowledge representation during successive stages of learning

Incremental instruction on the workings of a set of mechanical systems induced a progression of changes in the neural representations of the systems. The neural representations of four mechanical systems were assessed before, during, and after three phases of incremental instruction (which first provided information about the system components, then provided partial causal information, and finally provided full functional information). In 14 participants, the neural representations of four systems (a bathroom scale, a fire extinguisher, an automobile braking system, and a trumpet) were assessed using three recently developed techniques: (1) machine learning and classification of multi-voxel patterns; (2) localization of consistently responding voxels; and (3) representational similarity analysis (RSA). The neural representations of the systems progressed through four stages, or states, involving spatially and temporally distinct multi-voxel patterns: (1) initially, the representation was primarily visual (occipital cortex); (2) it subsequently included a large parietal component; (3) it eventually became cortically diverse (frontal, parietal, temporal, and medial frontal regions); and (4) at the end, it demonstrated a strong frontal cortex weighting (frontal and motor regions). At each stage of knowledge, it was possible for a classifier to identify which one of four mechanical systems a participant was thinking about, based on their brain activation patterns. The progression of representational states was suggestive of progressive stages of learning: (1) encoding information from the display; (2) mental animation, possibly involving imagining the components moving; (3) generating causal hypotheses associated with mental animation; and finally (4) determining how a person (probably oneself) would interact with the system. This interpretation yields an initial, cortically-grounded, theory of learning of physical systems that potentially can be related to cognitive learning theories by suggesting links between cortical representations, stages of learning, and the understanding of simple systems.

Effectiveness of three-dimensional digital animation in teaching human anatomy in an authentic classroom context

Three-dimensional (3D) digital animations were used to teach the human musculoskeletal system to first year kinesiology students. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of this method by comparing two groups from two different academic years during two of their official required anatomy examinations (trunk and upper limb assessments). During the upper limb section, the teacher used two-dimensional (2D) drawings embedded into PowerPoint(®) slides and 3D digital animations for the first group (2D group) and the second (3D group), respectively. The same 3D digital animations were used for both groups during the trunk section. The only difference between the two was the multimedia used to present the information during the upper limb section. The 2D group surprisingly outperformed the 3D group on the trunk assessment. On the upper limb assessment no difference in the scores on the overall anatomy examination was found. However, the 3D group outperformed the 2D group in questions requiring spatial ability. Data supported that 3D digital animations were effective instructional multimedia material tools in teaching human anatomy especially in recalling anatomical knowledge requiring spatial ability. The importance of evaluating the effectiveness of a new instructional material outside laboratory environment (e.g., after a complete semester and on official examinations) was discussed.

Multiple routes to mental animation: language and functional relations drive motion processing for static images

When looking at static visual images, people often exhibit mental animation, anticipating visual events that have not yet happened. But what determines when mental animation occurs? Measuring mental animation using localized brain function (visual motion processing in the middle temporal and middle superior temporal areas, MT+), we demonstrated that animating static pictures of objects is dependent both on the functionally relevant spatial arrangement that objects have with one another (e.g., a bottle above a glass vs. a glass above a bottle) and on the linguistic judgment to be made about those objects (e.g., "Is the bottle above the glass?" vs. "Is the bottle bigger than the glass?"). Furthermore, we showed that mental animation is driven by functional relations and language separately in the right hemisphere of the brain but conjointly in the left hemisphere. Mental animation is not a unitary construct; the predictions humans make about the visual world are driven flexibly, with hemispheric asymmetry in the routes to MT+ activation.

Graphic imagery is not sufficient for increased attention to cigarette warnings: the role of text captions

AIMS

The present study aims to assess the extent to which attention to UK cigarette warnings is attributable to the graphic nature of the content.

DESIGN

A visual dot probe task was utilised, with the warnings serving as critical stimuli that were manipulated for the presence of graphic versus neutral image content, and the accompanying text caption. This mixed design yielded image content (graphic versus neutrally-matched images) and presence (versus absence) of text caption as within subjects variables and smoking status as a between-participants variable.

SETTING

The experiment took place within the laboratories of a UK university.

PARTICIPANTS

Eighty-six psychology undergraduates (51% smokers, 69% female), predominantly of Caucasian ethnicity took part.

MEASUREMENTS

Reaction times towards probes replacing graphic images relative to probes replacing neutral images were utilised to create an index of attentional bias.

FINDINGS

Bias scores (M = 10.20 ± 2.56) highlighted that the graphic image content of the warnings elicited attentional biases (relative to neutral images) for smokers. This only occurred in the presence of an accompanying text caption [t (43) = 3.950, P < 0.001] as opposed to when no caption was present [t (43) = 0.029, P = 0.977]. Non-smokers showed no biases in both instances.

CONCLUSIONS

Graphic imagery on cigarette packets increases attentional capture, but only when accompanied by a text message about health risks.

Does Animation Amplify the Modality Effect – or is there any Modality Effect at All?

Abstract.This study aimed to examine if the modality effect is amplified by the matter of animation. Visual dynamics are suspected to increase split attention affordances due to a higher salience and transience compared to static visuals. In two experiments students watched an instruction on the formation of lightning while their eye movements were recorded. Both experiments varied text presentation (spoken, written) and visualization format (dynamic, static) in a 2x2 design. Learning outcomes were measured with verbal retention, visual retention, and transfer tests. Experiment 1 (N = 50) revealed a modality effect (i. e. better performance in spoken text groups) for visual retention but not for verbal retention and transfer. Experiment 2 (N = 60) replicated Experiment 1 with a faster presentation pace, expecting faster presentation to enlarge modality effects. In contrast, Experiment 2 revealed no modality effects in learning outcomes. In both experiments participants spent less time viewing visualizations when text was written. Within written text conditions text was read first and gained more visual attention than visualizations. Viewing time did not significantly vary between dynamic and static visualizations. Thus, animation did neither affect viewing behavior nor learning outcome. Moreover, the lack of effects in a standard manipulation of text modality cast doubts on the reliability of modality effects and, hence, on the validity of a general modality principle.

Representations and processes of human spatial competence

This article presents an approach to understanding human spatial competence that focuses on the representations and processes of spatial cognition and how they are integrated with cognition more generally. The foundational theoretical argument for this research is that spatial information processing is central to cognition more generally, in the sense that it is brought to bear ubiquitously to improve the adaptivity and effectiveness of perception, cognitive processing, and motor action. We describe research spanning multiple levels of complexity to understand both the detailed mechanisms of spatial cognition, and how they are utilized in complex, naturalistic tasks. In the process, we discuss the critical role of cognitive architectures in developing a consistent account that spans this breadth, and we note some areas in which the current version of a popular architecture, ACT-R, may need to be augmented. Finally, we suggest a framework for understanding the representations and processes of spatial competence and their role in human cognition generally.

Computer-based Learning of Neuroanatomy: A Longitudinal Study of Learning, Transfer, and Retention

A longitudinal experiment was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of new methods for learning neuroanatomy with computer-based instruction. Using a 3D graphical model of the human brain, and sections derived from the model, tools for exploring neuroanatomy were developed to encourage adaptive exploration. This is an instructional method which incorporates graphical exploration in the context of repeated testing and feedback. With this approach, 72 participants learned either sectional anatomy alone or whole anatomy followed by sectional anatomy. Sectional anatomy was explored either with perceptually continuous navigation through the sections or with discrete navigation (as in the use of an anatomical atlas). Learning was measured longitudinally to a high performance criterion. Subsequent tests examined transfer of learning to the interpretation of biomedical images and long-term retention. There were several clear results of this study. On initial exposure to neuroanatomy, whole anatomy was learned more efficiently than sectional anatomy. After whole anatomy was mastered, learners demonstrated high levels of transfer of learning to sectional anatomy and from sectional anatomy to the interpretation of complex biomedical images. Learning whole anatomy prior to learning sectional anatomy led to substantially fewer errors overall than learning sectional anatomy alone. Use of continuous or discrete navigation through sectional anatomy made little difference to measured outcomes. Efficient learning, good long-term retention, and successful transfer to the interpretation of biomedical images indicated that computer-based learning using adaptive exploration can be a valuable tool in instruction of neuroanatomy and similar disciplines.

Visualizing thought

Depictive expressions of thought predate written language by thousands of years. They have evolved in communities through a kind of informal user testing that has refined them. Analyzing common visual communications reveals consistencies that illuminate how people think as well as guide design; the process can be brought into the laboratory and accelerated. Like language, visual communications abstract and schematize; unlike language, they use properties of the page (e.g., proximity and place: center, horizontal/up-down, vertical/left-right) and the marks on it (e.g., dots, lines, arrows, boxes, blobs, likenesses, symbols) to convey meanings. The visual expressions of these meanings (e.g., individual, category, order, relation, correspondence, continuum, hierarchy) have analogs in language, gesture, and especially in the patterns that are created when people design the world around them, arranging things into piles and rows and hierarchies and arrays, spatial-abstraction-action interconnections termed spractions. The designed world is a diagram.