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Dietz CD, Albonico A, Tree JJ, Barton JJS. Visual imagery deficits in posterior cortical atrophy. Cogn Neuropsychol 2024:1-16. [PMID: 38698499 DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2024.2346362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2024]
Abstract
Visual imagery has a close overlapping relationship with visual perception. Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is a neurodegenerative syndrome marked by early impairments in visuospatial processing and visual object recognition. We asked whether PCA would therefore also be marked by deficits in visual imagery, tested using objective forced-choice questionnaires, and whether imagery deficits would be selective for certain properties. We recruited four patients with PCA and a patient with integrative visual agnosia due to bilateral occipitotemporal strokes for comparison. We administered a test battery probing imagery for object shape, size, colour lightness, hue, upper-case letters, lower-case letters, word shape, letter construction, and faces. All subjects showed significant impairments in visual imagery, with imagery for lower-case letters most likely to be spared. We conclude that PCA subjects can show severe deficits in visual imagery. Further work is needed to establish how frequently this occurs and how early it can be found.
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Affiliation(s)
- Connor D Dietz
- Human Vision and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Medicine (Neurology) and Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Andrea Albonico
- Human Vision and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Medicine (Neurology) and Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Jeremy J Tree
- Department of Psychology, Swansea University, Swansea, UK
| | - Jason J S Barton
- Human Vision and Eye Movement Laboratory, Departments of Medicine (Neurology) and Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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2
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Woodry R, Curtis CE, Winawer J. Feedback scales the spatial tuning of cortical responses during visual memory. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.11.589111. [PMID: 38659957 PMCID: PMC11042180 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.11.589111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
Perception, working memory, and long-term memory each evoke neural responses in visual cortex, suggesting that memory uses encoding mechanisms shared with perception. While previous research has largely focused on how perception and memory are similar, we hypothesized that responses in visual cortex would differ depending on the origins of the inputs. Using fMRI, we quantified spatial tuning in visual cortex while participants (both sexes) viewed, maintained in working memory, or retrieved from long-term memory a peripheral target. In each of these conditions, BOLD responses were spatially tuned and were aligned with the target's polar angle in all measured visual field maps including V1. As expected given the increasing sizes of receptive fields, polar angle tuning during perception increased in width systematically up the visual hierarchy from V1 to V2, V3, hV4, and beyond. In stark contrast, the widths of tuned responses were broad across the visual hierarchy during working memory and long-term memory, matched to the widths in perception in later visual field maps but much broader in V1. This pattern is consistent with the idea that mnemonic responses in V1 stem from top-down sources. Moreover, these tuned responses when biased (clockwise or counterclockwise of target) predicted matched biases in memory, suggesting that the readout of maintained and reinstated mnemonic responses influences memory guided behavior. We conclude that feedback constrains spatial tuning during memory, where earlier visual maps inherit broader tuning from later maps thereby impacting the precision of memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert Woodry
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York City, NY 10003
| | - Clayton E. Curtis
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York City, NY 10003
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York City, NY 10003
| | - Jonathan Winawer
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York City, NY 10003
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York City, NY 10003
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3
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Bergmann J, Petro LS, Abbatecola C, Li MS, Morgan AT, Muckli L. Cortical depth profiles in primary visual cortex for illusory and imaginary experiences. Nat Commun 2024; 15:1002. [PMID: 38307834 PMCID: PMC10837448 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45065-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Visual illusions and mental imagery are non-physical sensory experiences that involve cortical feedback processing in the primary visual cortex. Using laminar functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in two studies, we investigate if information about these internal experiences is visible in the activation patterns of different layers of primary visual cortex (V1). We find that imagery content is decodable mainly from deep layers of V1, whereas seemingly 'real' illusory content is decodable mainly from superficial layers. Furthermore, illusory content shares information with perceptual content, whilst imagery content does not generalise to illusory or perceptual information. Together, our results suggest that illusions and imagery, which differ immensely in their subjective experiences, also involve partially distinct early visual microcircuits. However, overlapping microcircuit recruitment might emerge based on the nuanced nature of subjective conscious experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johanna Bergmann
- Imaging Centre of Excellence (ICE), Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging (CCNi), School of Psychology and Neuroscience, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
- Department of Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Lucy S Petro
- Imaging Centre of Excellence (ICE), Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging (CCNi), School of Psychology and Neuroscience, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Clement Abbatecola
- Imaging Centre of Excellence (ICE), Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging (CCNi), School of Psychology and Neuroscience, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Min S Li
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging (CCNi), School of Psychology and Neuroscience, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
- Centre for Computational Neuroscience and Cognitive Robotics, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - A Tyler Morgan
- Imaging Centre of Excellence (ICE), Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging (CCNi), School of Psychology and Neuroscience, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
- Functional MRI Core Facility, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, Bethesda, MD, 20817, USA
| | - Lars Muckli
- Imaging Centre of Excellence (ICE), Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging (CCNi), School of Psychology and Neuroscience, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
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4
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Taheri AA, Parvizifard AA, Reisi S, Jafari M, Mohammadian Y, Heshmati K, Foroughi A, Eivazi M, Ghasemi M. Associations between the perception of dental pain and pain anxiety, mental pain, and dental anxiety in Iranian sample. Int J Psychiatry Med 2024; 59:34-49. [PMID: 37265197 DOI: 10.1177/00912174231180855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This study examined the perception of dental pain and its relationship to pain anxiety, dental anxiety, and mental pain. METHODS This cross-sectional study was conducted on 328 patients referred to dental clinics in Kermanshah (Iran) from 2020 to 2021. The instruments used in this study included scales assessing pain anxiety, dental anxiety, mental pain, and pain perception. RESULTS There was a significant relationship (p = .001) between pain perception with dental anxiety (r = .38), pain anxiety (r = .45), and mental pain (r = .25). CONCLUSION Psychological factors are associated with the perception of dental pain. Given the importance of dental care to overall health, psychological interventions may help to reduce the perception of dental pain and fear of seeing dentists in Iran.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amir Abbas Taheri
- Department of Rehabilitation Counseling, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Science, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ali Akbar Parvizifard
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
| | - Sajjad Reisi
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
| | - Mahsa Jafari
- Department of Psychology, University of Mohaghegh Ardebili, Ardebil, Iran
| | - Yokhabe Mohammadian
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
| | - Khatereh Heshmati
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
| | - Aliakbar Foroughi
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
| | - Masoome Eivazi
- Department of periodontics, school of dentistry, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
| | - Mohammad Ghasemi
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
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Pace T, Koenig-Robert R, Pearson J. Different Mechanisms for Supporting Mental Imagery and Perceptual Representations: Modulation Versus Excitation. Psychol Sci 2023; 34:1229-1243. [PMID: 37782827 DOI: 10.1177/09567976231198435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent research suggests imagery is functionally equivalent to a weak form of visual perception. Here we report evidence across five independent experiments on adults that perception and imagery are supported by fundamentally different mechanisms: Whereas perceptual representations are largely formed via increases in excitatory activity, imagery representations are largely supported by modulating nonimagined content. We developed two behavioral techniques that allowed us to first put the visual system into a state of adaptation and then probe the additivity of perception and imagery. If imagery drives similar excitatory visual activity to perception, pairing imagery with perceptual adapters should increase the state of adaptation. Whereas pairing weak perception with adapters increased measures of adaptation, pairing imagery reversed their effects. Further experiments demonstrated that these nonadditive effects were due to imagery weakening representations of nonimagined content. Together these data provide empirical evidence that the brain uses categorically different mechanisms to represent imagery and perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Pace
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales
| | | | - Joel Pearson
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales
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Friedberg A, Pasquini L, Diggs R, Glaubitz EA, Lopez L, Illán-Gala I, Iaccarino L, La Joie R, Mundada N, Knudtson M, Neylan K, Brown J, Allen IE, Rankin KP, Bonham LW, Yokoyama JS, Ramos EM, Geschwind DH, Spina S, Grinberg LT, Miller ZA, Kramer JH, Rosen H, Gorno-Tempini ML, Rabinovici G, Seeley WW, Miller BL. Prevalence, Timing, and Network Localization of Emergent Visual Creativity in Frontotemporal Dementia. JAMA Neurol 2023; 80:377-387. [PMID: 36848111 PMCID: PMC9972248 DOI: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2023.0001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/28/2022] [Indexed: 03/01/2023]
Abstract
Importance The neurological substrates of visual artistic creativity (VAC) are unknown. VAC is demonstrated here to occur early in frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and multimodal neuroimaging is used to generate a novel mechanistic hypothesis involving dorsomedial occipital cortex enhancement. These findings may illuminate a novel mechanism underlying human visual creativity. Objective To determine the anatomical and physiological underpinnings of VAC in FTD. Design, Setting, and Participants This case-control study analyzed records of 689 patients who met research criteria for an FTD spectrum disorder between 2002 and 2019. Individuals with FTD and emergence of visual artistic creativity (VAC-FTD) were matched to 2 control groups based on demographic and clinical parameters: (1) not visually artistic FTD (NVA-FTD) and (2) healthy controls (HC). Analysis took place between September 2019 to December 2021. Main Outcomes and Measures Clinical, neuropsychological, genetic, and neuroimaging data were analyzed to characterize VAC-FTD and compare VAC-FTD with control groups. Results Of 689 patients with FTD, 17 (2.5%) met VAC-FTD inclusion criteria (mean [SD] age, 65 [9.7] years; 10 [58.8%] female). NVA-FTD (n = 51; mean [SD] age, 64.8 [7] years; 25 [49.0%] female) and HC (n = 51; mean [SD] age, 64.5 [7.2] years; 25 [49%] female) groups were well matched to VAC-FTD demographically. Emergence of VAC occurred around the time of onset of symptoms and was disproportionately seen in patients with temporal lobe predominant degeneration (8 of 17 [47.1%]). Atrophy network mapping identified a dorsomedial occipital region whose activity inversely correlated, in healthy brains, with activity in regions found within the patient-specific atrophy patterns in VAC-FTD (17 of 17) and NVA-FTD (45 of 51 [88.2%]). Structural covariance analysis revealed that the volume of this dorsal occipital region was strongly correlated in VAC-FTD, but not in NVA-FTD or HC, with a volume in the primary motor cortex corresponding to the right-hand representation. Conclusions and Relevance This study generated a novel hypothesis about the mechanisms underlying the emergence of VAC in FTD. These findings suggest that early lesion-induced activation of dorsal visual association areas may predispose some patients to the emergence of VAC under certain environmental or genetic conditions. This work sets the stage for further exploration of enhanced capacities arising early in the course of neurodegeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adit Friedberg
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
- Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco, and Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Lorenzo Pasquini
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
- Neuroscape, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Ryan Diggs
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Erika A. Glaubitz
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Lucia Lopez
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Ignacio Illán-Gala
- Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco, and Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- Sant Pau Memory Unit, Department of Neurology, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Biomedical Research Institute Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación en Red-Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Leonardo Iaccarino
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
- now with Eli Lilly and Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Renaud La Joie
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Nidhi Mundada
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Marguerite Knudtson
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Kyra Neylan
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Jesse Brown
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Isabel Elaine Allen
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
- Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco, and Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Katherine P. Rankin
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
- Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco, and Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Luke W. Bonham
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Jennifer S. Yokoyama
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Eliana M. Ramos
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles
| | - Daniel H. Geschwind
- Program in Neurogenetics, Center for Autism Research and Treatment Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles
- Department of Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles
- Institute for Precision Health, University of California, Los Angeles
| | - Salvatore Spina
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Lea T. Grinberg
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Zachary A. Miller
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Joel H. Kramer
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Howard Rosen
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Maria Luisa Gorno-Tempini
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Gil Rabinovici
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
- Associate Editor, JAMA Neurology
| | - William W. Seeley
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco
| | - Bruce L. Miller
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco
- Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco, and Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
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Dijkstra N, Fleming SM. Subjective signal strength distinguishes reality from imagination. Nat Commun 2023; 14:1627. [PMID: 36959279 PMCID: PMC10036541 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37322-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2021] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans are voracious imaginers, with internal simulations supporting memory, planning and decision-making. Because the neural mechanisms supporting imagery overlap with those supporting perception, a foundational question is how reality and imagination are kept apart. One possibility is that the intention to imagine is used to identify and discount self-generated signals during imagery. Alternatively, because internally generated signals are generally weaker, sensory strength is used to index reality. Traditional psychology experiments struggle to investigate this issue as subjects can rapidly learn that real stimuli are in play. Here, we combined one-trial-per-participant psychophysics with computational modelling and neuroimaging to show that imagined and perceived signals are in fact intermixed, with judgments of reality being determined by whether this intermixed signal is strong enough to cross a reality threshold. A consequence of this account is that when virtual or imagined signals are strong enough, they become subjectively indistinguishable from reality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadine Dijkstra
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK.
| | - Stephen M Fleming
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, UK
- Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Aging Research, University College London, London, UK
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, UK
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8
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Blazhenkova O, Kanero J, Duman I, Umitli O. Read and Imagine: Visual Imagery Experience Evoked by First versus Second Language. Psychol Rep 2023:332941231158059. [PMID: 36799268 DOI: 10.1177/00332941231158059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/18/2023]
Abstract
This research examined visual imagery evoked during reading in relation to language. Following the previous reports that bilinguals experience less vivid imagery in their second language (L2) than first language (L1), we studied how visual imagery is affected by the language in use, characteristics of text, and readers' individual differences. In L1 and L2, 382 bilinguals read object texts describing pictorial properties of objects such as color and shape, spatial texts describing spatial properties such as spatial relations and locations, and excerpts from novels. They rated imagery vividness after each segment and the whole text, and rated the specific imagery characteristics (e.g., color, spatial relations). Regardless of the types of text or the timing of rating, the vividness of imagery was higher in L1 than in L2. However, English proficiency also predicted vividness in L2. Further, vividness in the object and spatial trials were predicted by the individual's object and spatial imagery skills. The effect of language on imagery depends on the text nature and difficulty, when and how vividness is measured, and individual differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olesya Blazhenkova
- Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, 52991Sabanci University, Istanbul, Türkiye
| | - Junko Kanero
- Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, 52991Sabanci University, Istanbul, Türkiye
| | - Irem Duman
- Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, 52991Sabanci University, Istanbul, Türkiye
| | - Ozgenur Umitli
- Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, 52991Sabanci University, Istanbul, Türkiye
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9
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W D, C P, C ML, F L. Imagining and reading actions: Towards similar motor representations. Heliyon 2023; 9:e13426. [PMID: 36816230 PMCID: PMC9932708 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13426] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2022] [Revised: 12/27/2022] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
While action language and motor imagery both engage the motor system, determining whether these two processes indeed share the same motor representations would contribute to better understanding their underlying mechanisms. We conducted two experiments probing the mutual influence of these two processes. In Exp.1, hand-action verbs were presented subliminally, and participants (n = 36) selected the verb they thought they perceived from two alternatives. When congruent actions were imagined prior to this task, accuracy significantly increased, i.e. participants were better able to "see" the subliminal verbs. In Exp.2, participants (n = 19) imagined hand flexion or extension, while corticospinal excitability was measured via transcranial magnetic stimulation. Corticospinal excitability was modulated by action verbs subliminally presented prior to imagery. Specifically, the typical increase observed during imagery was suppressed after presentation of incongruent action verbs. This mutual influence of action language and motor imagery, both at behavioral and neurophysiological levels, suggests overlapping motor representations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dupont W
- INSERM UMR1093-CAPS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UFR des Sciences du Sport, F-21000, Dijon, France
| | - Papaxanthis C
- INSERM UMR1093-CAPS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UFR des Sciences du Sport, F-21000, Dijon, France
| | - Madden-Lombardi C
- INSERM UMR1093-CAPS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UFR des Sciences du Sport, F-21000, Dijon, France
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), France
| | - Lebon F
- INSERM UMR1093-CAPS, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UFR des Sciences du Sport, F-21000, Dijon, France
- Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France
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10
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Lupyan G, Uchiyama R, Thompson B, Casasanto D. Hidden Differences in Phenomenal Experience. Cogn Sci 2023; 47:e13239. [PMID: 36633912 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.13239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Revised: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
In addition to the many easily observable differences between people, there are also differences in people's subjective experiences that are harder to observe, and which, as a consequence, remain hidden. For example, people vary widely in how much visual imagery they experience. But those who cannot see in their mind's eye, tend to assume everyone is like them. Those who can, assume everyone else can as well. We argue that a study of such hidden phenomenal differences has much to teach cognitive science. Uncovering and describing this variation (a search for unknown unknowns) may help predict otherwise puzzling differences in human behavior. The very existence of certain differences can also act as a stress test for some cognitive theories. Finally, studying hidden phenomenal differences is the first step toward understanding what kinds of environments may mask or unmask links between phenomenal experience and observable behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gary Lupyan
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
| | - Ryutaro Uchiyama
- Nanyang Technological University NTU-Cambridge Centre for Lifelong Learning and Individualised Cognition
| | - Bill Thompson
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley
| | - Daniel Casasanto
- Department of Human Development & Department of Psychology, Cornell University
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11
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Cushing CA, Dawes AJ, Hofmann SG, Lau H, LeDoux JE, Taschereau-Dumouchel V. A generative adversarial model of intrusive imagery in the human brain. PNAS NEXUS 2023; 2:pgac265. [PMID: 36733294 PMCID: PMC9887942 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2022] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
The mechanisms underlying the subjective experiences of mental disorders remain poorly understood. This is partly due to long-standing over-emphasis on behavioral and physiological symptoms and a de-emphasis of the patient's subjective experiences when searching for treatments. Here, we provide a new perspective on the subjective experience of mental disorders based on findings in neuroscience and artificial intelligence (AI). Specifically, we propose the subjective experience that occurs in visual imagination depends on mechanisms similar to generative adversarial networks that have recently been developed in AI. The basic idea is that a generator network fabricates a prediction of the world, and a discriminator network determines whether it is likely real or not. Given that similar adversarial interactions occur in the two major visual pathways of perception in people, we explored whether we could leverage this AI-inspired approach to better understand the intrusive imagery experiences of patients suffering from mental illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress disorder. In our model, a nonconscious visual pathway generates predictions of the environment that influence the parallel but interacting conscious pathway. We propose that in some patients, an imbalance in these adversarial interactions leads to an overrepresentation of disturbing content relative to current reality, and results in debilitating flashbacks. By situating the subjective experience of intrusive visual imagery in the adversarial interaction of these visual pathways, we propose testable hypotheses on novel mechanisms and clinical applications for controlling and possibly preventing symptoms resulting from intrusive imagery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cody A Cushing
- Department of Psychology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Alexei J Dawes
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Wako, Saitama 351-0106, Japan
| | - Stefan G Hofmann
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Philipps-University Marburg, 35037 Marburg, Germany
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Hakwan Lau
- RIKEN Center for Brain Science, Wako, Saitama 351-0106, Japan
| | - Joseph E LeDoux
- Center for Neural Science and Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, 10012, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, and Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Langone Medical School, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Vincent Taschereau-Dumouchel
- Department of Psychiatry and Addictology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec H3T 1J4, Canada
- Centre de Recherche de l'Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec H1N 3M5, Canada
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12
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Perception and memory have distinct spatial tuning properties in human visual cortex. Nat Commun 2022; 13:5864. [PMID: 36257949 PMCID: PMC9579130 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33161-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2020] [Accepted: 09/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Reactivation of earlier perceptual activity is thought to underlie long-term memory recall. Despite evidence for this view, it is unclear whether mnemonic activity exhibits the same tuning properties as feedforward perceptual activity. Here, we leverage population receptive field models to parameterize fMRI activity in human visual cortex during spatial memory retrieval. Though retinotopic organization is present during both perception and memory, large systematic differences in tuning are also evident. Whereas there is a three-fold decline in spatial precision from early to late visual areas during perception, this pattern is not observed during memory retrieval. This difference cannot be explained by reduced signal-to-noise or poor performance on memory trials. Instead, by simulating top-down activity in a network model of cortex, we demonstrate that this property is well explained by the hierarchical structure of the visual system. Together, modeling and empirical results suggest that computational constraints imposed by visual system architecture limit the fidelity of memory reactivation in sensory cortex. Neural activity from perception is thought to be reactivated during memory recall. Here, the authors show that memory reactivation in visual cortex exhibits different tuning properties from those observed during perception.
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13
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Netzer O, Heimler B, Shur A, Behor T, Amedi A. Backward spatial perception can be augmented through a novel visual-to-auditory sensory substitution algorithm. Sci Rep 2021; 11:11944. [PMID: 34099756 PMCID: PMC8184900 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-88595-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2020] [Accepted: 02/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Can humans extend and augment their natural perceptions during adulthood? Here, we address this fascinating question by investigating the extent to which it is possible to successfully augment visual spatial perception to include the backward spatial field (a region where humans are naturally blind) via other sensory modalities (i.e., audition). We thus developed a sensory-substitution algorithm, the “Topo-Speech” which conveys identity of objects through language, and their exact locations via vocal-sound manipulations, namely two key features of visual spatial perception. Using two different groups of blindfolded sighted participants, we tested the efficacy of this algorithm to successfully convey location of objects in the forward or backward spatial fields following ~ 10 min of training. Results showed that blindfolded sighted adults successfully used the Topo-Speech to locate objects on a 3 × 3 grid either positioned in front of them (forward condition), or behind their back (backward condition). Crucially, performances in the two conditions were entirely comparable. This suggests that novel spatial sensory information conveyed via our existing sensory systems can be successfully encoded to extend/augment human perceptions. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to spatial perception, sensory augmentation and sensory rehabilitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ophir Netzer
- The Cognitive Science Program, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Benedetta Heimler
- The Baruch Ivcher Institute for Brain, Cognition & Technology, The Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, Herzeliya, Israel.,Department of Medical Neurobiology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Hadassah Ein-Kerem, Jerusalem, Israel.,Center of Advanced Technologies in Rehabilitation (CATR), Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Amir Shur
- The Cognitive Science Program, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Tomer Behor
- The Cognitive Science Program, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Amir Amedi
- The Baruch Ivcher Institute for Brain, Cognition & Technology, The Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, Herzeliya, Israel. .,Department of Medical Neurobiology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Hadassah Ein-Kerem, Jerusalem, Israel.
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14
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Koenig-Robert R, Pearson J. Why do imagery and perception look and feel so different? Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20190703. [PMID: 33308061 PMCID: PMC7741076 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/12/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite the past few decades of research providing convincing evidence of the similarities in function and neural mechanisms between imagery and perception, for most of us, the experience of the two are undeniably different, why? Here, we review and discuss the differences between imagery and perception and the possible underlying causes of these differences, from function to neural mechanisms. Specifically, we discuss the directional flow of information (top-down versus bottom-up), the differences in targeted cortical layers in primary visual cortex and possible different neural mechanisms of modulation versus excitation. For the first time in history, neuroscience is beginning to shed light on this long-held mystery of why imagery and perception look and feel so different. This article is part of the theme issue 'Offline perception: voluntary and spontaneous perceptual experiences without matching external stimulation'.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Joel Pearson
- School of Psychology, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
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15
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Keogh R, Pearson J, Zeman A. Aphantasia: The science of visual imagery extremes. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2021; 178:277-296. [PMID: 33832681 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-821377-3.00012-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Visual imagery allows us to revisit the appearance of things in their absence and to test out virtual combinations of sensory experience. Visual imagery has been linked to many cognitive processes, such as autobiographical and visual working memory. Imagery also plays symptomatic and mechanistic roles in neurologic and mental disorders and is utilized in treatment. A large network of brain activity spanning frontal, parietal, temporal, and visual cortex is involved in generating and maintain images in mind. The ability to visualize has extreme variations, ranging from completely absent (aphantasia) to photo-like (hyperphantasia). The anatomy and functionality of visual cortex, including primary visual cortex, have been associated with individual differences in visual imagery ability, pointing to a potential correlate for both aphantasia and hyperphantasia. Preliminary evidence suggests that lifelong aphantasia is associated with prosopagnosia and reduction in autobiographical memory; hyperphantasia is associated with synesthesia. Aphantasic individuals can also be highly imaginative and are able to complete many tasks that were previously thought to rely on visual imagery, demonstrating that visualization is only one of many ways of representing things in their absence. The study of extreme imagination reminds us how easily invisible differences can escape detection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Keogh
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Joel Pearson
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Adam Zeman
- Cognitive Neurology Research Group, University of Exeter College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom.
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16
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Rafique SA, Steeves JKE. Assessing differential effects of single and accelerated low-frequency rTMS to the visual cortex on GABA and glutamate concentrations. Brain Behav 2020; 10:e01845. [PMID: 32964685 PMCID: PMC7749615 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.1845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2020] [Revised: 08/26/2020] [Accepted: 08/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The application of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) for therapeutic use in visual-related disorders and its underlying mechanisms in the visual cortex is under-investigated. Additionally, there is little examination of rTMS adverse effects particularly with regards to visual and cognitive function. Neural plasticity is key in rehabilitation and recovery of function; thus, effective therapeutic strategies must be capable of modulating plasticity. Glutamate and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-mediated changes in the balance between excitation and inhibition are prominent features in visual cortical plasticity. OBJECTIVES AND METHOD We investigated the effects of low-frequency (1 Hz) rTMS to the visual cortex on levels of neurotransmitters GABA and glutamate to determine the therapeutic potential of 1 Hz rTMS for visual-related disorders. Two rTMS regimes commonly used in clinical applications were investigated: participants received rTMS to the visual cortex either in a single 20-min session or five accelerated 20-min sessions (not previously investigated at the visual cortex). Proton (1H) magnetic resonance spectroscopy for in vivo quantification of GABA (assessed via GABA+) and glutamate (assessed via Glx) concentrations was performed pre- and post-rTMS. RESULTS GABA+ and Glx concentrations were unaltered following a single session of rTMS to the visual cortex. One day of accelerated rTMS significantly reduced GABA+ concentration for up to 24 hr, with levels returning to baseline by 1-week post-rTMS. Basic visual and cognitive function remained largely unchanged. CONCLUSION Accelerated 1 Hz rTMS to the visual cortex has greater potential for approaches targeting plasticity or in cases with altered GABAergic responses in visual disorders. Notably, these results provide preliminary insight into a critical window of plasticity with accelerated rTMS (e.g., 24 hr) in which adjunct therapies may offer better functional outcome. We describe detailed procedures to enable further exploration of these protocols.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara A. Rafique
- Department of Psychology and Centre for Vision ResearchYork UniversityTorontoONCanada
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17
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Blazhenkova O, Dogerlioglu-Demir K. The shape of the pill: Perceived effects, evoked bodily sensations and emotions. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0238378. [PMID: 32898184 PMCID: PMC7478620 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0238378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2019] [Accepted: 08/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Current research examined the differential effects of pills’ shape (angular vs. curvy) on the perceived efficacy of the medicine, evoked bodily sensations and emotions. We investigated these effects by using different types of angular vs. curved stimuli: abstract drawn shapes (Study 1), 3D-printed mockup pills (Study 2) and photographs of the existing pills (Study 3). Participants were asked to imagine ‘taking’ angular and curved pills. They had to focus on the bodily sensations and report the evoked activations/deactivations in different body parts. Across three studies, we found that the angular pills evoke overall more activations in the body compared to curvy pills. We further reported differences in the topography of angular vs. curved pills’-triggered sensations in different body parts. Our results also revealed that angularity is linked with an energizing effect while roundness is associated with a calming effect. The shape effects were demonstrated not only in self-reported energized vs. calm subjective feelings but also in performance on a timed cognitive test. Compared to incongruent designs, pill designs (angular vs. curved) congruent with proposed drug benefits (energizing vs. calming) were perceived as more effective. Moreover, we found differences in emotions triggered by pills of different shapes. The present research provided new findings on angularity vs. curvature perception that may be valuable for cognitive psychology, marketing, pharmaceutical and supplements industry, and other applied fields.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olesya Blazhenkova
- Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey
- * E-mail:
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18
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Mota-Rolim SA. On Moving the Eyes to Flag Lucid Dreaming. Front Neurosci 2020; 14:361. [PMID: 32351360 PMCID: PMC7174658 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.00361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2019] [Accepted: 03/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Arthuro Mota-Rolim
- Brain Institute, Department of Physiology and Behavior, and Onofre Lopes University Hospital - Federal University of Rio Grande Do Norte, Natal, Brazil
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19
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Reeves A, Grayhem R, Craver-Lemley C. The Perky effect revisited: Imagery hinders perception at high levels, but aids it at low. Vision Res 2019; 167:8-14. [PMID: 31887539 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2019.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2019] [Revised: 12/06/2019] [Accepted: 12/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Visual, although not auditory, imagery typically interferes with visual acuity: the so-called Perky effect. However, visual images can facilitate detection of visual Gabor patterns. Here we report that this discrepancy is not due so much to the class of stimuli but primarily to the level of accuracy; visual imagery interferes with acuity when performance is good but facilitates it when performance is poor. This finding is analogous to the 'dipper' function obtained when visual stimuli that mask visual targets when above threshold improve target detection near threshold.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Reeves
- Department of Psychology, 125 NI, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
| | - Rebecca Grayhem
- Department of Psychology, 125 NI, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA; Wolpe Center, Dept. of Transportation, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
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20
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O'Dowd A, Cooney SM, McGovern DP, Newell FN. Do synaesthesia and mental imagery tap into similar cross-modal processes? Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 374:20180359. [PMID: 31630660 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2018.0359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Synaesthesia has previously been linked with imagery abilities, although an understanding of a causal role for mental imagery in broader synaesthetic experiences remains elusive. This can be partly attributed to our relatively poor understanding of imagery in sensory domains beyond vision. Investigations into the neural and behavioural underpinnings of mental imagery have nevertheless identified an important role for imagery in perception, particularly in mediating cross-modal interactions. However, the phenomenology of synaesthesia gives rise to the assumption that associated cross-modal interactions may be encapsulated and specific to synaesthesia. As such, evidence for a link between imagery and perception may not generalize to synaesthesia. Here, we present results that challenge this idea: first, we found enhanced somatosensory imagery evoked by visual stimuli of body parts in mirror-touch synaesthetes, relative to other synaesthetes or controls. Moreover, this enhanced imagery generalized to tactile object properties not directly linked to their synaesthetic associations. Second, we report evidence that concurrent experience evoked in grapheme-colour synaesthesia was sufficient to trigger visual-to-tactile correspondences that are common to all. Together, these findings show that enhanced mental imagery is a consistent hallmark of synaesthesia, and suggest the intriguing possibility that imagery may facilitate the cross-modal interactions that underpin synaesthesic experiences. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Bridging senses: novel insights from synaesthesia'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan O'Dowd
- School of Psychology and Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin D02 PN40, Ireland
| | - Sarah M Cooney
- School of Psychology and Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin D02 PN40, Ireland
| | - David P McGovern
- School of Psychology and Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin D02 PN40, Ireland.,School of Psychology, Dublin City University, Dublin D09 W6Y4, Ireland
| | - Fiona N Newell
- School of Psychology and Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin D02 PN40, Ireland
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21
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Maróthi R, Csigó K, Kéri S. Early-Stage Vision and Perceptual Imagery in Autism Spectrum Conditions. Front Hum Neurosci 2019; 13:337. [PMID: 31632255 PMCID: PMC6781947 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2019] [Accepted: 09/13/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum conditions (ASC) are characterized by multifaceted alterations in visual perception and mental imagery. However, the interaction between early-stage visual perception and imagery has not been explored. We recruited 40 individuals with ASC and 20 neurotypical control volunteers to participate in a lateral masking task. Participants detected a luminance-contrast target pattern (Gabor patch) flanked by two collinear masks. The flanking masks inhibit target detection at small target-mask distances and facilitate target detection at intermediate target-mask distances. In the perceptual task, the masks appeared adjacent to the target. In the imagery task, participants imagined the masks immediately after seeing them. Results revealed that individuals with ASC characterized by exceptional visuoconstructional abilities (enhanced Block Design performance; n = 20) showed weaker inhibition at small target-mask distances and stronger facilitation at intermediate target-mask distances relative to the controls. Visual imagery was markedly dampened in ASC regardless of the visuoconstructional abilities. At the behavioral level, these results indicate increased facilitation via lateral connections in the primary visual cortex (V1) of individuals with ASC who exhibit exceptional visuoconstructional abilities, together with less efficient mental imagery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebeka Maróthi
- Nyírö Gyula National Institute of Psychiatry and Addictions, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Katalin Csigó
- Nyírö Gyula National Institute of Psychiatry and Addictions, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Szabolcs Kéri
- Nyírö Gyula National Institute of Psychiatry and Addictions, Budapest, Hungary
- Department of Cognitive Science, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary
- Department of Physiology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
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22
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Abstract
The idea that the brain learns generative models of the world has been widely promulgated. Most approaches have assumed that the brain learns an explicit density model that assigns a probability to each possible state of the world. However, explicit density models are difficult to learn, requiring approximate inference techniques that may find poor solutions. An alternative approach is to learn an implicit density model that can sample from the generative model without evaluating the probabilities of those samples. The implicit model can be trained to fool a discriminator into believing that the samples are real. This is the idea behind generative adversarial algorithms, which have proven adept at learning realistic generative models. This paper develops an adversarial framework for probabilistic computation in the brain. It first considers how generative adversarial algorithms overcome some of the problems that vex prior theories based on explicit density models. It then discusses the psychological and neural evidence for this framework, as well as how the breakdown of the generator and discriminator could lead to delusions observed in some mental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel J. Gershman
- Department of Psychology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States
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23
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Pearson J. The human imagination: the cognitive neuroscience of visual mental imagery. Nat Rev Neurosci 2019; 20:624-634. [DOI: 10.1038/s41583-019-0202-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 181] [Impact Index Per Article: 36.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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24
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Imbriano G, Sussman TJ, Jin J, Mohanty A. The role of imagery in threat-related perceptual decision making. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2019; 20:1495-1501. [PMID: 31192666 DOI: 10.1037/emo0000610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Visual perception is heavily influenced by "top-down" factors, including goals, expectations, and prior knowledge about the environmental context. Recent research has demonstrated the beneficial role threat-related cues play in perceptual decision making; however, the psychological processes contributing to this differential effect remain unclear. Since visual imagery helps to create perceptual representations or "templates" based on prior knowledge (e.g., cues), the present study examines the role vividness of visual imagery plays in enhanced perceptual decision making following threatening cues. In a perceptual decision-making task, participants used threat-related and neutral cues to detect perceptually degraded fearful and neutral faces presented at predetermined perceptual thresholds. Participants' vividness of imagery was measured by the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire-2 (VVIQ-2). Our results replicated prior work demonstrating that threat cues improve accuracy, perceptual sensitivity, and speed of perceptual decision making compared to neutral cues. Furthermore, better performance following threat and neutral cues was associated with higher VVIQ-2 scores. Importantly, more precise and rapid perceptual decision making following threatening cues was associated with greater VVIQ-2 scores, even after controlling for performance related to neutral cues. This association may be because greater imagery ability allows one to conjure more vivid threat-related templates, which facilitate subsequent perception. While the detection of threatening stimuli is well studied in the literature, our findings elucidate how threatening cues occurring prior to the stimulus aid in subsequent perception. Overall, these findings highlight the necessity of considering top-down threat-related factors in visual perceptual decision making. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
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25
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Vanlierde A, Wanet-Defalque MC. The Role of Visual Experience in Mental Imagery. JOURNAL OF VISUAL IMPAIRMENT & BLINDNESS 2019. [DOI: 10.1177/0145482x0509900305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
The mental imagery of participants who became blind early in life (EB participants), participants who became blind later in life (LB participants), and sighted participants was compared in two experiments. In the first experiment, the participants were asked to image common objects and to estimate how far away these objects appeared in their image. In the second experiment, the participants were asked to point to the left and right sides of three objects, imaged at three increasing distances. The LB participants’ performance of the tasks in both experiments was similar to that of the sighted participants, whereas the performance of the EB participants differed. The results reflect the close relationship between the development of visual perception and the properties of images.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annick Vanlierde
- Neural Rehabilitation Engineering Laboratory, Université Catholique de Louvain, Avenue Hippocrate, 54, UCL-54.46, B-1200, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Marie-Chantal Wanet-Defalque
- Neural Rehabilitation Engineering Laboratory, Université Catholique de Louvain, Avenue Hippocrate, 54, UCL-54.46, B-1200, Brussels, Belgium
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26
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Palmiero M, Piccardi L, Giancola M, Nori R, D'Amico S, Olivetti Belardinelli M. The format of mental imagery: from a critical review to an integrated embodied representation approach. Cogn Process 2019; 20:277-289. [PMID: 30798484 DOI: 10.1007/s10339-019-00908-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2018] [Accepted: 02/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The issue of the format of mental imagery is still an open debate. The classical analogue (depictive)-propositional (descriptive) debate has not provided definitive conclusions. Over the years, the debate has shifted within the frame of the embodied cognition approach, which focuses on the interdependence of perception, cognition and action. Although the simulation approach still retains the concept of representation, the more radical line of the embodied cognition approach emphasizes the importance of action and clearly disregards the concept of representation. In particular, the enactive approach focuses on motor procedures that allow the body to interact with the environment, whereas the sensorimotor approach focuses on the possession and exercise of sensorimotor knowledge about how the sensory input changes as a function of movement. In this review, the embodied approaches are presented and critically discussed. Then, in an attempt to show that the format of mental imagery varies according to the ability and the strategy used to represent information, the role of individual differences in imagery ability (e.g., vividness and expertise) and imagery strategy (e.g., object vs. spatial imagers) is reviewed. Since vividness is mainly associated with perceptual information, reflecting the activation level of specific imagery systems, whereas the preferred strategy used is mainly associated with perceptual (e.g., object imagery) or amodal and motor information (e.g., spatial imagery), the format of mental imagery appears to be based on dynamic embodied representations, depending on imagery abilities and imagery strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Massimiliano Palmiero
- Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging Unit, I.R.C.C.S. Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179, Rome, Italy. .,Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy.
| | - Laura Piccardi
- Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging Unit, I.R.C.C.S. Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00179, Rome, Italy.,Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Marco Giancola
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Raffaella Nori
- Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Simonetta D'Amico
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Marta Olivetti Belardinelli
- ECONA, Interuniversity Centre for Research on Cognitive Processing in Natural and Artificial Systems, Rome, Italy
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27
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28
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Liu S, Peng M. Does Scope of Attention Affect Creativity? Testing the Attentional Priming Hypothesis. JOURNAL OF CREATIVE BEHAVIOR 2018. [DOI: 10.1002/jocb.378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sisi Liu
- The Education University of Hong Kong
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29
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LaBerge S, Baird B, Zimbardo PG. Smooth tracking of visual targets distinguishes lucid REM sleep dreaming and waking perception from imagination. Nat Commun 2018; 9:3298. [PMID: 30120229 PMCID: PMC6098118 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-05547-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2017] [Accepted: 07/11/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans are typically unable to engage in sustained smooth pursuit for imagined objects. However, it is unknown to what extent smooth tracking occurs for visual imagery during REM sleep dreaming. Here we examine smooth pursuit eye movements during tracking of a slow-moving visual target during lucid dreams in REM sleep. Highly similar smooth pursuit tracking was observed during both waking perception and lucid REM sleep dreaming, in contrast to the characteristically saccadic tracking observed during visuomotor imagination. Our findings suggest that, in this respect, the visual imagery that occurs during REM sleep is more similar to perception than imagination. The data also show that the neural circuitry of smooth pursuit can be driven by a visual percept in the absence of retinal stimulation and that specific voluntary shifts in the direction of experienced gaze within REM sleep dreams are accompanied by corresponding rotations of the physical eyes. When tracking a moving object, our eyes make smooth pursuit movements; however, tracking an imaginary object produces jerky saccadic eye movements. Here, the authors show that during lucid dreams, the eyes smoothly follow dreamed objects. In this respect, dream imagery is more similar to perception than imagination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen LaBerge
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305-2130, USA.,Lucidity Institute
| | - Benjamin Baird
- Wisconsin Institute for Sleep and Consciousness, Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53719, USA.
| | - Philip G Zimbardo
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305-2130, USA
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30
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Chang S, Pearson J. The functional effects of prior motion imagery and motion perception. Cortex 2018; 105:83-96. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.08.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2017] [Revised: 07/05/2017] [Accepted: 08/31/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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31
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Schulz L, Ischebeck A, Wriessnegger SC, Steyrl D, Müller-Putz GR. Action affordances and visuo-spatial complexity in motor imagery: An fMRI study. Brain Cogn 2018; 124:37-46. [PMID: 29723681 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2018.03.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2018] [Revised: 03/22/2018] [Accepted: 03/23/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Imagining a complex action requires not only motor-related processing but also visuo-spatial imagery. In the current study, we examined visuo-spatial complexity and action affordances in motor imagery (MI). Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated the neural activity in MI of reach-to-grasp movements of the right hand in five conditions. Thirty participants were scanned while imagining grasping an everyday object, grasping a geometrical shape, grasping next to an everyday object, grasping next to a geometrical shape, and grasping at nothing (no object involved). We found that MI of grasping next to an object recruited the visuo-spatial cognition network including posterior parietal and premotor regions more strongly than MI of grasping an object. This indicates that grasping next to an object requires additional processing resources rendering MI more complex. MI of a grasping movement involving a familiar everyday object compared to a geometrical shape yielded stronger activation in motor-related regions, including the bilateral supplementary motor area. This activation might be due to inhibitory processes preventing motor execution of motor scripts evoked by everyday objects (action affordances). Our results indicate that visuo-spatial cognition plays a significant role in MI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Schulz
- Institute of Neural Engineering, Graz University of Technology, Stremayrgasse 16/IV, 8010 Graz, Austria; Institute of Psychology, University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 2, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Anja Ischebeck
- Institute of Psychology, University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 2, 8010 Graz, Austria; BioTechMed-Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Selina C Wriessnegger
- Institute of Neural Engineering, Graz University of Technology, Stremayrgasse 16/IV, 8010 Graz, Austria; BioTechMed-Graz, Graz, Austria.
| | - David Steyrl
- Institute of Neural Engineering, Graz University of Technology, Stremayrgasse 16/IV, 8010 Graz, Austria; BioTechMed-Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Gernot R Müller-Putz
- Institute of Neural Engineering, Graz University of Technology, Stremayrgasse 16/IV, 8010 Graz, Austria; BioTechMed-Graz, Graz, Austria
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Pinto M, Fattorini E, Lasaponara S, D'Onofrio M, Fortunato G, Doricchi F. Visualising numerals: An ERPs study with the attentional SNARC task. Cortex 2018; 101:1-15. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.12.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2017] [Revised: 08/10/2017] [Accepted: 12/19/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Wang X, Guo X, Chen L, Liu Y, Goldberg ME, Xu H. Auditory to Visual Cross-Modal Adaptation for Emotion: Psychophysical and Neural Correlates. Cereb Cortex 2018; 27:1337-1346. [PMID: 26733537 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhv321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Adaptation is fundamental in sensory processing and has been studied extensively within the same sensory modality. However, little is known about adaptation across sensory modalities, especially in the context of high-level processing, such as the perception of emotion. Previous studies have shown that prolonged exposure to a face exhibiting one emotion, such as happiness, leads to contrastive biases in the perception of subsequently presented faces toward the opposite emotion, such as sadness. Such work has shown the importance of adaptation in calibrating face perception based on prior visual exposure. In the present study, we showed for the first time that emotion-laden sounds, like laughter, adapt the visual perception of emotional faces, that is, subjects more frequently perceived faces as sad after listening to a happy sound. Furthermore, via electroencephalography recordings and event-related potential analysis, we showed that there was a neural correlate underlying the perceptual bias: There was an attenuated response occurring at ∼ 400 ms to happy test faces and a quickened response to sad test faces, after exposure to a happy sound. Our results provide the first direct evidence for a behavioral cross-modal adaptation effect on the perception of facial emotion, and its neural correlate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaodong Wang
- Center for Psychological Engineering, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.,Division of Psychology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637332, Singapore
| | - Xiaotao Guo
- CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Diseases, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China
| | - Lin Chen
- CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Diseases, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China
| | - Yijun Liu
- Center for Psychological Engineering, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Michael E Goldberg
- Departments of Neuroscience, Neurology, Psychiatry and Ophthalmology, and the Kavli Neuroscience Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.,Mahoney-Keck Center for Brain and Behavior Research, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Hong Xu
- Division of Psychology, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637332, Singapore
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Enhanced mental imagery and intact perceptual organization in schizotypal personality disorder. Psychiatry Res 2018; 259:433-438. [PMID: 29131991 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2017.11.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2017] [Revised: 10/01/2017] [Accepted: 11/04/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
According to a widely held view, psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia are characterized by a vague boundary between the perception of the external world and the inner imagery of persons, objects, and events. In this study, we addressed the perception-imagery debate in schizotypal personality disorder (SPD). Thirty individuals with SPD and 30 matched healthy subjects completed a lateral masking task. Participants were asked to detect a low-contrast Gabor patch flanked by two collinear Gabor masks. In the perceptual task, the masks were physically present, whereas in the imagery task, participants only imagined the masks. By applying a binocular rivalry paradigm, we also measured the imagery priming effect. Results revealed that, in the perceptual task, collinear masks similarly decreased contrast threshold in SPD and controls. In the imagery task, contrast threshold reduction (facilitation by the imagined masks) was more pronounced in SPD relative to the controls. In the binocular rivalry paradigm, individuals with SPD showed higher imagery priming effects as compared to healthy controls. Enhanced imagery was not related to schizotypal traits. These results indicate intact early visual perception and heightened imagery in SPD, which may be a trait marker of unusual experiences without psychotic disorganization.
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The blind mind: No sensory visual imagery in aphantasia. Cortex 2017; 105:53-60. [PMID: 29175093 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2017.10.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2017] [Revised: 06/27/2017] [Accepted: 10/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
For most people the use of visual imagery is pervasive in daily life, but for a small group of people the experience of visual imagery is entirely unknown. Research based on subjective phenomenology indicates that otherwise healthy people can completely lack the experience of visual imagery, a condition now referred to as aphantasia. As congenital aphantasia has thus far been based on subjective reports, it remains unclear whether individuals are really unable to imagine visually, or if they have very poor metacognition - they have images in their mind, but are blind to them. Here we measured sensory imagery in subjectively self-diagnosed aphantasics, using the binocular rivalry paradigm, as well as measuring their self-rated object and spatial imagery with multiple questionnaires (VVIQ, SUIS and OSIQ). Unlike, the general population, experimentally naive aphantasics showed almost no imagery-based rivalry priming. Aphantasic participants' self-rated visual object imagery was significantly below average, however their spatial imagery scores were above average. These data suggest that aphantasia is a condition involving a lack of sensory and phenomenal imagery, and not a lack of metacognition. The possible underlying neurological cause of aphantasia is discussed as well as future research directions.
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The perceptual and phenomenal capacity of mental imagery. Cognition 2017; 162:124-132. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2017.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2016] [Revised: 02/06/2017] [Accepted: 02/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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Delacour J. Object Perception and Recognition: A Model for the Scientific Study of Consciousness. THEORY & PSYCHOLOGY 2016. [DOI: 10.1177/0959354397072007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The main obstacles to the scientific study of consciousness are its subjectivity and its complexity. Object perception and recognition (OPR) can be a useful model in such a study because there is a remarkable agreement between the subjective and objective aspects of OPR; in addition, while OPR is somewhat simpler than other forms of cognition, it adequately represents one characteristic feature of consciousness: intentionality. It thus allows convergent studies of experimental psychology, artificial intelligence and biology, in both humans and animals. Recent advances in the neurophysiology of visual OPR in subhuman primates and its brain imaging in humans provide a vital thread to the neural basis of consciousness, especially of its integrative, unifying character.
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Pearson J, Naselaris T, Holmes EA, Kosslyn SM. Mental Imagery: Functional Mechanisms and Clinical Applications. Trends Cogn Sci 2016; 19:590-602. [PMID: 26412097 PMCID: PMC4595480 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2015.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 390] [Impact Index Per Article: 48.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2015] [Revised: 07/31/2015] [Accepted: 08/10/2015] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Mental imagery research has weathered both disbelief of the phenomenon and inherent methodological limitations. Here we review recent behavioral, brain imaging, and clinical research that has reshaped our understanding of mental imagery. Research supports the claim that visual mental imagery is a depictive internal representation that functions like a weak form of perception. Brain imaging work has demonstrated that neural representations of mental and perceptual images resemble one another as early as the primary visual cortex (V1). Activity patterns in V1 encode mental images and perceptual images via a common set of low-level depictive visual features. Recent translational and clinical research reveals the pivotal role that imagery plays in many mental disorders and suggests how clinicians can utilize imagery in treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joel Pearson
- School of Psychology, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
| | - Thomas Naselaris
- Department of Neuroscience, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Emily A Holmes
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, UK; Department for Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Stephen M Kosslyn
- Minerva Schools at the Keck Graduate Institute, San Francisco, CA, USA
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Vedder A, Smigielski L, Gutyrchik E, Bao Y, Blautzik J, Pöppel E, Zaytseva Y, Russell E. Neurofunctional correlates of environmental cognition: an FMRI study with images from episodic memory. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0122470. [PMID: 25875000 PMCID: PMC4397013 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0122470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2014] [Accepted: 02/11/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
This study capitalizes on individual episodic memories to investigate the question, how dif-ferent environments affect us on a neural level. Instead of using predefined environmental stimuli, this study relied on individual representations of beauty and pleasure. Drawing upon episodic memories we conducted two experiments. Healthy subjects imagined pleasant and non-pleasant environments, as well as beautiful and non-beautiful environments while neural activity was measured by using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Although subjects found the different conditions equally simple to visualize, our results revealed more distribut-ed brain activations for non-pleasant and non-beautiful environments than for pleasant and beautiful environments. The additional regions activated in non-pleasant (left lateral prefrontal cortex) and non-beautiful environments (supplementary motor area, anterior cortical midline structures) are involved in self-regulation and top-down cognitive control. Taken together, the results show that perceptual experiences and emotional evaluations of environments within a positive and a negative frame of reference are based on distinct patterns of neural activity. We interpret the data in terms of a different cognitive and processing load placed by exposure to different environments. The results hint at the efficiency of subject-generated representations as stimulus material.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aline Vedder
- Human Science Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU), Munich, Germany
- Institute of Sociology, (LMU), Munich, Germany
- Institute of Medical Psychology, (LMU), Munich, Germany
- Parmenides Center for Art and Science, Pullach, Germany
| | - Lukasz Smigielski
- Human Science Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU), Munich, Germany
| | - Evgeny Gutyrchik
- Human Science Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU), Munich, Germany
- Institute of Medical Psychology, (LMU), Munich, Germany
- Parmenides Center for Art and Science, Pullach, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Yan Bao
- Human Science Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU), Munich, Germany
- Parmenides Center for Art and Science, Pullach, Germany
- Department of Psychology, Peking University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Machine Perception, Peking University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | | | - Ernst Pöppel
- Human Science Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU), Munich, Germany
- Institute of Medical Psychology, (LMU), Munich, Germany
- Parmenides Center for Art and Science, Pullach, Germany
- Department of Psychology, Peking University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yuliya Zaytseva
- Human Science Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU), Munich, Germany
- Institute of Medical Psychology, (LMU), Munich, Germany
- Parmenides Center for Art and Science, Pullach, Germany
- Moscow Research Institute of Psychiatry, Moscow, Russia
| | - Edmund Russell
- Human Science Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU), Munich, Germany
- Department of History, University of Kansas, Lawrence, United States of America
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Christophel TB, Cichy RM, Hebart MN, Haynes JD. Parietal and early visual cortices encode working memory content across mental transformations. Neuroimage 2015; 106:198-206. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.11.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2014] [Revised: 10/28/2014] [Accepted: 11/09/2014] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
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41
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Kéri S. Dissecting perception and memory-driven imagery by boosting GABA-ergic neurotransmission. Vision Res 2014; 106:58-63. [PMID: 25451240 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2014.10.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2014] [Revised: 10/14/2014] [Accepted: 10/25/2014] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Flanking lateral masks enhance or weaken the detection of a low-contrast visual target. This effect depends on the target-to-mask distance. An improvement of stimulus detection can also be observed when participants imagine (i.e., retrieve from memory) the previously presented masks. In this double-blind, placebo-controlled study, we show that the gamma-aminobutyric acid-A (GABAA) receptor agonist alprazolam disrupts perceptual but not imagery enhancement of contrast detection in individuals with generalized anxiety and adjustment disorder. The weakened target detection at short target-to-mask distances became more pronounced after the administration of the GABA-agonist in both perception and imagery conditions. Healthy control participants did not differ from individuals with generalized anxiety and adjustment disorder receiving placebo. These results indicate that perception and imagery can be dissociated by boosting GABA-ergic neurotransmission. Further studies are warranted to investigate this effect in healthy individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Szabolcs Kéri
- Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Department of Cognitive Science, Budapest, Hungary; Nyírő Gyula Hospital, National Institute of Psychiatry and Addictions, Budapest, Hungary; University of Szeged, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physiology, Szeged, Hungary.
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42
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Riou B, Rey AE, Vallet GT, Cuny C, Versace R. Perceptual processing affects the reactivation of a sensory dimension during a categorization task. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2014; 68:1223-30. [PMID: 25409625 DOI: 10.1080/17470218.2014.978876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
According to grounded theories of cognition, knowledge is grounded in its sensory-motor features. Therefore, perceptual and conceptual processing should be based on the same distributed system so that conceptual and perceptual processes should interact. The present study assesses whether gustatory stimulation (participants tasted a sweet or a nonsweet yoghurt) could influence performance on a categorization task that involves the reactivation of the same sensory dimension. The results indicate that participants were slower (Experiment 1) or faster (Experiment 2), respectively, at categorizing pictures as representing edible sweet stimuli when they either simultaneously or had previously tasted a sweet yoghurt as compared to a nonsweet yoghurt. These results confirm the significant overlap between perceptual and memory mechanisms and suggest the functional equivalence between perceptually present and perceptually absent (memory reactivated) dimensions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benoit Riou
- a Laboratoire EMC , Université Lumière Lyon 2 , Bron , France
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43
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Zambrowski O, Ingster-Moati I, Vignal-Clermont C, Robert M. Le phénomène de neige visuelle. J Fr Ophtalmol 2014; 37:722-727. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jfo.2014.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2014] [Accepted: 08/25/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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Markov NT, Vezoli J, Chameau P, Falchier A, Quilodran R, Huissoud C, Lamy C, Misery P, Giroud P, Ullman S, Barone P, Dehay C, Knoblauch K, Kennedy H. Anatomy of hierarchy: feedforward and feedback pathways in macaque visual cortex. J Comp Neurol 2014; 522:225-59. [PMID: 23983048 PMCID: PMC4255240 DOI: 10.1002/cne.23458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 406] [Impact Index Per Article: 40.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2012] [Revised: 04/10/2013] [Accepted: 08/14/2013] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The laminar location of the cell bodies and terminals of interareal connections determines the hierarchical structural organization of the cortex and has been intensively studied. However, we still have only a rudimentary understanding of the connectional principles of feedforward (FF) and feedback (FB) pathways. Quantitative analysis of retrograde tracers was used to extend the notion that the laminar distribution of neurons interconnecting visual areas provides an index of hierarchical distance (percentage of supragranular labeled neurons [SLN]). We show that: 1) SLN values constrain models of cortical hierarchy, revealing previously unsuspected areal relations; 2) SLN reflects the operation of a combinatorial distance rule acting differentially on sets of connections between areas; 3) Supragranular layers contain highly segregated bottom-up and top-down streams, both of which exhibit point-to-point connectivity. This contrasts with the infragranular layers, which contain diffuse bottom-up and top-down streams; 4) Cell filling of the parent neurons of FF and FB pathways provides further evidence of compartmentalization; 5) FF pathways have higher weights, cross fewer hierarchical levels, and are less numerous than FB pathways. Taken together, the present results suggest that cortical hierarchies are built from supra- and infragranular counterstreams. This compartmentalized dual counterstream organization allows point-to-point connectivity in both bottom-up and top-down directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikola T Markov
- Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute, INSERM U846, 69500, Bron, France; Université de Lyon, Université Lyon I, 69003, Lyon, France; Department of Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, 06520-8001, USA
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Dentico D, Cheung BL, Chang JY, Guokas J, Boly M, Tononi G, Van Veen B. Reversal of cortical information flow during visual imagery as compared to visual perception. Neuroimage 2014; 100:237-43. [PMID: 24910071 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.05.081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2013] [Revised: 05/17/2014] [Accepted: 05/28/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The role of bottom-up and top-down connections during visual perception and the formation of mental images was examined by analyzing high-density EEG recordings of brain activity using two state-of-the-art methods for assessing the directionality of cortical signal flow: state-space Granger causality and dynamic causal modeling. We quantified the directionality of signal flow in an occipito-parieto-frontal cortical network during perception of movie clips versus mental replay of the movies and free visual imagery. Both Granger causality and dynamic causal modeling analyses revealed an increased top-down signal flow in parieto-occipital cortices during mental imagery as compared to visual perception. These results are the first direct demonstration of a reversal of the predominant direction of cortical signal flow during mental imagery as compared to perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Dentico
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 6001 Research Park Blvd, Madison, WI 53719, USA.
| | - Bing Leung Cheung
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
| | - Jui-Yang Chang
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
| | - Jeffrey Guokas
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 6001 Research Park Blvd, Madison, WI 53719, USA.
| | - Melanie Boly
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 6001 Research Park Blvd, Madison, WI 53719, USA; Coma Science Group, Cyclotron Research Center and Neurology Department, University of Liège, Allée du 6 août no 8, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
| | - Giulio Tononi
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 6001 Research Park Blvd, Madison, WI 53719, USA.
| | - Barry Van Veen
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
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Opitz B, Schneiders JA, Krick CM, Mecklinger A. Selective transfer of visual working memory training on Chinese character learning. Neuropsychologia 2013; 53:1-11. [PMID: 24184440 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.10.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2013] [Revised: 09/12/2013] [Accepted: 10/24/2013] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Previous research has shown a systematic relationship between phonological working memory capacity and second language proficiency for alphabetic languages. However, little is known about the impact of working memory processes on second language learning in a non-alphabetic language such as Mandarin Chinese. Due to the greater complexity of the Chinese writing system we expect that visual working memory rather than phonological working memory exerts a unique influence on learning Chinese characters. This issue was explored in the present experiment by comparing visual working memory training with an active (auditory working memory training) control condition and a passive, no training control condition. Training induced modulations in language-related brain networks were additionally examined using functional magnetic resonance imaging in a pretest-training-posttest design. As revealed by pre- to posttest comparisons and analyses of individual differences in working memory training gains, visual working memory training led to positive transfer effects on visual Chinese vocabulary learning compared to both control conditions. In addition, we found sustained activation after visual working memory training in the (predominantly visual) left infero-temporal cortex that was associated with behavioral transfer. In the control conditions, activation either increased (active control condition) or decreased (passive control condition) without reliable behavioral transfer effects. This suggests that visual working memory training leads to more efficient processing and more refined responses in brain regions involved in visual processing. Furthermore, visual working memory training boosted additional activation in the precuneus, presumably reflecting mental image generation of the learned characters. We, therefore, suggest that the conjoint activity of the mid-fusiform gyrus and the precuneus after visual working memory training reflects an interaction of working memory and imagery processes with complex visual stimuli that fosters the coherent synthesis of a percept from a complex visual input in service of enhanced Chinese character learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bertram Opitz
- School of Psychology, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7XH, United Kingdom; Department of Psychology, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany.
| | | | - Christoph M Krick
- Department of Neuroradiology, Saarland University Hospital, Homburg, Germany
| | - Axel Mecklinger
- Department of Psychology, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany
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47
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Deroy O, Spence C. Training, hypnosis, and drugs: artificial synaesthesia, or artificial paradises? Front Psychol 2013; 4:660. [PMID: 24133468 PMCID: PMC3796258 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00660] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2013] [Accepted: 09/04/2013] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The last few years have seen the publication of a number of studies by researchers claiming to have induced "synaesthesia," "pseudo-synaesthesia," or "synaesthesia-like" phenomena in non-synaesthetic participants. Although the intention of these studies has been to try and shed light on the way in which synaesthesia might have been acquired in developmental synaesthestes, we argue that they may only have documented a phenomenon that has elsewhere been accounted for in terms of the acquisition of sensory associations and is not evidently linked to synaesthesia. As synaesthesia remains largely defined in terms of the involuntary elicitation of conscious concurrents, we suggest that the theoretical rapprochement with synaesthesia (in any of its guises) is unnecessary, and potentially distracting. It might therefore, be less confusing if researchers were to avoid referring to synaesthesia when characterizing cases that lack robust evidence of a conscious manifestation. Even in the case of those other conditions for which conscious experiences are better evidenced, when training has been occurred during hypnotic suggestion, or when it has been combined with drugs, we argue that not every conscious manifestation should necessarily be counted as synaesthetic. Finally, we stress that cases of associative learning are unlikely to shed light on two highly specific characteristic of the majority of cases of developmental synaesthesia in terms of learning patterns: First, their resistance to change through exposure once the synaesthetic repertoire has been fixed; Second, the transfer of conditioned responses between concurrents and inducers after training. We conclude by questioning whether, in adulthood, it is ever possible to acquire the kind of synaesthesia that is typically documented in the developmental form of the condition. The available evidence instead seems to point to there being a critical period for the development of synaesthesia, probably only in those with a genetic predisposition to develop the condition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ophelia Deroy
- Centre for the Study of the Senses, School of Advanced Study, University of LondonLondon, UK
| | - Charles Spence
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Crossmodal Research Laboratory, University of OxfordOxford, UK
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48
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Vallet GT, Hudon C, Simard M, Versace R. The disconnection syndrome in the Alzheimer’s disease: The cross-modal priming example. Cortex 2013; 49:2402-15. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2012.10.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2012] [Revised: 09/06/2012] [Accepted: 10/23/2012] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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Likova LT. A Cross-Modal Perspective on the Relationships between Imagery and Working Memory. Front Psychol 2013; 3:561. [PMID: 23346061 PMCID: PMC3548561 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2012] [Accepted: 11/28/2012] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Mapping the distinctions and interrelationships between imagery and working memory (WM) remains challenging. Although each of these major cognitive constructs is defined and treated in various ways across studies, most accept that both imagery and WM involve a form of internal representation available to our awareness. In WM, there is a further emphasis on goal-oriented, active maintenance, and use of this conscious representation to guide voluntary action. Multicomponent WM models incorporate representational buffers, such as the visuo-spatial sketchpad, plus central executive functions. If there is a visuo-spatial "sketchpad" for WM, does imagery involve the same representational buffer? Alternatively, does WM employ an imagery-specific representational mechanism to occupy our awareness? Or do both constructs utilize a more generic "projection screen" of an amodal nature? To address these issues, in a cross-modal fMRI study, I introduce a novel Drawing-Based Memory Paradigm, and conceptualize drawing as a complex behavior that is readily adaptable from the visual to non-visual modalities (such as the tactile modality), which opens intriguing possibilities for investigating cross-modal learning and plasticity. Blindfolded participants were trained through our Cognitive-Kinesthetic Method (Likova, 2010a, 2012) to draw complex objects guided purely by the memory of felt tactile images. If this WM task had been mediated by transfer of the felt spatial configuration to the visual imagery mechanism, the response-profile in visual cortex would be predicted to have the "top-down" signature of propagation of the imagery signal downward through the visual hierarchy. Remarkably, the pattern of cross-modal occipital activation generated by the non-visual memory drawing was essentially the inverse of this typical imagery signature. The sole visual hierarchy activation was isolated to the primary visual area (V1), and accompanied by deactivation of the entire extrastriate cortex, thus 'cutting-off' any signal propagation from/to V1 through the visual hierarchy. The implications of these findings for the debate on the interrelationships between the core cognitive constructs of WM and imagery and the nature of internal representations are evaluated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lora T. Likova
- The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research InstituteSan Francisco, CA, USA
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Wu J, Duan H, Tian X, Wang P, Zhang K. The effects of visual imagery on face identification: an ERP study. Front Hum Neurosci 2012; 6:305. [PMID: 23162452 PMCID: PMC3492902 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2012.00305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2012] [Accepted: 10/23/2012] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study tested the hypothesis that the effects of mental imagery on subsequent perception occur at a later matching stage in perceptual identification, but not in the early perceptual stage as in perceptual detection. The behavioral results suggested that the effect of visual imagery on visual identification is content-specific, i.e., imagining a congruent face facilitates face identification, whereas a mismatch between imagery and perception leads to an interference effect. More importantly, the ERP results revealed that a more negative N2 response to the subsequent visual face stimuli was elicited over fronto-central sites in the mismatch and no-imagery conditions as compared to that in the match condition, with the early P1 and N170 components independent of manipulations. The latency and distribution of the neural effects demonstrate that the matching step, but not the earlier perceptual process, is affected by the preceding visual imagery in the context of face identification. We discuss these results in a broader context that the imagery-perception interaction may depend on task demand.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianhui Wu
- Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing, China
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