Dynamic Visual Perception and Reading Development in Chinese School Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meng, Xiangzhi; Cheng-Lai, Alice; Zeng, Biao; Stein, John F.; Zhou, Xiaolin

2011-01-01

The development of reading skills may depend to a certain extent on the development of basic visual perception. The magnocellular theory of developmental dyslexia assumes that deficits in the magnocellular pathway, indicated by less sensitivity in perceiving dynamic sensory stimuli, are responsible for a proportion of reading difficulties…

Teacher Vision: Expert and Novice Teachers' Perception of Problematic Classroom Management Scenes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wolff, Charlotte E.; Jarodzka, Halszka; van den Bogert, Niek; Boshuizen, Henny P. A.

2016-01-01

Visual expertise has been explored in numerous professions, but research on teachers' vision remains limited. Teachers' visual expertise is an important professional skill, particularly the ability to simultaneously perceive and interpret classroom situations for effective classroom management. This skill is complex and relies on an awareness of…

Relationships between Categorical Perception of Phonemes, Phoneme Awareness, and Visual Attention Span in Developmental Dyslexia.

PubMed

Zoubrinetzky, Rachel; Collet, Gregory; Serniclaes, Willy; Nguyen-Morel, Marie-Ange; Valdois, Sylviane

2016-01-01

We tested the hypothesis that the categorical perception deficit of speech sounds in developmental dyslexia is related to phoneme awareness skills, whereas a visual attention (VA) span deficit constitutes an independent deficit. Phoneme awareness tasks, VA span tasks and categorical perception tasks of phoneme identification and discrimination using a d/t voicing continuum were administered to 63 dyslexic children and 63 control children matched on chronological age. Results showed significant differences in categorical perception between the dyslexic and control children. Significant correlations were found between categorical perception skills, phoneme awareness and reading. Although VA span correlated with reading, no significant correlations were found between either categorical perception or phoneme awareness and VA span. Mediation analyses performed on the whole dyslexic sample suggested that the effect of categorical perception on reading might be mediated by phoneme awareness. This relationship was independent of the participants' VA span abilities. Two groups of dyslexic children with a single phoneme awareness or a single VA span deficit were then identified. The phonologically impaired group showed lower categorical perception skills than the control group but categorical perception was similar in the VA span impaired dyslexic and control children. The overall findings suggest that the link between categorical perception, phoneme awareness and reading is independent from VA span skills. These findings provide new insights on the heterogeneity of developmental dyslexia. They suggest that phonological processes and VA span independently affect reading acquisition.

Relationships between Categorical Perception of Phonemes, Phoneme Awareness, and Visual Attention Span in Developmental Dyslexia

PubMed Central

Zoubrinetzky, Rachel; Collet, Gregory; Serniclaes, Willy; Nguyen-Morel, Marie-Ange; Valdois, Sylviane

2016-01-01

We tested the hypothesis that the categorical perception deficit of speech sounds in developmental dyslexia is related to phoneme awareness skills, whereas a visual attention (VA) span deficit constitutes an independent deficit. Phoneme awareness tasks, VA span tasks and categorical perception tasks of phoneme identification and discrimination using a d/t voicing continuum were administered to 63 dyslexic children and 63 control children matched on chronological age. Results showed significant differences in categorical perception between the dyslexic and control children. Significant correlations were found between categorical perception skills, phoneme awareness and reading. Although VA span correlated with reading, no significant correlations were found between either categorical perception or phoneme awareness and VA span. Mediation analyses performed on the whole dyslexic sample suggested that the effect of categorical perception on reading might be mediated by phoneme awareness. This relationship was independent of the participants’ VA span abilities. Two groups of dyslexic children with a single phoneme awareness or a single VA span deficit were then identified. The phonologically impaired group showed lower categorical perception skills than the control group but categorical perception was similar in the VA span impaired dyslexic and control children. The overall findings suggest that the link between categorical perception, phoneme awareness and reading is independent from VA span skills. These findings provide new insights on the heterogeneity of developmental dyslexia. They suggest that phonological processes and VA span independently affect reading acquisition. PMID:26950210

The Coordination Dynamics of Observational Learning: Relative Motion Direction and Relative Phase as Informational Content Linking Action-Perception to Action-Production.

PubMed

Buchanan, John J

2016-01-01

The primary goal of this chapter is to merge together the visual perception perspective of observational learning and the coordination dynamics theory of pattern formation in perception and action. Emphasis is placed on identifying movement features that constrain and inform action-perception and action-production processes. Two sources of visual information are examined, relative motion direction and relative phase. The visual perception perspective states that the topological features of relative motion between limbs and joints remains invariant across an actor's motion and therefore are available for pickup by an observer. Relative phase has been put forth as an informational variable that links perception to action within the coordination dynamics theory. A primary assumption of the coordination dynamics approach is that environmental information is meaningful only in terms of the behavior it modifies. Across a series of single limb tasks and bimanual tasks it is shown that the relative motion and relative phase between limbs and joints is picked up through visual processes and supports observational learning of motor skills. Moreover, internal estimations of motor skill proficiency and competency are linked to the informational content found in relative motion and relative phase. Thus, the chapter links action to perception and vice versa and also links cognitive evaluations to the coordination dynamics that support action-perception and action-production processes.

Face perception in women with Turner syndrome and its underlying factors.

PubMed

Anaki, David; Zadikov Mor, Tal; Gepstein, Vardit; Hochberg, Ze'ev

2016-09-01

Turner syndrome (TS) is a chromosomal condition that affects development in females. It is characterized by short stature, ovarian failure and other congenital malformations, due to a partial or complete absence of the sex chromosome. Women with TS frequently suffer from various physical and hormonal dysfunctions, along with impairments in visual-spatial processing and social cognition difficulties. Previous research has also shown difficulties in face and emotion perception. In the current study we examined two questions: First, whether women with TS, that are impaired in face perception, also suffer from deficits in face-specific processes. The second question was whether these face impairments in TS are related to visual-spatial perceptual dysfunctions exhibited by TS individuals, or to impaired social cognition skills. Twenty-six women with TS and 26 control participants were tested on various cognitive and psychological tests to assess visual-spatial perception, face and facial expression perception, and social cognition skills. Results show that women with TS were less accurate in face perception and facial expression processing, yet they exhibited normal face-specific processes (configural and holistic processing). They also showed difficulties in spatial perception and social cognition capacities. Additional analyses revealed that their face perception impairments were related to their deficits in visual-spatial processing. Thus, our results do not support the claim that the impairments in face processing observed in TS are related to difficulties in social cognition. Rather, our data point to the possibility that face perception difficulties in TS stem from visual-spatial impairments and may not be specific to faces. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Audio-visual temporal perception in children with restored hearing.

PubMed

Gori, Monica; Chilosi, Anna; Forli, Francesca; Burr, David

2017-05-01

It is not clear how audio-visual temporal perception develops in children with restored hearing. In this study we measured temporal discrimination thresholds with an audio-visual temporal bisection task in 9 deaf children with restored audition, and 22 typically hearing children. In typically hearing children, audition was more precise than vision, with no gain in multisensory conditions (as previously reported in Gori et al. (2012b)). However, deaf children with restored audition showed similar thresholds for audio and visual thresholds and some evidence of gain in audio-visual temporal multisensory conditions. Interestingly, we found a strong correlation between auditory weighting of multisensory signals and quality of language: patients who gave more weight to audition had better language skills. Similarly, auditory thresholds for the temporal bisection task were also a good predictor of language skills. This result supports the idea that the temporal auditory processing is associated with language development. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Auditory, Visual, and Auditory-Visual Perception of Vowels by Hearing-Impaired Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hack, Zarita Caplan; Erber, Norman P.

1982-01-01

Vowels were presented through auditory, visual, and auditory-visual modalities to 18 hearing impaired children (12 to 15 years old) having good, intermediate, and poor auditory word recognition skills. All the groups had difficulty with acoustic information and visual information alone. The first two groups had only moderate difficulty identifying…

Visual perceptual and handwriting skills in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder.

PubMed

Prunty, Mellissa; Barnett, Anna L; Wilmut, Kate; Plumb, Mandy

2016-10-01

Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder demonstrate a lack of automaticity in handwriting as measured by pauses during writing. Deficits in visual perception have been proposed in the literature as underlying mechanisms of handwriting difficulties in children with DCD. The aim of this study was to examine whether correlations exist between measures of visual perception and visual motor integration with measures of the handwriting product and process in children with DCD. The performance of twenty-eight 8-14year-old children who met the DSM-5 criteria for DCD was compared with 28 typically developing (TD) age and gender-matched controls. The children completed the Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration (VMI) and the Test of Visual Perceptual Skills (TVPS). Group comparisons were made, correlations were conducted between the visual perceptual measures and handwriting measures and the sensitivity and specificity examined. The DCD group performed below the TD group on the VMI and TVPS. There were no significant correlations between the VMI or TVPS and any of the handwriting measures in the DCD group. In addition, both tests demonstrated low sensitivity. Clinicians should execute caution in using visual perceptual measures to inform them about handwriting skill in children with DCD. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

42 CFR 483.136 - Evaluating whether an individual with intellectual disability requires specialized services...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

..., positioning, transfer skills, gross motor dexterity, visual motor perception, fine motor dexterity, eye-hand... improve the individual's functional capacity; (10) Social development, such as interpersonal skills, recreation-leisure skills, and relationships with others; (11) Academic/educational development, including...

42 CFR 483.136 - Evaluating whether an individual with intellectual disability requires specialized services...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

..., positioning, transfer skills, gross motor dexterity, visual motor perception, fine motor dexterity, eye-hand... improve the individual's functional capacity; (10) Social development, such as interpersonal skills, recreation-leisure skills, and relationships with others; (11) Academic/educational development, including...

42 CFR 483.136 - Evaluating whether an individual with intellectual disability requires specialized services...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

..., positioning, transfer skills, gross motor dexterity, visual motor perception, fine motor dexterity, eye-hand... improve the individual's functional capacity; (10) Social development, such as interpersonal skills, recreation-leisure skills, and relationships with others; (11) Academic/educational development, including...

Effect of sports vision exercise on visual perception and reading performance in 7- to 10-year-old developmental dyslexic children.

PubMed

Badami, Rokhsareh; Mahmoudi, Sahar; Baluch, Bahman

2016-12-01

The presented study was aimed at identifying for the first time the influence of sports vision exercises on fundamental motor skills and cognitive skills of 7- to 10-year-old developmental dyslexic Persian children. A pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study was conducted. The statistical population of this study was 7- to 10-year-old dyslexic children referring to two centres of learning disorder in the city of Isfahan. Twenty two of these children were selected using available and purposive sampling from the statistical population and were randomly assigned into two groups of experimental and control. The former (experimental group) participated in sports vision exercise courses for 12 weeks (3 one hr sessions per week) and the latter (control group) continued their routine daily activities during the exercise. Before the beginning and at the end of the exercise, Gardner's test of visual perception test - revised and Dehkhoda's reading skills test was administered to both groups. The results showed that the sports vision exercises increases motor skills, visual perceptual skills and reading skills in developmental dyslexic children. Based on the results of the presented study it was concluded that sports vision exercises can be used for fundamental and cognitive skills of developmental dyslexic children.

The Development of Face Perception in Infancy: Intersensory Interference and Unimodal Visual Facilitation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bahrick, Lorraine E.; Lickliter, Robert; Castellanos, Irina

2013-01-01

Although research has demonstrated impressive face perception skills of young infants, little attention has focused on conditions that enhance versus impair infant face perception. The present studies tested the prediction, generated from the intersensory redundancy hypothesis (IRH), that face discrimination, which relies on detection of visual…

Entwining Psychology and Visual Arts: A Classroom Experience

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bahia, Sara; Trindade, Jose Pedro

2012-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to show how activating perception, imagery and creativity facilitate the mastery of specific skills of visual arts education. Specifically, the study aimed at answering two questions: How can teachers enhance visual and creative expression?; and What criteria should be used to evaluate specific learning of visual arts…

Basic visual function and cortical thickness patterns in posterior cortical atrophy.

PubMed

Lehmann, Manja; Barnes, Josephine; Ridgway, Gerard R; Wattam-Bell, John; Warrington, Elizabeth K; Fox, Nick C; Crutch, Sebastian J

2011-09-01

Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is characterized by a progressive decline in higher-visual object and space processing, but the extent to which these deficits are underpinned by basic visual impairments is unknown. This study aimed to assess basic and higher-order visual deficits in 21 PCA patients. Basic visual skills including form detection and discrimination, color discrimination, motion coherence, and point localization were measured, and associations and dissociations between specific basic visual functions and measures of higher-order object and space perception were identified. All participants showed impairment in at least one aspect of basic visual processing. However, a number of dissociations between basic visual skills indicated a heterogeneous pattern of visual impairment among the PCA patients. Furthermore, basic visual impairments were associated with particular higher-order object and space perception deficits, but not with nonvisual parietal tasks, suggesting the specific involvement of visual networks in PCA. Cortical thickness analysis revealed trends toward lower cortical thickness in occipitotemporal (ventral) and occipitoparietal (dorsal) regions in patients with visuoperceptual and visuospatial deficits, respectively. However, there was also a lot of overlap in their patterns of cortical thinning. These findings suggest that different presentations of PCA represent points in a continuum of phenotypical variation.

Effects of aging on perception of motion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaur, Manpreet; Wilder, Joseph; Hung, George; Julesz, Bela

1997-09-01

Driving requires two basic visual components: 'visual sensory function' and 'higher order skills.' Among the elderly, it has been observed that when attention must be divided in the presence of multiple objects, their attentional skills and relational processes, along with impairment of basic visual sensory function, are markedly impaired. A high frame rate imaging system was developed to assess the elderly driver's ability to locate and distinguish computer generated images of vehicles and to determine their direction of motion in a simulated intersection. Preliminary experiments were performed at varying target speeds and angular displacements to study the effect of these parameters on motion perception. Results for subjects in four different age groups, ranging from mid- twenties to mid-sixties, show significantly better performance for the younger subjects as compared to the older ones.

Visual-motor integration, visual perception, and fine motor coordination in a population of children with high levels of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

PubMed

Doney, Robyn; Lucas, Barbara R; Watkins, Rochelle E; Tsang, Tracey W; Sauer, Kay; Howat, Peter; Latimer, Jane; Fitzpatrick, James P; Oscar, June; Carter, Maureen; Elliott, Elizabeth J

2016-08-01

Visual-motor integration (VMI) skills are essential for successful academic performance, but to date no studies have assessed these skills in a population-based cohort of Australian Aboriginal children who, like many children in other remote, disadvantaged communities, consistently underperform academically. Furthermore, many children in remote areas of Australia have prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), which are often associated with VMI deficits. VMI, visual perception, and fine motor coordination were assessed using The Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration, including its associated subtests of Visual Perception and Fine Motor Coordination, in a cohort of predominantly Australian Aboriginal children (7.5-9.6 years, n=108) in remote Western Australia to explore whether PAE adversely affected test performance. Cohort results were reported, and comparisons made between children i) without PAE; ii) with PAE (no FASD); and iii) FASD. The prevalence of moderate (≤16th percentile) and severe (≤2nd percentile) impairment was established. Mean VMI scores were 'below average' (M=87.8±9.6), and visual perception scores were 'average' (M=97.6±12.5), with no differences between groups. Few children had severe VMI impairment (1.9%), but moderate impairment rates were high (47.2%). Children with FASD had significantly lower fine motor coordination scores and higher moderate impairment rates (M=87.9±12.5; 66.7%) than children without PAE (M=95.1±10.7; 23.3%) and PAE (no FASD) (M=96.1±10.9; 15.4%). Aboriginal children living in remote Western Australia have poor VMI skills regardless of PAE or FASD. Children with FASD additionally had fine motor coordination problems. VMI and fine motor coordination should be assessed in children with PAE, and included in FASD diagnostic assessments. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

One bout of open skill exercise improves cross-modal perception and immediate memory in healthy older adults who habitually exercise.

PubMed

O'Brien, Jessica; Ottoboni, Giovanni; Tessari, Alessia; Setti, Annalisa

2017-01-01

One single bout of exercise can be associated with positive effects on cognition, due to physiological changes associated with muscular activity, increased arousal, and training of cognitive skills during exercise. While the positive effects of life-long physical activity on cognitive ageing are well demonstrated, it is not well established whether one bout of exercise is sufficient to register such benefits in older adults. The aim of this study was to test the effect of one bout of exercise on two cognitive processes essential to daily life and known to decline with ageing: audio-visual perception and immediate memory. Fifty-eight older adults took part in a quasi-experimental design study and were divided into three groups based on their habitual activity (open skill exercise (mean age = 69.65, SD = 5.64), closed skill exercise, N = 18, 94% female; sedentary activity-control group, N = 21, 62% female). They were then tested before and after their activity (duration between 60 and 80 minutes). Results showed improvement in sensitivity in audio-visual perception in the open skill group and improvements in one of the measures of immediate memory in both exercise groups, after controlling for baseline differences including global cognition and health. These findings indicate that immediate benefits for cross-modal perception and memory can be obtained after open skill exercise. However, improvements after closed skill exercise may be limited to memory benefits. Perceptual benefits are likely to be associated with arousal, while memory benefits may be due to the training effects provided by task requirements during exercise. The respective role of qualitative and quantitative differences between these activities in terms of immediate cognitive benefits should be further investigated. Importantly, the present results present the first evidence for a modulation of cross-modal perception by exercise, providing a plausible avenue for rehabilitation of cross-modal perception deficits, which are emerging as a significant contributor to functional decline in ageing.

The genesis of errors in drawing.

PubMed

Chamberlain, Rebecca; Wagemans, Johan

2016-06-01

The difficulty adults find in drawing objects or scenes from real life is puzzling, assuming that there are few gross individual differences in the phenomenology of visual scenes and in fine motor control in the neurologically healthy population. A review of research concerning the perceptual, motoric and memorial correlates of drawing ability was conducted in order to understand why most adults err when trying to produce faithful representations of objects and scenes. The findings reveal that accurate perception of the subject and of the drawing is at the heart of drawing proficiency, although not to the extent that drawing skill elicits fundamental changes in visual perception. Instead, the decisive role of representational decisions reveals the importance of appropriate segmentation of the visual scene and of the influence of pictorial schemas. This leads to the conclusion that domain-specific, flexible, top-down control of visual attention plays a critical role in development of skill in visual art and may also be a window into creative thinking. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reliability of a computer-based system for measuring visual performance skills.

PubMed

Erickson, Graham B; Citek, Karl; Cove, Michelle; Wilczek, Jennifer; Linster, Carolyn; Bjarnason, Brendon; Langemo, Nathan

2011-09-01

Athletes have demonstrated better visual abilities than nonathletes. A vision assessment for an athlete should include methods to evaluate the quality of visual performance skills in the most appropriate, accurate, and repeatable manner. This study determines the reliability of the visual performance measures assessed with a computer-based system, known as the Nike Sensory Station. One hundred twenty-five subjects (56 men, 69 women), age 18 to 30, completed Phase I of the study. Subjects attended 2 sessions, separated by at least 1 week, in which identical protocols were followed. Subjects completed the following assessments: Visual Clarity, Contrast Sensitivity, Depth Perception, Near-Far Quickness, Target Capture, Perception Span, Eye-Hand Coordination, Go/No Go, and Reaction Time. An additional 36 subjects (20 men, 16 women), age 22 to 35, completed Phase II of the study involving modifications to the equipment, instructions, and protocols from Phase I. Results show no significant change in performance over time on assessments of Visual Clarity, Contrast Sensitivity, Depth Perception, Target Capture, Perception Span, and Reaction Time. Performance did improve over time for Near-Far Quickness, Eye-Hand Coordination, and Go/No Go. The results of this study show that many of the Nike Sensory Station assessments show repeatability and no learning effect over time. The measures that did improve across sessions show an expected learning effect caused by the motor response characteristics being measured. Copyright © 2011 American Optometric Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Auditory-Visual Speech Integration by Adults with and without Language-Learning Disabilities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Norrix, Linda W.; Plante, Elena; Vance, Rebecca

2006-01-01

Auditory and auditory-visual (AV) speech perception skills were examined in adults with and without language-learning disabilities (LLD). The AV stimuli consisted of congruent consonant-vowel syllables (auditory and visual syllables matched in terms of syllable being produced) and incongruent McGurk syllables (auditory syllable differed from…

Relationships between visual-motor and cognitive abilities in intellectual disabilities.

PubMed

Di Blasi, Francesco D; Elia, Flaviana; Buono, Serafino; Ramakers, Ger J A; Di Nuovo, Santo F

2007-06-01

The neurobiological hypothesis supports the relevance of studying visual-perceptual and visual-motor skills in relation to cognitive abilities in intellectual disabilities because the defective intellectual functioning in intellectual disabilities is not restricted to higher cognitive functions but also to more basic functions. The sample was 102 children 6 to 16 years old and with different severities of intellectual disabilities. Children were administered the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, the Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test, and the Developmental Test of Visual Perception, and data were also analysed according to the presence or absence of organic anomalies, which are etiologically relevant for mental disabilities. Children with intellectual disabilities had deficits in perceptual organisation which correlated with the severity of intellectual disabilities. Higher correlations between the spatial subtests of the Developmental Test of Visual Perception and the Performance subtests of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children suggested that the spatial skills and cognitive performance may have a similar basis in information processing. Need to differentiate protocols for rehabilitation and intervention for recovery of perceptual abilities from general programs of cognitive stimulations is suggested.

Improving spatial perception in 5-yr.-old Spanish children.

PubMed

Jiménez, Andrés Canto; Sicilia, Antonio Oña; Vera, Juan Granda

2007-06-01

Assimilation of distance perception was studied in 70 Spanish primary school children. This assimilation involves the generation of projective images which are acquired through two mechanisms. One mechanism is spatial perception, wherein perceptual processes develop ensuring successful immersion in space and the acquisition of visual cues which a person may use to interpret images seen in the distance. The other mechanism is movement through space so that these images are produced. The present study evaluated the influence on improvements in spatial perception of using increasingly larger spaces for training sessions within a motor skills program. Visual parameters were measured in relation to the capture and tracking of moving objects or ocular motility and speed of detection or visual reaction time. Analysis showed that for the group trained in increasingly larger spaces, ocular motility and visual reaction time were significantly improved during. different phases of the program.

Relationship of ocular accommodation and motor skills performance in developmental coordination disorder.

PubMed

Rafique, Sara A; Northway, Nadia

2015-08-01

Ocular accommodation provides a well-focussed image, feedback for accurate eye movement control, and cues for depth perception. To accurately perform visually guided motor tasks, integration of ocular motor systems is essential. Children with motor coordination impairment are established to be at higher risk of accommodation anomalies. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between ocular accommodation and motor tasks, which are often overlooked, in order to better understand the problems experienced by children with motor coordination impairment. Visual function, gross and fine motor skills were assessed in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and typically developing control children. Children with DCD had significantly poorer accommodation facility and amplitude dynamics compared to controls. Results indicate a relationship between impaired accommodation and motor skills. Specifically, accommodation anomalies correlated with visual motor, upper limb and fine dexterity task performance. Consequently, we argue accommodation anomalies influence the ineffective coordination of action and perception in DCD. Furthermore, reading disabilities were related to poorer motor performance. We postulate the role of the fastigial nucleus as a common pathway for accommodation and motor deficits. Implications of the findings and recommended visual screening protocols are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Efficacy of a perceptual and visual-motor skill intervention program for students with dyslexia.

PubMed

Fusco, Natália; Germano, Giseli Donadon; Capellini, Simone Aparecida

2015-01-01

To verify the efficacy of a perceptual and visual-motor skill intervention program for students with dyslexia. The participants were 20 students from third to fifth grade of a public elementary school in Marília, São Paulo, aged from 8 years to 11 years and 11 months, distributed into the following groups: Group I (GI; 10 students with developmental dyslexia) and Group II (GII; 10 students with good academic performance). A perceptual and visual-motor intervention program was applied, which comprised exercises for visual-motor coordination, visual discrimination, visual memory, visual-spatial relationship, shape constancy, sequential memory, visual figure-ground coordination, and visual closure. In pre- and post-testing situations, both groups were submitted to the Test of Visual-Perceptual Skills (TVPS-3), and the quality of handwriting was analyzed using the Dysgraphia Scale. The analyzed statistical results showed that both groups of students had dysgraphia in pretesting situation. In visual perceptual skills, GI presented a lower performance compared to GII, as well as in the quality of writing. After undergoing the intervention program, GI increased the average of correct answers in TVPS-3 and improved the quality of handwriting. The developed intervention program proved appropriate for being applied to students with dyslexia, and showed positive effects because it provided improved visual perception skills and quality of writing for students with developmental dyslexia.

The Development of Face Perception in Infancy: Intersensory Interference and Unimodal Visual Facilitation

PubMed Central

Bahrick, Lorraine E.; Lickliter, Robert; Castellanos, Irina

2014-01-01

Although research has demonstrated impressive face perception skills of young infants, little attention has focused on conditions that enhance versus impair infant face perception. The present studies tested the prediction, generated from the Intersensory Redundancy Hypothesis (IRH), that face discrimination, which relies on detection of visual featural information, would be impaired in the context of intersensory redundancy provided by audiovisual speech, and enhanced in the absence of intersensory redundancy (unimodal visual and asynchronous audiovisual speech) in early development. Later in development, following improvements in attention, faces should be discriminated in both redundant audiovisual and nonredundant stimulation. Results supported these predictions. Two-month-old infants discriminated a novel face in unimodal visual and asynchronous audiovisual speech but not in synchronous audiovisual speech. By 3 months, face discrimination was evident even during synchronous audiovisual speech. These findings indicate that infant face perception is enhanced and emerges developmentally earlier following unimodal visual than synchronous audiovisual exposure and that intersensory redundancy generated by naturalistic audiovisual speech can interfere with face processing. PMID:23244407

Performance on the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration and Its Supplementary Tests: Comparing Chinese and U.S. Kindergarten Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tse, Linda F. L.; Siu, Andrew M. H.; Li-Tsang, Cecilia W. P.

2017-01-01

Visual-motor integration (VMI) is the ability to coordinate visual perception and motor skills. Although Chinese children have superior performance in VMI than U.S. norms, there is limited information regarding the performance of its basic composition of VMI in regard to visual and motor aspects. This study aimed to examine the differences in…

Using Short-Term Group Counseling with Visually Impaired Adolescents.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, C. L., Jr.; Johnson, J. A.

1991-01-01

A group counseling approach was used to enhance the self-concept of 10 congenitally visually impaired adolescents. Group sessions focused on such topics as self-perception, assertiveness, friendship, familial relationships, and independent living skills. Evaluation found significant improvement in self-concept, attitudes toward blindness, and…

Assessment of visual perception in adolescents with a history of central coordination disorder in early life – 15-year follow-up study

PubMed Central

Kowalski, Ireneusz M.; Domagalska, Małgorzata; Szopa, Andrzej; Dwornik, Michał; Kujawa, Jolanta; Stępień, Agnieszka; Śliwiński, Zbigniew

2012-01-01

Introduction Central nervous system damage in early life results in both quantitative and qualitative abnormalities of psychomotor development. Late sequelae of these disturbances may include visual perception disorders which not only affect the ability to read and write but also generally influence the child's intellectual development. This study sought to determine whether a central coordination disorder (CCD) in early life treated according to Vojta's method with elements of the sensory integration (S-I) and neuro-developmental treatment (NDT)/Bobath approaches affects development of visual perception later in life. Material and methods The study involved 44 participants aged 15-16 years, including 19 diagnosed with moderate or severe CCD in the neonatal period, i.e. during the first 2-3 months of life, with diagnosed mild degree neonatal encephalopathy due to perinatal anoxia, and 25 healthy people without a history of developmental psychomotor disturbances in the neonatal period. The study tool was a visual perception IQ test comprising 96 graphic tasks. Results The study revealed equal proportions of participants (p < 0.05) defined as very skilled (94-96), skilled (91-94), aerage (71-91), poor (67-71), and very poor (0-67) in both groups. These results mean that adolescents with a history of CCD in the neonatal period did not differ with regard to the level of visual perception from their peers who had not demonstrated psychomotor development disorders in the neonatal period. Conclusions Early treatment of children with CCD affords a possibility of normalising their psychomotor development early enough to prevent consequences in the form of cognitive impairments in later life. PMID:23185199

How does parents' visual perception of their child's weight status affect their feeding style?

PubMed

Yilmaz, Resul; Erkorkmaz, Ünal; Ozcetin, Mustafa; Karaaslan, Erhan

2013-01-01

Eating style is one of the prominente factors that determine energy intake. One of the influencing factors that determine parental feeding style is parental perception of the weight status of the child. The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between maternal visual perception of their children's weight status and their feeding style. A cross-sectional survey was completed with only mother's of 380 preschool children with age of 5 to 7 (6.14 years). Visual perception scores were measured with a sketch and maternal feeding style was measured with validated "Parental Feeding Style Questionnaire". The parental feeding dimensions "emotional feeding" and "encouragement to eat" subscale scores were low in overweight children according to visual perception classification. "Emotional feeding" and "permissive control" subscale scores were statistically different in children classified as correctly perceived and incorrectly low perceived group due to maternal misperception. Various feeding styles were related to maternal visual perception. The best approach to preventing obesity and underweight may be to focus on achieving correct parental perception of the weight status of their children, thus improving parental skills and leading them to implement proper feeding styles. Copyright © AULA MEDICA EDICIONES 2013. Published by AULA MEDICA. All rights reserved.

A SUGGESTED METHOD FOR PRE-SCHOOL IDENTIFICATION OF POTENTIAL READING DISABILITY.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

NEWTON, KENNETH R.; AND OTHERS

THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PREREADING MEASURES OF VISUAL-MOTOR-PERCEPTUAL SKILLS AND READING ACHIEVEMENT WERE STUDIED. SUBJECTS WERE 172 FIRST GRADERS. PRETESTS AND POST-TESTS FOR WORD RECOGNITION, MOTOR COORDINATION, AND VISUAL PERCEPTION WERE ADMINISTERED. FOURTEEN VARIABLES WERE TESTED. RESULTS INDICATED THAT FORM-COPYING WAS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN…

Intersensory Redundancy Hinders Face Discrimination in Preschool Children: Evidence for Visual Facilitation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bahrick, Lorraine E.; Krogh-Jespersen, Sheila; Argumosa, Melissa A.; Lopez, Hassel

2014-01-01

Although infants and children show impressive face-processing skills, little research has focused on the conditions that facilitate versus impair face perception. According to the intersensory redundancy hypothesis (IRH), face discrimination, which relies on detection of visual featural information, should be impaired in the context of…

Visual-perceptual impairment in children with cerebral palsy: a systematic review.

PubMed

Ego, Anne; Lidzba, Karen; Brovedani, Paola; Belmonti, Vittorio; Gonzalez-Monge, Sibylle; Boudia, Baya; Ritz, Annie; Cans, Christine

2015-04-01

Visual perception is one of the cognitive functions often impaired in children with cerebral palsy (CP). The aim of this systematic literature review was to assess the frequency of visual-perceptual impairment (VPI) and its relationship with patient characteristics. Eligible studies were relevant papers assessing visual perception with five common standardized assessment instruments in children with CP published from January 1990 to August 2011. Of the 84 studies selected, 15 were retained. In children with CP, the proportion of VPI ranged from 40% to 50% and the mean visual perception quotient from 70 to 90. None of the studies reported a significant influence of CP subtype, IQ level, side of motor impairment, neuro-ophthalmological outcomes, or seizures. The severity of neuroradiological lesions seemed associated with VPI. The influence of prematurity was controversial, but a lower gestational age was more often associated with lower visual motor skills than with decreased visual-perceptual abilities. The impairment of visual perception in children with CP should be considered a core disorder within the CP syndrome. Further research, including a more systematic approach to neuropsychological testing, is needed to explore the specific impact of CP subgroups and of neuroradiological features on visual-perceptual development. © 2015 The Authors. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology © 2015 Mac Keith Press.

Science Visual Literacy: Learners' Perceptions and Knowledge of Diagrams

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McTigue, Erin M.; Flowers, Amanda C.

2011-01-01

Constructing meaning from science texts relies not only on comprehending the words but also the diagrams and other graphics. The goal of this study was to explore elementary students' perceptions of science diagrams and their skills related to diagram interpretation. 30 students, ranging from second grade through middle school, completed a diagram…

READINESS AND PHONETIC ANALYSIS OF WORDS IN GRADES K-2.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

CAMPBELL, BONNIE; QUINN, GOLDIE

THE METHOD USED AT THE BELLEVUE, NEBRASKA, PUBLIC SCHOOLS TO TEACH READING READINESS AND THE PHONETIC ANALYSIS OF WORDS IN KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE TWO IS DESCRIBED. SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHING THE READINESS SKILLS OF AUDITORY AND VISUAL PERCEPTION, VOCABULARY SKILLS OF WORD RECOGNITION AND WORD MEANING, AND THE PHONETIC ANALYSIS OF WORDS IN GRADES…

Educator Perceptions of Visual Support Systems and Social Skills for Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, David James

2016-01-01

Young adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) face unique social skills challenges as they transition into independent living environments and seek fulfilling relationships within their communities. Research has focused on social education and interventions for children with autism, while transitioning young adults with ASD have received…

Expressive writing in people with traumatic brain injury and learning disability.

PubMed

Wheeler, Lisa; Nickerson, Sherry; Long, Kayla; Silver, Rebecca

2014-01-01

There is a dearth of systematic studies of expressive writing disorder (EWD) in persons with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). It is unclear if TBI survivors' written expression differs significantly from that experienced by persons with learning disabilities. It is also unclear which cognitive or neuropsychological variables predict problems with expressive writing (EW) or the EWD. This study investigated the EW skill, and the EWD in adults with mild traumatic brain injuries (TBI) relative to those with learning disabilities (LD). It also determined which of several cognitive variables predicted EW and EWD. Principle Component Analysis (PCA) of writing samples from 28 LD participants and 28 TBI survivors revealed four components of expressive writing skills: Reading Ease, Sentence Fluency, Grammar and Spelling, and Paragraph Fluency. There were no significant differences between the LD and TBI groups on any of the expressive writing components. Several neuropsychological variables predicted skills of written expression. The best predictors included measures of spatial perception, verbal IQ, working memory, and visual memory. TBI survivors and persons with LD do not differ markedly in terms of expressive writing skill. Measures of spatial perception, visual memory, verbal intelligence, and working memory predict writing skill in both groups. Several therapeutic interventions are suggested that are specifically designed to improve deficits in expressive writing skills in individuals with TBI and LD.

Boy with cortical visual impairment and unilateral hemiparesis in Jeff Huntington's "Slip" (2011).

PubMed

Bianucci, R; Perciaccante, A; Appenzeller, O

2016-11-15

Face recognition is strongly associated with the human face and face perception is an important part in identifying health qualities of a person and is an integral part of so called spot diagnosis in clinical neurology. Neurology depends in part on observation, description and interpretation of visual information. Similar skills are required in visual art. Here we report a case of eye cortical visual impairment (CVI) and unilateral facial weakness in a boy depicted by the painter Jeff Huntington (2011). The corollary of this is that art serves medical clinical exercise. Art interpretation helps neurology students to apply the same skills they will use in clinical experience and to develop their observational and interpretive skills in non-clinical settings. Furthermore, the development of an increased awareness of emotional and character expression in the human face may facilitate successful doctor-patient relationships. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hue-specific colour memory impairment in an individual with intact colour perception and colour naming.

PubMed

Jakobson, L S; Pearson, P M; Robertson, B

2008-01-15

Cases of hue-selective dyschomatopsias, together with the results of recent optical imaging studies [Xiao, Y., Casti, A. R. R., Xiao, J., & Kaplan, E. (2006). A spatially organized representation of colour in macaque primary visual cortex. Perception, 35, ECVP Abstract Supplement; Xiao, Y., Wang, Y., & Felleman, D. J. (2003). A spatially organized representation of colour in macaque cortical area V2. Nature, 421, 535-539], have provided support for the idea that different colours are processed in spatially distinct regions of extrastriate cortex. In the present report, we provide evidence suggesting that a similar, but distinct, map may exist for representations of colour in memory. This evidence comes from observations of a young woman (QP) who demonstrates an isolated deficit in colour memory secondary to a concussive episode. Despite having normal colour perception and colour naming skills, and above-average memory skills in other domains, QP's ability to recall visually encoded colour information over short retention intervals is dramatically impaired. Her long-term memory for colour and her colour imagery skills are also abnormal. Surprisingly, however, these impairments are not seen with all hues; specifically, her ability to remember or imagine blue shades is spared. This interesting case contributes to the literature suggesting that colour perception, naming, and memory can be clinically dissociated, and provides insights into the organization of colour information in memory.

Improving visual observation skills through the arts to aid radiographic interpretation in veterinary practice: A pilot study.

PubMed

Beck, Cathy; Gaunt, Heather; Chiavaroli, Neville

2017-09-01

Radiographic interpretation is a perceptual and cognitive skill. Recently core veterinary radiology textbooks have focused on the cognitive (i.e., the clinical aspects of radiographic interpretation) rather than the features of visual observation that improve identification of abnormalities. As a result, the skill of visual observation is underemphasized and thus often underdeveloped by trainees. The study of the arts in medical education has been used to train and improve visual observation and empathy. The use of the arts to improve visual observation skills in Veterinary Science has not been previously described. Objectives of this pilot study were to adapt the existing Visual Arts in Health Education Program for medical and dental students at the University of Melbourne, Australia to third year Doctor of Veterinary Medicine students and evaluate their perceptions regarding the program's effects on visual observation skills and confidence with respect to radiographic interpretation. This adaptation took the form of a single seminar given to third year Doctor of Veterinary Medicine students. Following the seminar, students reported an improved approach to radiographic interpretation and felt they had gained skills which would assist them throughout their career. In the year following the seminar, written reports of the students who attended the seminar were compared with reports from a matched cohort of students who did not attend the seminar. This demonstrated increased identification of abnormalities and greater description of the abnormalities identified. Findings indicated that explicit training in visual observation may be a valuable adjunct to the radiology training of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine students. © 2017 American College of Veterinary Radiology.

Use of rhythm in acquisition of a computer-generated tracking task.

PubMed

Fulop, A C; Kirby, R H; Coates, G D

1992-08-01

This research assessed whether rhythm aids acquisition of motor skills by providing cues for the timing of those skills. Rhythms were presented to participants visually or visually with auditory cues. It was hypothesized that the auditory cues would facilitate recognition and learning of the rhythms. The three timing principles of rhythms were also explored. It was hypothesized that rhythms that satisfied all three timing principles would be more beneficial in learning a skill than rhythms that did not satisfy the principles. Three groups learned three different rhythms by practicing a tracking task. After training, participants attempted to reproduce the tracks from memory. Results suggest that rhythms do help in learning motor skills but different sets of timing principles explain perception of rhythm in different modalities.

Learning to See by Learning to Draw: Probing the Perceptual Bases and Consequences of Highly Skilled Artistic Drawing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kozbelt, Aaron

2017-01-01

In this paper, I review the empirical evidence for advantages in visual perception and attention that may be associated with high levels of drawing skill. Particularly in the last few decades, some substantial progress on these issues has been made, although frequently with inconsistent or even contradictory results across studies, some…

Comparative Study of Refractive Errors, Strabismus, Microsaccades, and Visual Perception Between Preterm and Full-Term Children With Infantile Cerebral Palsy.

PubMed

Kozeis, Nikolaos; Panos, Georgios D; Zafeiriou, Dimitrios I; de Gottrau, Philippe; Gatzioufas, Zisis

2015-07-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the refractive status, orthoptic status and visual perception in a group of preterm and another of full-term children with cerebral palsy, in order to investigate whether prematurity has an effect on the development of refractive errors and binocular disorders. A hundred school-aged children, 70 preterm and 30 full-term, with congenital cerebral palsy were examined. Differences for hypermetropia, myopia, and emmetropia were not statistically significant between the 2 groups. Astigmatism was significantly increased in the preterm group. The orthoptic status was similar for both groups. Visual perception was markedly reduced in both groups, but the differences were not significant. In conclusion, children with cerebral palsy have impaired visual skills, leading to reading difficulties. The presence of prematurity does not appear to represent an additional risk factor for the development of refractive errors and binocular disorders. © The Author(s) 2014.

The Impact of Early Visual Deprivation on Spatial Hearing: A Comparison between Totally and Partially Visually Deprived Children

PubMed Central

Cappagli, Giulia; Finocchietti, Sara; Cocchi, Elena; Gori, Monica

2017-01-01

The specific role of early visual deprivation on spatial hearing is still unclear, mainly due to the difficulty of comparing similar spatial skills at different ages and to the difficulty in recruiting young blind children from birth. In this study, the effects of early visual deprivation on the development of auditory spatial localization have been assessed in a group of seven 3–5 years old children with congenital blindness (n = 2; light perception or no perception of light) or low vision (n = 5; visual acuity range 1.1–1.7 LogMAR), with the main aim to understand if visual experience is fundamental to the development of specific spatial skills. Our study led to three main findings: firstly, totally blind children performed overall more poorly compared sighted and low vision children in all the spatial tasks performed; secondly, low vision children performed equally or better than sighted children in the same auditory spatial tasks; thirdly, higher residual levels of visual acuity are positively correlated with better spatial performance in the dynamic condition of the auditory localization task indicating that the more residual vision the better spatial performance. These results suggest that early visual experience has an important role in the development of spatial cognition, even when the visual input during the critical period of visual calibration is partially degraded like in the case of low vision children. Overall these results shed light on the importance of early assessment of spatial impairments in visually impaired children and early intervention to prevent the risk of isolation and social exclusion. PMID:28443040

Dynamic Stimuli And Active Processing In Human Visual Perception

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haber, Ralph N.

1990-03-01

Theories of visual perception traditionally have considered a static retinal image to be the starting point for processing; and has considered processing both to be passive and a literal translation of that frozen, two dimensional, pictorial image. This paper considers five problem areas in the analysis of human visually guided locomotion, in which the traditional approach is contrasted to newer ones that utilize dynamic definitions of stimulation, and an active perceiver: (1) differentiation between object motion and self motion, and among the various kinds of self motion (e.g., eyes only, head only, whole body, and their combinations); (2) the sources and contents of visual information that guide movement; (3) the acquisition and performance of perceptual motor skills; (4) the nature of spatial representations, percepts, and the perceived layout of space; and (5) and why the retinal image is a poor starting point for perceptual processing. These newer approaches argue that stimuli must be considered as dynamic: humans process the systematic changes in patterned light when objects move and when they themselves move. Furthermore, the processing of visual stimuli must be active and interactive, so that perceivers can construct panoramic and stable percepts from an interaction of stimulus information and expectancies of what is contained in the visual environment. These developments all suggest a very different approach to the computational analyses of object location and identification, and of the visual guidance of locomotion.

READING DIAGNOSTIC APPROACHES.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

PURDY, ROBERT J.; AND OTHERS

A DIAGNOSTIC KIT DESIGNED TO HELP CLASSROOM TEACHERS DIAGNOSE READING DIFFICULTIES MORE ADEQUATELY AND MOTIVATE PUPILS MORE EFFECTIVELY IS PRESENTED. SUGGESTIONS ARE APPLICABLE TO LOWER PRIMARY CHILDREN. DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES ARE OUTLINED FOR SUBJECTIVE AND OBJECTIVE OBSERVATION OF LANGUAGE ABILITY, VISUAL PERCEPTION SKILLS, AUDITORY…

Perception and apperception in autism: rejecting the inverse assumption

PubMed Central

Plaisted Grant, Kate; Davis, Greg

2009-01-01

In addition to those with savant skills, many individuals with autism spectrum conditions (ASCs) show superior perceptual and attentional skills relative to the general population. These superior skills and savant abilities raise important theoretical questions, including whether they develop as compensations for other underdeveloped cognitive mechanisms, and whether one skill is inversely related to another weakness via a common underlying neurocognitive mechanism. We discuss studies of perception and visual processing that show that this inverse hypothesis rarely holds true. Instead, they suggest that enhanced performance is not always accompanied by a complementary deficit and that there are undeniable difficulties in some aspects of perception that are not related to compensating strengths. Our discussion emphasizes the qualitative differences in perceptual processing revealed in these studies between individuals with and without ASCs. We argue that this research is important not only in furthering our understanding of the nature of the qualitative differences in perceptual processing in ASCs, but can also be used to highlight to society at large the exceptional skills and talent that individuals with ASCs are able to contribute in domains such as engineering, computing and mathematics that are highly valued in industry. PMID:19528022

Visual acuity in young elite motorsport athletes: a preliminary report.

PubMed

Schneiders, Anthony G; Sullivan, S John; Rathbone, Emma J; Louise Thayer, A; Wallis, Laura M; Wilson, Alexandra E

2010-05-01

To determine whether elite motorsport athletes demonstrate superior levels of Visual Acuity than age and sex-matched controls. A cross-sectional observational study. A University vision and balance laboratory. Young male motorsport athletes from the New Zealand Elite Motorsport Academy and healthy age and sex-matched controls. Vision performance tests comprising; Static Visual Acuity (SVA), Dynamic Visual Acuity (DVA), Gaze Stabilization Test (GST), and the Perception Time Test (PTT). Motorsport athletes demonstrated superior visual acuity compared to age and sex-matched controls for all measures, and while this was not statistically significant for SVA, GST and DVA, it reached statistical significance for the PTT (p

'It's not the form; it's the process': a phenomenological study on the use of creative professional development workshops to improve teamwork and communication skills.

PubMed

Acai, Anita; McQueen, Sydney A; Fahim, Christine; Wagner, Natalie; McKinnon, Victoria; Boston, Jody; Maxwell, Colina; Sonnadara, Ranil R

2016-09-01

Past research has demonstrated the positive effects of visual and performing arts on health professionals' observational acuity and associated diagnostic skills, well-being and professional identity. However, to date, the use of arts for the development of non-technical skills, such as teamwork and communication, has not been studied thoroughly. In partnership with a community print and media arts organisation, Centre[3], we used a phenomenological approach to explore front-line mental health and social service workers' experiences with a creative professional development workshop based on the visual and performing arts. Through preworkshop and postworkshop interviews with participants and postworkshop interviews with their managers, we sought to examine how participants' perceptions of the workshop compared with their preworkshop expectations, specific impacts of the workshop with respect to participants' teamwork and communication skills and changes in their perceptions regarding the use of the arts in professional development. Our workshops were successful in enhancing teamwork skills among participants and showed promise in the development of communication skills, though observable changes in workplace communication could not be confirmed. The workshop facilitated teamwork and collegiality between colleagues, creating a more enjoyable and accepting work environment. The workshops also helped participants identify the strengths and weaknesses of their communication skills, made them more comfortable with different communication styles and provided them with strategies to enhance their communication skills. Participation in the arts can be beneficial for the development of interpersonal skills such as teamwork and communication among health professionals. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Audio-visual speech perception in infants and toddlers with Down syndrome, fragile X syndrome, and Williams syndrome.

PubMed

D'Souza, Dean; D'Souza, Hana; Johnson, Mark H; Karmiloff-Smith, Annette

2016-08-01

Typically-developing (TD) infants can construct unified cross-modal percepts, such as a speaking face, by integrating auditory-visual (AV) information. This skill is a key building block upon which higher-level skills, such as word learning, are built. Because word learning is seriously delayed in most children with neurodevelopmental disorders, we assessed the hypothesis that this delay partly results from a deficit in integrating AV speech cues. AV speech integration has rarely been investigated in neurodevelopmental disorders, and never previously in infants. We probed for the McGurk effect, which occurs when the auditory component of one sound (/ba/) is paired with the visual component of another sound (/ga/), leading to the perception of an illusory third sound (/da/ or /tha/). We measured AV integration in 95 infants/toddlers with Down, fragile X, or Williams syndrome, whom we matched on Chronological and Mental Age to 25 TD infants. We also assessed a more basic AV perceptual ability: sensitivity to matching vs. mismatching AV speech stimuli. Infants with Williams syndrome failed to demonstrate a McGurk effect, indicating poor AV speech integration. Moreover, while the TD children discriminated between matching and mismatching AV stimuli, none of the other groups did, hinting at a basic deficit or delay in AV speech processing, which is likely to constrain subsequent language development. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Local visual perception bias in children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders; do we have the whole picture?

PubMed

Falkmer, Marita; Black, Melissa; Tang, Julia; Fitzgerald, Patrick; Girdler, Sonya; Leung, Denise; Ordqvist, Anna; Tan, Tele; Jahan, Ishrat; Falkmer, Torbjorn

2016-01-01

While local bias in visual processing in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has been reported to result in difficulties in recognizing faces and facially expressed emotions, but superior ability in disembedding figures, associations between these abilities within a group of children with and without ASD have not been explored. Possible associations in performance on the Visual Perception Skills Figure-Ground test, a face recognition test and an emotion recognition test were investigated within 25 8-12-years-old children with high-functioning autism/Asperger syndrome, and in comparison to 33 typically developing children. Analyses indicated a weak positive correlation between accuracy in Figure-Ground recognition and emotion recognition. No other correlation estimates were significant. These findings challenge both the enhanced perceptual function hypothesis and the weak central coherence hypothesis, and accentuate the importance of further scrutinizing the existance and nature of local visual bias in ASD.

The artist emerges: visual art learning alters neural structure and function.

PubMed

Schlegel, Alexander; Alexander, Prescott; Fogelson, Sergey V; Li, Xueting; Lu, Zhengang; Kohler, Peter J; Riley, Enrico; Tse, Peter U; Meng, Ming

2015-01-15

How does the brain mediate visual artistic creativity? Here we studied behavioral and neural changes in drawing and painting students compared to students who did not study art. We investigated three aspects of cognition vital to many visual artists: creative cognition, perception, and perception-to-action. We found that the art students became more creative via the reorganization of prefrontal white matter but did not find any significant changes in perceptual ability or related neural activity in the art students relative to the control group. Moreover, the art students improved in their ability to sketch human figures from observation, and multivariate patterns of cortical and cerebellar activity evoked by this drawing task became increasingly separable between art and non-art students. Our findings suggest that the emergence of visual artistic skills is supported by plasticity in neural pathways that enable creative cognition and mediate perceptuomotor integration. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The dorsal "action" pathway.

PubMed

Gallivan, Jason P; Goodale, Melvyn A

2018-01-01

In 1992, Goodale and Milner proposed a division of labor in the visual pathways of the primate cerebral cortex. According to their account, the ventral pathway, which projects to occipitotemporal cortex, constructs our visual percepts, while the dorsal pathway, which projects to posterior parietal cortex, mediates the visual control of action. Although the framing of the two-visual-system hypothesis has not been without controversy, it is clear that vision for action and vision for perception have distinct computational requirements, and significant support for the proposed neuroanatomic division has continued to emerge over the last two decades from human neuropsychology, neuroimaging, behavioral psychophysics, and monkey neurophysiology. In this chapter, we review much of this evidence, with a particular focus on recent findings from human neuroimaging and monkey neurophysiology, demonstrating a specialized role for parietal cortex in visually guided behavior. But even though the available evidence suggests that dedicated circuits mediate action and perception, in order to produce adaptive goal-directed behavior there must be a close coupling and seamless integration of information processing across these two systems. We discuss such ventral-dorsal-stream interactions and argue that the two pathways play different, yet complementary, roles in the production of skilled behavior. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Visual and cognitive predictors of driving safety in Parkinson's disease patients

PubMed Central

Amick, M.M.; Grace, J.; Ott, B.R.

2012-01-01

This study assessed the clinical utility of contrast sensitivity (CS) relative to attention, executive function, and visuospatial abilities for predicting driving safety in participants with Parkinson's disease (PD). Twenty-five, non-demented PD patients completed measures of contrast sensitivity, visuospatial skills, executive functions, and attention. All PD participants also underwent a formal on-road driving evaluation. Of the 25 participants, 11 received a marginal or unsafe rating on the road test. Poorer driving performance was associated with worse performance on measures of CS, visuospatial constructions, set shifting, and attention. While impaired driving was associated with a range of cognitive and visual abilities, only a composite measure of executive functioning and visuospatial abilities, and not CS or attentional skills, predicted driving performance. These findings suggest that neuropsychological tests, which are multifactorial in nature and require visual perception and visual spatial judgments are the most useful screening measures for hazardous driving in PD patients. PMID:17851032

Visual and cognitive predictors of driving safety in Parkinson's disease patients.

PubMed

Amick, M M; Grace, J; Ott, B R

2007-11-01

This study assessed the clinical utility of contrast sensitivity (CS) relative to attention, executive function, and visuospatial abilities for predicting driving safety in participants with Parkinson's disease (PD). Twenty-five, non-demented PD patients completed measures of contrast sensitivity, visuospatial skills, executive functions, and attention. All PD participants also underwent a formal on-road driving evaluation. Of the 25 participants, 11 received a marginal or unsafe rating on the road test. Poorer driving performance was associated with worse performance on measures of CS, visuospatial constructions, set shifting, and attention. While impaired driving was associated with a range of cognitive and visual abilities, only a composite measure of executive functioning and visuospatial abilities, and not CS or attentional skills, predicted driving performance. These findings suggest that neuropsychological tests, which are multifactorial in nature and require visual perception and visual spatial judgments are the most useful screening measures for hazardous driving in PD patients.

The development and discussion of computerized visual perception assessment tool for Chinese characters structures - Concurrent estimation of the overall ability and the domain ability in item response theory approach.

PubMed

Wu, Huey-Min; Lin, Chin-Kai; Yang, Yu-Mao; Kuo, Bor-Chen

2014-11-12

Visual perception is the fundamental skill required for a child to recognize words, and to read and write. There was no visual perception assessment tool developed for preschool children based on Chinese characters in Taiwan. The purposes were to develop the computerized visual perception assessment tool for Chinese Characters Structures and to explore the psychometrical characteristic of assessment tool. This study adopted purposive sampling. The study evaluated 551 kindergarten-age children (293 boys, 258 girls) ranging from 46 to 81 months of age. The test instrument used in this study consisted of three subtests and 58 items, including tests of basic strokes, single-component characters, and compound characters. Based on the results of model fit analysis, the higher-order item response theory was used to estimate the performance in visual perception, basic strokes, single-component characters, and compound characters simultaneously. Analyses of variance were used to detect significant difference in age groups and gender groups. The difficulty of identifying items in a visual perception test ranged from -2 to 1. The visual perception ability of 4- to 6-year-old children ranged from -1.66 to 2.19. Gender did not have significant effects on performance. However, there were significant differences among the different age groups. The performance of 6-year-olds was better than that of 5-year-olds, which was better than that of 4-year-olds. This study obtained detailed diagnostic scores by using a higher-order item response theory model to understand the visual perception of basic strokes, single-component characters, and compound characters. Further statistical analysis showed that, for basic strokes and compound characters, girls performed better than did boys; there also were differences within each age group. For single-component characters, there was no difference in performance between boys and girls. However, again the performance of 6-year-olds was better than that of 4-year-olds, but there were no statistical differences between the performance of 5-year-olds and 6-year-olds. Results of tests with basic strokes, single-component characters and compound characters tests had good reliability and validity. Therefore, it can be apply to diagnose the problem of visual perception at preschool. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Staff and students' perceptions and experiences of teaching and assessment in Clinical Skills Laboratories: interview findings from a multiple case study.

PubMed

Houghton, Catherine E; Casey, Dympna; Shaw, David; Murphy, Kathy

2012-08-01

The Clinical Skills Laboratory has become an essential structure in nurse education and several benefits of its use have been identified. However, the literature identifies the need to examine the transferability of skills learned there into the reality of practice. This research explored the role of the Clinical Skills Laboratory in preparing nursing students for the real world of practice. This paper focuses specifically on the perceptions of the teaching and assessment strategies employed there. Qualitative multiple case study design. Five case study sites. Interviewees (n=58) included academic staff, clinical staff and nursing students. Semi-structured interviews. The Clinical Skills Laboratory can provide a pathway to practice and its authenticity is significant. Teaching strategies need to incorporate communication as well as psychomotor skills. Including audio-visual recording into assessment strategies is beneficial. Effective relationships between education institutions and clinical settings are needed to enhance the transferability of the skills learned. The Clinical Skills Laboratory should provide an authentic learning environment, with the appropriate use of teaching strategies. It is crucial that effective links between educators and clinical staff are established and maintained. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Visual Motion Processing Subserves Faster Visuomotor Reaction in Badminton Players.

PubMed

Hülsdünker, Thorben; Strüder, Heiko K; Mierau, Andreas

2017-06-01

Athletes participating in ball or racquet sports have to respond to visual stimuli under critical time pressure. Previous studies used visual contrast stimuli to determine visual perception and visuomotor reaction in athletes and nonathletes; however, ball and racquet sports are characterized by motion rather than contrast visual cues. Because visual contrast and motion signals are processed in different cortical regions, this study aimed to determine differences in perception and processing of visual motion between athletes and nonathletes. Twenty-five skilled badminton players and 28 age-matched nonathletic controls participated in this study. Using a 64-channel EEG system, we investigated visual motion perception/processing in the motion-sensitive middle temporal (MT) cortical area in response to radial motion of different velocities. In a simple visuomotor reaction task, visuomotor transformation in Brodmann area 6 (BA6) and BA4 as well as muscular activation (EMG onset) and visuomotor reaction time (VMRT) were investigated. Stimulus- and response-locked potentials were determined to differentiate between perceptual and motor-related processes. As compared with nonathletes, athletes showed earlier EMG onset times (217 vs 178 ms, P < 0.001), accompanied by a faster VMRT (274 vs 243 ms, P < 0.001). Furthermore, athletes showed an earlier stimulus-locked peak activation of MT (200 vs 182 ms, P = 0.002) and BA6 (161 vs 137 ms, P = 0.009). Response-locked peak activation in MT was later in athletes (-7 vs 26 ms, P < 0.001), whereas no group differences were observed in BA6 and BA4. Multiple regression analyses with stimulus- and response-locked cortical potentials predicted EMG onset (r = 0.83) and VMRT (r = 0.77). The athletes' superior visuomotor performance in response to visual motion is primarily related to visual perception and, to a minor degree, to motor-related processes.

Developmental visual perception deficits with no indications of prosopagnosia in a child with abnormal eye movements.

PubMed

Gilaie-Dotan, Sharon; Doron, Ravid

2017-06-01

Visual categories are associated with eccentricity biases in high-order visual cortex: Faces and reading with foveally-biased regions, while common objects and space with mid- and peripherally-biased regions. As face perception and reading are among the most challenging human visual skills, and are often regarded as the peak achievements of a distributed neural network supporting common objects perception, it is unclear why objects, which also rely on foveal vision to be processed, are associated with mid-peripheral rather than with a foveal bias. Here, we studied BN, a 9 y.o. boy who has normal basic-level vision, abnormal (limited) oculomotor pursuit and saccades, and shows developmental object and contour integration deficits but with no indication of prosopagnosia. Although we cannot infer causation from the data presented here, we suggest that normal pursuit and saccades could be critical for the development of contour integration and object perception. While faces and perhaps reading, when fixated upon, take up a small portion of central visual field and require only small eye movements to be properly processed, common objects typically prevail in mid-peripheral visual field and rely on longer-distance voluntary eye movements as saccades to be brought to fixation. While retinal information feeds into early visual cortex in an eccentricity orderly manner, we hypothesize that propagation of non-foveal information to mid and high-order visual cortex critically relies on circuitry involving eye movements. Limited or atypical eye movements, as in the case of BN, may hinder normal information flow to mid-eccentricity biased high-order visual cortex, adversely affecting its development and consequently inducing visual perceptual deficits predominantly for categories associated with these regions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Perception of temporally modified speech in auditory neuropathy.

PubMed

Hassan, Dalia Mohamed

2011-01-01

Disrupted auditory nerve activity in auditory neuropathy (AN) significantly impairs the sequential processing of auditory information, resulting in poor speech perception. This study investigated the ability of AN subjects to perceive temporally modified consonant-vowel (CV) pairs and shed light on their phonological awareness skills. Four Arabic CV pairs were selected: /ki/-/gi/, /to/-/do/, /si/-/sti/ and /so/-/zo/. The formant transitions in consonants and the pauses between CV pairs were prolonged. Rhyming, segmentation and blending skills were tested using words at a natural rate of speech and with prolongation of the speech stream. Fourteen adult AN subjects were compared to a matched group of cochlear-impaired patients in their perception of acoustically processed speech. The AN group distinguished the CV pairs at a low speech rate, in particular with modification of the consonant duration. Phonological awareness skills deteriorated in adult AN subjects but improved with prolongation of the speech inter-syllabic time interval. A rehabilitation program for AN should consider temporal modification of speech, training for auditory temporal processing and the use of devices with innovative signal processing schemes. Verbal modifications as well as visual imaging appear to be promising compensatory strategies for remediating the affected phonological processing skills.

Educational Supports for Students with Special Needs: Preservice Music Educators' Perceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whipple, Jennifer; VanWeelden, Kimberly

2012-01-01

Historically, music educators have expressed concerns about inadequate preparation to work with students with special needs, specifically desiring skills related to instruction adaptation. Research has indicated that educational supports (written words, color coding, icons, echoing, buddy system, and other visual aids) can be particularly…

Contextual specificity in perception and action

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Proffitt, Dennis R.

1991-01-01

The visually guided control of helicopter flight is a human achievement, and, thus, understanding this skill is, in part, a psychological problem. The abilities of skilled pilots are impressive, and yet it is of concern that pilots' performance is less than ideal: they suffer from workload constraints, make occasional errors, and are subject to such debilities as simulator sickness. Remedying such deficiencies is both an engineering and a psychological problem. When studying the psychological aspects of this problem, it is desirable to simplify the problem as much as possible, and thereby, sidestep as many intractable psychological issues as possible. Simply stated, we do not want to have to resolve such polemics as the mind-body problem in order to contribute to the design of more effective helicopter systems. On the other hand, the study of human behavior is a psychological endeavor and certain problems cannot be evaded. Four related issues that are of psychological significance in understanding the visually guided control of helicopter flight are discussed. First, a selected discussion of the nature of descriptive levels in analyzing human perception and performance is presented. It is argued that the appropriate level of description for perception is kinematical, and for performance, it is procedural. Second, it is argued that investigations into pilot performance cannot ignore the nature of pilots' phenomenal experience. The conscious control of actions is not based upon environmental states of affairs, nor upon the optical information that specifies them. Actions are coupled to perceptions. Third, the acquisition of skilled actions in the context of inherent misperceptions is discussed. Such skills may be error prone in some situations, but not in others. Finally, I discuss the contextual relativity of human errors. Each of these four issues relates to a common theme: the control of action is mediated by phenomenal experience, the veracity of which is context specific.

Adaptive psychological structure in childhood hearing impairment: audiological correlations.

PubMed

Serra, A; Spinato, G; Cocuzza, S; Licciardello, L; Pavone, P; Maiolino, L

2017-06-01

The present research deals with the clinical and social problems present during linguistic and cognitive development of deaf children. Currently, the development of Theory of Mind represents an important research field in deafness studies. These international studies highlighted a significant alteration in the development of Theory of Mind in deaf children compared to normal hearing children, especially in cases of congenital or preverbal hearing loss. In particular, the research focuses on the skills of deaf children in recognising emotions and desires, through both perceptive and cognitive methods, by evaluation of psycho-cognitive skills of children with severe hearing loss using a set of questions to be administered to hearing loss patients. The experiment was performed on a group composed of 10 children (5 males and 5 females) aged 4 to 9 years and 54 to 108 months, affected by bilateral congenital hearing loss (severe to total), or hearing loss that developed in preverbal children the year before entering elementary school, or during the fourth year of elementary school. The selection criteria were based on: audiologic evaluation, neuro-psychological tests administered to assess general, cognitive as well as praxis and perceptive abilities, and clinical observations performed to assess psychopathology using tests that assess development of both visual perceptive (Coloured Progressive Matrices) and graphic representational abilities (Test of Human Figure Drawings and the Family Drawing Test). The instrument "cognitive" was the "Deaf Children Series", arranged by us, that consists of a mental status examination (MSE) that evaluates: level of cognitive (knowledge-related) ability, emotional mood, and speech and thought patterns at the time of evaluation. Deaf children show a reduced responsiveness to the expressions of sadness on the perceptive side. Through the test, we observed a psychodynamic defense mechanism considering perceptive understanding performance. On the contrary, in normal hearing children, the emotion 'fear' is the most difficult to identify. Deaf children seem to be more susceptible to recognition of visual emotions. Furthermore, deaf children present significant problem-solving skills and emotional recognition skills, possibly as a result of their hearing impairment. © Copyright by Società Italiana di Otorinolaringologia e Chirurgia Cervico-Facciale, Rome, Italy.

The effect of sight distance training on the visual scanning of motorcycle riders: a preliminary look : traffic tech.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-02-01

The scanning skills of a vehicle operator represent a key : parameter for hazard perception and effective vehicle operation. : Overriding ones sight distance, or not looking far : enough ahead down the roadway, may not leave a motorcycle : rider e...

Characteristics of Learning Disabilities Persisting into Adolescence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whyte, Lillian A.

1984-01-01

Describes characteristics of learning disabled teenagers. Describes results of a study of 331 secondary students who completed a self-report inventory showing that childhood learning disability characteristics persist into adolescence, most seriously in the areas of visual perception, fine motor skills, and the ability to write and make spatial…

Visual Literacy, Creativity and the Teaching of Argument

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shivers, James; Levenson, Cyra; Tan, Mei

2017-01-01

A vibrant theory of change capable of fueling critical practice may be an indispensable feature of teaching argument in secondary education. According to the PIE model (Perception, Interpretation, Expression), layers of experience build a cognitive scaffold to support the development of critical skills. In addition, incorporating works of art and…

Perceptual and academic patterns of learning-disabled/gifted students.

PubMed

Waldron, K A; Saphire, D G

1992-04-01

This research explored ways gifted children with learning disabilities perceive and recall auditory and visual input and apply this information to reading, mathematics, and spelling. 24 learning-disabled/gifted children and a matched control group of normally achieving gifted students were tested for oral reading, word recognition and analysis, listening comprehension, and spelling. In mathematics, they were tested for numeration, mental and written computation, word problems, and numerical reasoning. To explore perception and memory skills, students were administered formal tests of visual and auditory memory as well as auditory discrimination of sounds. Their responses to reading and to mathematical computations were further considered for evidence of problems in visual discrimination, visual sequencing, and visual spatial areas. Analyses indicated that these learning-disabled/gifted students were significantly weaker than controls in their decoding skills, in spelling, and in most areas of mathematics. They were also significantly weaker in auditory discrimination and memory, and in visual discrimination, sequencing, and spatial abilities. Conclusions are that these underlying perceptual and memory deficits may be related to students' academic problems.

The effectiveness of multimedia visual perceptual training groups for the preschool children with developmental delay.

PubMed

Chen, Yi-Nan; Lin, Chin-Kai; Wei, Ta-Sen; Liu, Chi-Hsin; Wuang, Yee-Pay

2013-12-01

This study compared the effectiveness of three approaches to improving visual perception among preschool children 4-6 years old with developmental delays: multimedia visual perceptual group training, multimedia visual perceptual individual training, and paper visual perceptual group training. A control group received no special training. This study employed a pretest-posttest control group of true experimental design. A total of 64 children 4-6 years old with developmental delays were randomized into four groups: (1) multimedia visual perceptual group training (15 subjects); (2) multimedia visual perceptual individual training group (15 subjects); paper visual perceptual group training (19 subjects); and (4) a control group (15 subjects) with no visual perceptual training. Forty minute training sessions were conducted once a week for 14 weeks. The Test of Visual Perception Skills, third edition, was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention. Paired-samples t-test showed significant differences pre- and post-test among the three groups, but no significant difference was found between the pre-test and post-test scores among the control group. ANOVA results showed significant differences in improvement levels among the four study groups. Scheffe post hoc test results showed significant differences between: group 1 and group 2; group 1 and group 3; group 1 and the control group; and group 2 and the control group. No significant differences were reported between group 2 and group 3, and group 3 and the control group. The results showed all three therapeutic programs produced significant differences between pretest and posttest scores. The training effect on the multimedia visual perceptual group program and the individual program was greater than the developmental effect Both the multimedia visual perceptual group training program and the multimedia visual perceptual individual training program produced significant effects on visual perception. The multimedia visual perceptual group training program was more effective for improving visual perception than was multimedia visual perceptual individual training program. The multimedia visual perceptual group training program was more effective than was the paper visual perceptual group training program. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Audiovisual integration in children listening to spectrally degraded speech.

PubMed

Maidment, David W; Kang, Hi Jee; Stewart, Hannah J; Amitay, Sygal

2015-02-01

The study explored whether visual information improves speech identification in typically developing children with normal hearing when the auditory signal is spectrally degraded. Children (n=69) and adults (n=15) were presented with noise-vocoded sentences from the Children's Co-ordinate Response Measure (Rosen, 2011) in auditory-only or audiovisual conditions. The number of bands was adaptively varied to modulate the degradation of the auditory signal, with the number of bands required for approximately 79% correct identification calculated as the threshold. The youngest children (4- to 5-year-olds) did not benefit from accompanying visual information, in comparison to 6- to 11-year-old children and adults. Audiovisual gain also increased with age in the child sample. The current data suggest that children younger than 6 years of age do not fully utilize visual speech cues to enhance speech perception when the auditory signal is degraded. This evidence not only has implications for understanding the development of speech perception skills in children with normal hearing but may also inform the development of new treatment and intervention strategies that aim to remediate speech perception difficulties in pediatric cochlear implant users.

Gross Motor Engrams: An Important Spatial Learning Modality for Preschool Visually Handicapped Children. Vol. 1, No. 9.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Whitcraft, Carol

Investigations and theories concerning interrelationships of motoric experiences, perceptual-motor skills, and learning are reviewed, with emphasis on early engramming of form and space concepts. Covered are studies on haptic perception of form, the matching of perceptual data and motor information, Kephart's perceptual-motor theory, and…

Assessing High School Chemistry Students' Modeling Sub-Skills in a Computerized Molecular Modeling Learning Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dori, Yehudit Judy; Kaberman, Zvia

2012-01-01

Much knowledge in chemistry exists at a molecular level, inaccessible to direct perception. Chemistry instruction should therefore include multiple visual representations, such as molecular models and symbols. This study describes the implementation and assessment of a learning unit designed for 12th grade chemistry honors students. The organic…

Infant Information Processing in Relation to Six-Year Cognitive Outcomes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rose, Susan A.; And Others

1992-01-01

Infants' visual recognition memory (VRM) at seven months was associated with their general intelligence, language proficiency, reading and quantitative skills, and perceptual organization at six years. Infants' VRM, object permanence, and cross-modal transfer of perceptions at one year were related to their IQ and several outcomes at six years.…

Ecological validity of neuropsychological assessment and perceived employability.

PubMed

Wen, Johnny H; Boone, Kyle; Kim, Kevin

2006-11-01

Ecological validity studies that have examined the relationship between cognitive abilities and employment in psychiatric and medical populations have found that a wide range of cognitive domains predict employability, although memory and executive skills appear to be the most important. However, no information is available regarding a patient's self-perceived work attributes and objective neuropsychological performance, and whether the same cognitive domains associated with successful employment are also related to a patient's self-perception of work competence. In the present study, 73 medical and psychiatric patients underwent comprehensive neuropsychological assessment. Step-wise multiple regression analyses revealed that the visual-spatial domain was the only significant predictor of self-perceived work attributes and work competence as measured by the Working Inventory (WI) and the Work Adjustment Inventory (WAI), accounting for 7% to 10% of inventory score variability. The results raise the intriguing possibility that targeting of visual spatial skills for remediation and development might play a separate and unique role in the vocational rehabilitation of a lower SES population, specifically, by leading to enhanced self-perception of work competence as these individuals attempt to enter the job market.

Foveal and peripheral fields of vision influences perceptual skill in anticipating opponents' attacking position in volleyball.

PubMed

Schorer, Jörg; Rienhoff, Rebecca; Fischer, Lennart; Baker, Joseph

2013-09-01

The importance of perceptual-cognitive expertise in sport has been repeatedly demonstrated. In this study we examined the role of different sources of visual information (i.e., foveal versus peripheral) in anticipating volleyball attack positions. Expert (n = 11), advanced (n = 13) and novice (n = 16) players completed an anticipation task that involved predicting the location of volleyball attacks. Video clips of volleyball attacks (n = 72) were spatially and temporally occluded to provide varying amounts of information to the participant. In addition, participants viewed the attacks under three visual conditions: full vision, foveal vision only, and peripheral vision only. Analysis of variance revealed significant between group differences in prediction accuracy with higher skilled players performing better than lower skilled players. Additionally, we found significant differences between temporal and spatial occlusion conditions. Both of those factors interacted separately, but not combined with expertise. Importantly, for experts the sum of both fields of vision was superior to either source in isolation. Our results suggest different sources of visual information work collectively to facilitate expert anticipation in time-constrained sports and reinforce the complexity of expert perception.

Musicians have enhanced audiovisual multisensory binding: experience-dependent effects in the double-flash illusion.

PubMed

Bidelman, Gavin M

2016-10-01

Musical training is associated with behavioral and neurophysiological enhancements in auditory processing for both musical and nonmusical sounds (e.g., speech). Yet, whether the benefits of musicianship extend beyond enhancements to auditory-specific skills and impact multisensory (e.g., audiovisual) processing has yet to be fully validated. Here, we investigated multisensory integration of auditory and visual information in musicians and nonmusicians using a double-flash illusion, whereby the presentation of multiple auditory stimuli (beeps) concurrent with a single visual object (flash) induces an illusory perception of multiple flashes. We parametrically varied the onset asynchrony between auditory and visual events (leads and lags of ±300 ms) to quantify participants' "temporal window" of integration, i.e., stimuli in which auditory and visual cues were fused into a single percept. Results show that musically trained individuals were both faster and more accurate at processing concurrent audiovisual cues than their nonmusician peers; nonmusicians had a higher susceptibility for responding to audiovisual illusions and perceived double flashes over an extended range of onset asynchronies compared to trained musicians. Moreover, temporal window estimates indicated that musicians' windows (<100 ms) were ~2-3× shorter than nonmusicians' (~200 ms), suggesting more refined multisensory integration and audiovisual binding. Collectively, findings indicate a more refined binding of auditory and visual cues in musically trained individuals. We conclude that experience-dependent plasticity of intensive musical experience extends beyond simple listening skills, improving multimodal processing and the integration of multiple sensory systems in a domain-general manner.

Visual, Critical, and Scientific Thinking Dispositions in a 3rd Grade Science Classroom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foss, Stacy

Many American students leave school without the required 21st century critical thinking skills. This qualitative case study, based on the theoretical concepts of Facione, Arheim, and Vygotsky, explored the development of thinking dispositions through the arts in science on the development of scientific thinking skills when used as a conceptual thinking routine in a rural 3rd grade classroom. Research questions examined the disposition to think critically through the arts in science and focused on the perceptions and experiences of 25 students with the Visual Thinking Strategy (VTS) process. Data were collected from classroom observations (n = 10), student interviews (n = 25), teacher interviews ( n = 1), a focus group discussion (n = 3), and artifacts of student work (n = 25); these data included perceptions of VTS, school culture, and classroom characteristics. An inductive analysis of qualitative data resulted in several emergent themes regarding disposition development and students generating questions while increasing affective motivation. The most prevalent dispositions were open-mindedness, the truth-seeking disposition, the analytical disposition, and the systematicity disposition. The findings about the teachers indicated that VTS questions in science supported "gradual release of responsibility", the internalization of process skills and vocabulary, and argumentation. This case study offers descriptive research that links visual arts inquiry and the development of critical thinking dispositions in science at the elementary level. A science curriculum could be developed, that emphasizes the development of thinking dispositions through the arts in science, which in turn, could impact the professional development of teachers and learning outcomes for students.

Neural Correlates of Expert Visuomotor Performance in Badminton Players.

PubMed

Hülsdünker, Thorben; Strüder, Heiko K; Mierau, Andreas

2016-11-01

Elite/skilled athletes participating in sports that require the initiation of targeted movements in response to visual cues under critical time pressure typically outperform nonathletes in a visuomotor reaction task. However, the exact physiological mechanisms of this advantage remain unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the neurophysiological processes contributing to superior visuomotor performance in athletes using visual evoked potential (VEP). Central and peripheral determinants of visuomotor reaction time were investigated in 15 skilled badminton players and 28 age-matched nonathletic controls. To determine the speed of visual signal perception in the cortex, chromatic and achromatic pattern reversal stimuli were presented, and VEP values were recorded with a 64-channel EEG system. Further, a simple visuomotor reaction task was performed to investigate the transformation of the visual into a motor signal in the brain as well as the timing of muscular activation. Amplitude and latency of VEP (N75, P100, and N145) revealed that the athletes did not significantly differ from the nonathletes. However, visuomotor reaction time was significantly reduced in the athletes compared with nonathletes (athletes = 234.9 ms, nonathletes = 260.3 ms, P = 0.015). This was accompanied by an earlier activation of the premotor and supplementary motor areas (athletes = 163.9 ms, nonathletes = 199.1 ms, P = 0.015) as well as an earlier EMG onset (athletes = 167.5 ms, nonathletes = 206.5 ms, P < 0.001). The latency of premotor and supplementary motor area activation was correlated with EMG onset (r = 0.41) and visuomotor reaction time (r = 0.43). The results of this study indicate that superior visuomotor performance in athletes originates from faster visuomotor transformation in the premotor and supplementary motor cortical regions rather than from earlier perception of visual signals in the visual cortex.

A Learning Print Approach Toward Perceptual Training and Reading in Kindergarten.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

D'Annunzio, Anthony

The purpose of this research study was to compare two kinds of perceptual training for kindergarteners. A control group was grouped for instruction in visual or auditory perception. The children whose weaker modality was auditory received an "Open Court" program which stressed the acquisition of phonetic skills. The Frostig-Horne program was given…

Looking Inward and Back: Real-Time Monitoring of Visual Working Memories

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Suchow, Jordan W.; Fougnie, Daryl; Alvarez, George A.

2017-01-01

Confidence in our memories is influenced by many factors, including beliefs about the perceptibility or memorability of certain kinds of objects and events, as well as knowledge about our skill sets, habits, and experiences. Notoriously, our knowledge and beliefs about memory can lead us astray, causing us to be overly confident in eyewitness…

Multiple Causal Links Between Magnocellular-Dorsal Pathway Deficit and Developmental Dyslexia.

PubMed

Gori, Simone; Seitz, Aaron R; Ronconi, Luca; Franceschini, Sandro; Facoetti, Andrea

2016-10-17

Although impaired auditory-phonological processing is the most popular explanation of developmental dyslexia (DD), the literature shows that the combination of several causes rather than a single factor contributes to DD. Functioning of the visual magnocellular-dorsal (MD) pathway, which plays a key role in motion perception, is a much debated, but heavily suspected factor contributing to DD. Here, we employ a comprehensive approach that incorporates all the accepted methods required to test the relationship between the MD pathway dysfunction and DD. The results of 4 experiments show that (1) Motion perception is impaired in children with dyslexia in comparison both with age-match and with reading-level controls; (2) pre-reading visual motion perception-independently from auditory-phonological skill-predicts future reading development, and (3) targeted MD trainings-not involving any auditory-phonological stimulation-leads to improved reading skill in children and adults with DD. Our findings demonstrate, for the first time, a causal relationship between MD deficits and DD, virtually closing a 30-year long debate. Since MD dysfunction can be diagnosed much earlier than reading and language disorders, our findings pave the way for low resource-intensive, early prevention programs that could drastically reduce the incidence of DD. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Training haptic stiffness discrimination: time course of learning with or without visual information and knowledge of results.

PubMed

Teodorescu, Kinneret; Bouchigny, Sylvain; Korman, Maria

2013-08-01

In this study, we explored the time course of haptic stiffness discrimination learning and how it was affected by two experimental factors, the addition of visual information and/or knowledge of results (KR) during training. Stiffness perception may integrate both haptic and visual modalities. However, in many tasks, the visual field is typically occluded, forcing stiffness perception to be dependent exclusively on haptic information. No studies to date addressed the time course of haptic stiffness perceptual learning. Using a virtual environment (VE) haptic interface and a two-alternative forced-choice discrimination task, the haptic stiffness discrimination ability of 48 participants was tested across 2 days. Each day included two haptic test blocks separated by a training block Additional visual information and/or KR were manipulated between participants during training blocks. Practice repetitions alone induced significant improvement in haptic stiffness discrimination. Between days, accuracy was slightly improved, but decision time performance was deteriorated. The addition of visual information and/or KR had only temporary effects on decision time, without affecting the time course of haptic discrimination learning. Learning in haptic stiffness discrimination appears to evolve through at least two distinctive phases: A single training session resulted in both immediate and latent learning. This learning was not affected by the training manipulations inspected. Training skills in VE in spaced sessions can be beneficial for tasks in which haptic perception is critical, such as surgery procedures, when the visual field is occluded. However, training protocols for such tasks should account for low impact of multisensory information and KR.

Shared decision-making in older patients with colorectal or pancreatic cancer: Determinants of patients' and observers' perceptions.

PubMed

Geessink, Noralie H; Ofstad, Eirik H; Olde Rikkert, Marcel G M; van Goor, Harry; Kasper, Jürgen; Schoon, Yvonne

2018-06-13

To identify determinants of older patients' perceptions of involvement in decision-making on colorectal (CRC) or pancreatic cancer (PC) treatment, and to compare these with determinants of observers' perceptions. Patients' perceptions of involvement were constructed by the 9-item SDM questionnaire (SDM-Q-9) and a Visual Analogue Scale for Involvement (VAS-I). Observers' perceptions were constructed by the OPTION5, OPTION12, and MAPPIN'SDM. Convergent validities were calculated between the patient-sided and observer instruments using Spearman's correlation coefficient. Linear regression was used to identify determinants per criterion. 58 CRC and 22 PC patients were included (mean age: 71.8 ± 5.2 years, 45.0% female). No significant correlations were found between the patient-sided and observer instruments. Patients' impression of involvement was influenced by patient characteristics such as quality of life and satisfaction, while observers' perceptions mainly referred to encounter characteristics such as the mean duration of consultations and general communication skills. Due to evident differences in determinants, older CRC/PC patients' and observers' perceptions of involvement should both be collected in evaluating the quality of medical decision-making. General communication skills should be integrated in SDM training interventions. New SDM measurement tools for patients are needed to sufficiently discriminate between the constructs of involvement and satisfaction. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Handwriting development, competency, and intervention.

PubMed

Feder, Katya P; Majnemer, Annette

2007-04-01

Failure to attain handwriting competency during the school-age years often has far-reaching negative effects on both academic success and self-esteem. This complex occupational task has many underlying component skills that may interfere with handwriting performance. Fine motor control, bilateral and visual-motor integration, motor planning, in-hand manipulation, proprioception, visual perception, sustained attention, and sensory awareness of the fingers are some of the component skills identified. Poor handwriting may be related to intrinsic factors, which refer to the child's actual handwriting capabilities, or extrinsic factors which are related to environmental or biomechanical components, or both. It is important that handwriting performance be evaluated using a valid, reliable, standardized tool combined with informal classroom observation and teacher consultation. Studies of handwriting remediation suggest that intervention is effective. There is evidence to indicate that handwriting difficulties do not resolve without intervention and affect between 10 and 30% of school-aged children. Despite the widespread use of computers, legible handwriting remains an important life skill that deserves greater attention from educators and health practitioners.

Evaluation of perception performance in neck dissection planning using eye tracking and attention landscapes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burgert, Oliver; Örn, Veronika; Velichkovsky, Boris M.; Gessat, Michael; Joos, Markus; Strauß, Gero; Tietjen, Christian; Preim, Bernhard; Hertel, Ilka

2007-03-01

Neck dissection is a surgical intervention at which cervical lymph node metastases are removed. Accurate surgical planning is of high importance because wrong judgment of the situation causes severe harm for the patient. Diagnostic perception of radiological images by a surgeon is an acquired skill that can be enhanced by training and experience. To improve accuracy in detecting pathological lymph nodes by newcomers and less experienced professionals, it is essential to understand how surgical experts solve relevant visual and recognition tasks. By using eye tracking and especially the newly-developed attention landscapes visualizations, it could be determined whether visualization options, for example 3D models instead of CT data, help in increasing accuracy and speed of neck dissection planning. Thirteen ORL surgeons with different levels of expertise participated in this study. They inspected different visualizations of 3D models and original CT datasets of patients. Among others, we used scanpath analysis and attention landscapes to interpret the inspection strategies. It was possible to distinguish different patterns of visual exploratory activity. The experienced surgeons exhibited a higher concentration of attention on the limited number of areas of interest and demonstrated less saccadic eye movements indicating a better orientation.

Auditory-musical processing in autism spectrum disorders: a review of behavioral and brain imaging studies.

PubMed

Ouimet, Tia; Foster, Nicholas E V; Tryfon, Ana; Hyde, Krista L

2012-04-01

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition characterized by atypical social and communication skills, repetitive behaviors, and atypical visual and auditory perception. Studies in vision have reported enhanced detailed ("local") processing but diminished holistic ("global") processing of visual features in ASD. Individuals with ASD also show enhanced processing of simple visual stimuli but diminished processing of complex visual stimuli. Relative to the visual domain, auditory global-local distinctions, and the effects of stimulus complexity on auditory processing in ASD, are less clear. However, one remarkable finding is that many individuals with ASD have enhanced musical abilities, such as superior pitch processing. This review provides a critical evaluation of behavioral and brain imaging studies of auditory processing with respect to current theories in ASD. We have focused on auditory-musical processing in terms of global versus local processing and simple versus complex sound processing. This review contributes to a better understanding of auditory processing differences in ASD. A deeper comprehension of sensory perception in ASD is key to better defining ASD phenotypes and, in turn, may lead to better interventions. © 2012 New York Academy of Sciences.

Impact of Participating in a Short-Term Intervention Model of Sports Education Camps for Children with Visual Impairments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mc Mahon, John M.

2013-01-01

This three-paper format dissertation explores three topics relevant to participating in a short-term model Sports Education Camp for youth with vision impairments. The three papers are independent studies, yet build upon each other by first measuring physical performance in certain skills, then exploring their levels of self-perception, body mass…

Predicting Student Performance in Sonographic Scanning Using Spatial Ability as an Ability Determinent of Skill Acquisition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Clem, Douglas Wayne

2012-01-01

Spatial ability refers to an individual's capacity to visualize and mentally manipulate three dimensional objects. Since sonographers manually manipulate 2D and 3D sonographic images to generate multi-viewed, logical, sequential renderings of an anatomical structure, it can be assumed that spatial ability is central to the perception and…

Tracking the Speech Signal--Time-Locked MEG Signals during Perception of Ultra-Fast and Moderately Fast Speech in Blind and in Sighted Listeners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hertrich, Ingo; Dietrich, Susanne; Ackermann, Hermann

2013-01-01

Blind people can learn to understand speech at ultra-high syllable rates (ca. 20 syllables/s), a capability associated with hemodynamic activation of the central-visual system. To further elucidate the neural mechanisms underlying this skill, magnetoencephalographic (MEG) measurements during listening to sentence utterances were cross-correlated…

Computing Support for Basic Research in Perception and Cognition

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-12-07

hearing aids and cochlear implants, this suggests that certain types of proposed coding schemes, specifically those employing periodicity tuning in...developing a computer model of the interaction of declarative and procedural knowledge in skill acquisition. In the Visual Psychophysics Laboratory... Psycholinguistics - Laboratory a computer model of text comprehension and recall has been constructed and several - experiments have been completed that verify basic

Isolating contour information from arbitrary images

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jobson, Daniel J.

1989-01-01

Aspects of natural vision (physiological and perceptual) serve as a basis for attempting the development of a general processing scheme for contour extraction. Contour information is assumed to be central to visual recognition skills. While the scheme must be regarded as highly preliminary, initial results do compare favorably with the visual perception of structure. The scheme pays special attention to the construction of a smallest scale circular difference-of-Gaussian (DOG) convolution, calibration of multiscale edge detection thresholds with the visual perception of grayscale boundaries, and contour/texture discrimination methods derived from fundamental assumptions of connectivity and the characteristics of printed text. Contour information is required to fall between a minimum connectivity limit and maximum regional spatial density limit at each scale. Results support the idea that contour information, in images possessing good image quality, is (centered at about 10 cyc/deg and 30 cyc/deg). Further, lower spatial frequency channels appear to play a major role only in contour extraction from images with serious global image defects.

Real-Time Strategy Video Game Experience and Visual Perceptual Learning.

PubMed

Kim, Yong-Hwan; Kang, Dong-Wha; Kim, Dongho; Kim, Hye-Jin; Sasaki, Yuka; Watanabe, Takeo

2015-07-22

Visual perceptual learning (VPL) is defined as long-term improvement in performance on a visual-perception task after visual experiences or training. Early studies have found that VPL is highly specific for the trained feature and location, suggesting that VPL is associated with changes in the early visual cortex. However, the generality of visual skills enhancement attributable to action video-game experience suggests that VPL can result from improvement in higher cognitive skills. If so, experience in real-time strategy (RTS) video-game play, which may heavily involve cognitive skills, may also facilitate VPL. To test this hypothesis, we compared VPL between RTS video-game players (VGPs) and non-VGPs (NVGPs) and elucidated underlying structural and functional neural mechanisms. Healthy young human subjects underwent six training sessions on a texture discrimination task. Diffusion-tensor and functional magnetic resonance imaging were performed before and after training. VGPs performed better than NVGPs in the early phase of training. White-matter connectivity between the right external capsule and visual cortex and neuronal activity in the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) were greater in VGPs than NVGPs and were significantly correlated with RTS video-game experience. In both VGPs and NVGPs, there was task-related neuronal activity in the right IFG, ACC, and striatum, which was strengthened after training. These results indicate that RTS video-game experience, associated with changes in higher-order cognitive functions and connectivity between visual and cognitive areas, facilitates VPL in early phases of training. The results support the hypothesis that VPL can occur without involvement of only visual areas. Significance statement: Although early studies found that visual perceptual learning (VPL) is associated with involvement of the visual cortex, generality of visual skills enhancement by action video-game experience suggests that higher-order cognition may be involved in VPL. If so, real-time strategy (RTS) video-game experience may facilitate VPL as a result of heavy involvement of cognitive skills. Here, we compared VPL between RTS video-game players (VGPs) and non-VGPs (NVGPs) and investigated the underlying neural mechanisms. VGPs showed better performance in the early phase of training on the texture discrimination task and greater level of neuronal activity in cognitive areas and structural connectivity between visual and cognitive areas than NVGPs. These results support the hypothesis that VPL can occur beyond the visual cortex. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/3510485-08$15.00/0.

Visual memory and learning in extremely low-birth-weight/extremely preterm adolescents compared with controls: a geographic study.

PubMed

Molloy, Carly S; Wilson-Ching, Michelle; Doyle, Lex W; Anderson, Vicki A; Anderson, Peter J

2014-04-01

Contemporary data on visual memory and learning in survivors born extremely preterm (EP; <28 weeks gestation) or with extremely low birth weight (ELBW; <1,000 g) are lacking. Geographically determined cohort study of 298 consecutive EP/ELBW survivors born in 1991 and 1992, and 262 randomly selected normal-birth-weight controls. Visual learning and memory data were available for 221 (74.2%) EP/ELBW subjects and 159 (60.7%) controls. EP/ELBW adolescents exhibited significantly poorer performance across visual memory and learning variables compared with controls. Visual learning and delayed visual memory were particularly problematic and remained so after controlling for visual-motor integration and visual perception and excluding adolescents with neurosensory disability, and/or IQ <70. Male EP/ELBW adolescents or those treated with corticosteroids had poorer outcomes. EP/ELBW adolescents have poorer visual memory and learning outcomes compared with controls, which cannot be entirely explained by poor visual perceptual or visual constructional skills or intellectual impairment.

The right cerebral hemisphere: emotion, music, visual-spatial skills, body-image, dreams, and awareness.

PubMed

Joseph, R

1988-09-01

Based on a review of numerous studies conducted on normal, neurosurgical and brain-injured individuals, the right cerebral hemisphere appears to be dominant in the perception and identification of environmental and nonverbal sounds; the analysis of geometric and visual space (e.g., depth perception, visual closure); somesthesis, stereognosis, the maintenance of the body image; the production of dreams during REM sleep; the perception of most aspects of musical stimuli; and the comprehension and expression of prosodic, melodic, visual, facial, and verbal emotion. When the right hemisphere is damaged a variety of cognitive abnormalities may result, including hemi-inattention and neglect, prosopagnosia, constructional apraxia, visual-perceptual disturbances, and agnosia for environmental, musical, and emotional sounds. Similarly, a myriad of affective abnormalities may occur, including indifference, depression, hysteria, gross social-emotional disinhibition, florid manic excitement, childishness, euphoria, impulsivity, and abnormal sexual behavior. Patients may become delusional, engage in the production of bizzare confabulations and experience a host of somatic disturbances such as pain and body-perceptual distortions. Based on studies of normal and "split-brain" functioning, it also appears that the right hemisphere maintains a highly developed social-emotional mental system and can independently perceive, recall and act on certain memories and experiences without the aid or active reflective participation of the left. This leads to situations in which the right and left halves of the brain sometime act in an uncooperative fashion, which gives rise to inter-manual and intra-psychic conflicts.

Still holding after all these years: An action-perception dissociation in patient DF.

PubMed

Ganel, Tzvi; Goodale, Melvyn A

2017-09-23

Patient DF, who has bilateral damage in the ventral visual stream, is perhaps the best known individual with visual form agnosia in the world, and has been the focus of scores of research papers over the past twenty-five years. The remarkable dissociation she exhibits between a profound deficit in perceptual report and a preserved ability to generate relatively normal visuomotor behaviour was early on a cornerstone in Goodale and Milner's (1992) two visual systems hypothesis. In recent years, however, there has been a greater emphasis on the damage that is evident in the posterior regions of her parietal cortex in both hemispheres. Deficits in several aspects of visuomotor control in the visual periphery have been demonstrated, leading some researchers to conclude that the double dissociation between vision-for-perception and vision-for-action in DF and patients with classic optic ataxia can no longer be assumed to be strong evidence for the division of labour between the dorsal and ventral streams of visual processing. In this short review, we argue that this is not the case. Indeed, after evaluating DF's performance and the location of her brain lesions, a clear picture of a double dissociation between DF and patients with optic ataxia is revealed. More than quarter of a century after the initial presentation of DF's unique case, she continues to provide compelling evidence for the idea that the ventral stream is critical for the perception of the shape and orientation of objects but not the visual control of skilled actions directed at those objects. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pitch Perception in the First Year of Life, a Comparison of Lexical Tones and Musical Pitch.

PubMed

Chen, Ao; Stevens, Catherine J; Kager, René

2017-01-01

Pitch variation is pervasive in speech, regardless of the language to which infants are exposed. Lexical tone is influenced by general sensitivity to pitch. We examined whether the development in lexical tone perception may develop in parallel with perception of pitch in other cognitive domains namely music. Using a visual fixation paradigm, 100 and one 4- and 12-month-old Dutch infants were tested on their discrimination of Chinese rising and dipping lexical tones as well as comparable three-note musical pitch contours. The 4-month-old infants failed to show a discrimination effect in either condition, whereas the 12-month-old infants succeeded in both conditions. These results suggest that lexical tone perception may reflect and relate to general pitch perception abilities, which may serve as a basis for developing more complex language and musical skills.

Spatial Alignment and Response Hand in Geometric and Motion Illusions

PubMed Central

Scocchia, Lisa; Paroli, Michela; Stucchi, Natale A.; Sedda, Anna

2017-01-01

Perception of visual illusions is susceptible to manipulation of their spatial properties. Further, illusions can sometimes affect visually guided actions, especially the movement planning phase. Remarkably, visual properties of objects related to actions, such as affordances, can prime more accurate perceptual judgements. In spite of the amount of knowledge available on affordances and on the influence of illusions on actions (or lack of thereof), virtually nothing is known about the reverse: the influence of action-related parameters on the perception of visual illusions. Here, we tested a hypothesis that the response mode (that can be linked to action-relevant features) can affect perception of the Poggendorff (geometric) and of the Vanishing Point (motion) illusion. We explored the role of hand dominance (right dominant versus left non-dominant hand) and its interaction with stimulus spatial alignment (i.e., congruency between visual stimulus and the hand used for responses). Seventeen right-handed participants performed our tasks with their right and left hands, and the stimuli were presented in regular and mirror-reversed views. It turned out that the regular version of the Poggendorff display generates a stronger illusion compared to the mirror version, and that participants are less accurate and show more variability when they use their left hand in responding to the Vanishing Point. In summary, our results show that there is a marginal effect of hand precision in motion related illusions, which is absent for geometrical illusions. In the latter, attentional anisometry seems to play a greater role in generating the illusory effect. Taken together, our findings suggest that changes in the response mode (here: manual action-related parameters) do not necessarily affect illusion perception. Therefore, although intuitively speaking there should be at least unidirectional effects of perception on action, and possible interactions between the two systems, this simple study still suggests their relative independence, except for the case when the less skilled (non-dominant) hand and arguably more deliberate responses are used. PMID:28769830

Validity of the growth model of the 'computerized visual perception assessment tool for Chinese characters structures'.

PubMed

Wu, Huey-Min; Li, Cheng-Hsaun; Kuo, Bor-Chen; Yang, Yu-Mao; Lin, Chin-Kai; Wan, Wei-Hsiang

2017-08-01

Morphological awareness is the foundation for the important developmental skills involved with vocabulary, as well as understanding the meaning of words, orthographic knowledge, reading, and writing. Visual perception of space and radicals in two-dimensional positions of Chinese characters' morphology is very important in identifying Chinese characters. The important predictive variables of special and visual perception in Chinese characters identification were investigated in the growth model in this research. The assessment tool is the "Computerized Visual Perception Assessment Tool for Chinese Characters Structures" developed by this study. There are two constructs, basic stroke and character structure. In the basic stroke, there are three subtests of one, two, and more than three strokes. In the character structure, there are three subtests of single-component character, horizontal-compound character, and vertical-compound character. This study used purposive sampling. In the first year, 551 children 4-6 years old participated in the study and were monitored for one year. In the second year, 388 children remained in the study and the successful follow-up rate was 70.4%. This study used a two-wave cross-lagged panel design to validate the growth model of the basic stroke and the character structure. There was significant correlation of the basic stroke and the character structure at different time points. The abilities in the basic stroke and in the character structure steadily developed over time for preschool children. Children's knowledge of the basic stroke effectively predicted their knowledge of the basic stroke and the character structure. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An Annotated Bibliography of Objective Pilot Performance Measures

DTIC Science & Technology

1982-01-01

realism . (Author) 224 NAVTRAEQUIPCEN IH-330 t 667. PROPHET, Wallace W., and Caro, Paul W., Simulation and Aircrew Training and Performance, Human... cinematic simulation and air training appears to be the most promising cost-effective method of developing NOE visual perception skills. Of other...flight and control dynamics. Informal trials were run with research staff and carrier-qualified pilots to evaluate realism of the displays; amount of

The temporo-parietal junction contributes to global gestalt perception-evidence from studies in chess experts.

PubMed

Rennig, Johannes; Bilalić, Merim; Huberle, Elisabeth; Karnath, Hans-Otto; Himmelbach, Marc

2013-01-01

In a recent neuroimaging study the comparison of intact vs. disturbed perception of global gestalt indicated a significant role of the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) in the intact perception of global gestalt (Huberle and Karnath, 2012). This location corresponded well with the areas known to be damaged or impaired in patients with simultanagnosia after stroke or due to neurodegenerative diseases. It was concluded that the TPJ plays an important role in the integration of individual items to a holistic percept. Thus, increased BOLD signals should be found in this region whenever a task calls for the integration of multiple visual items. Behavioral experiments in chess experts suggested that their superior skills in comparison to chess novices are partly based on fast holistic processing of chess positions with multiple pieces. We thus analyzed BOLD data from four fMRI studies that compared chess experts with chess novices during the presentation of complex chess-related visual stimuli (Bilalić et al., 2010, 2011a,b, 2012). Three regions of interests were defined by significant TPJ clusters in the abovementioned study of global gestalt perception (Huberle and Karnath, 2012) and BOLD signal amplitudes in these regions were compared between chess experts and novices. These cross-paradigm ROI analyses revealed higher signals at the TPJ in chess experts in comparison to novices during presentations of complex chess positions. This difference was consistent across the different tasks in five independent experiments. Our results confirm the assumption that the TPJ region identified in previous work on global gestalt perception plays an important role in the processing of complex visual stimulus configurations.

A longitudinal analysis of sex differences in math and spatial skills in primary school age children☆

PubMed Central

Lachance, Jennifer A.; Mazzocco, Michèle M.M.

2009-01-01

We report on a longitudinal study designed to assess possible sex differences in math achievement, math ability, and math-related tasks during the primary school age years. Participants included over 200 children from one public school district. Annual assessments included measures of math ability, math calculation achievement scores, rapid naming and decoding tasks, visual perception tests, visual motor tasks, and reading skills. During select years of the study we also administered tests of counting and math facts skills. We examined whether girls or boys were overrepresented among the bottom or top performers on any of these tasks, relative to their peers, and whether growth rates or predictors of math-related skills differed for boys and girls. Our findings support the notion that sex differences in math are minimal or nonexistent on standardized psychometric tests routinely given in assessments of primary school age children. There was no persistent finding suggesting a male or female advantage in math performance overall, during any single year of the study, or in any one area of math or spatial skills. Growth rates for all skills, and early correlates of later math performance, were comparable for boys and girls. The findings fail to support either persistent or emerging sex differences on non-specialized math ability measures during the primary school age years. PMID:20463851

A course in constructing effective displays of data for pharmaceutical research personnel.

PubMed

Bradstreet, Thomas E; Nessly, Michael L; Short, Thomas H

2013-01-01

Interpreting data and communicating effectively through graphs and tables are requisite skills for statisticians and non-statisticians in the pharmaceutical industry. However, the quality of visual displays of data in the medical and pharmaceutical literature and at scientific conferences is severely lacking. We describe an interactive, workshop-driven, 2-day short course that we constructed for pharmaceutical research personnel to learn these skills. The examples in the course and the workshop datasets source from our professional experiences, the scientific literature, and the mass media. During the course, the participants are exposed to and gain hands-on experience with the principles of visual and graphical perception, design, and construction of both graphic and tabular displays of quantitative and qualitative information. After completing the course, with a critical eye, the participants are able to construct, revise, critique, and interpret graphic and tabular displays according to an extensive set of guidelines. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Associations between skill perceptions and young children's actual fundamental movement skills.

PubMed

Liong, Grace H E; Ridgers, Nicola D; Barnett, Lisa M

2015-04-01

Given that children with low movement skill competence engage in less physical activity, it is important to understand how children's perceptions relate to actual movement competence. This study examined relationships between (i) children's self-perception and objective assessments of their movement skills (object control and locomotor) and (ii) parents' perceptions of the children's movement skills and objective assessment. Children's skill perceptions were assessed using the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Movement Skill Competence for Young Children. Parent perceptions of their child's skills were assessed using a modified version of this instrument. The Test of Gross Motor Development-2nd edition assessed children's skills objectively. Participants were 136 Australian children (51% boys; M=6.5 yr., SD=1.1) and 133 parents. Regression analyses (by sex) examined the relationship between perceptions and children's scores for actual skilled performance. Boys' perceptions were associated with their actual object control ability. Parents accurately perceived boys' object control ability and girls' locomotor ability, but not the reverse. This suggests interventions aiming to improve children's movement skills could target parents and be designed to teach parents how to recognize good and poor skill performance in their children.

Auditory Selective Attention to Speech Modulates Activity in the Visual Word Form Area

PubMed Central

Yoncheva, Yuliya N.; Zevin, Jason D.; Maurer, Urs

2010-01-01

Selective attention to speech versus nonspeech signals in complex auditory input could produce top-down modulation of cortical regions previously linked to perception of spoken, and even visual, words. To isolate such top-down attentional effects, we contrasted 2 equally challenging active listening tasks, performed on the same complex auditory stimuli (words overlaid with a series of 3 tones). Instructions required selectively attending to either the speech signals (in service of rhyme judgment) or the melodic signals (tone-triplet matching). Selective attention to speech, relative to attention to melody, was associated with blood oxygenation level–dependent (BOLD) increases during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in left inferior frontal gyrus, temporal regions, and the visual word form area (VWFA). Further investigation of the activity in visual regions revealed overall deactivation relative to baseline rest for both attention conditions. Topographic analysis demonstrated that while attending to melody drove deactivation equivalently across all fusiform regions of interest examined, attending to speech produced a regionally specific modulation: deactivation of all fusiform regions, except the VWFA. Results indicate that selective attention to speech can topographically tune extrastriate cortex, leading to increased activity in VWFA relative to surrounding regions, in line with the well-established connectivity between areas related to spoken and visual word perception in skilled readers. PMID:19571269

The potential for gaming techniques in radiology education and practice.

PubMed

Reiner, Bruce; Siegel, Eliot

2008-02-01

Traditional means of communication, education and training, and research have been dramatically transformed with the advent of computerized medicine, and no other medical specialty has been more greatly affected than radiology. Of the myriad of newer computer applications currently available, computer gaming stands out for its unique potential to enhance end-user performance and job satisfaction. Research in other disciplines has demonstrated computer gaming to offer the potential for enhanced decision making, resource management, visual acuity, memory, and motor skills. Within medical imaging, video gaming provides a novel means to enhance radiologist and technologist performance and visual perception by increasing attentional capacity, visual field of view, and visual-motor coordination. These enhancements take on heightened importance with the increasing size and complexity of three-dimensional imaging datasets. Although these operational gains are important in themselves, psychologic gains intrinsic to video gaming offer the potential to reduce stress and improve job satisfaction by creating a fun and engaging means of spirited competition. By creating customized gaming programs and rewards systems, video game applications can be customized to the skill levels and preferences of individual users, thereby creating a comprehensive means to improve individual and collective job performance.

Short-term visual deprivation reduces interference effects of task-irrelevant facial expressions on affective prosody judgments

PubMed Central

Fengler, Ineke; Nava, Elena; Röder, Brigitte

2015-01-01

Several studies have suggested that neuroplasticity can be triggered by short-term visual deprivation in healthy adults. Specifically, these studies have provided evidence that visual deprivation reversibly affects basic perceptual abilities. The present study investigated the long-lasting effects of short-term visual deprivation on emotion perception. To this aim, we visually deprived a group of young healthy adults, age-matched with a group of non-deprived controls, for 3 h and tested them before and after visual deprivation (i.e., after 8 h on average and at 4 week follow-up) on an audio–visual (i.e., faces and voices) emotion discrimination task. To observe changes at the level of basic perceptual skills, we additionally employed a simple audio–visual (i.e., tone bursts and light flashes) discrimination task and two unimodal (one auditory and one visual) perceptual threshold measures. During the 3 h period, both groups performed a series of auditory tasks. To exclude the possibility that changes in emotion discrimination may emerge as a consequence of the exposure to auditory stimulation during the 3 h stay in the dark, we visually deprived an additional group of age-matched participants who concurrently performed unrelated (i.e., tactile) tasks to the later tested abilities. The two visually deprived groups showed enhanced affective prosodic discrimination abilities in the context of incongruent facial expressions following the period of visual deprivation; this effect was partially maintained until follow-up. By contrast, no changes were observed in affective facial expression discrimination and in the basic perception tasks in any group. These findings suggest that short-term visual deprivation per se triggers a reweighting of visual and auditory emotional cues, which seems to possibly prevail for longer durations. PMID:25954166

Longitudinal Change in the Relationship between Fundamental Motor Skills and Perceived Competence: Kindergarten to Grade 2

PubMed Central

Naylor, Patti-Jean

2017-01-01

As children transition from early to middle childhood, the relationship between motor skill proficiency and perceptions of physical competence should strengthen as skills improve and inflated early childhood perceptions decrease. This study examined change in motor skills and perceptions of physical competence and the relationship between those variables from kindergarten to grade 2. Participants were 250 boys and girls (Mean age = 5 years 8 months in kindergarten). Motor skills were assessed using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 and perceptions were assessed using a pictorial scale of perceived competence. Mixed-design analyses of variance revealed there was a significant increase in object-control skills and perceptions from kindergarten to grade 2, but no change in locomotor skills. In kindergarten, linear regression showed that locomotor skills and object-control skills explained 10% and 9% of the variance, respectively, in perceived competence for girls, and 7% and 11%, respectively, for boys. In grade 2, locomotor skills predicted 11% and object-control skills predicted 19% of the variance in perceptions of physical competence, but only among the boys. Furthermore, the relationship between motor skills and perceptions of physical competence strengthened for boys only from early to middle childhood. However, it seems that forces other than motor skill proficiency influenced girls’ perceptions of their abilities in grade 2.

A Case History in the Treatment of Academic Failure: Some Suggestions for Professionals in Work/Training Programs for the Disadvantaged.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodell, Louise

A case history of a 16-year-old Puerto Rican male high school dropout is presented to illustrate the visual-perception difficulties resulting in illiteracy and academic failure. The boy had had a number of years of formal schooling without learning any of the basic skills. Neither the academic nor the work training programs at Mobilization for…

An Arts-Based Supplemental Resource's Effect on Teachers' Perceptions of Curriculum Integration, Instructional Materials Development, Learning Activities Selections, and Critical Thinking Improvement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eutsler, Mark L.

2013-01-01

Indiana's declining SAT scores prompted the publisher of a statewide magazine covering the literary, performing, and visual arts to take action and create a program to use the magazine as a supplemental resource for students. It was believed that such a supplemental resource could enhance critical thinking and writing skills and help raise SAT…

Contextualism adds realism: nursing students' perceptions of and performance in numeracy skills tests.

PubMed

Ramjan, Lucie M

2011-11-01

This project investigated nursing students' perceptions of and performance in a de-contextualised diagnostic maths paper (i.e. questions only) and a contextualised diagnostic maths paper (i.e. visual pictures along with questions). Sampling was purposive, the criteria being that participants would be from the population of student nurses (n=700) in their second year, of a three-year Bachelor of Nursing course, undertaking a Unit 'Medical-Surgical Nursing 1' (MSN1) at one of four campuses across the University of Western Sydney (UWS), NSW, Australia. The numerical test scores for both papers were analysed with the assistance of SPSS software and a Professional Development Officer. The survey data were analysed manually and thematically by the researcher. There was a substantive improvement in scores from Test 1 (de-contextualised) to Test 2 (contextualised). It is uncertain whether the change occurred because Test 2 is a genuinely better presentation than Test 1 or just a practice effect. Nevertheless, the contextualised paper was preferred by the majority of students (80%). Students preferred the visual images and revealed that it led to a "deeper learning" of numeracy skills, reduced stress and anxiety levels and simulated 'the real life' clinical setting, thus adding "an element of realism" to the situation. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of semantic consistency and perceptual features on visual attention during scene viewing in toddlers.

PubMed

Helo, Andrea; van Ommen, Sandrien; Pannasch, Sebastian; Danteny-Dordoigne, Lucile; Rämä, Pia

2017-11-01

Conceptual representations of everyday scenes are built in interaction with visual environment and these representations guide our visual attention. Perceptual features and object-scene semantic consistency have been found to attract our attention during scene exploration. The present study examined how visual attention in 24-month-old toddlers is attracted by semantic violations and how perceptual features (i. e. saliency, centre distance, clutter and object size) and linguistic properties (i. e. object label frequency and label length) affect gaze distribution. We compared eye movements of 24-month-old toddlers and adults while exploring everyday scenes which either contained an inconsistent (e.g., soap on a breakfast table) or consistent (e.g., soap in a bathroom) object. Perceptual features such as saliency, centre distance and clutter of the scene affected looking times in the toddler group during the whole viewing time whereas looking times in adults were affected only by centre distance during the early viewing time. Adults looked longer to inconsistent than consistent objects either if the objects had a high or a low saliency. In contrast, toddlers presented semantic consistency effect only when objects were highly salient. Additionally, toddlers with lower vocabulary skills looked longer to inconsistent objects while toddlers with higher vocabulary skills look equally long to both consistent and inconsistent objects. Our results indicate that 24-month-old children use scene context to guide visual attention when exploring the visual environment. However, perceptual features have a stronger influence in eye movement guidance in toddlers than in adults. Our results also indicate that language skills influence cognitive but not perceptual guidance of eye movements during scene perception in toddlers. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Perceptual context and individual differences in the language proficiency of preschool children.

PubMed

Banai, Karen; Yifat, Rachel

2016-02-01

Although the contribution of perceptual processes to language skills during infancy is well recognized, the role of perception in linguistic processing beyond infancy is not well understood. In the experiments reported here, we asked whether manipulating the perceptual context in which stimuli are presented across trials influences how preschool children perform visual (shape-size identification; Experiment 1) and auditory (syllable identification; Experiment 2) tasks. Another goal was to determine whether the sensitivity to perceptual context can explain part of the variance in oral language skills in typically developing preschool children. Perceptual context was manipulated by changing the relative frequency with which target visual (Experiment 1) and auditory (Experiment 2) stimuli were presented in arrays of fixed size, and identification of the target stimuli was tested. Oral language skills were assessed using vocabulary, word definition, and phonological awareness tasks. Changes in perceptual context influenced the performance of the majority of children on both identification tasks. Sensitivity to perceptual context accounted for 7% to 15% of the variance in language scores. We suggest that context effects are an outcome of a statistical learning process. Therefore, the current findings demonstrate that statistical learning can facilitate both visual and auditory identification processes in preschool children. Furthermore, consistent with previous findings in infants and in older children and adults, individual differences in statistical learning were found to be associated with individual differences in language skills of preschool children. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Features that contribute to the usefulness of low-fidelity models for surgical skills training.

PubMed

Langebæk, R; Berendt, M; Pedersen, L T; Jensen, A L; Eika, B

2012-04-07

For practical, ethical and economic reasons, veterinary surgical education is becoming increasingly dependent on models for training. The limited availability and high cost of commercially produced surgical models has increased the need for useful, low-cost alternatives. For this reason, a number of models were developed to be used in a basic surgical skills course for veterinary students. The models were low fidelity, having limited resemblance to real animals. The aim of the present study was to describe the students' learning experience with the models and to report their perception of the usefulness of the models in applying the trained skills to live animal surgery. One hundred and forty-six veterinary fourth-year students evaluated the models on a four-point Likert scale. Of these, 26 additionally participated in individual semistructured interviews. The survey results showed that 75 per cent of the students rated the models 'useful'/'very useful'. Interviews revealed that tactile, dimensional, visual, situational and emotional features are important to students' perception of a successful translation of skills from models to live animal. In conclusion, low-fidelity models are useful educational tools in preparation for live animal surgery. However, there are specific features to take into account when developing models in order for students to perceive them as useful.

Mastering algebra retrains the visual system to perceive hierarchical structure in equations.

PubMed

Marghetis, Tyler; Landy, David; Goldstone, Robert L

2016-01-01

Formal mathematics is a paragon of abstractness. It thus seems natural to assume that the mathematical expert should rely more on symbolic or conceptual processes, and less on perception and action. We argue instead that mathematical proficiency relies on perceptual systems that have been retrained to implement mathematical skills. Specifically, we investigated whether the visual system-in particular, object-based attention-is retrained so that parsing algebraic expressions and evaluating algebraic validity are accomplished by visual processing. Object-based attention occurs when the visual system organizes the world into discrete objects, which then guide the deployment of attention. One classic signature of object-based attention is better perceptual discrimination within, rather than between, visual objects. The current study reports that object-based attention occurs not only for simple shapes but also for symbolic mathematical elements within algebraic expressions-but only among individuals who have mastered the hierarchical syntax of algebra. Moreover, among these individuals, increased object-based attention within algebraic expressions is associated with a better ability to evaluate algebraic validity. These results suggest that, in mastering the rules of algebra, people retrain their visual system to represent and evaluate abstract mathematical structure. We thus argue that algebraic expertise involves the regimentation and reuse of evolutionarily ancient perceptual processes. Our findings implicate the visual system as central to learning and reasoning in mathematics, leading us to favor educational approaches to mathematics and related STEM fields that encourage students to adapt, not abandon, their use of perception.

The temporo-parietal junction contributes to global gestalt perception—evidence from studies in chess experts

PubMed Central

Rennig, Johannes; Bilalić, Merim; Huberle, Elisabeth; Karnath, Hans-Otto; Himmelbach, Marc

2013-01-01

In a recent neuroimaging study the comparison of intact vs. disturbed perception of global gestalt indicated a significant role of the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) in the intact perception of global gestalt (Huberle and Karnath, 2012). This location corresponded well with the areas known to be damaged or impaired in patients with simultanagnosia after stroke or due to neurodegenerative diseases. It was concluded that the TPJ plays an important role in the integration of individual items to a holistic percept. Thus, increased BOLD signals should be found in this region whenever a task calls for the integration of multiple visual items. Behavioral experiments in chess experts suggested that their superior skills in comparison to chess novices are partly based on fast holistic processing of chess positions with multiple pieces. We thus analyzed BOLD data from four fMRI studies that compared chess experts with chess novices during the presentation of complex chess-related visual stimuli (Bilalić et al., 2010, 2011a,b, 2012). Three regions of interests were defined by significant TPJ clusters in the abovementioned study of global gestalt perception (Huberle and Karnath, 2012) and BOLD signal amplitudes in these regions were compared between chess experts and novices. These cross-paradigm ROI analyses revealed higher signals at the TPJ in chess experts in comparison to novices during presentations of complex chess positions. This difference was consistent across the different tasks in five independent experiments. Our results confirm the assumption that the TPJ region identified in previous work on global gestalt perception plays an important role in the processing of complex visual stimulus configurations. PMID:24009574

The Savant Syndrome Registry: A Preliminary Report.

PubMed

Treffert, Darold A; Rebedew, David L

2015-08-01

A registry has been established to document certain characteristics on a sizeable worldwide sample of individuals with savant syndrome, a rare but remarkable condition in which persons with developmental disabilities, brain injury, or brain disease have some spectacular "islands" of skill or ability that stand in jarring, marked contrast to overall handicap. Of the 319 savants included in the registry, 90% are congenital savants, while 10% are acquired savants. The registry includes individuals from 33 countries, with 70% from the United States or Canada. Sex distribution was 79% male vs. 21% female (4:1). This report summarizes the findings in the congenital savant syndrome category of the registry. Among the individuals with congenital savant syndrome, the most common underlying disability was Autistic Spectrum Disorder (75%); various other central nervous system (CNS) disorders were present in the other 25%. Fifty-five percent possessed a single special skill, while 45% had multiple skills. Music was the most frequent principal skill followed by art, memory, mathematics, calendar calculating, language, visual-spatial/mechanical, athletic, computer, extrasensory perception, and other skills.

Simulating the role of visual selective attention during the development of perceptual completion

PubMed Central

Schlesinger, Matthew; Amso, Dima; Johnson, Scott P.

2014-01-01

We recently proposed a multi-channel, image-filtering model for simulating the development of visual selective attention in young infants (Schlesinger, Amso & Johnson, 2007). The model not only captures the performance of 3-month-olds on a visual search task, but also implicates two cortical regions that may play a role in the development of visual selective attention. In the current simulation study, we used the same model to simulate 3-month-olds’ performance on a second measure, the perceptual unity task. Two parameters in the model – corresponding to areas in the occipital and parietal cortices – were systematically varied while the gaze patterns produced by the model were recorded and subsequently analyzed. Three key findings emerged from the simulation study. First, the model successfully replicated the performance of 3-month-olds on the unity perception task. Second, the model also helps to explain the improved performance of 2-month-olds when the size of the occluder in the unity perception task is reduced. Third, in contrast to our previous simulation results, variation in only one of the two cortical regions simulated (i.e. recurrent activity in posterior parietal cortex) resulted in a performance pattern that matched 3-month-olds. These findings provide additional support for our hypothesis that the development of perceptual completion in early infancy is promoted by progressive improvements in visual selective attention and oculomotor skill. PMID:23106728

Simulating the role of visual selective attention during the development of perceptual completion.

PubMed

Schlesinger, Matthew; Amso, Dima; Johnson, Scott P

2012-11-01

We recently proposed a multi-channel, image-filtering model for simulating the development of visual selective attention in young infants (Schlesinger, Amso & Johnson, 2007). The model not only captures the performance of 3-month-olds on a visual search task, but also implicates two cortical regions that may play a role in the development of visual selective attention. In the current simulation study, we used the same model to simulate 3-month-olds' performance on a second measure, the perceptual unity task. Two parameters in the model - corresponding to areas in the occipital and parietal cortices - were systematically varied while the gaze patterns produced by the model were recorded and subsequently analyzed. Three key findings emerged from the simulation study. First, the model successfully replicated the performance of 3-month-olds on the unity perception task. Second, the model also helps to explain the improved performance of 2-month-olds when the size of the occluder in the unity perception task is reduced. Third, in contrast to our previous simulation results, variation in only one of the two cortical regions simulated (i.e. recurrent activity in posterior parietal cortex) resulted in a performance pattern that matched 3-month-olds. These findings provide additional support for our hypothesis that the development of perceptual completion in early infancy is promoted by progressive improvements in visual selective attention and oculomotor skill. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

The effect of contextual sound cues on visual fidelity perception.

PubMed

Rojas, David; Cowan, Brent; Kapralos, Bill; Collins, Karen; Dubrowski, Adam

2014-01-01

Previous work has shown that sound can affect the perception of visual fidelity. Here we build upon this previous work by examining the effect of contextual sound cues (i.e., sounds that are related to the visuals) on visual fidelity perception. Results suggest that contextual sound cues do influence visual fidelity perception and, more specifically, our perception of visual fidelity increases with contextual sound cues. These results have implications for designers of multimodal virtual worlds and serious games that, with the appropriate use of contextual sounds, can reduce visual rendering requirements without a corresponding decrease in the perception of visual fidelity.

Assessing video games to improve driving skills: a literature review and observational study.

PubMed

Sue, Damian; Ray, Pradeep; Talaei-Khoei, Amir; Jonnagaddala, Jitendra; Vichitvanichphong, Suchada

2014-08-07

For individuals, especially older adults, playing video games is a promising tool for improving their driving skills. The ease of use, wide availability, and interactivity of gaming consoles make them an attractive simulation tool. The objective of this study was to look at the feasibility and effects of installing video game consoles in the homes of individuals looking to improve their driving skills. A systematic literature review was conducted to assess the effect of playing video games on improving driving skills. An observatory study was performed to evaluate the feasibility of using an Xbox 360 Kinect console for improving driving skills. Twenty-nine articles, which discuss the implementation of video games in improving driving skills were found in literature. On our study, it was found the Xbox 360 with Kinect is capable of improving physical and mental activities. Xbox Video games were introduced to engage players in physical, visual and cognitive activities including endurance, postural sway, reaction time, eyesight, eye movement, attention and concentration, difficulties with orientation, and semantic fluency. However, manual dexterity, visuo-spatial perception and binocular vision could not be addressed by these games. It was observed that Xbox Kinect (by incorporating Kinect sensor facilities) combines physical, visual and cognitive engagement of players. These results were consistent with those from the literature review. From the research that has been carried out, we can conclude that video game consoles are a viable solution for improving user's physical and mental state. In future we propose to carry a thorough evaluation of the effects of video games on driving skills in elderly people.

Academic and Business Leaders' Perceptions of 21st Century Skills: An Exploratory Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawlor, Jennifer Lynne

2017-01-01

This study explored the academic and business leaders' perceptions of 21st century skills and to what degree do these perceptions align. The results from this study show that academic and business leaders share similar perceptions of 21st century skills and the majority of the shared skills are aligned. Through an initial survey and interviews,…

Underlying mechanisms of writing difficulties among children with neurofibromatosis type 1.

PubMed

Gilboa, Yafit; Josman, Naomi; Fattal-Valevski, Aviva; Toledano-Alhadef, Hagit; Rosenblum, Sara

2014-06-01

Writing is a complex activity in which lower-level perceptual-motor processes and higher-level cognitive processes continuously interact. Preliminary evidence suggests that writing difficulties are common to children with Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1). The aim of this study was to compare the performance of children with and without NF1 in lower (visual perception, motor coordination and visual-motor integration) and higher processes (verbal and performance intelligence, visual spatial organization and visual memory) required for intact writing; and to identify the components that predict the written product's spatial arrangement and content among children with NF1. Thirty children with NF1 (ages 8-16) and 30 typically developing children matched by gender and age were tested, using standardized assessments. Children with NF1 had a significantly inferior performance in comparison to control children, on all tests that measured lower and higher level processes. The cognitive planning skill was found as a predictor of the written product's spatial arrangement. The verbal intelligence predicted the written content level. Results suggest that high level processes underlie the poor quality of writing product in children with NF1. Treatment approaches for children with NF1 must include detailed assessments of cognitive planning and language skills. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Advanced simulation technology used to reduce accident rates through a better understanding of human behaviors and human perception

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manser, Michael P.; Hancock, Peter A.

1996-06-01

Human beings and technology have attained a mutually dependent and symbiotic relationship. It is easy to recognize how each depends on the other for survival. It is also easy to see how technology advances due to human activities. However, the role technology plays in advancing humankind is seldom examined. This presentation examines two research areas where the role of advanced visual simulation systems play an integral and essential role in understanding human perception and behavior. The ultimate goal of this research is the betterment of humankind through reduced accident and death rates in transportation environments. The first research area examined involved the estimation of time-to-contact. A high-fidelity wrap-around simulator (RAS) was used to examine people's ability to estimate time-to- contact. The ability of people to estimate the amount of time before an oncoming vehicle will collide with them is a necessary skill for avoiding collisions. A vehicle approached participants at one of three velocities, and while en route to the participant, the vehicle disappeared. The participants' task was to respond when they felt the accuracy of time-to-contact estimates and the practical applications of the result. The second area of research investigates the effects of various visual stimuli on underground transportation tunnel walls for the perception of vehicle speed. A RAS is paramount in creating visual patterns in peripheral vision. Flat-screen or front-screen simulators do not have this ability. Results are discussed in terms of speed perception and the application of these results to real world environments.

Early Postimplant Speech Perception and Language Skills Predict Long-Term Language and Neurocognitive Outcomes Following Pediatric Cochlear Implantation

PubMed Central

Kronenberger, William G.; Castellanos, Irina; Pisoni, David B.

2017-01-01

Purpose We sought to determine whether speech perception and language skills measured early after cochlear implantation in children who are deaf, and early postimplant growth in speech perception and language skills, predict long-term speech perception, language, and neurocognitive outcomes. Method Thirty-six long-term users of cochlear implants, implanted at an average age of 3.4 years, completed measures of speech perception, language, and executive functioning an average of 14.4 years postimplantation. Speech perception and language skills measured in the 1st and 2nd years postimplantation and open-set word recognition measured in the 3rd and 4th years postimplantation were obtained from a research database in order to assess predictive relations with long-term outcomes. Results Speech perception and language skills at 6 and 18 months postimplantation were correlated with long-term outcomes for language, verbal working memory, and parent-reported executive functioning. Open-set word recognition was correlated with early speech perception and language skills and long-term speech perception and language outcomes. Hierarchical regressions showed that early speech perception and language skills at 6 months postimplantation and growth in these skills from 6 to 18 months both accounted for substantial variance in long-term outcomes for language and verbal working memory that was not explained by conventional demographic and hearing factors. Conclusion Speech perception and language skills measured very early postimplantation, and early postimplant growth in speech perception and language, may be clinically relevant markers of long-term language and neurocognitive outcomes in users of cochlear implants. Supplemental materials https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.5216200 PMID:28724130

Perceptions of Science Graduating Students on their Learning Gains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varsavsky, Cristina; Matthews, Kelly E.; Hodgson, Yvonne

2014-04-01

In this study, the Science Student Skills Inventory was used to gain understanding of student perceptions about their science skills set developed throughout their programme (scientific content knowledge, communication, scientific writing, teamwork, quantitative skills, and ethical thinking). The study involved 400 responses from undergraduate science students about to graduate from two Australian research-intensive institutions. For each skill, students rated on a four-point Likert scale their perception of the importance of developing the skill within the programme, how much they improved it throughout their undergraduate science programme, how much they saw the skill included in the programme, how confident they were about the skill, and how much they will use the skill in the future. Descriptive statistics indicate that overall, student perception of importance of these skills was greater than perceptions of improvement, inclusion in the programme, confidence, and future use. Quantitative skills and ethical thinking were perceived by more students to be less important. t-Test analyses revealed some differences in perception across different demographic groups (gender, age, graduate plans, and research experience). Most notably, gender showed significant differences across most skills. Implications for curriculum development are discussed, and lines for further research are given.

Perception-action coupling and anticipatory performance in baseball batting.

PubMed

Ranganathan, Rajiv; Carlton, Les G

2007-09-01

The authors examined 10 expert and 10 novice baseball batters' ability to distinguish between a fastball and a change-up in a virtual environment. They used 2 different response modes: (a) an uncoupled response in which the batters verbally predicted the type of pitch and (b) a coupled response in which the batters swung a baseball bat to try and hit the virtual ball. The authors manipulated visual information from the pitcher and ball in 6 visual conditions. The batters were more accurate in predicting the type of pitch when the response was uncoupled. In coupled responses, experts were better able to use the first 100 ms of ball flight independently of the pitcher's kinematics. In addition, the skilled batters' stepping patterns were related to the pitcher's kinematics, whereas their swing time was related to ball speed. Those findings suggest that specific task requirements determine whether a highly coupled perception-action environment improves anticipatory performance. The authors also highlight the need for research on interceptive actions to be conducted in the performer's natural environment.

Enhancing Visual Perception and Motor Accuracy among School Children through a Mindfulness and Compassion Program

PubMed Central

Tarrasch, Ricardo; Margalit-Shalom, Lilach; Berger, Rony

2017-01-01

The present study assessed the effects of the mindfulness/compassion cultivating program: “Call to Care-Israel” on the performance in visual perception (VP) and motor accuracy, as well as on anxiety levels and self-reported mindfulness among 4th and 5th grade students. One hundred and thirty-eight children participated in the program for 24 weekly sessions, while 78 children served as controls. Repeated measures ANOVA’s yielded significant interactions between time of measurement and group for VP, motor accuracy, reported mindfulness, and anxiety. Post hoc tests revealed significant improvements in the four aforementioned measures in the experimental group only. In addition, significant correlations were obtained between the improvement in motor accuracy and the reduction in anxiety and the increase in mindfulness. Since VP and motor accuracy are basic skills associated with quantifiable academic characteristics, such as reading and mathematical abilities, the results may suggest that mindfulness practice has the ability to improve academic achievements. PMID:28286492

Reading Speed as a Constraint of Accuracy of Self-Perception of Reading Skill

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kwon, Heekyung; Linderholm, Tracy

2015-01-01

We hypothesised that college students take reading speed into consideration when evaluating their own reading skill, even if reading speed does not reliably predict actual reading skill. To test this hypothesis, we measured self-perception of reading skill, self-perception of reading speed, actual reading skill and actual reading speed to…

Association of visual sensory function and higher order visual processing skills with incident driving cessation

PubMed Central

Huisingh, Carrie; McGwin, Gerald; Owsley, Cynthia

2017-01-01

Background Many studies on vision and driving cessation have relied on measures of sensory function, which are insensitive to the higher order cognitive aspects of visual processing. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between traditional measures of visual sensory function and higher order visual processing skills with incident driving cessation in a population-based sample of older drivers. Methods Two thousand licensed drivers aged ≥70 were enrolled and followed-up for three years. Tests for central vision and visual processing were administered at baseline and included visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, sensitivity in the driving visual field, visual processing speed (Useful Field of View (UFOV) Subtest 2 and Trails B), and spatial ability measured by the Visual Closure Subtest of the Motor-free Visual Perception Test. Participants self-reported the month and year of driving cessation and provided a reason for cessation. Cox proportional hazards models were used to generate crude and adjusted hazard ratios with 95% confidence intervals between visual functioning characteristics and risk of driving cessation over a three-year period. Results During the study period, 164 participants stopped driving which corresponds to a cumulative incidence of 8.5%. Impaired contrast sensitivity, visual fields, visual processing speed (UFOVand Trails B), and spatial ability were significant risk factors for subsequent driving cessation after adjusting for age, gender, marital status, number of medical conditions, and miles driven. Visual acuity impairment was not associated with driving cessation. Medical problems (63%), specifically musculoskeletal and neurological problems, as well as vision problems (17%) were cited most frequently as the reason for driving cessation. Conclusion Assessment of cognitive and visual functioning can provide useful information about subsequent risk of driving cessation among older drivers. In addition, a variety of factors, not just vision, influenced the decision to stop driving and may be amenable to intervention. PMID:27353969

Effectiveness of aides in a perceptual motor training program for children with learning disabilities.

PubMed

Gersten, J W; Foppe, K B; Gersten, R; Maxwell, S; Mirrett, P; Gipson, M; Houston, H; Grueter, B

1975-03-01

A program for children with learning disabilities associated with perceptual deficits was designed that included elements of gross and fine motor coordination, visual and somatosensory perceptual training, dance, art, music and language. The effectiveness of nonprofessional "perceptual-aides," who were trained in this program, was evaluated. Twenty-eight children with learning disabilities associated with perceptual deficits were treated by occupational, physical, recreational and language therapists; and 27 similarly involved children were treated by two aides, under supervision, after training by therapists. Treatment in both groups was for four hours weekly over a four to seven month period. There was significant improvement in motor skills, visual and somatosensory perception, language and educational skills in the two programs. Although there was no significant difference between the two groups, there was a slight advantage to the aide program. The cost of the aide program was 10 percent higher than the therapist program during the first year, but 22 percent lower than the therapist program during the second year.

Visual abilities distinguish pitchers from hitters in professional baseball.

PubMed

Klemish, David; Ramger, Benjamin; Vittetoe, Kelly; Reiter, Jerome P; Tokdar, Surya T; Appelbaum, Lawrence Gregory

2018-01-01

This study aimed to evaluate the possibility that differences in sensorimotor abilities exist between hitters and pitchers in a large cohort of baseball players of varying levels of experience. Secondary data analysis was performed on 9 sensorimotor tasks comprising the Nike Sensory Station assessment battery. Bayesian hierarchical regression modelling was applied to test for differences between pitchers and hitters in data from 566 baseball players (112 high school, 85 college, 369 professional) collected at 20 testing centres. Explanatory variables including height, handedness, eye dominance, concussion history, and player position were modelled along with age curves using basis regression splines. Regression analyses revealed better performance for hitters relative to pitchers at the professional level in the visual clarity and depth perception tasks, but these differences did not exist at the high school or college levels. No significant differences were observed in the other 7 measures of sensorimotor capabilities included in the test battery, and no systematic biases were found between the testing centres. These findings, indicating that professional-level hitters have better visual acuity and depth perception than professional-level pitchers, affirm the notion that highly experienced athletes have differing perceptual skills. Findings are discussed in relation to deliberate practice theory.

Audition dominates vision in duration perception irrespective of salience, attention, and temporal discriminability

PubMed Central

Ortega, Laura; Guzman-Martinez, Emmanuel; Grabowecky, Marcia; Suzuki, Satoru

2014-01-01

Whereas the visual modality tends to dominate over the auditory modality in bimodal spatial perception, the auditory modality tends to dominate over the visual modality in bimodal temporal perception. Recent results suggest that the visual modality dominates bimodal spatial perception because spatial discriminability is typically greater for the visual than auditory modality; accordingly, visual dominance is eliminated or reversed when visual-spatial discriminability is reduced by degrading visual stimuli to be equivalent or inferior to auditory spatial discriminability. Thus, for spatial perception, the modality that provides greater discriminability dominates. Here we ask whether auditory dominance in duration perception is similarly explained by factors that influence the relative quality of auditory and visual signals. In contrast to the spatial results, the auditory modality dominated over the visual modality in bimodal duration perception even when the auditory signal was clearly weaker, when the auditory signal was ignored (i.e., the visual signal was selectively attended), and when the temporal discriminability was equivalent for the auditory and visual signals. Thus, unlike spatial perception where the modality carrying more discriminable signals dominates, duration perception seems to be mandatorily linked to auditory processing under most circumstances. PMID:24806403

Novice Interpretations of Visual Representations of Geosciences Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burkemper, L. K.; Arthurs, L.

2013-12-01

Past cognition research of individual's perception and comprehension of bar and line graphs are substantive enough that they have resulted in the generation of graph design principles and graph comprehension theories; however, gaps remain in our understanding of how people process visual representations of data, especially of geologic and atmospheric data. This pilot project serves to build on others' prior research and begin filling the existing gaps. The primary objectives of this pilot project include: (i) design a novel data collection protocol based on a combination of paper-based surveys, think-aloud interviews, and eye-tracking tasks to investigate student data handling skills of simple to complex visual representations of geologic and atmospheric data, (ii) demonstrate that the protocol yields results that shed light on student data handling skills, and (iii) generate preliminary findings upon which tentative but perhaps helpful recommendations on how to more effectively present these data to the non-scientist community and teach essential data handling skills. An effective protocol for the combined use of paper-based surveys, think-aloud interviews, and computer-based eye-tracking tasks for investigating cognitive processes involved in perceiving, comprehending, and interpreting visual representations of geologic and atmospheric data is instrumental to future research in this area. The outcomes of this pilot study provide the foundation upon which future more in depth and scaled up investigations can build. Furthermore, findings of this pilot project are sufficient for making, at least, tentative recommendations that can help inform (i) the design of physical attributes of visual representations of data, especially more complex representations, that may aid in improving students' data handling skills and (ii) instructional approaches that have the potential to aid students in more effectively handling visual representations of geologic and atmospheric data that they might encounter in a course, television news, newspapers and magazines, and websites. Such recommendations would also be the potential subject of future investigations and have the potential to impact the design features when data is presented to the public and instructional strategies not only in geoscience courses but also other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses.

Perceptual learning in a non-human primate model of artificial vision

PubMed Central

Killian, Nathaniel J.; Vurro, Milena; Keith, Sarah B.; Kyada, Margee J.; Pezaris, John S.

2016-01-01

Visual perceptual grouping, the process of forming global percepts from discrete elements, is experience-dependent. Here we show that the learning time course in an animal model of artificial vision is predicted primarily from the density of visual elements. Three naïve adult non-human primates were tasked with recognizing the letters of the Roman alphabet presented at variable size and visualized through patterns of discrete visual elements, specifically, simulated phosphenes mimicking a thalamic visual prosthesis. The animals viewed a spatially static letter using a gaze-contingent pattern and then chose, by gaze fixation, between a matching letter and a non-matching distractor. Months of learning were required for the animals to recognize letters using simulated phosphene vision. Learning rates increased in proportion to the mean density of the phosphenes in each pattern. Furthermore, skill acquisition transferred from trained to untrained patterns, not depending on the precise retinal layout of the simulated phosphenes. Taken together, the findings suggest that learning of perceptual grouping in a gaze-contingent visual prosthesis can be described simply by the density of visual activation. PMID:27874058

Love is in the gaze: an eye-tracking study of love and sexual desire.

PubMed

Bolmont, Mylene; Cacioppo, John T; Cacioppo, Stephanie

2014-09-01

Reading other people's eyes is a valuable skill during interpersonal interaction. Although a number of studies have investigated visual patterns in relation to the perceiver's interest, intentions, and goals, little is known about eye gaze when it comes to differentiating intentions to love from intentions to lust (sexual desire). To address this question, we conducted two experiments: one testing whether the visual pattern related to the perception of love differs from that related to lust and one testing whether the visual pattern related to the expression of love differs from that related to lust. Our results show that a person's eye gaze shifts as a function of his or her goal (love vs. lust) when looking at a visual stimulus. Such identification of distinct visual patterns for love and lust could have theoretical and clinical importance in couples therapy when these two phenomena are difficult to disentangle from one another on the basis of patients' self-reports. © The Author(s) 2014.

Internet video telephony allows speech reading by deaf individuals and improves speech perception by cochlear implant users.

PubMed

Mantokoudis, Georgios; Dähler, Claudia; Dubach, Patrick; Kompis, Martin; Caversaccio, Marco D; Senn, Pascal

2013-01-01

To analyze speech reading through Internet video calls by profoundly hearing-impaired individuals and cochlear implant (CI) users. Speech reading skills of 14 deaf adults and 21 CI users were assessed using the Hochmair Schulz Moser (HSM) sentence test. We presented video simulations using different video resolutions (1280 × 720, 640 × 480, 320 × 240, 160 × 120 px), frame rates (30, 20, 10, 7, 5 frames per second (fps)), speech velocities (three different speakers), webcameras (Logitech Pro9000, C600 and C500) and image/sound delays (0-500 ms). All video simulations were presented with and without sound and in two screen sizes. Additionally, scores for live Skype™ video connection and live face-to-face communication were assessed. Higher frame rate (>7 fps), higher camera resolution (>640 × 480 px) and shorter picture/sound delay (<100 ms) were associated with increased speech perception scores. Scores were strongly dependent on the speaker but were not influenced by physical properties of the camera optics or the full screen mode. There is a significant median gain of +8.5%pts (p = 0.009) in speech perception for all 21 CI-users if visual cues are additionally shown. CI users with poor open set speech perception scores (n = 11) showed the greatest benefit under combined audio-visual presentation (median speech perception +11.8%pts, p = 0.032). Webcameras have the potential to improve telecommunication of hearing-impaired individuals.

The Influence of Undergraduate Science Curriculum Reform on Students' Perceptions of Their Quantitative Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matthews, Kelly E.; Adams, Peter; Goos, Merrilyn

2015-01-01

In this study, the Science Student Skills Inventory was used to gain understanding of student perceptions about their quantitative skills and compare perceptions of cohorts graduating before and after the implementation of a new science curriculum intent on developing quantitative skills. The study involved 600 responses from final-year…

Planning perception and action for cognitive mobile manipulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaschler, Andre; Nogina, Svetlana; Petrick, Ronald P. A.; Knoll, Alois

2013-12-01

We present a general approach to perception and manipulation planning for cognitive mobile manipulators. Rather than hard-coding single purpose robot applications, a robot should be able to reason about its basic skills in order to solve complex problems autonomously. Humans intuitively solve tasks in real-world scenarios by breaking down abstract problems into smaller sub-tasks and use heuristics based on their previous experience. We apply a similar idea for planning perception and manipulation to cognitive mobile robots. Our approach is based on contingent planning and run-time sensing, integrated in our knowledge of volumes" planning framework, called KVP. Using the general-purpose PKS planner, we model information-gathering actions at plan time that have multiple possible outcomes at run time. As a result, perception and sensing arise as necessary preconditions for manipulation, rather than being hard-coded as tasks themselves. We demonstrate the e ectiveness of our approach on two scenarios covering visual and force sensing on a real mobile manipulator.

The role of human ventral visual cortex in motion perception

PubMed Central

Saygin, Ayse P.; Lorenzi, Lauren J.; Egan, Ryan; Rees, Geraint; Behrmann, Marlene

2013-01-01

Visual motion perception is fundamental to many aspects of visual perception. Visual motion perception has long been associated with the dorsal (parietal) pathway and the involvement of the ventral ‘form’ (temporal) visual pathway has not been considered critical for normal motion perception. Here, we evaluated this view by examining whether circumscribed damage to ventral visual cortex impaired motion perception. The perception of motion in basic, non-form tasks (motion coherence and motion detection) and complex structure-from-motion, for a wide range of motion speeds, all centrally displayed, was assessed in five patients with a circumscribed lesion to either the right or left ventral visual pathway. Patients with a right, but not with a left, ventral visual lesion displayed widespread impairments in central motion perception even for non-form motion, for both slow and for fast speeds, and this held true independent of the integrity of areas MT/V5, V3A or parietal regions. In contrast with the traditional view in which only the dorsal visual stream is critical for motion perception, these novel findings implicate a more distributed circuit in which the integrity of the right ventral visual pathway is also necessary even for the perception of non-form motion. PMID:23983030

Shape Perception and Navigation in Blind Adults

PubMed Central

Gori, Monica; Cappagli, Giulia; Baud-Bovy, Gabriel; Finocchietti, Sara

2017-01-01

Different sensory systems interact to generate a representation of space and to navigate. Vision plays a critical role in the representation of space development. During navigation, vision is integrated with auditory and mobility cues. In blind individuals, visual experience is not available and navigation therefore lacks this important sensory signal. In blind individuals, compensatory mechanisms can be adopted to improve spatial and navigation skills. On the other hand, the limitations of these compensatory mechanisms are not completely clear. Both enhanced and impaired reliance on auditory cues in blind individuals have been reported. Here, we develop a new paradigm to test both auditory perception and navigation skills in blind and sighted individuals and to investigate the effect that visual experience has on the ability to reproduce simple and complex paths. During the navigation task, early blind, late blind and sighted individuals were required first to listen to an audio shape and then to recognize and reproduce it by walking. After each audio shape was presented, a static sound was played and the participants were asked to reach it. Movements were recorded with a motion tracking system. Our results show three main impairments specific to early blind individuals. The first is the tendency to compress the shapes reproduced during navigation. The second is the difficulty to recognize complex audio stimuli, and finally, the third is the difficulty in reproducing the desired shape: early blind participants occasionally reported perceiving a square but they actually reproduced a circle during the navigation task. We discuss these results in terms of compromised spatial reference frames due to lack of visual input during the early period of development. PMID:28144226

Influences of selective adaptation on perception of audiovisual speech

PubMed Central

Dias, James W.; Cook, Theresa C.; Rosenblum, Lawrence D.

2016-01-01

Research suggests that selective adaptation in speech is a low-level process dependent on sensory-specific information shared between the adaptor and test-stimuli. However, previous research has only examined how adaptors shift perception of unimodal test stimuli, either auditory or visual. In the current series of experiments, we investigated whether adaptation to cross-sensory phonetic information can influence perception of integrated audio-visual phonetic information. We examined how selective adaptation to audio and visual adaptors shift perception of speech along an audiovisual test continuum. This test-continuum consisted of nine audio-/ba/-visual-/va/ stimuli, ranging in visual clarity of the mouth. When the mouth was clearly visible, perceivers “heard” the audio-visual stimulus as an integrated “va” percept 93.7% of the time (e.g., McGurk & MacDonald, 1976). As visibility of the mouth became less clear across the nine-item continuum, the audio-visual “va” percept weakened, resulting in a continuum ranging in audio-visual percepts from /va/ to /ba/. Perception of the test-stimuli was tested before and after adaptation. Changes in audiovisual speech perception were observed following adaptation to visual-/va/ and audiovisual-/va/, but not following adaptation to auditory-/va/, auditory-/ba/, or visual-/ba/. Adaptation modulates perception of integrated audio-visual speech by modulating the processing of sensory-specific information. The results suggest that auditory and visual speech information are not completely integrated at the level of selective adaptation. PMID:27041781

Ready, Set, Go! Low Anticipatory Response during a Dyadic Task in Infants at High Familial Risk for Autism

PubMed Central

Landa, Rebecca J.; Haworth, Joshua L.; Nebel, Mary Beth

2016-01-01

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate a host of motor impairments that may share a common developmental basis with ASD core symptoms. School-age children with ASD exhibit particular difficulty with hand-eye coordination and appear to be less sensitive to visual feedback during motor learning. Sensorimotor deficits are observable as early as 6 months of age in children who later develop ASD; yet the interplay of early motor, visual and social skill development in ASD is not well understood. Integration of visual input with motor output is vital for the formation of internal models of action. Such integration is necessary not only to master a wide range of motor skills, but also to imitate and interpret the actions of others. Thus, closer examination of the early development of visual-motor deficits is of critical importance to ASD. In the present study of infants at high risk (HR) and low risk (LR) for ASD, we examined visual-motor coupling, or action anticipation, during a dynamic, interactive ball-rolling activity. We hypothesized that, compared to LR infants, HR infants would display decreased anticipatory response (perception-guided predictive action) to the approaching ball. We also examined visual attention before and during ball rolling to determine whether attention engagement contributed to differences in anticipation. Results showed that LR and HR infants demonstrated context appropriate looking behavior, both before and during the ball’s trajectory toward them. However, HR infants were less likely to exhibit context appropriate anticipatory motor response to the approaching ball (moving their arm/hand to intercept the ball) than LR infants. This finding did not appear to be driven by differences in motor skill between risk groups at 6 months of age and was extended to show an atypical predictive relationship between anticipatory behavior at 6 months and preference for looking at faces compared to objects at age 14 months in the HR group. PMID:27252667

Determining the Skills Gap: A Study of the Perceptions of Entry-Level Skills of Recent Career and Technology Education Completers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Green, Lee C.

2015-01-01

This study examined the perceptions of community employers as to the skill levels of graduates from Career and Technology Education (CTE) programs. This study also examined the perceptions of former students of CTE programs. The skill level is the skills that the job market deem necessary to be successful in a particular industry. This study also…

Surgical Practical Skills Learning Curriculum: Implementation and Interns' Confidence Perceptions.

PubMed

Acosta, Danilo; Castillo-Angeles, Manuel; Garces-Descovich, Alejandro; Watkins, Ammara A; Gupta, Alok; Critchlow, Jonathan F; Kent, Tara S

To provide an overview of the practical skills learning curriculum and assess its effects over time on the surgical interns' perceptions of their technical skills, patient management, administrative tasks, and knowledge. An 84-hour practical skills curriculum composed of didactic, simulation, and practical sessions was implemented during the 2015 to 2016 academic year for general surgery interns. Totally, 40% of the sessions were held during orientation, whereas the remainder sessions were held throughout the academic year. Interns' perceptions of their technical skills, administrative tasks, patient management, and knowledge were assessed by the practical skills curriculum residents' perception survey at various time points during their intern year (baseline, midpoint, and final). Interns were also asked to fill out an evaluation survey at the completion of each session to obtain feedback on the curriculum. General Surgery Residency program at a tertiary care academic institution. 20 General Surgery categorical and preliminary interns. Significant differences were found over time in interns' perceptions on their technical skills, patient management, administrative tasks, and knowledge (p < 0.001 for all). The results were also statistically significant when accounting for a prior boot camp course in medical school, intern status (categorical or preliminary), and gender (p < 0.05 for all). Differences in interns' perceptions occurred both from baseline to midpoint, and from midpoint to final time point evaluations (p < 0.001 for all). Prior surgical boot camp in medical school status, intern status (categorical vs. preliminary), and gender did not differ in the interns' baseline perceptions of their technical skills, patient management, administrative tasks, and knowledge (p > 0.05 for all). Implementation of a Practical Skills Curriculum in surgical internships can improve interns' confidence perception on their technical skills, patient management skills, administrative tasks, and knowledge. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Assessing Video Games to Improve Driving Skills: A Literature Review and Observational Study

PubMed Central

Sue, Damian; Vichitvanichphong, Suchada

2014-01-01

Background For individuals, especially older adults, playing video games is a promising tool for improving their driving skills. The ease of use, wide availability, and interactivity of gaming consoles make them an attractive simulation tool. Objective The objective of this study was to look at the feasibility and effects of installing video game consoles in the homes of individuals looking to improve their driving skills. Methods A systematic literature review was conducted to assess the effect of playing video games on improving driving skills. An observatory study was performed to evaluate the feasibility of using an Xbox 360 Kinect console for improving driving skills. Results Twenty–nine articles, which discuss the implementation of video games in improving driving skills were found in literature. On our study, it was found the Xbox 360 with Kinect is capable of improving physical and mental activities. Xbox Video games were introduced to engage players in physical, visual and cognitive activities including endurance, postural sway, reaction time, eyesight, eye movement, attention and concentration, difficulties with orientation, and semantic fluency. However, manual dexterity, visuo-spatial perception and binocular vision could not be addressed by these games. It was observed that Xbox Kinect (by incorporating Kinect sensor facilities) combines physical, visual and cognitive engagement of players. These results were consistent with those from the literature review. Conclusions From the research that has been carried out, we can conclude that video game consoles are a viable solution for improving user’s physical and mental state. In future we propose to carry a thorough evaluation of the effects of video games on driving skills in elderly people. PMID:25654355

Early Postimplant Speech Perception and Language Skills Predict Long-Term Language and Neurocognitive Outcomes Following Pediatric Cochlear Implantation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hunter, Cynthia R.; Kronenberger, William G.; Castellanos, Irina; Pisoni, David B.

2017-01-01

Purpose: We sought to determine whether speech perception and language skills measured early after cochlear implantation in children who are deaf, and early postimplant growth in speech perception and language skills, predict long-term speech perception, language, and neurocognitive outcomes. Method: Thirty-six long-term users of cochlear…

Perception of the Multisensory Coherence of Fluent Audiovisual Speech in Infancy: Its Emergence & the Role of Experience

PubMed Central

Lewkowicz, David J.; Minar, Nicholas J.; Tift, Amy H.; Brandon, Melissa

2014-01-01

To investigate the developmental emergence of the ability to perceive the multisensory coherence of native and non-native audiovisual fluent speech, we tested 4-, 8–10, and 12–14 month-old English-learning infants. Infants first viewed two identical female faces articulating two different monologues in silence and then in the presence of an audible monologue that matched the visible articulations of one of the faces. Neither the 4-month-old nor the 8–10 month-old infants exhibited audio-visual matching in that neither group exhibited greater looking at the matching monologue. In contrast, the 12–14 month-old infants exhibited matching and, consistent with the emergence of perceptual expertise for the native language, they perceived the multisensory coherence of native-language monologues earlier in the test trials than of non-native language monologues. Moreover, the matching of native audible and visible speech streams observed in the 12–14 month olds did not depend on audio-visual synchrony whereas the matching of non-native audible and visible speech streams did depend on synchrony. Overall, the current findings indicate that the perception of the multisensory coherence of fluent audiovisual speech emerges late in infancy, that audio-visual synchrony cues are more important in the perception of the multisensory coherence of non-native than native audiovisual speech, and that the emergence of this skill most likely is affected by perceptual narrowing. PMID:25462038

Visual Word Recognition in Deaf Readers: Lexicality Is Modulated by Communication Mode

PubMed Central

Barca, Laura; Pezzulo, Giovanni; Castrataro, Marianna; Rinaldi, Pasquale; Caselli, Maria Cristina

2013-01-01

Evidence indicates that adequate phonological abilities are necessary to develop proficient reading skills and that later in life phonology also has a role in the covert visual word recognition of expert readers. Impairments of acoustic perception, such as deafness, can lead to atypical phonological representations of written words and letters, which in turn can affect reading proficiency. Here, we report an experiment in which young adults with different levels of acoustic perception (i.e., hearing and deaf individuals) and different modes of communication (i.e., hearing individuals using spoken language, deaf individuals with a preference for sign language, and deaf individuals using the oral modality with less or no competence in sign language) performed a visual lexical decision task, which consisted of categorizing real words and consonant strings. The lexicality effect was restricted to deaf signers who responded faster to real words than consonant strings, showing over-reliance on whole word lexical processing of stimuli. No effect of stimulus type was found in deaf individuals using the oral modality or in hearing individuals. Thus, mode of communication modulates the lexicality effect. This suggests that learning a sign language during development shapes visuo-motor representations of words, which are tuned to the actions used to express them (phono-articulatory movements vs. hand movements) and to associated perceptions. As these visuo-motor representations are elicited during on-line linguistic processing and can overlap with the perceptual-motor processes required to execute the task, they can potentially produce interference or facilitation effects. PMID:23554976

Occupational therapy practice in predriving assessment post stroke in the Irish context: findings from a nominal group technique meeting.

PubMed

Stapleton, Tadhg; Connelly, Deirdre

2010-01-01

Practice in the area of predriving assessment for people with stroke varies, and research findings are not always easily transferred into the clinical setting, particularly when such assessment is not conducted within a dedicated driver assessment programme. This article explores the clinical predriving assessment practices and recommendations of a group of Irish occupational therapists for people with stroke. A consensus meeting of occupational therapists was facilitated using a nominal group technique (NGT) to identify specific components of cognition, perception, and executive function that may influence fitness to return to driving and should be assessed prior to referral for on-road evaluation. Standardised assessments for use in predriving assessment were recommended. Thirteen occupational therapists speed of processing; perceptual components of spatial awareness, depth perception, and visual inattention; and executive components of planning, problem solving, judgment, and self-awareness. Consensus emerged for the use of the following standardised tests: Behavioural Assessment of Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS), Test of Everyday Attention (TEA), Brain Injury Visual Assessment Battery for Adults (biVABA), Rivermead Perceptual Assessment Battery (RPAB), and Motor Free Visual Perceptual Test (MVPT). Tests were recommended that gave an indication of the patient's underlying component skills in the area of cognition, perception, and executive functions considered important for driving. Further research is needed in this area to develop clinical practice guidelines for occupational therapists for the assessment of fitness to return to driving after stroke.

Visual word recognition in deaf readers: lexicality is modulated by communication mode.

PubMed

Barca, Laura; Pezzulo, Giovanni; Castrataro, Marianna; Rinaldi, Pasquale; Caselli, Maria Cristina

2013-01-01

Evidence indicates that adequate phonological abilities are necessary to develop proficient reading skills and that later in life phonology also has a role in the covert visual word recognition of expert readers. Impairments of acoustic perception, such as deafness, can lead to atypical phonological representations of written words and letters, which in turn can affect reading proficiency. Here, we report an experiment in which young adults with different levels of acoustic perception (i.e., hearing and deaf individuals) and different modes of communication (i.e., hearing individuals using spoken language, deaf individuals with a preference for sign language, and deaf individuals using the oral modality with less or no competence in sign language) performed a visual lexical decision task, which consisted of categorizing real words and consonant strings. The lexicality effect was restricted to deaf signers who responded faster to real words than consonant strings, showing over-reliance on whole word lexical processing of stimuli. No effect of stimulus type was found in deaf individuals using the oral modality or in hearing individuals. Thus, mode of communication modulates the lexicality effect. This suggests that learning a sign language during development shapes visuo-motor representations of words, which are tuned to the actions used to express them (phono-articulatory movements vs. hand movements) and to associated perceptions. As these visuo-motor representations are elicited during on-line linguistic processing and can overlap with the perceptual-motor processes required to execute the task, they can potentially produce interference or facilitation effects.

Spatial Visualization Ability and Laparoscopic Skills in Novice Learners: Evaluating Stereoscopic versus Monoscopic Visualizations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roach, Victoria A.; Mistry, Manisha R.; Wilson, Timothy D.

2014-01-01

Elevated spatial visualization ability (Vz) is thought to influence surgical skill acquisition and performance. Current research suggests that stereo visualization technology and its association with skill performance may confer perceptual advantages. This is of particular interest in laparoscopic skill training, where stereo visualization may…

Leveraging strengths to reach your goals: a skills-building workshop for women in dentistry and other professions.

PubMed

Albino, Judith E

2015-05-01

This skills-building workshop at the 5(th) American Dental Education Association (ADEA) International Women's Leadership Conference engaged participants in a series of structured experiences designed to support learning about personal leadership strengths and areas for development, as well as setting and attaining leadership goals. The session was introduced with a brief reflective exercise focused on developing statements of personal goals for professional growth. An Appreciative Inquiry process then was used to explore participants' areas of strength, examining both self-perceptions and the perceptions of others who listened to their descriptions of "peak experiences" in work settings. The next part of the program utilized a Johari Window exercise to clarify the extent to which participants' self-perceived strengths and others' perceptions were shared, making those strengths visible to the world at large or hidden from the general view of others. This exercise allowed further exploration of individual competencies and characteristics and provided an opportunity for participants to visualize the potential for development in new areas. Finally, two very different peer coaching strategies were employed to expand on participants' learning. The experience proved to be a lively, socially engaging, and personally meaningful one for participants, whatever the stage of their careers or their country of origin.

Drawing on the right side of the brain: a voxel-based morphometry analysis of observational drawing.

PubMed

Chamberlain, Rebecca; McManus, I Chris; Brunswick, Nicola; Rankin, Qona; Riley, Howard; Kanai, Ryota

2014-08-01

Structural brain differences in relation to expertise have been demonstrated in a number of domains including visual perception, spatial navigation, complex motor skills and musical ability. However no studies have assessed the structural differences associated with representational skills in visual art. As training artists are inclined to be a heterogeneous group in terms of their subject matter and chosen media, it was of interest to investigate whether there would be any consistent changes in neural structure in response to increasing representational drawing skill. In the current study a cohort of 44 graduate and post-graduate art students and non-art students completed drawing tasks. Scores on these tasks were then correlated with the regional grey and white matter volume in cortical and subcortical structures. An increase in grey matter density in the left anterior cerebellum and the right medial frontal gyrus was observed in relation to observational drawing ability, whereas artistic training (art students vs. non-art students) was correlated with increased grey matter density in the right precuneus. This suggests that observational drawing ability relates to changes in structures pertaining to fine motor control and procedural memory, and that artistic training in addition is associated with enhancement of structures pertaining to visual imagery. The findings corroborate the findings of small-scale fMRI studies and provide insights into the properties of the developing artistic brain. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Human Occipital and Parietal GABA Selectively Influence Visual Perception of Orientation and Size.

PubMed

Song, Chen; Sandberg, Kristian; Andersen, Lau Møller; Blicher, Jakob Udby; Rees, Geraint

2017-09-13

GABA is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in human brain. The level of GABA varies substantially across individuals, and this variability is associated with interindividual differences in visual perception. However, it remains unclear whether the association between GABA level and visual perception reflects a general influence of visual inhibition or whether the GABA levels of different cortical regions selectively influence perception of different visual features. To address this, we studied how the GABA levels of parietal and occipital cortices related to interindividual differences in size, orientation, and brightness perception. We used visual contextual illusion as a perceptual assay since the illusion dissociates perceptual content from stimulus content and the magnitude of the illusion reflects the effect of visual inhibition. Across individuals, we observed selective correlations between the level of GABA and the magnitude of contextual illusion. Specifically, parietal GABA level correlated with size illusion magnitude but not with orientation or brightness illusion magnitude; in contrast, occipital GABA level correlated with orientation illusion magnitude but not with size or brightness illusion magnitude. Our findings reveal a region- and feature-dependent influence of GABA level on human visual perception. Parietal and occipital cortices contain, respectively, topographic maps of size and orientation preference in which neural responses to stimulus sizes and stimulus orientations are modulated by intraregional lateral connections. We propose that these lateral connections may underlie the selective influence of GABA on visual perception. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT GABA, the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in human visual system, varies substantially across individuals. This interindividual variability in GABA level is linked to interindividual differences in many aspects of visual perception. However, the widespread influence of GABA raises the question of whether interindividual variability in GABA reflects an overall variability in visual inhibition and has a general influence on visual perception or whether the GABA levels of different cortical regions have selective influence on perception of different visual features. Here we report a region- and feature-dependent influence of GABA level on human visual perception. Our findings suggest that GABA level of a cortical region selectively influences perception of visual features that are topographically mapped in this region through intraregional lateral connections. Copyright © 2017 Song, Sandberg et al.

Movement Sonification: Effects on Motor Learning beyond Rhythmic Adjustments.

PubMed

Effenberg, Alfred O; Fehse, Ursula; Schmitz, Gerd; Krueger, Bjoern; Mechling, Heinz

2016-01-01

Motor learning is based on motor perception and emergent perceptual-motor representations. A lot of behavioral research is related to single perceptual modalities but during last two decades the contribution of multimodal perception on motor behavior was discovered more and more. A growing number of studies indicates an enhanced impact of multimodal stimuli on motor perception, motor control and motor learning in terms of better precision and higher reliability of the related actions. Behavioral research is supported by neurophysiological data, revealing that multisensory integration supports motor control and learning. But the overwhelming part of both research lines is dedicated to basic research. Besides research in the domains of music, dance and motor rehabilitation, there is almost no evidence for enhanced effectiveness of multisensory information on learning of gross motor skills. To reduce this gap, movement sonification is used here in applied research on motor learning in sports. Based on the current knowledge on the multimodal organization of the perceptual system, we generate additional real-time movement information being suitable for integration with perceptual feedback streams of visual and proprioceptive modality. With ongoing training, synchronously processed auditory information should be initially integrated into the emerging internal models, enhancing the efficacy of motor learning. This is achieved by a direct mapping of kinematic and dynamic motion parameters to electronic sounds, resulting in continuous auditory and convergent audiovisual or audio-proprioceptive stimulus arrays. In sharp contrast to other approaches using acoustic information as error-feedback in motor learning settings, we try to generate additional movement information suitable for acceleration and enhancement of adequate sensorimotor representations and processible below the level of consciousness. In the experimental setting, participants were asked to learn a closed motor skill (technique acquisition of indoor rowing). One group was treated with visual information and two groups with audiovisual information (sonification vs. natural sounds). For all three groups learning became evident and remained stable. Participants treated with additional movement sonification showed better performance compared to both other groups. Results indicate that movement sonification enhances motor learning of a complex gross motor skill-even exceeding usually expected acoustic rhythmic effects on motor learning.

Smelling directions: Olfaction modulates ambiguous visual motion perception

PubMed Central

Kuang, Shenbing; Zhang, Tao

2014-01-01

Senses of smells are often accompanied by simultaneous visual sensations. Previous studies have documented enhanced olfactory performance with concurrent presence of congruent color- or shape- related visual cues, and facilitated visual object perception when congruent smells are simultaneously present. These visual object-olfaction interactions suggest the existences of couplings between the olfactory pathway and the visual ventral processing stream. However, it is not known if olfaction can modulate visual motion perception, a function that is related to the visual dorsal stream. We tested this possibility by examining the influence of olfactory cues on the perceptions of ambiguous visual motion signals. We showed that, after introducing an association between motion directions and olfactory cues, olfaction could indeed bias ambiguous visual motion perceptions. Our result that olfaction modulates visual motion processing adds to the current knowledge of cross-modal interactions and implies a possible functional linkage between the olfactory system and the visual dorsal pathway. PMID:25052162

A window of opportunity? Motor skills and perceptions of competence of children in Kindergarten

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Our aim was to examine the relationship between motor skill proficiency and perceptions of competence of children in their first year of school. We also explored gender-based differences. Findings Participants were 260 kindergarten children (mean age = 5y 9 m; boys = 52%) from eight schools; representing 78% of eligible children in those schools. Motor skills were measured using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 and perceptions of physical competence were assessed using the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children. Motor skill scores were generally low (percentile ranks ranged from 16 - 24) but perceptions of physical competence were positive (boys = 18.1/24.0, girls = 19.5/24.0). A MANOVA showed a significant overall effect for gender (Wilk's lambda = .84 with F (3, 254) = 15.84, p < 0.001) and univariate F tests were significant for all outcome variables. The relationship between object control skills and perceptions of physical competence among girls was not significant; however all other correlations were modest but significant. Conclusions Although motor skill levels were quite low, the children generally held positive perceptions of their physical competence. These positive perceptions provide a window of opportunity for fostering skillfulness. The modest relationships between perceptions of competence and motor skill proficiency suggest that the children are beginning to make self-judgments at a young age. Accordingly, opportunities for children to become and feel physically competent need to occur early in their school or preschool life. PMID:22420534

A window of opportunity? Motor skills and perceptions of competence of children in kindergarten.

PubMed

LeGear, Mark; Greyling, Lizette; Sloan, Erin; Bell, Rick I; Williams, Buffy-Lynne; Naylor, Patti-Jean; Temple, Viviene A

2012-03-15

Our aim was to examine the relationship between motor skill proficiency and perceptions of competence of children in their first year of school. We also explored gender-based differences. Participants were 260 kindergarten children (mean age = 5y 9 m; boys = 52%) from eight schools; representing 78% of eligible children in those schools. Motor skills were measured using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 and perceptions of physical competence were assessed using the Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children. Motor skill scores were generally low (percentile ranks ranged from 16 - 24) but perceptions of physical competence were positive (boys = 18.1/24.0, girls = 19.5/24.0). A MANOVA showed a significant overall effect for gender (Wilk's lambda = .84 with F (3, 254) = 15.84, p < 0.001) and univariate F tests were significant for all outcome variables. The relationship between object control skills and perceptions of physical competence among girls was not significant; however all other correlations were modest but significant. Although motor skill levels were quite low, the children generally held positive perceptions of their physical competence. These positive perceptions provide a window of opportunity for fostering skillfulness. The modest relationships between perceptions of competence and motor skill proficiency suggest that the children are beginning to make self-judgments at a young age. Accordingly, opportunities for children to become and feel physically competent need to occur early in their school or preschool life.

Visual but not motor processes predict simple visuomotor reaction time of badminton players.

PubMed

Hülsdünker, Thorben; Strüder, Heiko K; Mierau, Andreas

2018-03-01

The athlete's brain exhibits significant functional adaptations that facilitate visuomotor reaction performance. However, it is currently unclear if the same neurophysiological processes that differentiate athletes from non-athletes also determine performance within a homogeneous group of athletes. This information can provide valuable help for athletes and coaches aiming to optimize existing training regimes. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the neurophysiological correlates of visuomotor reaction performance in a group of skilled athletes. In 36 skilled badminton athletes, electroencephalography (EEG) was used to investigate pattern reversal and motion onset visual-evoked potentials (VEPs) as well as visuomotor reaction time (VMRT) during a simple reaction task. Stimulus-locked and response-locked event-related potentials (ERPs) in visual and motor regions as well as the onset of muscle activation (EMG onset) were determined. Correlation and multiple regression analyses identified the neurophysiological parameters predicting EMG onset and VMRT. For pattern reversal stimuli, the P100 latency and age best predicted EMG onset (r = 0.43; p = .003) and VMRT (r = 0.62; p = .001). In the motion onset experiment, EMG onset (r = 0.80; p < .001) and VMRT (r = 0.78; p < .001) were predicted by N2 latency and age. In both conditions, cortical potentials in motor regions were not correlated with EMG onset or VMRT. It is concluded that previously identified neurophysiological parameters differentiating athletes from non-athletes do not necessarily determine performance within a homogeneous group of athletes. Specifically, the speed of visual perception/processing predicts EMG onset and VMRT in skilled badminton players while motor-related processes, although differentiating athletes from non-athletes, are not associated simple with visuomotor reaction performance.

Effects of color combination and ambient illumination on visual perception time with TFT-LCD.

PubMed

Lin, Chin-Chiuan; Huang, Kuo-Chen

2009-10-01

An empirical study was carried out to examine the effects of color combination and ambient illumination on visual perception time using TFT-LCD. The effect of color combination was broken down into two subfactors, luminance contrast ratio and chromaticity contrast. Analysis indicated that the luminance contrast ratio and ambient illumination had significant, though small effects on visual perception. Visual perception time was better at high luminance contrast ratio than at low luminance contrast ratio. Visual perception time under normal ambient illumination was better than at other ambient illumination levels, although the stimulus color had a confounding effect on visual perception time. In general, visual perception time was better for the primary colors than the middle-point colors. Based on the results, normal ambient illumination level and high luminance contrast ratio seemed to be the optimal choice for design of workplace with video display terminals TFT-LCD.

Training of attention functions in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

PubMed

Tucha, Oliver; Tucha, Lara; Kaumann, Gesa; König, Sebastian; Lange, Katharina M; Stasik, Dorota; Streather, Zoe; Engelschalk, Tobias; Lange, Klaus W

2011-09-01

Pharmacological treatment of children with ADHD has been shown to be successful; however, medication may not normalize attention functions. The present study was based on a neuropsychological model of attention and assessed the effect of an attention training program on attentional functioning of children with ADHD. Thirty-two children with ADHD and 16 healthy children participated in the study. Children with ADHD were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions, i.e., an attention training program which trained aspects of vigilance, selective attention and divided attention, or a visual perception training which trained perceptual skills, such as perception of figure and ground, form constancy and position in space. The training programs were applied in individual sessions, twice a week, for a period of four consecutive weeks. Healthy children did not receive any training. Alertness, vigilance, selective attention, divided attention, and flexibility were examined prior to and following the interventions. Children with ADHD were assessed and trained while on ADHD medications. Data analysis revealed that the attention training used in the present study led to significant improvements of various aspects of attention, including vigilance, divided attention, and flexibility, while the visual perception training had no specific effects. The findings indicate that attention training programs have the potential to facilitate attentional functioning in children with ADHD treated with ADHD drugs.

Internet Video Telephony Allows Speech Reading by Deaf Individuals and Improves Speech Perception by Cochlear Implant Users

PubMed Central

Mantokoudis, Georgios; Dähler, Claudia; Dubach, Patrick; Kompis, Martin; Caversaccio, Marco D.; Senn, Pascal

2013-01-01

Objective To analyze speech reading through Internet video calls by profoundly hearing-impaired individuals and cochlear implant (CI) users. Methods Speech reading skills of 14 deaf adults and 21 CI users were assessed using the Hochmair Schulz Moser (HSM) sentence test. We presented video simulations using different video resolutions (1280×720, 640×480, 320×240, 160×120 px), frame rates (30, 20, 10, 7, 5 frames per second (fps)), speech velocities (three different speakers), webcameras (Logitech Pro9000, C600 and C500) and image/sound delays (0–500 ms). All video simulations were presented with and without sound and in two screen sizes. Additionally, scores for live Skype™ video connection and live face-to-face communication were assessed. Results Higher frame rate (>7 fps), higher camera resolution (>640×480 px) and shorter picture/sound delay (<100 ms) were associated with increased speech perception scores. Scores were strongly dependent on the speaker but were not influenced by physical properties of the camera optics or the full screen mode. There is a significant median gain of +8.5%pts (p = 0.009) in speech perception for all 21 CI-users if visual cues are additionally shown. CI users with poor open set speech perception scores (n = 11) showed the greatest benefit under combined audio-visual presentation (median speech perception +11.8%pts, p = 0.032). Conclusion Webcameras have the potential to improve telecommunication of hearing-impaired individuals. PMID:23359119

Employer Perceptions of Critical Information Literacy Skills and Digital Badges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raish, Victoria; Rimland, Emily

2016-01-01

Digital badges are an educational innovation used to measure learning of specific skills, such as information literacy. However, few studies have quantitatively surveyed employers for their perceptions about information literacy skills or digital badges. An online survey was developed and sent to employers to gauge perceptions of information…

The role of visual perception measures used in sports vision programmes in predicting actual game performance in Division I collegiate hockey players.

PubMed

Poltavski, Dmitri; Biberdorf, David

2015-01-01

Abstract In the growing field of sports vision little is still known about unique attributes of visual processing in ice hockey and what role visual processing plays in the overall athlete's performance. In the present study we evaluated whether visual, perceptual and cognitive/motor variables collected using the Nike SPARQ Sensory Training Station have significant relevance to the real game statistics of 38 Division I collegiate male and female hockey players. The results demonstrated that 69% of variance in the goals made by forwards in 2011-2013 could be predicted by their faster reaction time to a visual stimulus, better visual memory, better visual discrimination and a faster ability to shift focus between near and far objects. Approximately 33% of variance in game points was significantly related to better discrimination among competing visual stimuli. In addition, reaction time to a visual stimulus as well as stereoptic quickness significantly accounted for 24% of variance in the mean duration of the player's penalty time. This is one of the first studies to show that some of the visual skills that state-of-the-art generalised sports vision programmes are purported to target may indeed be important for hockey players' actual performance on the ice.

Visual skills involved in decision making by expert referees.

PubMed

Ghasemi, Abdollah; Momeni, Maryam; Jafarzadehpur, Ebrahim; Rezaee, Meysam; Taheri, Hamid

2011-02-01

Previous studies have compared visual skills of expert and novice athletes; referees' performance has not been addressed. Visual skills of two groups of expert referees, successful and unsuccessful in decision making, were compared. Using video clips of soccer matches to assess decision-making success of 41 national and international referees from 31 to 42 years of age, 10 top referees were selected as the Successful group and 10 as the Unsuccessful group. Visual tests included visual memory, visual reaction time, peripheral vision, recognition speed, saccadic eye movement, and facility of accommodation. The Successful group had better visual skills than the Unsuccessful group. Such visual skills enhance soccer referees' performance and may be recommended for young referees.

Designing human centered GeoVisualization application--the SanaViz--for telehealth users: a case study.

PubMed

Joshi, Ashish; de Araujo Novaes, Magdala; Machiavelli, Josiane; Iyengar, Sriram; Vogler, Robert; Johnson, Craig; Zhang, Jiajie; Hsu, Chiehwen E

2012-01-01

Public health data is typically organized by geospatial unit. GeoVisualization (GeoVis) allows users to see information visually on a map. Examine telehealth users' perceptions towards existing public health GeoVis applications and obtains users' feedback about features important for the design and development of Human Centered GeoVis application "the SanaViz". We employed a cross sectional study design using mixed methods approach for this pilot study. Twenty users involved with the NUTES telehealth center at Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife, Brazil were enrolled. Open and closed ended questionnaires were used to gather data. We performed audio recording for the interviews. Information gathered included socio-demographics, prior spatial skills and perception towards use of GeoVis to evaluate telehealth services. Card sorting and sketching methods were employed. Univariate analysis was performed for the continuous and categorical variables. Qualitative analysis was performed for open ended questions. Existing Public Health GeoVis applications were difficult to use. Results found interaction features zooming, linking and brushing and representation features Google maps, tables and bar chart as most preferred GeoVis features. Early involvement of users is essential to identify features necessary to be part of the human centered GeoVis application "the SanaViz".

Effectiveness of touch and feel (TAF) technique on first aid measures for visually challenged.

PubMed

Mary, Helen; Sasikalaz, D; Venkatesan, Latha

2013-01-01

There is a common perception that a blind person cannot even help his own self. In order to challenge that view, a workshop for visually-impaired people to develop the skills to be independent and productive members of society was conceived. An experimental study was conducted at National Institute of Visually Handicapped, Chennai with the objective to assess the effectiveness of Touch and Feel (TAF) technique on first aid measures for the visually challenged. Total 25 visually challenged people were selected by non-probability purposive sampling technique and data was collected using demographic variable and structured knowledge questionnaire. The score obtained was categorised into three levels: inadequate (0-8), moderately adequate (8 - 17), adequate (17 -25). The study revealed that most of the visually challenged (40%) had inadequate knowledge, and 56 percent had moderately adequate and only few (4%) had adequate knowledge in the pre-test, whereas most (68%) of them had adequate knowledge in the post-test which is statistically significant at p < 0.000 with t-value 6.779. This proves that TAF technique was effective for the visually challenged. There was no association between the demographic variables and their level of knowledge regarding first aid.

Do Perceptions of Competence Mediate The Relationship Between Fundamental Motor Skill Proficiency and Physical Activity Levels of Children in Kindergarten?

PubMed

Crane, Jeff R; Naylor, Patti J; Cook, Ryan; Temple, Viviene A

2015-07-01

Perceptions of competence mediate the relationship between motor skill proficiency and physical activity among older children and adolescents. This study examined kindergarten children's perceptions of physical competence as a mediator of the relationship between motor skill proficiency as a predictor variable and physical activity levels as the outcome variable; and also with physical activity as a predictor and motor skill proficiency as the outcome. Participants were 116 children (mean age = 5 years 7 months, 58% boys) from 10 schools. Motor skills were measured using the Test of Gross Motor Development-2 and physical activity was monitored through accelerometry. Perceptions of physical competence were measured using The Pictorial Scale of Perceived Competence and Social Acceptance for Young Children, and the relationships between these variables were examined using a model of mediation. The direct path between object control skills and moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was significant and object control skills predicted perceived physical competence. However, perceived competence did not mediate the relationship between object control skills and MVPA. The significant relationship between motor proficiency and perceptions of competence did not in turn influence kindergarten children's participation in physical activity. These findings support concepts of developmental differences in the structure of the self-perception system.

Do clinicians decide relying primarily on Bayesians principles or on Gestalt perception? Some pearls and pitfalls of Gestalt perception in medicine.

PubMed

Cervellin, Gianfranco; Borghi, Loris; Lippi, Giuseppe

2014-08-01

Clinical judgment is a foundation of medical practice and lies at the heart of a physician's knowledge, expertise and skill. Although clinical judgment is an active part of all medical fields, thus including diagnosis and therapy, communication and decision making, it is still poorly defined. It can be considered a synthesis of intuition (mainly based on Gestalt principles) and an analytical approach. Gestalt perception finds its rationale in the evidence that perception of any given object or experience exhibits intrinsic qualities that cannot be completely reduced to visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, or gustatory components. Thus, perceptions are not constructed in a "bottom-up" fashion from such elements, but are instead globally perceived, in a more "top-down" fashion. Gestalt perception, if cautiously and carefully combined with structured (techno)logical tools, would permit one to defoliate the often too-many-branches built diagnostic trees, and help physicians to better develop their competency. On the other hand, the practice of evidence-based medicine lies in the integration of individual clinical expertise and judgment with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research. This article is aimed at providing some general concepts about Gestalt perception, and to discuss some aspects of clinical practice potentially influenced by this approach.

Adolescents' Perception of the Relationship between Movement Skills, Physical Activity and Sport

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barnett, Lisa; Cliff, Ken; Morgan, Philip; van Beurden, Eric

2013-01-01

Movement skill competence is important to organised youth physical activity participation, but it is unclear how adolescents view this relationship. The primary aim of this study was to explore adolescents' perception of the relationship between movement skills, physical activity and sport, and whether their perceptions differed according to…

CPA Perceptions of Human Skills for Professional Competency Development Needs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Day, Kari C.

2017-01-01

This study addressed CPA perceptions about the need for human skill competencies as professional development. The problem was identified as the undetermined assessment of state level CPA perceptions about human skill competencies as developmental needs. CPAs and education providers may be impacted by this problem. The purpose of this study was to…

An Investigation of Maternal Emotion Socialization Behaviors, Children's Self-Perceptions, and Social Problem-Solving Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ozkan, Hurside Kubra; Aksoy, Ayse Belgin

2017-01-01

Purpose: The present study aims to investigate maternal emotion socialization, children's self-perception, and social problem-solving skills. In addition, this study describes the association between the levels of children's self-perception and social problem-solving skills. Research Methods: This is a quantitative study adopting a relational…

A Comparative Study on the Visual Perceptions of Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahmetoglu, Emine; Aral, Neriman; Butun Ayhan, Aynur

This study was conducted in order to (a) compare the visual perceptions of seven-year-old children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder with those of normally developing children of the same age and development level and (b) determine whether the visual perceptions of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder vary with respect to gender, having received preschool education and parents` educational level. A total of 60 children, 30 with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and 30 with normal development, were assigned to the study. Data about children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and their families was collected by using a General Information Form and the visual perception of children was examined through the Frostig Developmental Test of Visual Perception. The Mann-Whitney U-test and Kruskal-Wallis variance analysis was used to determine whether there was a difference of between the visual perceptions of children with normal development and those diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and to discover whether the variables of gender, preschool education and parents` educational status affected the visual perceptions of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The results showed that there was a statistically meaningful difference between the visual perceptions of the two groups and that the visual perceptions of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder were affected meaningfully by gender, preschool education and parents` educational status.

Egocentric Direction and Position Perceptions are Dissociable Based on Only Static Lane Edge Information

PubMed Central

Nakashima, Ryoichi; Iwai, Ritsuko; Ueda, Sayako; Kumada, Takatsune

2015-01-01

When observers perceive several objects in a space, at the same time, they should effectively perceive their own position as a viewpoint. However, little is known about observers’ percepts of their own spatial location based on the visual scene information viewed from them. Previous studies indicate that two distinct visual spatial processes exist in the locomotion situation: the egocentric position perception and egocentric direction perception. Those studies examined such perceptions in information rich visual environments where much dynamic and static visual information was available. This study examined these two perceptions in information of impoverished environments, including only static lane edge information (i.e., limited information). We investigated the visual factors associated with static lane edge information that may affect these perceptions. Especially, we examined the effects of the two factors on egocentric direction and position perceptions. One is the “uprightness factor” that “far” visual information is seen at upper location than “near” visual information. The other is the “central vision factor” that observers usually look at “far” visual information using central vision (i.e., foveal vision) whereas ‘near’ visual information using peripheral vision. Experiment 1 examined the effect of the “uprightness factor” using normal and inverted road images. Experiment 2 examined the effect of the “central vision factor” using normal and transposed road images where the upper half of the normal image was presented under the lower half. Experiment 3 aimed to replicate the results of Experiments 1 and 2. Results showed that egocentric direction perception is interfered with image inversion or image transposition, whereas egocentric position perception is robust against these image transformations. That is, both “uprightness” and “central vision” factors are important for egocentric direction perception, but not for egocentric position perception. Therefore, the two visual spatial perceptions about observers’ own viewpoints are fundamentally dissociable. PMID:26648895

The Perceptual Root of Object-Based Storage: An Interactive Model of Perception and Visual Working Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gao, Tao; Gao, Zaifeng; Li, Jie; Sun, Zhongqiang; Shen, Mowei

2011-01-01

Mainstream theories of visual perception assume that visual working memory (VWM) is critical for integrating online perceptual information and constructing coherent visual experiences in changing environments. Given the dynamic interaction between online perception and VWM, we propose that how visual information is processed during visual…

Visual Memories Bypass Normalization.

PubMed

Bloem, Ilona M; Watanabe, Yurika L; Kibbe, Melissa M; Ling, Sam

2018-05-01

How distinct are visual memory representations from visual perception? Although evidence suggests that briefly remembered stimuli are represented within early visual cortices, the degree to which these memory traces resemble true visual representations remains something of a mystery. Here, we tested whether both visual memory and perception succumb to a seemingly ubiquitous neural computation: normalization. Observers were asked to remember the contrast of visual stimuli, which were pitted against each other to promote normalization either in perception or in visual memory. Our results revealed robust normalization between visual representations in perception, yet no signature of normalization occurring between working memory stores-neither between representations in memory nor between memory representations and visual inputs. These results provide unique insight into the nature of visual memory representations, illustrating that visual memory representations follow a different set of computational rules, bypassing normalization, a canonical visual computation.

Visual Memories Bypass Normalization

PubMed Central

Bloem, Ilona M.; Watanabe, Yurika L.; Kibbe, Melissa M.; Ling, Sam

2018-01-01

How distinct are visual memory representations from visual perception? Although evidence suggests that briefly remembered stimuli are represented within early visual cortices, the degree to which these memory traces resemble true visual representations remains something of a mystery. Here, we tested whether both visual memory and perception succumb to a seemingly ubiquitous neural computation: normalization. Observers were asked to remember the contrast of visual stimuli, which were pitted against each other to promote normalization either in perception or in visual memory. Our results revealed robust normalization between visual representations in perception, yet no signature of normalization occurring between working memory stores—neither between representations in memory nor between memory representations and visual inputs. These results provide unique insight into the nature of visual memory representations, illustrating that visual memory representations follow a different set of computational rules, bypassing normalization, a canonical visual computation. PMID:29596038

The iconic memory skills of brain injury survivors and non-brain injured controls after visual scanning training.

PubMed

McClure, J T; Browning, R T; Vantrease, C M; Bittle, S T

1994-01-01

Previous research suggests that traumatic brain injury (TBI) results in impairment of iconic memory abilities.We would like to acknowledge the contribution of Jeffrey D. Vantrease, who wrote the software program for the Iconic Memory procedure and measurement. This raises serious implications for brain injury rehabilitation. Most cognitive rehabilitation programs do not include iconic memory training. Instead it is common for cognitive rehabilitation programs to focus on attention and concentration skills, memory skills, and visual scanning skills.This study compared the iconic memory skills of brain-injury survivors and control subjects who all reached criterion levels of visual scanning skills. This involved previous training for the brain-injury survivors using popular visual scanning programs that allowed them to visually scan with response time and accuracy within normal limits. Control subjects required only minimal training to reach normal limits criteria. This comparison allows for the dissociation of visual scanning skills and iconic memory skills.The results are discussed in terms of their implications for cognitive rehabilitation and the relationship between visual scanning training and iconic memory skills.

A portable battery for objective, non-obstrusive measures of human performances

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kennedy, R. S.

1984-01-01

The need for a standardized battery of human performance tests to measure the effects of various treatments is pointed out. Progress in such a program is reported. Three batteries are available which differ in length and the number of tests in the battery. All tests are implemented on a portable, lap held, briefcase size microprocessor. Performances measured include: information processing, memory, visual perception, reasoning, and motor skills, programs to determine norms, reliabilities, stabilities, factor structure of tests, comparisons with marker tests, apparatus suitability. Rationale for the battery is provided.

Characterizing and Improving Spatial Visualization Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Titus, Sarah; Horsman, Eric

2009-01-01

Three-dimensional spatial visualization is an essential skill for geoscientists. We conducted two evaluations of students' spatial skills to examine whether their skills improve after enrollment in a geology course or courses. First, we present results of pre- and post-course survey of abstract visualization skills used to characterize the range…

Disentangling fine motor skills' relations to academic achievement: the relative contributions of visual-spatial integration and visual-motor coordination.

PubMed

Carlson, Abby G; Rowe, Ellen; Curby, Timothy W

2013-01-01

Recent research has established a connection between children's fine motor skills and their academic performance. Previous research has focused on fine motor skills measured prior to elementary school, while the present sample included children ages 5-18 years old, making it possible to examine whether this link remains relevant throughout childhood and adolescence. Furthermore, the majority of research linking fine motor skills and academic achievement has not determined which specific components of fine motor skill are driving this relation. The few studies that have looked at associations of separate fine motor tasks with achievement suggest that copying tasks that tap visual-spatial integration skills are most closely related to achievement. The present study examined two separate elements of fine motor skills--visual-motor coordination and visual-spatial integration--and their associations with various measures of academic achievement. Visual-motor coordination was measured using tracing tasks, while visual-spatial integration was measured using copy-a-figure tasks. After controlling for gender, socioeconomic status, IQ, and visual-motor coordination, and visual-spatial integration explained significant variance in children's math and written expression achievement. Knowing that visual-spatial integration skills are associated with these two achievement domains suggests potential avenues for targeted math and writing interventions for children of all ages.

Teaching social perception skills to adolescents with autism and intellectual disabilities using video-based group instruction.

PubMed

Stauch, Tiffany A; Plavnick, Joshua B; Sankar, Sudha; Gallagher, Annie C

2018-05-17

Few interventions focus on teaching social skills to adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disabilities (ID) that are consistently used during interactions with peers ( Carter et al., 2014). The present study evaluated the effects of video-based group instruction (VGI) on the acquisition of social perception skills of five adolescents with ASD or ID in a public school setting. Social perception involves observing affective behaviors of others, discriminating relevant environmental stimuli, and differentially reinforcing the affective behavior of another person. Typically developing peers supported VGI implementation as social partners for participants. A multiple probe design across behaviors demonstrated the effectiveness of VGI for teaching social perception skills. Four of five participants acquired and maintained the targeted social perception skills, and we observed some transfer to a nontreatment setting. Results of this study suggest VGI may support the acquisition of social perception among adolescents with ASD or ID. © 2018 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

Teachers' Perceptions of Their RTI Skills as They Relate to Assessment, Instruction, and Intervention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Christian, Karyn Spann

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine teachers' perceptions of their Response to Intervention (RTI) skills as they relate to assessment, instruction, and intervention. "The Perceptions of RTI Skills Survey" was distributed to 138 elementary general education teachers in ten elementary schools in six rural school districts, and ninety…

Students' Perceptions of Life Skill Development in Project-Based Learning Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meyer, Kimberly; Wurdinger, Scott

2016-01-01

This research aimed to examine students' perceptions of their life skills while attending project-based learning (PBL) schools. The study focused on three questions including: (1) What are students' perceptions of their development of life skills in project-based learning schools?; (2) In what ways, if any, do students perceive an increase in…

Secondary School Students' Perceptions of Working Life Skills in Science-Related Careers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salonen, Anssi; Hartikainen-Ahia, Anu; Hense, Jonathan; Scheersoi, Annette; Keinonen, Tuula

2017-01-01

School students demonstrate a lack of interest in choosing science studies and science-related careers. To better understand the underlying reasons, this study aims to examine secondary school students' perceptions of working life skills and how these perceptions relate to the skills of the twenty-first century. The participants in this study were…

Metabolic Pathways Visualization Skills Development by Undergraduate Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

dos Santos, Vanessa J. S. V.; Galembeck, Eduardo

2015-01-01

We have developed a metabolic pathways visualization skill test (MPVST) to gain greater insight into our students' abilities to comprehend the visual information presented in metabolic pathways diagrams. The test is able to discriminate students' visualization ability with respect to six specific visualization skills that we identified as key to…

Factors contributing to speech perception scores in long-term pediatric cochlear implant users.

PubMed

Davidson, Lisa S; Geers, Ann E; Blamey, Peter J; Tobey, Emily A; Brenner, Christine A

2011-02-01

The objectives of this report are to (1) describe the speech perception abilities of long-term pediatric cochlear implant (CI) recipients by comparing scores obtained at elementary school (CI-E, 8 to 9 yrs) with scores obtained at high school (CI-HS, 15 to 18 yrs); (2) evaluate speech perception abilities in demanding listening conditions (i.e., noise and lower intensity levels) at adolescence; and (3) examine the relation of speech perception scores to speech and language development over this longitudinal timeframe. All 112 teenagers were part of a previous nationwide study of 8- and 9-yr-olds (N = 181) who received a CI between 2 and 5 yrs of age. The test battery included (1) the Lexical Neighborhood Test (LNT; hard and easy word lists); (2) the Bamford Kowal Bench sentence test; (3) the Children's Auditory-Visual Enhancement Test; (4) the Test of Auditory Comprehension of Language at CI-E; (5) the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test at CI-HS; and (6) the McGarr sentences (consonants correct) at CI-E and CI-HS. CI-HS speech perception was measured in both optimal and demanding listening conditions (i.e., background noise and low-intensity level). Speech perception scores were compared based on age at test, lexical difficulty of stimuli, listening environment (optimal and demanding), input mode (visual and auditory-visual), and language age. All group mean scores significantly increased with age across the two test sessions. Scores of adolescents significantly decreased in demanding listening conditions. The effect of lexical difficulty on the LNT scores, as evidenced by the difference in performance between easy versus hard lists, increased with age and decreased for adolescents in challenging listening conditions. Calculated curves for percent correct speech perception scores (LNT and Bamford Kowal Bench) and consonants correct on the McGarr sentences plotted against age-equivalent language scores on the Test of Auditory Comprehension of Language and Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test achieved asymptote at similar ages, around 10 to 11 yrs. On average, children receiving CIs between 2 and 5 yrs of age exhibited significant improvement on tests of speech perception, lipreading, speech production, and language skills measured between primary grades and adolescence. Evidence suggests that improvement in speech perception scores with age reflects increased spoken language level up to a language age of about 10 yrs. Speech perception performance significantly decreased with softer stimulus intensity level and with introduction of background noise. Upgrades to newer speech processing strategies and greater use of frequency-modulated systems may be beneficial for ameliorating performance under these demanding listening conditions.

Altered figure-ground perception in monkeys with an extra-striate lesion.

PubMed

Supèr, Hans; Lamme, Victor A F

2007-11-05

The visual system binds and segments the elements of an image into coherent objects and their surroundings. Recent findings demonstrate that primary visual cortex is involved in this process of figure-ground organization. In the primary visual cortex the late part of a neural response to a stimulus correlates with figure-ground segregation and perception. Such a late onset indicates an involvement of feedback projections from higher visual areas. To investigate the possible role of feedback in figure-ground perception we removed dorsal extra-striate areas of the monkey visual cortex. The findings show that figure-ground perception is reduced when the figure is presented in the lesioned hemifield and perception is normal when the figure appeared in the intact hemifield. In conclusion, our observations show the importance for recurrent processing in visual perception.

Perceptual flexibility is coupled with reduced executive inhibition in students of the visual arts.

PubMed

Chamberlain, Rebecca; Swinnen, Lena; Heeren, Sarah; Wagemans, Johan

2018-05-01

Artists often report that seeing familiar stimuli in novel and interesting ways plays a role in visual art creation. However, the attentional mechanisms which underpin this ability have yet to be fully investigated. More specifically, it is unclear whether the ability to reinterpret visual stimuli in novel and interesting ways is facilitated by endogenously generated switches of attention, and whether it is linked in turn to executive functions such as inhibition and response switching. To address this issue, the current study explored ambiguous figure reversal and executive function in a sample of undergraduate students studying arts and non-art subjects (N = 141). Art students showed more frequent perceptual reversals in an ambiguous figure task, both when viewing the stimulus passively and when eliciting perceptual reversals voluntarily, but showed no difference from non-art students when asked to actively maintain specific percepts. In addition, art students were worse than non-art students at inhibiting distracting flankers in an executive inhibition task. The findings suggest that art students can elicit endogenous shifts of attention more easily than non-art students but that this faculty is not directly associated with enhanced executive function. It is proposed that the signature of artistic skill may be increased perceptual flexibility accompanied by reduced cognitive inhibition; however, future research will be necessary to determine which particular subskills in the visual arts are linked to aspects of perception and executive function. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

A Neural Dynamic Architecture for Reaching and Grasping Integrates Perception and Movement Generation and Enables On-Line Updating.

PubMed

Knips, Guido; Zibner, Stephan K U; Reimann, Hendrik; Schöner, Gregor

2017-01-01

Reaching for objects and grasping them is a fundamental skill for any autonomous robot that interacts with its environment. Although this skill seems trivial to adults, who effortlessly pick up even objects they have never seen before, it is hard for other animals, for human infants, and for most autonomous robots. Any time during movement preparation and execution, human reaching movement are updated if the visual scene changes (with a delay of about 100 ms). The capability for online updating highlights how tightly perception, movement planning, and movement generation are integrated in humans. Here, we report on an effort to reproduce this tight integration in a neural dynamic process model of reaching and grasping that covers the complete path from visual perception to movement generation within a unified modeling framework, Dynamic Field Theory. All requisite processes are realized as time-continuous dynamical systems that model the evolution in time of neural population activation. Population level neural processes bring about the attentional selection of objects, the estimation of object shape and pose, and the mapping of pose parameters to suitable movement parameters. Once a target object has been selected, its pose parameters couple into the neural dynamics of movement generation so that changes of pose are propagated through the architecture to update the performed movement online. Implementing the neural architecture on an anthropomorphic robot arm equipped with a Kinect sensor, we evaluate the model by grasping wooden objects. Their size, shape, and pose are estimated from a neural model of scene perception that is based on feature fields. The sequential organization of a reach and grasp act emerges from a sequence of dynamic instabilities within a neural dynamics of behavioral organization, that effectively switches the neural controllers from one phase of the action to the next. Trajectory formation itself is driven by a dynamical systems version of the potential field approach. We highlight the emergent capacity for online updating by showing that a shift or rotation of the object during the reaching phase leads to the online adaptation of the movement plan and successful completion of the grasp.

A Neural Dynamic Architecture for Reaching and Grasping Integrates Perception and Movement Generation and Enables On-Line Updating

PubMed Central

Knips, Guido; Zibner, Stephan K. U.; Reimann, Hendrik; Schöner, Gregor

2017-01-01

Reaching for objects and grasping them is a fundamental skill for any autonomous robot that interacts with its environment. Although this skill seems trivial to adults, who effortlessly pick up even objects they have never seen before, it is hard for other animals, for human infants, and for most autonomous robots. Any time during movement preparation and execution, human reaching movement are updated if the visual scene changes (with a delay of about 100 ms). The capability for online updating highlights how tightly perception, movement planning, and movement generation are integrated in humans. Here, we report on an effort to reproduce this tight integration in a neural dynamic process model of reaching and grasping that covers the complete path from visual perception to movement generation within a unified modeling framework, Dynamic Field Theory. All requisite processes are realized as time-continuous dynamical systems that model the evolution in time of neural population activation. Population level neural processes bring about the attentional selection of objects, the estimation of object shape and pose, and the mapping of pose parameters to suitable movement parameters. Once a target object has been selected, its pose parameters couple into the neural dynamics of movement generation so that changes of pose are propagated through the architecture to update the performed movement online. Implementing the neural architecture on an anthropomorphic robot arm equipped with a Kinect sensor, we evaluate the model by grasping wooden objects. Their size, shape, and pose are estimated from a neural model of scene perception that is based on feature fields. The sequential organization of a reach and grasp act emerges from a sequence of dynamic instabilities within a neural dynamics of behavioral organization, that effectively switches the neural controllers from one phase of the action to the next. Trajectory formation itself is driven by a dynamical systems version of the potential field approach. We highlight the emergent capacity for online updating by showing that a shift or rotation of the object during the reaching phase leads to the online adaptation of the movement plan and successful completion of the grasp. PMID:28303100

Auditory, visual, and auditory-visual perceptions of emotions by young children with hearing loss versus children with normal hearing.

PubMed

Most, Tova; Michaelis, Hilit

2012-08-01

This study aimed to investigate the effect of hearing loss (HL) on emotion-perception ability among young children with and without HL. A total of 26 children 4.0-6.6 years of age with prelingual sensory-neural HL ranging from moderate to profound and 14 children with normal hearing (NH) participated. They were asked to identify happiness, anger, sadness, and fear expressed by an actress when uttering the same neutral nonsense sentence. Their auditory, visual, and auditory-visual perceptions of the emotional content were assessed. The accuracy of emotion perception among children with HL was lower than that of the NH children in all 3 conditions: auditory, visual, and auditory-visual. Perception through the combined auditory-visual mode significantly surpassed the auditory or visual modes alone in both groups, indicating that children with HL utilized the auditory information for emotion perception. No significant differences in perception emerged according to degree of HL. In addition, children with profound HL and cochlear implants did not perform differently from children with less severe HL who used hearing aids. The relatively high accuracy of emotion perception by children with HL may be explained by their intensive rehabilitation, which emphasizes suprasegmental and paralinguistic aspects of verbal communication.

Skills Gaps in Australian Firms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lindorff, Margaret

2011-01-01

This paper reports the results of a survey of more than 2000 managers examining perceptions of skills gaps in a range of Australian firms. It finds that three quarters report a skills gap, and almost one third report skills gaps across the whole organisation. Firm size and industry differences exist in perceptions of the effect of the skills gap…

Perception and control of rotorcraft flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Owen, Dean H.

1991-01-01

Three topics which can be applied to rotorcraft flight are examined: (1) the nature of visual information; (2) what visual information is informative about; and (3) the control of visual information. The anchorage of visual perception is defined as the distribution of structure in the surrounding optical array or the distribution of optical structure over the retinal surface. A debate was provoked about whether the referent of visual event perception, and in turn control, is optical motion, kinetics, or dynamics. The interface of control theory and visual perception is also considered. The relationships among these problems is the basis of this article.

Suggested Activities to Use With Children Who Present Symptoms of Visual Perception Problems, Elementary Level.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Washington County Public Schools, Washington, PA.

Symptoms displayed by primary age children with learning disabilities are listed; perceptual handicaps are explained. Activities are suggested for developing visual perception and perception involving motor activities. Also suggested are activities to develop body concept, visual discrimination and attentiveness, visual memory, and figure ground…

The dissociation of perception and cognition in children with early brain damage.

PubMed

Stiers, Peter; Vandenbussche, Erik

2004-03-01

Reduced non-verbal compared to verbal intelligence is used in many outcome studies of perinatal complications as an indication of visual perceptual impairment. To investigate whether this is justified, we re-examined data sets from two previous studies, both of which used the visual perceptual battery L94. The first study comprised 47 children at risk for cerebral visual impairment due to prematurity or birth asphyxia, who had been administered the McCarthy Scales of Children's abilities. The second study evaluated visual perceptual abilities in 82 children with a physical disability. These children's intellectual ability had been assessed with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised and/or Wechsler Pre-school and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised. No significant association was found between visual perceptual impairment and (1) reduced non-verbal to verbal intelligence; (2) increased non-verbal subtest scatter; or (3) non-verbal subtest profile deviation, for any of the intelligence scales. This result suggests that non-verbal intelligence subtests assess a complex of cognitive skills that are distinct from visual perceptual abilities, and that this assessment is not hampered by deficits in perceptual abilities as manifested in these children.

Improvement of Fine Motor Skills in Children with Visual Impairment: An Explorative Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reimer, A. M.; Cox, R. F. A.; Nijhuis-Van der Sanden, M. W. G.; Boonstra, F. N.

2011-01-01

In this study we analysed the potential spin-off of magnifier training on the fine-motor skills of visually impaired children. The fine-motor skills of 4- and 5-year-old visually impaired children were assessed using the manual skills test for children (6-12 years) with a visual impairment (ManuVis) and movement assessment for children (Movement…

[Visual perception and its disorders].

PubMed

Ruf-Bächtiger, L

1989-11-21

It's the brain and not the eye that decides what is perceived. In spite of this fact, quite a lot is known about the functioning of the eye and the first sections of the optic tract, but little about the actual process of perception. Examination of visual perception and its malfunctions relies therefore on certain hypotheses. Proceeding from the model of functional brain systems, variant functional domains of visual perception can be distinguished. Among the more important of these domains are: digit span, visual discrimination and figure-ground discrimination. Evaluation of these functional domains allows us to understand those children with disorders of visual perception better and to develop more effective treatment methods.

A Critical Review of the "Motor-Free Visual Perception Test-Fourth Edition" (MVPT-4)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Ted; Peres, Lisa

2018-01-01

The "Motor-Free Visual Perception Test-fourth edition" (MVPT-4) is a revised version of the "Motor-Free Visual Perception Test-third edition." The MVPT-4 is used to assess the visual-perceptual ability of individuals aged 4.0 through 80+ years via a series of visual-perceptual tasks that do not require a motor response. Test…

Anatomy and physiology of the afferent visual system.

PubMed

Prasad, Sashank; Galetta, Steven L

2011-01-01

The efficient organization of the human afferent visual system meets enormous computational challenges. Once visual information is received by the eye, the signal is relayed by the retina, optic nerve, chiasm, tracts, lateral geniculate nucleus, and optic radiations to the striate cortex and extrastriate association cortices for final visual processing. At each stage, the functional organization of these circuits is derived from their anatomical and structural relationships. In the retina, photoreceptors convert photons of light to an electrochemical signal that is relayed to retinal ganglion cells. Ganglion cell axons course through the optic nerve, and their partial decussation in the chiasm brings together corresponding inputs from each eye. Some inputs follow pathways to mediate pupil light reflexes and circadian rhythms. However, the majority of inputs arrive at the lateral geniculate nucleus, which relays visual information via second-order neurons that course through the optic radiations to arrive in striate cortex. Feedback mechanisms from higher cortical areas shape the neuronal responses in early visual areas, supporting coherent visual perception. Detailed knowledge of the anatomy of the afferent visual system, in combination with skilled examination, allows precise localization of neuropathological processes and guides effective diagnosis and management of neuro-ophthalmic disorders. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sensory, cognitive, and linguistic factors in the early academic performance of elementary school children: The Benton-IU project.

PubMed

Watson, Charles S; Kidd, Gary R; Homer, Douglas G; Connell, Phil J; Lowther, Andrya; Eddins, David A; Krueger, Glenn; Goss, David A; Rainey, Bill B; Gospel, Mary D; Watson, Betty U

2003-01-01

Standardized sensory, perceptual, linguistic, intellectual, and cognitive tests were administered to 470 children, approximately 96% of the students entering the first grade in the four elementary schools of Benton County, Indiana, over a 3-year period (1995--1997). The results of 36 tests and subtests administered to entering first graders were well described by a 4-factor solution. These factors and the tests that loaded most heavily on them were reading-related skills (phonological awareness, letter and word identification); visual cognition (visual perceptual abilities, spatial perception, visual memory); verbal cognition (language development, vocabulary, verbal concepts); and speech processing (the ability to understand speech under difficult listening conditions). A cluster analysis identified 9 groups of children, each with a different profile of scores on the 4 factors. Within these groups, the proportion of students with unsatisfactory reading achievement in the first 2 years of elementary school (as reflected in teacher-assigned grades) varied from 3% to 40%. The profiles of factor scores demonstrated the primary influence of the reading-related skills factor on reading achievement and also on other areas of academic performance. The second strongest predictor of reading and mathematics grades was the visual cognition factor, followed by the verbal cognition factor. The speech processing factor was the weakest predictor of academic achievement, accounting for less than 1% of the variance in reading achievement. This project was a collaborative effort of the Benton Community School Corporation and a multidisciplinary group of investigators from Indiana University.

Vernier But Not Grating Acuity Contributes to an Early Stage of Visual Word Processing.

PubMed

Tan, Yufei; Tong, Xiuhong; Chen, Wei; Weng, Xuchu; He, Sheng; Zhao, Jing

2018-03-28

The process of reading words depends heavily on efficient visual skills, including analyzing and decomposing basic visual features. Surprisingly, previous reading-related studies have almost exclusively focused on gross aspects of visual skills, while only very few have investigated the role of finer skills. The present study filled this gap and examined the relations of two finer visual skills measured by grating acuity (the ability to resolve periodic luminance variations across space) and Vernier acuity (the ability to detect/discriminate relative locations of features) to Chinese character-processing as measured by character form-matching and lexical decision tasks in skilled adult readers. The results showed that Vernier acuity was significantly correlated with performance in character form-matching but not visual symbol form-matching, while no correlation was found between grating acuity and character processing. Interestingly, we found no correlation of the two visual skills with lexical decision performance. These findings provide for the first time empirical evidence that the finer visual skills, particularly as reflected in Vernier acuity, may directly contribute to an early stage of hierarchical word processing.

Perception of Business and Industry: Basic Skills Necessary for Successful Employment Compared to Competencies of Entry Level Employees.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Junge, Denis A.; And Others

This study was conducted to assess business and industry's perceptions of the basic skills needed for entry-level successful employment. It also assessed business and industry's perceptions of the competencies that entry-level employees now have. Information was gathered via a basic skills questionnaire that was mailed to the personnel directors…

Elementary School Students Perception Levels of Problem Solving Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yavuz, Günes; Yasemin, Deringöl; Arslan, Çigdem

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study is to reveal the perception levels of problem solving skills of elementary school students. The sample of the study is formed by totally 264 elementary students attending to 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade in a big city in Turkey. Data were collected by means of "Perception Scale for Problem Solving Skills" which…

A Motor-Skills Programme to Enhance Visual Motor Integration of Selected Pre-School Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Africa, Eileen K.; van Deventer, Karel J.

2017-01-01

Pre-schoolers are in a window period for motor skill development. Visual-motor integration (VMI) is the foundation for academic and sport skills. Therefore, it must develop before formal schooling. This study attempted to improve VMI skills. VMI skills were measured with the "Beery-Buktenica developmental test of visual-motor integration 6th…

The development of visual speech perception in Mandarin Chinese-speaking children.

PubMed

Chen, Liang; Lei, Jianghua

2017-01-01

The present study aimed to investigate the development of visual speech perception in Chinese-speaking children. Children aged 7, 13 and 16 were asked to visually identify both consonant and vowel sounds in Chinese as quickly and accurately as possible. Results revealed (1) an increase in accuracy of visual speech perception between ages 7 and 13 after which the accuracy rate either stagnates or drops; and (2) a U-shaped development pattern in speed of perception with peak performance in 13-year olds. Results also showed that across all age groups, the overall levels of accuracy rose, whereas the response times fell for simplex finals, complex finals and initials. These findings suggest that (1) visual speech perception in Chinese is a developmental process that is acquired over time and is still fine-tuned well into late adolescence; (2) factors other than cross-linguistic differences in phonological complexity and degrees of reliance on visual information are involved in development of visual speech perception.

Cortical visual prostheses: from microstimulation to functional percept

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Najarpour Foroushani, Armin; Pack, Christopher C.; Sawan, Mohamad

2018-04-01

Cortical visual prostheses are intended to restore vision by targeted electrical stimulation of the visual cortex. The perception of spots of light, called phosphenes, resulting from microstimulation of the visual pathway, suggests the possibility of creating meaningful percept made of phosphenes. However, to date electrical stimulation of V1 has still not resulted in perception of phosphenated images that goes beyond punctate spots of light. In this review, we summarize the clinical and experimental progress that has been made in generating phosphenes and modulating their associated perceptual characteristics in human and macaque primary visual cortex (V1). We focus specifically on the effects of different microstimulation parameters on perception and we analyse key challenges facing the generation of meaningful artificial percepts. Finally, we propose solutions to these challenges based on the application of supervised learning of population codes for spatial stimulation of visual cortex.

Analysis of EEG signals related to artists and nonartists during visual perception, mental imagery, and rest using approximate entropy.

PubMed

Shourie, Nasrin; Firoozabadi, Mohammad; Badie, Kambiz

2014-01-01

In this paper, differences between multichannel EEG signals of artists and nonartists were analyzed during visual perception and mental imagery of some paintings and at resting condition using approximate entropy (ApEn). It was found that ApEn is significantly higher for artists during the visual perception and the mental imagery in the frontal lobe, suggesting that artists process more information during these conditions. It was also observed that ApEn decreases for the two groups during the visual perception due to increasing mental load; however, their variation patterns are different. This difference may be used for measuring progress in novice artists. In addition, it was found that ApEn is significantly lower during the visual perception than the mental imagery in some of the channels, suggesting that visual perception task requires more cerebral efforts.

Beat Perception and Sociability: Evidence from Williams Syndrome

PubMed Central

Lense, Miriam D.; Dykens, Elisabeth M.

2016-01-01

Beat perception in music has been proposed to be a human universal that may have its origins in adaptive processes involving temporal entrainment such as social communication and interaction. We examined beat perception skills in individuals with Williams syndrome (WS), a genetic, neurodevelopmental disorder. Musical interest and hypersociability are two prominent aspects of the WS phenotype although actual musical and social skills are variable. On a group level, beat and meter perception skills were poorer in WS than in age-matched peers though there was significant individual variability. Cognitive ability, sound processing style, and musical training predicted beat and meter perception performance in WS. Moreover, we found significant relationships between beat and meter perception and adaptive communication and socialization skills in WS. Results have implications for understanding the role of predictive timing in both music and social interactions in the general population, and suggest music as a promising avenue for addressing social communication difficulties in WS. PMID:27378982

Trainees' perceptions of practitioner competence during patient transfer.

PubMed

Grierson, Lawrence; Dubrowski, Adam; So, Steph; Kistner, Nicole; Carnahan, Heather

2012-01-01

Technical and communicative skills are both important features for one's perception of practitioner competence. This research examines how trainees' perceptions of practitioner competence change as they view health care practitioners who vary in their technical and communicative skill proficiencies. Occupational therapy students watched standardized encounters of a practitioner performing a patient transfer in combinations of low and high technical and communicative proficiency and then reported their perceptions of practitioner competence. The reports indicate that technical and communicative skills have independently identifiable impacts on the perceptions of practitioner competency, but technical proficiency has a special impact on the students' perceptions of practitioner communicative competence. The results are discussed with respect to the way in which students may evaluate their own competence on the basis of either technical or communicative skill. The issue of how this may lead trainees to dedicate their independent learning efforts to an incomplete set of features needed for the development of practitioner competency is raised.

Incorporation of feedback during beat synchronization is an index of neural maturation and reading skills.

PubMed

Woodruff Carr, Kali; Fitzroy, Ahren B; Tierney, Adam; White-Schwoch, Travis; Kraus, Nina

2017-01-01

Speech communication involves integration and coordination of sensory perception and motor production, requiring precise temporal coupling. Beat synchronization, the coordination of movement with a pacing sound, can be used as an index of this sensorimotor timing. We assessed adolescents' synchronization and capacity to correct asynchronies when given online visual feedback. Variability of synchronization while receiving feedback predicted phonological memory and reading sub-skills, as well as maturation of cortical auditory processing; less variable synchronization during the presence of feedback tracked with maturation of cortical processing of sound onsets and resting gamma activity. We suggest the ability to incorporate feedback during synchronization is an index of intentional, multimodal timing-based integration in the maturing adolescent brain. Precision of temporal coding across modalities is important for speech processing and literacy skills that rely on dynamic interactions with sound. Synchronization employing feedback may prove useful as a remedial strategy for individuals who struggle with timing-based language learning impairments. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A Blended Learning Experience for Teaching Microbiology

PubMed Central

Sancho, Pilar; Corral, Ricardo; Rivas, Teresa; González, María Jesús; Chordi, Andrés

2006-01-01

Objectives To create a virtual laboratory system in which experimental science students could learn required skills and competencies while overcoming such challenges as time limitations, high cost of resources, and lack of feedback often encountered in a traditional laboratory setting. Design A blended learning experience that combines traditional practices and e-learning was implemented to teach microbiological methods to pharmacy students. Virtual laboratory modules were used to acquire nonmanual skills such as visual and mental skills for data reading, calculations, interpretation of the results, deployment of an analytical protocol, and reporting results. Assesment Learning achievement was evaluated by questions about microbiology case-based problems. Students' perceptions were obtained by assessment questionnaire. Conclusion By combining different learning scenarios, the acquisition of the necessary but otherwise unreachable competences was achieved. Students achieved similar grades in the modules whose initiation was in the virtual laboratory to the grades they achieved with the modules whose complete or partial initiation took place in the laboratory. The knowledge acquired was satisfactory and the participants valued the experience. PMID:17149449

How visual search relates to visual diagnostic performance: a narrative systematic review of eye-tracking research in radiology.

PubMed

van der Gijp, A; Ravesloot, C J; Jarodzka, H; van der Schaaf, M F; van der Schaaf, I C; van Schaik, J P J; Ten Cate, Th J

2017-08-01

Eye tracking research has been conducted for decades to gain understanding of visual diagnosis such as in radiology. For educational purposes, it is important to identify visual search patterns that are related to high perceptual performance and to identify effective teaching strategies. This review of eye-tracking literature in the radiology domain aims to identify visual search patterns associated with high perceptual performance. Databases PubMed, EMBASE, ERIC, PsycINFO, Scopus and Web of Science were searched using 'visual perception' OR 'eye tracking' AND 'radiology' and synonyms. Two authors independently screened search results and included eye tracking studies concerning visual skills in radiology published between January 1, 1994 and July 31, 2015. Two authors independently assessed study quality with the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument, and extracted study data with respect to design, participant and task characteristics, and variables. A thematic analysis was conducted to extract and arrange study results, and a textual narrative synthesis was applied for data integration and interpretation. The search resulted in 22 relevant full-text articles. Thematic analysis resulted in six themes that informed the relation between visual search and level of expertise: (1) time on task, (2) eye movement characteristics of experts, (3) differences in visual attention, (4) visual search patterns, (5) search patterns in cross sectional stack imaging, and (6) teaching visual search strategies. Expert search was found to be characterized by a global-focal search pattern, which represents an initial global impression, followed by a detailed, focal search-to-find mode. Specific task-related search patterns, like drilling through CT scans and systematic search in chest X-rays, were found to be related to high expert levels. One study investigated teaching of visual search strategies, and did not find a significant effect on perceptual performance. Eye tracking literature in radiology indicates several search patterns are related to high levels of expertise, but teaching novices to search as an expert may not be effective. Experimental research is needed to find out which search strategies can improve image perception in learners.

Students' Perceptions of Teaching Methods That Bridge Theory to Practice in Dental Hygiene Education.

PubMed

Wilkinson, Denise M; Smallidge, Dianne; Boyd, Linda D; Giblin, Lori

2015-10-01

Health care education requires students to connect classroom learning with patient care. The purpose of this study was to explore dental hygiene students' perceptions of teaching tools, activities and teaching methods useful in closing the gap between theory and practice as students transition from classroom learning into the clinical phase of their training. This was an exploratory qualitative study design examining retrospective data from journal postings of a convenience sample of dental hygiene students (n=85). Open-ended questions related to patient care were given to junior and senior students to respond in a reflective journaling activity. A systematic approach was used to establish themes. Junior students predicted hands-on experiences (51%), critical thinking exercises (42%) and visual aids (27%) would be the most supportive in helping them connect theory to practice. Senior students identified critical thinking exercises (44%) and visual aids (44%) as the most beneficial in connecting classroom learning to patient care. Seniors also identified barriers preventing them from connecting theory to patient care. Barriers most often cited were not being able to see firsthand what is in the text (56%) and being unsure that what was seen during clinical practice was the same as what was taught (28%). Students recognized the benefits of critical thinking and problem solving skills after having experienced patient care and were most concerned with performance abilities prior to patient care experiences. This information will be useful in developing curricula to enhance critical thinking and problem solving skills. Copyright © 2015 The American Dental Hygienists’ Association.

Auditory processing and speech perception in children with specific language impairment: relations with oral language and literacy skills.

PubMed

Vandewalle, Ellen; Boets, Bart; Ghesquière, Pol; Zink, Inge

2012-01-01

This longitudinal study investigated temporal auditory processing (frequency modulation and between-channel gap detection) and speech perception (speech-in-noise and categorical perception) in three groups of 6 years 3 months to 6 years 8 months-old children attending grade 1: (1) children with specific language impairment (SLI) and literacy delay (n = 8), (2) children with SLI and normal literacy (n = 10) and (3) typically developing children (n = 14). Moreover, the relations between these auditory processing and speech perception skills and oral language and literacy skills in grade 1 and grade 3 were analyzed. The SLI group with literacy delay scored significantly lower than both other groups on speech perception, but not on temporal auditory processing. Both normal reading groups did not differ in terms of speech perception or auditory processing. Speech perception was significantly related to reading and spelling in grades 1 and 3 and had a unique predictive contribution to reading growth in grade 3, even after controlling reading level, phonological ability, auditory processing and oral language skills in grade 1. These findings indicated that speech perception also had a unique direct impact upon reading development and not only through its relation with phonological awareness. Moreover, speech perception seemed to be more associated with the development of literacy skills and less with oral language ability. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Measuring Educators' Perceptions of Their Skills Relative to Response to Intervention: A Psychometric Study of a Survey Tool

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Castillo, Jose M.; March, Amanda L.; Stockslager, Kevin M.; Hines, Constance V.

2016-01-01

The "Perceptions of RtI Skills Survey" is a self-report measure that assesses educators' perceptions of their data-based problem-solving skills--a critical element of many Response-to-Intervention (RtI) models. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to evaluate the underlying factor structure of this tool. Educators from 68 (n =…

Early Listening and Speaking Skills Predict Later Reading Proficiency in Pediatric Cochlear Implant Users

PubMed Central

Spencer, Linda J.; Oleson, Jacob J.

2011-01-01

Objectives Previous studies have reported that children who use cochlear implants (CIs) tend to achieve higher reading levels than their peers with profound hearing loss who use hearing aids. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influences of auditory information provided by the CI on the later reading skills of children born with profound deafness. The hypothesis was that there would be a positive and predictive relationship between earlier speech perception, production, and subsequent reading comprehension. Design The speech perception and production skills at the vowel, consonant, phoneme, and word level of 72 children with prelingual, profound hearing loss were assessed after 48 mos of CI use. The children's reading skills were subsequently assessed using word and passage comprehension measures after an average of 89.5 mos of CI use. A regression analysis determined the amount of variance in reading that could be explained by the variables of perception, production, and socioeconomic status. Results Regression analysis revealed that it was possible to explain 59% of the variance of later reading skills by assessing the early speech perception and production performance. The results indicated that early speech perception and production skills of children with profound hearing loss who receive CIs predict future reading achievement skills. Furthermore, the study implies that better early speech perception and production skills result in higher reading achievement. It is speculated that the early access to sound helps to build better phonological processing skills, which is one of the likely contributors to eventual reading success. PMID:18595191

Cochlear implants and spoken language processing abilities: review and assessment of the literature.

PubMed

Peterson, Nathaniel R; Pisoni, David B; Miyamoto, Richard T

2010-01-01

Cochlear implants (CIs) process sounds electronically and then transmit electric stimulation to the cochlea of individuals with sensorineural deafness, restoring some sensation of auditory perception. Many congenitally deaf CI recipients achieve a high degree of accuracy in speech perception and develop near-normal language skills. Post-lingually deafened implant recipients often regain the ability to understand and use spoken language with or without the aid of visual input (i.e. lip reading). However, there is wide variation in individual outcomes following cochlear implantation, and some CI recipients never develop useable speech and oral language skills. The causes of this enormous variation in outcomes are only partly understood at the present time. The variables most strongly associated with language outcomes are age at implantation and mode of communication in rehabilitation. Thus, some of the more important factors determining success of cochlear implantation are broadly related to neural plasticity that appears to be transiently present in deaf individuals. In this article we review the expected outcomes of cochlear implantation, potential predictors of those outcomes, the basic science regarding critical and sensitive periods, and several new research directions in the field of cochlear implantation.

Perceiving groups: The people perception of diversity and hierarchy.

PubMed

Phillips, L Taylor; Slepian, Michael L; Hughes, Brent L

2018-05-01

The visual perception of individuals has received considerable attention (visual person perception), but little social psychological work has examined the processes underlying the visual perception of groups of people (visual people perception). Ensemble-coding is a visual mechanism that automatically extracts summary statistics (e.g., average size) of lower-level sets of stimuli (e.g., geometric figures), and also extends to the visual perception of groups of faces. Here, we consider whether ensemble-coding supports people perception, allowing individuals to form rapid, accurate impressions about groups of people. Across nine studies, we demonstrate that people visually extract high-level properties (e.g., diversity, hierarchy) that are unique to social groups, as opposed to individual persons. Observers rapidly and accurately perceived group diversity and hierarchy, or variance across race, gender, and dominance (Studies 1-3). Further, results persist when observers are given very short display times, backward pattern masks, color- and contrast-controlled stimuli, and absolute versus relative response options (Studies 4a-7b), suggesting robust effects supported specifically by ensemble-coding mechanisms. Together, we show that humans can rapidly and accurately perceive not only individual persons, but also emergent social information unique to groups of people. These people perception findings demonstrate the importance of visual processes for enabling people to perceive social groups and behave effectively in group-based social interactions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Student Perceptions of the Importance of Employability Skill Provision in Business Undergraduate Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jackson, Denise

2013-01-01

Studies examining student perceptions of employability skill development in business undergraduate programs are limited. Assurance of student buy-in is important to ensure learners engage with skill provision; to enable them to articulate their capabilities to potential employers; and to facilitate the transfer of acquired skills. The author…

Visualization Skills: A Prerequisite to Advanced Solid Modeling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gow, George

2007-01-01

Many educators believe that solid modeling software has made teaching two- and three-dimensional visualization skills obsolete. They claim that the visual tools built into the solid modeling software serve as a replacement for the CAD operator's personal visualization skills. They also claim that because solid modeling software can produce…

Adolescent Loneliness and Social Skills: Agreement and Discrepancies Between Self-, Meta-, and Peer-Evaluations.

PubMed

Lodder, G M A; Goossens, L; Scholte, R H J; Engels, R C M E; Verhagen, M

2016-12-01

Lonely adolescents report that they have poor social skills, but it is unknown whether this is due to an accurate perception of a social skills deficit, or a biased negative perception. This is an important distinction, as actual social skills deficits require different treatments than biased negative perceptions. In this study, we compared self-reported social skills evaluations with peer-reported social skills and meta-evaluations of social skills (i.e., adolescents' perceptions of how they believe their classmates evaluate them). Based on the social skills view, we expected negative relations between loneliness and these three forms of social skills evaluations. Based on the bias view, we expected lonely adolescents to have more negative self- and meta-evaluations compared to peer-evaluations of social skills. Participants were 1342 adolescents (48.64 % male, M age  = 13.95, SD = .54). All classmates rated each other in a round-robin design to obtain peer-evaluations. Self- and meta-evaluations were obtained using self-reports. Data were analyzed using polynomial regression analyses and response surface modeling. The results indicated that, when self-, peer- and meta-evaluations were similar, a greater sense of loneliness was related to poorer social skills. Loneliness was also related to larger discrepancies between self- and peer-evaluations of loneliness, but not related to the direction of these discrepancies. Thus, for some lonely adolescents, loneliness may be related to an actual social skills deficit, whereas for others a biased negative perception of one's own social skills or a mismatch with the environment may be related to their loneliness. This implies that different mechanisms may underlie loneliness, which has implications for interventions.

A systematic review of the technology-based assessment of visual perception and exploration behaviour in association football.

PubMed

McGuckian, Thomas B; Cole, Michael H; Pepping, Gert-Jan

2018-04-01

To visually perceive opportunities for action, athletes rely on the movements of their eyes, head and body to explore their surrounding environment. To date, the specific types of technology and their efficacy for assessing the exploration behaviours of association footballers have not been systematically reviewed. This review aimed to synthesise the visual perception and exploration behaviours of footballers according to the task constraints, action requirements of the experimental task, and level of expertise of the athlete, in the context of the technology used to quantify the visual perception and exploration behaviours of footballers. A systematic search for papers that included keywords related to football, technology, and visual perception was conducted. All 38 included articles utilised eye-movement registration technology to quantify visual perception and exploration behaviour. The experimental domain appears to influence the visual perception behaviour of footballers, however no studies investigated exploration behaviours of footballers in open-play situations. Studies rarely utilised representative stimulus presentation or action requirements. To fully understand the visual perception requirements of athletes, it is recommended that future research seek to validate alternate technologies that are capable of investigating the eye, head and body movements associated with the exploration behaviours of footballers during representative open-play situations.

Seeing a haptically explored face: visual facial-expression aftereffect from haptic adaptation to a face.

PubMed

Matsumiya, Kazumichi

2013-10-01

Current views on face perception assume that the visual system receives only visual facial signals. However, I show that the visual perception of faces is systematically biased by adaptation to a haptically explored face. Recently, face aftereffects (FAEs; the altered perception of faces after adaptation to a face) have been demonstrated not only in visual perception but also in haptic perception; therefore, I combined the two FAEs to examine whether the visual system receives face-related signals from the haptic modality. I found that adaptation to a haptically explored facial expression on a face mask produced a visual FAE for facial expression. This cross-modal FAE was not due to explicitly imaging a face, response bias, or adaptation to local features. Furthermore, FAEs transferred from vision to haptics. These results indicate that visual face processing depends on substrates adapted by haptic faces, which suggests that face processing relies on shared representation underlying cross-modal interactions.

Endogenous modulation of human visual cortex activity improves perception at twilight.

PubMed

Cordani, Lorenzo; Tagliazucchi, Enzo; Vetter, Céline; Hassemer, Christian; Roenneberg, Till; Stehle, Jörg H; Kell, Christian A

2018-04-10

Perception, particularly in the visual domain, is drastically influenced by rhythmic changes in ambient lighting conditions. Anticipation of daylight changes by the circadian system is critical for survival. However, the neural bases of time-of-day-dependent modulation in human perception are not yet understood. We used fMRI to study brain dynamics during resting-state and close-to-threshold visual perception repeatedly at six times of the day. Here we report that resting-state signal variance drops endogenously at times coinciding with dawn and dusk, notably in sensory cortices only. In parallel, perception-related signal variance in visual cortices decreases and correlates negatively with detection performance, identifying an anticipatory mechanism that compensates for the deteriorated visual signal quality at dawn and dusk. Generally, our findings imply that decreases in spontaneous neural activity improve close-to-threshold perception.

Increased Complexities in Visual Search Behavior in Skilled Players for a Self-Paced Aiming Task

PubMed Central

Chia, Jingyi S.; Burns, Stephen F.; Barrett, Laura A.; Chow, Jia Y.

2017-01-01

The badminton serve is an important shot for winning a rally in a match. It combines good technique with the ability to accurately integrate visual information from the shuttle, racket, opponent, and intended landing point. Despite its importance and repercussive nature, to date no study has looked at the visual search behaviors during badminton service in the singles discipline. Unlike anticipatory tasks (e.g., shot returns), the serve presents an opportunity to explore the role of visual search behaviors in movement control for self-paced tasks. Accordingly, this study examined skill-related differences in visual behavior during the badminton singles serve. Skilled (n = 12) and less skilled (n = 12) participants performed 30 serves to a live opponent, while real-time eye movements were captured using a mobile gaze registration system. Frame-by-frame analyses of 662 serves were made and the skilled players took a longer preparatory time before serving. Visual behavior of the skilled players was characterized by significantly greater number of fixations on more areas of interest per trial than the less skilled. In addition, the skilled players spent a significantly longer time fixating on the court and net, whereas the less skilled players found the shuttle to be more informative. Quiet eye (QE) duration (indicative of superior sports performance) however, did not differ significantly between groups which has implications on the perceived importance of QE in the badminton serve. Moreover, while visual behavior differed by skill level, considerable individual differences were also observed especially within the skilled players. This augments the need for not just group-level analyses, but individualized analysis for a more accurate representation of visual behavior. Findings from this study thus provide an insight to the possible visual search strategies as players serve in net-barrier games. Moreover, this study highlighted an important aspect of badminton relating to deception and the implications of interpreting visual behavior of players. PMID:28659850

Increased Complexities in Visual Search Behavior in Skilled Players for a Self-Paced Aiming Task.

PubMed

Chia, Jingyi S; Burns, Stephen F; Barrett, Laura A; Chow, Jia Y

2017-01-01

The badminton serve is an important shot for winning a rally in a match. It combines good technique with the ability to accurately integrate visual information from the shuttle, racket, opponent, and intended landing point. Despite its importance and repercussive nature, to date no study has looked at the visual search behaviors during badminton service in the singles discipline. Unlike anticipatory tasks (e.g., shot returns), the serve presents an opportunity to explore the role of visual search behaviors in movement control for self-paced tasks. Accordingly, this study examined skill-related differences in visual behavior during the badminton singles serve. Skilled ( n = 12) and less skilled ( n = 12) participants performed 30 serves to a live opponent, while real-time eye movements were captured using a mobile gaze registration system. Frame-by-frame analyses of 662 serves were made and the skilled players took a longer preparatory time before serving. Visual behavior of the skilled players was characterized by significantly greater number of fixations on more areas of interest per trial than the less skilled. In addition, the skilled players spent a significantly longer time fixating on the court and net, whereas the less skilled players found the shuttle to be more informative. Quiet eye (QE) duration (indicative of superior sports performance) however, did not differ significantly between groups which has implications on the perceived importance of QE in the badminton serve. Moreover, while visual behavior differed by skill level, considerable individual differences were also observed especially within the skilled players. This augments the need for not just group-level analyses, but individualized analysis for a more accurate representation of visual behavior. Findings from this study thus provide an insight to the possible visual search strategies as players serve in net-barrier games. Moreover, this study highlighted an important aspect of badminton relating to deception and the implications of interpreting visual behavior of players.

Development of Object Permanence in Visually Impaired Infants.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rogers, S. J.; Puchalski, C. B.

1988-01-01

Development of object permanence skills was examined longitudinally in 20 visually impaired infants (ages 4-25 months). Order of skill acquisition and span of time required to master skills paralleled that of sighted infants, but the visually impaired subjects were 8-12 months older than sighted counterparts when similar skills were acquired.…

Optical phonetics and visual perception of lexical and phrasal stress in English.

PubMed

Scarborough, Rebecca; Keating, Patricia; Mattys, Sven L; Cho, Taehong; Alwan, Abeer

2009-01-01

In a study of optical cues to the visual perception of stress, three American English talkers spoke words that differed in lexical stress and sentences that differed in phrasal stress, while video and movements of the face were recorded. The production of stressed and unstressed syllables from these utterances was analyzed along many measures of facial movement, which were generally larger and faster in the stressed condition. In a visual perception experiment, 16 perceivers identified the location of stress in forced-choice judgments of video clips of these utterances (without audio). Phrasal stress was better perceived than lexical stress. The relation of the visual intelligibility of the prosody of these utterances to the optical characteristics of their production was analyzed to determine which cues are associated with successful visual perception. While most optical measures were correlated with perception performance, chin measures, especially Chin Opening Displacement, contributed the most to correct perception independently of the other measures. Thus, our results indicate that the information for visual stress perception is mainly associated with mouth opening movements.

Visual and auditory perception in preschool children at risk for dyslexia.

PubMed

Ortiz, Rosario; Estévez, Adelina; Muñetón, Mercedes; Domínguez, Carolina

2014-11-01

Recently, there has been renewed interest in perceptive problems of dyslexics. A polemic research issue in this area has been the nature of the perception deficit. Another issue is the causal role of this deficit in dyslexia. Most studies have been carried out in adult and child literates; consequently, the observed deficits may be the result rather than the cause of dyslexia. This study addresses these issues by examining visual and auditory perception in children at risk for dyslexia. We compared children from preschool with and without risk for dyslexia in auditory and visual temporal order judgment tasks and same-different discrimination tasks. Identical visual and auditory, linguistic and nonlinguistic stimuli were presented in both tasks. The results revealed that the visual as well as the auditory perception of children at risk for dyslexia is impaired. The comparison between groups in auditory and visual perception shows that the achievement of children at risk was lower than children without risk for dyslexia in the temporal tasks. There were no differences between groups in auditory discrimination tasks. The difficulties of children at risk in visual and auditory perceptive processing affected both linguistic and nonlinguistic stimuli. Our conclusions are that children at risk for dyslexia show auditory and visual perceptive deficits for linguistic and nonlinguistic stimuli. The auditory impairment may be explained by temporal processing problems and these problems are more serious for processing language than for processing other auditory stimuli. These visual and auditory perceptive deficits are not the consequence of failing to learn to read, thus, these findings support the theory of temporal processing deficit. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Eye movements and attention in reading, scene perception, and visual search.

PubMed

Rayner, Keith

2009-08-01

Eye movements are now widely used to investigate cognitive processes during reading, scene perception, and visual search. In this article, research on the following topics is reviewed with respect to reading: (a) the perceptual span (or span of effective vision), (b) preview benefit, (c) eye movement control, and (d) models of eye movements. Related issues with respect to eye movements during scene perception and visual search are also reviewed. It is argued that research on eye movements during reading has been somewhat advanced over research on eye movements in scene perception and visual search and that some of the paradigms developed to study reading should be more widely adopted in the study of scene perception and visual search. Research dealing with "real-world" tasks and research utilizing the visual-world paradigm are also briefly discussed.

Measuring Student Self-Perceptions of Writing Skills in Programs of Journalism and Mass Communication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lingwall, Andrew; Kuehn, Scott

2013-01-01

This study explored student self-perceptions of writing skills in journalism and mass communication programs at thirteen public state universities in the mid-Atlantic region. Factor analysis revealed seven sets of perceptions among 860 students. A Media Writing Self-Perception Scale was constructed and found to be reliable. The authors propose…

Rehabilitation regimes based upon psychophysical studies of prosthetic vision

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, S. C.; Suaning, G. J.; Morley, J. W.; Lovell, N. H.

2009-06-01

Human trials of prototype visual prostheses have successfully elicited visual percepts (phosphenes) in the visual field of implant recipients blinded through retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration. Researchers are progressing rapidly towards a device that utilizes individual phosphenes as the elementary building blocks to compose a visual scene. This form of prosthetic vision is expected, in the near term, to have low resolution, large inter-phosphene gaps, distorted spatial distribution of phosphenes, restricted field of view, an eccentrically located phosphene field and limited number of expressible luminance levels. In order to fully realize the potential of these devices, there needs to be a training and rehabilitation program which aims to assist the prosthesis recipients to understand what they are seeing, and also to adapt their viewing habits to optimize the performance of the device. Based on the literature of psychophysical studies in simulated and real prosthetic vision, this paper proposes a comprehensive, theoretical training regime for a prosthesis recipient: visual search, visual acuity, reading, face/object recognition, hand-eye coordination and navigation. The aim of these tasks is to train the recipients to conduct visual scanning, eccentric viewing and reading, discerning low-contrast visual information, and coordinating bodily actions for visual-guided tasks under prosthetic vision. These skills have been identified as playing an important role in making prosthetic vision functional for the daily activities of their recipients.

Cognitive and Developmental Influences in Visual-Motor Integration Skills in Young Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Decker, Scott L.; Englund, Julia A.; Carboni, Jessica A.; Brooks, Janell H.

2011-01-01

Measures of visual-motor integration skills continue to be widely used in psychological assessments with children. However, the construct validity of many visual-motor integration measures remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the relative contributions of maturation and cognitive skills to the development of visual-motor integration…

Classroom Teacher Candidates' Perceptions of Teacher Self-Efficacy in Developing Students' Reading, Writing and Verbal Skills: Scale Development Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Canbulat, Ayse Nur Kutluca

2017-01-01

This work uses exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to study Verbal Skills Development Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale (VSDTS), Reading Skills Development Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale (RSDTS) and Writing Skills Development Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale (WSDTS) developed to identify classroom teacher candidates' perceptions of teacher…

Fathers' Involvement in Child Care and Perceptions of Parenting Skill over the Transition to Parenthood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barry, Amy A.; Smith, JuliAnna Z.; Deutsch, Francine M.; Perry-Jenkins, Maureen

2011-01-01

This study explored first-time fathers' perceived child care skill over the transition to parenthood, based on face-to-face interviews of 152 working-class, dual-earner couples. Analyses examined the associations among fathers' perceived skill and prenatal perception of skill, child care involvement, mothers' breastfeeding, maternal gatekeeping,…

Cognitive predictors of copying and drawing from memory of the Rey-Osterrieth complex figure in 7- to 10-year-old children.

PubMed

Senese, Vincenzo Paolo; De Lucia, Natascia; Conson, Massimiliano

2015-01-01

Cognitive models of drawing are mainly based on assessment of copying performance of adults, whereas only a few studies have verified these models in young children. Moreover, developmental investigations have only rarely performed a systematic examination of the contribution of perceptual and representational visuo-spatial processes to copying and drawing from memory. In this study we investigated the role of visual perception and mental representation in both copying and drawing from memory skills in a sample of 227 typically developing children (53% females) aged 7-10 years. Participants underwent a neuropsychological assessment and the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure (ROCF). The fit and invariance of the predictive model considering visuo-spatial abilities, working memory, and executive functions were tested by means of hierarchical regressions and path analysis. Results showed that, in a gender invariant way, visual perception abilities and spatial mental representation had a direct effect on copying performance, whereas copying performance was the only specific predictor for drawing from memory. These effects were independent from age and socioeconomic status, and showed that cognitive models of drawing built up for adults could be considered for predicting copying and drawing from memory in children.

Training Laparoscopic Skills at Home: Residents' Opinion of a New Portable Tablet Box Trainer.

PubMed

van der Aa, Jessica E; Schreuder, Henk W R

2016-04-01

To determine residents' opinion about a new portable box trainer, to see if they would be interested in using this for training at home, and to give an overview of the box trainers that could be used at home. An expert opinion study was performed among 27 gynecology residents to determine the value of the portable box trainer in training their laparoscopic skills and the value of using it at home. Their opinions were scored on a 5-point Likert scale. Gynecology residents very much appreciated the portable box trainer in its design, size, visualization, light source, ability to record, and instruments (all median 4). They felt that the portable box trainer would be effective in training laparoscopic skills in general; in training hand-eye coordination, 3D perception, and tying knots (all median 4); and especially in training basic skills (median 5). Almost all residents would use the portable box trainer if they had one at home (median 5). The literature supports the hypothesis that training laparoscopic skills at home using a box trainer may be effective in acquiring and maintaining laparoscopic skills. Training laparoscopic skills at home using a portable box trainer may be of added value in the laparoscopic training of surgical residents. Residents feel positive about using the new portable box trainer that is presented and appreciate the possibility of training at home. © The Author(s) 2015.

Enabling scientific workflows in virtual reality

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kreylos, O.; Bawden, G.; Bernardin, T.; Billen, M.I.; Cowgill, E.S.; Gold, R.D.; Hamann, B.; Jadamec, M.; Kellogg, L.H.; Staadt, O.G.; Sumner, D.Y.

2006-01-01

To advance research and improve the scientific return on data collection and interpretation efforts in the geosciences, we have developed methods of interactive visualization, with a special focus on immersive virtual reality (VR) environments. Earth sciences employ a strongly visual approach to the measurement and analysis of geologic data due to the spatial and temporal scales over which such data ranges, As observations and simulations increase in size and complexity, the Earth sciences are challenged to manage and interpret increasing amounts of data. Reaping the full intellectual benefits of immersive VR requires us to tailor exploratory approaches to scientific problems. These applications build on the visualization method's strengths, using both 3D perception and interaction with data and models, to take advantage of the skills and training of the geological scientists exploring their data in the VR environment. This interactive approach has enabled us to develop a suite of tools that are adaptable to a range of problems in the geosciences and beyond. Copyright ?? 2008 by the Association for Computing Machinery, Inc.

Audio-visual integration during speech perception in prelingually deafened Japanese children revealed by the McGurk effect.

PubMed

Tona, Risa; Naito, Yasushi; Moroto, Saburo; Yamamoto, Rinko; Fujiwara, Keizo; Yamazaki, Hiroshi; Shinohara, Shogo; Kikuchi, Masahiro

2015-12-01

To investigate the McGurk effect in profoundly deafened Japanese children with cochlear implants (CI) and in normal-hearing children. This was done to identify how children with profound deafness using CI established audiovisual integration during the speech acquisition period. Twenty-four prelingually deafened children with CI and 12 age-matched normal-hearing children participated in this study. Responses to audiovisual stimuli were compared between deafened and normal-hearing controls. Additionally, responses of the children with CI younger than 6 years of age were compared with those of the children with CI at least 6 years of age at the time of the test. Responses to stimuli combining auditory labials and visual non-labials were significantly different between deafened children with CI and normal-hearing controls (p<0.05). Additionally, the McGurk effect tended to be more induced in deafened children older than 6 years of age than in their younger counterparts. The McGurk effect was more significantly induced in prelingually deafened Japanese children with CI than in normal-hearing, age-matched Japanese children. Despite having good speech-perception skills and auditory input through their CI, from early childhood, deafened children may use more visual information in speech perception than normal-hearing children. As children using CI need to communicate based on insufficient speech signals coded by CI, additional activities of higher-order brain function may be necessary to compensate for the incomplete auditory input. This study provided information on the influence of deafness on the development of audiovisual integration related to speech, which could contribute to our further understanding of the strategies used in spoken language communication by prelingually deafened children. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Facial emotion perception by intensity in children and adolescents with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome.

PubMed

Leleu, Arnaud; Saucourt, Guillaume; Rigard, Caroline; Chesnoy, Gabrielle; Baudouin, Jean-Yves; Rossi, Massimiliano; Edery, Patrick; Franck, Nicolas; Demily, Caroline

2016-03-01

Difficulties in the recognition of emotions in expressive faces have been reported in people with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS). However, while low-intensity expressive faces are frequent in everyday life, nothing is known about their ability to perceive facial emotions depending on the intensity of expression. Through a visual matching task, children and adolescents with 22q11.2DS as well as gender- and age-matched healthy participants were asked to categorise the emotion of a target face among six possible expressions. Static pictures of morphs between neutrality and expressions were used to parametrically manipulate the intensity of the target face. In comparison to healthy controls, results showed higher perception thresholds (i.e. a more intense expression is needed to perceive the emotion) and lower accuracy for the most expressive faces indicating reduced categorisation abilities in the 22q11.2DS group. The number of intrusions (i.e. each time an emotion is perceived as another one) and a more gradual perception performance indicated smooth boundaries between emotional categories. Correlational analyses with neuropsychological and clinical measures suggested that reduced visual skills may be associated with impaired categorisation of facial emotions. Overall, the present study indicates greater difficulties for children and adolescents with 22q11.2DS to perceive an emotion in low-intensity expressive faces. This disability is subtended by emotional categories that are not sharply organised. It also suggests that these difficulties may be associated with impaired visual cognition, a hallmark of the cognitive deficits observed in the syndrome. These data yield promising tracks for future experimental and clinical investigations.

Peripheral Vision of Youths with Low Vision: Motion Perception, Crowding, and Visual Search

PubMed Central

Tadin, Duje; Nyquist, Jeffrey B.; Lusk, Kelly E.; Corn, Anne L.; Lappin, Joseph S.

2012-01-01

Purpose. Effects of low vision on peripheral visual function are poorly understood, especially in children whose visual skills are still developing. The aim of this study was to measure both central and peripheral visual functions in youths with typical and low vision. Of specific interest was the extent to which measures of foveal function predict performance of peripheral tasks. Methods. We assessed central and peripheral visual functions in youths with typical vision (n = 7, ages 10–17) and low vision (n = 24, ages 9–18). Experimental measures used both static and moving stimuli and included visual crowding, visual search, motion acuity, motion direction discrimination, and multitarget motion comparison. Results. In most tasks, visual function was impaired in youths with low vision. Substantial differences, however, were found both between participant groups and, importantly, across different tasks within participant groups. Foveal visual acuity was a modest predictor of peripheral form vision and motion sensitivity in either the central or peripheral field. Despite exhibiting normal motion discriminations in fovea, motion sensitivity of youths with low vision deteriorated in the periphery. This contrasted with typically sighted participants, who showed improved motion sensitivity with increasing eccentricity. Visual search was greatly impaired in youths with low vision. Conclusions. Our results reveal a complex pattern of visual deficits in peripheral vision and indicate a significant role of attentional mechanisms in observed impairments. These deficits were not adequately captured by measures of foveal function, arguing for the importance of independently assessing peripheral visual function. PMID:22836766

Peripheral vision of youths with low vision: motion perception, crowding, and visual search.

PubMed

Tadin, Duje; Nyquist, Jeffrey B; Lusk, Kelly E; Corn, Anne L; Lappin, Joseph S

2012-08-24

Effects of low vision on peripheral visual function are poorly understood, especially in children whose visual skills are still developing. The aim of this study was to measure both central and peripheral visual functions in youths with typical and low vision. Of specific interest was the extent to which measures of foveal function predict performance of peripheral tasks. We assessed central and peripheral visual functions in youths with typical vision (n = 7, ages 10-17) and low vision (n = 24, ages 9-18). Experimental measures used both static and moving stimuli and included visual crowding, visual search, motion acuity, motion direction discrimination, and multitarget motion comparison. In most tasks, visual function was impaired in youths with low vision. Substantial differences, however, were found both between participant groups and, importantly, across different tasks within participant groups. Foveal visual acuity was a modest predictor of peripheral form vision and motion sensitivity in either the central or peripheral field. Despite exhibiting normal motion discriminations in fovea, motion sensitivity of youths with low vision deteriorated in the periphery. This contrasted with typically sighted participants, who showed improved motion sensitivity with increasing eccentricity. Visual search was greatly impaired in youths with low vision. Our results reveal a complex pattern of visual deficits in peripheral vision and indicate a significant role of attentional mechanisms in observed impairments. These deficits were not adequately captured by measures of foveal function, arguing for the importance of independently assessing peripheral visual function.

Pre-Service Physics Teachers’ Perception toward Hands-on Lab Activity and 21st Century Skills

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Putri, D. H.; Risdianto, E.; Sutarno, S.

2017-09-01

This study aimed to describe the hands-on lab activities and 21st century skills of pre-service physics teachers at a university in Bengkulu. The respondents of this study were 113 students who have been finished and were following the laboratory course. The research instrument was questionnaire. The explored aspects of laboratory activities were motivation, the importance of laboratory activities, equipment, laboratory activities process, suitability of curriculum, assessment, laboratory design, and the 21st century skills training. The 21st century skills explored consist of learning and innovation skills, life and careers skills, and media, information and technology skills. The data obtained will be analyzed descriptively. Based on the results of data analysis was obtained that they have a good perception toward the aspect of motivation, the importance of hands-on lab activities, and laboratory activities process; and the perception was fair for other aspects. The lowest perception score was obtained in the aspects of the 21st century skills training. This result was in accordance with the 21st century skills of pre-service physics teachers which were still in moderate category. So it is necessary to develop a model of laboratory activities design that can training and enhancing the 21st century skills for pre-service physics teachers.

Testing the generality of the zoom-lens model: Evidence for visual-pathway specific effects of attended-region size on perception.

PubMed

Goodhew, Stephanie C; Lawrence, Rebecca K; Edwards, Mark

2017-05-01

There are volumes of information available to process in visual scenes. Visual spatial attention is a critically important selection mechanism that prevents these volumes from overwhelming our visual system's limited-capacity processing resources. We were interested in understanding the effect of the size of the attended area on visual perception. The prevailing model of attended-region size across cognition, perception, and neuroscience is the zoom-lens model. This model stipulates that the magnitude of perceptual processing enhancement is inversely related to the size of the attended region, such that a narrow attended-region facilitates greater perceptual enhancement than a wider region. Yet visual processing is subserved by two major visual pathways (magnocellular and parvocellular) that operate with a degree of independence in early visual processing and encode contrasting visual information. Historically, testing of the zoom-lens has used measures of spatial acuity ideally suited to parvocellular processing. This, therefore, raises questions about the generality of the zoom-lens model to different aspects of visual perception. We found that while a narrow attended-region facilitated spatial acuity and the perception of high spatial frequency targets, it had no impact on either temporal acuity or the perception of low spatial frequency targets. This pattern also held up when targets were not presented centrally. This supports the notion that visual attended-region size has dissociable effects on magnocellular versus parvocellular mediated visual processing.

Changing the Learning Curve in Novice Laparoscopists: Incorporating Direct Visualization into the Simulation Training Program.

PubMed

Dawidek, Mark T; Roach, Victoria A; Ott, Michael C; Wilson, Timothy D

A major challenge in laparoscopic surgery is the lack of depth perception. With the development and continued improvement of 3D video technology, the potential benefit of restoring 3D vision to laparoscopy has received substantial attention from the surgical community. Despite this, procedures conducted under 2D vision remain the standard of care, and trainees must become proficient in 2D laparoscopy. This study aims to determine whether incorporating 3D vision into a 2D laparoscopic simulation curriculum accelerates skill acquisition in novices. Postgraduate year-1 surgical specialty residents (n = 15) at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, at Western University were randomized into 1 of 2 groups. The control group practiced the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery peg-transfer task to proficiency exclusively under standard 2D laparoscopy conditions. The experimental group first practiced peg transfer under 3D direct visualization, with direct visualization of the working field. Upon reaching proficiency, this group underwent a perceptual switch, changing to standard 2D laparoscopy conditions, and once again trained to proficiency. Incorporating 3D direct visualization before training under standard 2D conditions significantly (p < 0.0.5) reduced the total training time to proficiency by 10.9 minutes or 32.4%. There was no difference in total number of repetitions to proficiency. Data were also used to generate learning curves for each respective training protocol. An adaptive learning approach, which incorporates 3D direct visualization into a 2D laparoscopic simulation curriculum, accelerates skill acquisition. This is in contrast to previous work, possibly owing to the proficiency-based methodology employed, and has implications for resource savings in surgical training. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Enhancing Visualization Skills-Improving Options and Success (EnViSIONS) of Engineering and Technology Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Veurink, N. L.; Hamlin, A. J.; Kampe; J. C. M.; Sorby, S. A.; Blasko, D. G.; Holliday-Darr, K. A.; Kremer, J. D. Trich; Harris, L. V. Abe; Connolly, P. E.; Sadowski, M. A.; Harris, K. S.; Brus, C. P.; Boyle, L. N.; Study, N. E.; Knott, T. W.

2009-01-01

Spatial visualization skills are vital to many careers and in particular to STEM fields. Materials have been developed at Michigan Technological University and Penn State Erie, The Behrend College to assess and develop spatial skills. The EnViSIONS (Enhancing Visualization Skills-Improving Options aNd Success) project is combining these materials…

Dark Triad, Perceptions of Organizational Politics and Counterproductive Work Behaviors: The Moderating Effect of Political Skills

PubMed Central

Baloch, Muhammad A.; Meng, Fanchen; Xu, Zefeng; Cepeda-Carrion, Ignacio; Danish; Bari, Muhammad W.

2017-01-01

The aim of this work focuses on the relationship among the Dark Triad (psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism), perceptions of organizational politics, political skills, and counterproductive work behavior. This study empirically tests the mediating role of perceptions of organizational politics in the relationship between the Dark Triad and counterproductive work behavior. Furthermore, the study investigates the moderating role of political skills in strengthening the link between the Dark Triad and the perceptions of organizational politics. A sample of 149 participants was randomly selected. To analyze the data of the present work, we employed a structural equation model using partial least square and PROCESS. From empirical findings, we imply an inference that perception of organizational politics partially mediates the Dark Triad's influence on the counterproductive work behavior. Moreover, the results identify the moderating role of political skills in strengthening the link between the Dark Triad and the perceptions of organizational politics. Empirical findings suggest important policy implications for the hospitality industry. PMID:29167654

Dark Triad, Perceptions of Organizational Politics and Counterproductive Work Behaviors: The Moderating Effect of Political Skills.

PubMed

Baloch, Muhammad A; Meng, Fanchen; Xu, Zefeng; Cepeda-Carrion, Ignacio; Danish; Bari, Muhammad W

2017-01-01

The aim of this work focuses on the relationship among the Dark Triad (psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism), perceptions of organizational politics, political skills, and counterproductive work behavior. This study empirically tests the mediating role of perceptions of organizational politics in the relationship between the Dark Triad and counterproductive work behavior. Furthermore, the study investigates the moderating role of political skills in strengthening the link between the Dark Triad and the perceptions of organizational politics. A sample of 149 participants was randomly selected. To analyze the data of the present work, we employed a structural equation model using partial least square and PROCESS. From empirical findings, we imply an inference that perception of organizational politics partially mediates the Dark Triad's influence on the counterproductive work behavior. Moreover, the results identify the moderating role of political skills in strengthening the link between the Dark Triad and the perceptions of organizational politics. Empirical findings suggest important policy implications for the hospitality industry.

Visual Perception of Force: Comment on White (2012)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hubbard, Timothy L.

2012-01-01

White (2012) proposed that kinematic features in a visual percept are matched to stored representations containing information regarding forces (based on prior haptic experience) and that information in the matched, stored representations regarding forces is then incorporated into visual perception. Although some elements of White's (2012) account…

Music Program Alumni's Perceptions of Professional Skills, Abilities, and Job Satisfaction: A Secondary Analysis of the 2011, 2012, and 2013 Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP) Survey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Blackwell, Jennifer

2018-01-01

The purpose of this study is to compare music studio teachers' (n = 622) and K-12 music teachers' (n = 976) perceptions of the extent to which their postsecondary education helped them develop selected professional skills and abilities, perceptions of how important those same selected skills and abilities are for teaching, and job satisfaction.…

Perceptions of Science Graduating Students on Their Learning Gains

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Varsavsky, Cristina; Matthews, Kelly E.; Hodgson, Yvonne

2014-01-01

In this study, the Science Student Skills Inventory was used to gain understanding of student perceptions about their science skills set developed throughout their programme (scientific content knowledge, communication, scientific writing, teamwork, quantitative skills, and ethical thinking). The study involved 400 responses from undergraduate…

Examining Chemistry Students Visual-Perceptual Skills Using the VSCS Tool and Interview Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Christian, Caroline

2010-01-01

The Visual-Spatial Chemistry Specific (VSCS) assessment tool was developed to test students' visual-perceptual skills, which are required to form a mental image of an object. The VSCS was designed around the theoretical framework of Rochford and Archer that provides eight distinct and well-defined visual-perceptual skills with identified problems…

Improvements in Speech Perception by Children with Profound Prelingual Hearing Loss: Effects of Device, Communication Mode, and Chronological Age.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meyer, Ted A.; Svirsky, Mario A.; Kirk, Karen I.; Miyamoto, Richard T.

1998-01-01

This study compared the speech perception skills over time (mean = 3.5 years) of 74 prelingually deaf children using cochlear implants with the predicted speech perception skills of 58 similar children using hearing aids. Generally, speech perception scores for the children using cochlear implants were higher that those predicted for children with…

Visual Form Perception Can Be a Cognitive Correlate of Lower Level Math Categories for Teenagers.

PubMed

Cui, Jiaxin; Zhang, Yiyun; Cheng, Dazhi; Li, Dawei; Zhou, Xinlin

2017-01-01

Numerous studies have assessed the cognitive correlates of performance in mathematics, but little research has been conducted to systematically examine the relations between visual perception as the starting point of visuospatial processing and typical mathematical performance. In the current study, we recruited 223 seventh graders to perform a visual form perception task (figure matching), numerosity comparison, digit comparison, exact computation, approximate computation, and curriculum-based mathematical achievement tests. Results showed that, after controlling for gender, age, and five general cognitive processes (choice reaction time, visual tracing, mental rotation, spatial working memory, and non-verbal matrices reasoning), visual form perception had unique contributions to numerosity comparison, digit comparison, and exact computation, but had no significant relation with approximate computation or curriculum-based mathematical achievement. These results suggest that visual form perception is an important independent cognitive correlate of lower level math categories, including the approximate number system, digit comparison, and exact computation.

Different Measures of Auditory and Visual Stroop Interference and Their Relationship to Speech Intelligibility in Noise

PubMed Central

Knight, Sarah; Heinrich, Antje

2017-01-01

Inhibition—the ability to suppress goal-irrelevant information—is thought to be an important cognitive skill in many situations, including speech-in-noise (SiN) perception. One way to measure inhibition is by means of Stroop tasks, in which one stimulus dimension must be named while a second, more prepotent dimension is ignored. The to-be-ignored dimension may be relevant or irrelevant to the target dimension, and the inhibition measure—Stroop interference (SI)—is calculated as the reaction time difference between the relevant and irrelevant conditions. Both SiN perception and inhibition are suggested to worsen with age, yet attempts to connect age-related declines in these two abilities have produced mixed results. We suggest that the inconsistencies between studies may be due to methodological issues surrounding the use of Stroop tasks. First, the relationship between SI and SiN perception may differ depending on the modality of the Stroop task; second, the traditional SI measure may not account for generalized slowing or sensory declines, and thus may not provide a pure interference measure. We investigated both claims in a group of 50 older adults, who performed two Stroop tasks (visual and auditory) and two SiN perception tasks. For each Stroop task, we calculated interference scores using both the traditional difference measure and methods designed to address its various problems, and compared the ability of these different scoring methods to predict SiN performance, alone and in combination with hearing sensitivity. Results from the two Stroop tasks were uncorrelated and had different relationships to SiN perception. Changing the scoring method altered the nature of the predictive relationship between Stroop scores and SiN perception, which was additionally influenced by hearing sensitivity. These findings raise questions about the extent to which different Stroop tasks and/or scoring methods measure the same aspect of cognition. They also highlight the importance of considering additional variables such as hearing ability when analyzing cognitive variables. PMID:28367129

Making memories: the development of long-term visual knowledge in children with visual agnosia.

PubMed

Metitieri, Tiziana; Barba, Carmen; Pellacani, Simona; Viggiano, Maria Pia; Guerrini, Renzo

2013-01-01

There are few reports about the effects of perinatal acquired brain lesions on the development of visual perception. These studies demonstrate nonseverely impaired visual-spatial abilities and preserved visual memory. Longitudinal data analyzing the effects of compromised perceptions on long-term visual knowledge in agnosics are limited to lesions having occurred in adulthood. The study of children with focal lesions of the visual pathways provides a unique opportunity to assess the development of visual memory when perceptual input is degraded. We assessed visual recognition and visual memory in three children with lesions to the visual cortex having occurred in early infancy. We then explored the time course of visual memory impairment in two of them at 2  years and 3.7  years from the initial assessment. All children exhibited apperceptive visual agnosia and visual memory impairment. We observed a longitudinal improvement of visual memory modulated by the structural properties of objects. Our findings indicate that processing of degraded perceptions from birth results in impoverished memories. The dynamic interaction between perception and memory during development might modulate the long-term construction of visual representations, resulting in less severe impairment.

Making Memories: The Development of Long-Term Visual Knowledge in Children with Visual Agnosia

PubMed Central

Barba, Carmen; Pellacani, Simona; Viggiano, Maria Pia; Guerrini, Renzo

2013-01-01

There are few reports about the effects of perinatal acquired brain lesions on the development of visual perception. These studies demonstrate nonseverely impaired visual-spatial abilities and preserved visual memory. Longitudinal data analyzing the effects of compromised perceptions on long-term visual knowledge in agnosics are limited to lesions having occurred in adulthood. The study of children with focal lesions of the visual pathways provides a unique opportunity to assess the development of visual memory when perceptual input is degraded. We assessed visual recognition and visual memory in three children with lesions to the visual cortex having occurred in early infancy. We then explored the time course of visual memory impairment in two of them at 2 years and 3.7 years from the initial assessment. All children exhibited apperceptive visual agnosia and visual memory impairment. We observed a longitudinal improvement of visual memory modulated by the structural properties of objects. Our findings indicate that processing of degraded perceptions from birth results in impoverished memories. The dynamic interaction between perception and memory during development might modulate the long-term construction of visual representations, resulting in less severe impairment. PMID:24319599

Elementary Principals' Perceptions of 21st Century Skills in Southeastern Virginia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McIntyre-Odoms, Brenda

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to identify the perceptions of elementary school principals in Southeastern Virginia regarding implementation of 21st century skills. The Partnership for 21st Century Learning Skills framework was used as a foundation to identify the skills needed for the 21st century. In addition, the framework was used to examine…

Secondary school students' perceptions of working life skills in science-related careers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salonen, Anssi; Hartikainen-Ahia, Anu; Hense, Jonathan; Scheersoi, Annette; Keinonen, Tuula

2017-07-01

School students demonstrate a lack of interest in choosing science studies and science-related careers. To better understand the underlying reasons, this study aims to examine secondary school students' perceptions of working life skills and how these perceptions relate to the skills of the twenty-first century. The participants in this study were 144 Finnish 7th graders (aged 13-14 years). Using a questionnaire and qualitative content analysis, we examined their perceptions of working life skills in 'careers in science' and 'careers with science'. Results reveal that although students have a great deal of knowledge about working life skills, it is often just stereotyped. Sector-specific knowledge and skills were highlighted in particular but skills related to society, organisation, time and higher order thinking, were often omitted. Results also indicate that students do not associate 'careers in science' with creativity, innovation, collaboration or technology and ICT skills. Conversely, according to the students, these careers demand more sector-specific knowledge and responsibility than 'careers with science'. We conclude that students need more wide-ranging information about scientific careers and the competencies demanded; such information can be acquired by e.g. interacting with professionals and their real working life problems.

Perceptual geometry of space and form: visual perception of natural scenes and their virtual representation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Assadi, Amir H.

2001-11-01

Perceptual geometry is an emerging field of interdisciplinary research whose objectives focus on study of geometry from the perspective of visual perception, and in turn, apply such geometric findings to the ecological study of vision. Perceptual geometry attempts to answer fundamental questions in perception of form and representation of space through synthesis of cognitive and biological theories of visual perception with geometric theories of the physical world. Perception of form and space are among fundamental problems in vision science. In recent cognitive and computational models of human perception, natural scenes are used systematically as preferred visual stimuli. Among key problems in perception of form and space, we have examined perception of geometry of natural surfaces and curves, e.g. as in the observer's environment. Besides a systematic mathematical foundation for a remarkably general framework, the advantages of the Gestalt theory of natural surfaces include a concrete computational approach to simulate or recreate images whose geometric invariants and quantities might be perceived and estimated by an observer. The latter is at the very foundation of understanding the nature of perception of space and form, and the (computer graphics) problem of rendering scenes to visually invoke virtual presence.

The language of pain: A short study

PubMed Central

Rathnam, Arun; Madan, Nidhi; Madan, Neeti

2010-01-01

Background: Pain perception is a very controversial topic in child patients. It is affected by various factors such as fear, anxiety, previous experiences, parental factors, and pain threshold. The communication of such pain by the child to the parent is also very confusing with children having rudimentary and developing communication skills. A study to evaluate the pain perception of children and the parental understanding of the children's pain would be helpful in this scenario. The effect on behavior due to pain is also attempted in this particular study. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study of 100 children aged between 5-13 years accompanied by either parent was performed. Data collection was done with the help of questionnaires, which assessed the parental understanding of the child's pain. Pain perception recording was done with the Visual Analog Scale of Faces (VASOF). The behavior of the child was noted using the Frankl's behavior rating scale. Data was collated and statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS (version 10) software. Results and conclusion: The results show that parental factors such as education, work culture, influence parental understanding of pain. VASOF proves to be a reliable tool for pain perception in children. Behavior of the child shows a positive correlation to pain perception. PMID:22114404

Influence of Visual Motion, Suggestion, and Illusory Motion on Self-Motion Perception in the Horizontal Plane.

PubMed

Rosenblatt, Steven David; Crane, Benjamin Thomas

2015-01-01

A moving visual field can induce the feeling of self-motion or vection. Illusory motion from static repeated asymmetric patterns creates a compelling visual motion stimulus, but it is unclear if such illusory motion can induce a feeling of self-motion or alter self-motion perception. In these experiments, human subjects reported the perceived direction of self-motion for sway translation and yaw rotation at the end of a period of viewing set visual stimuli coordinated with varying inertial stimuli. This tested the hypothesis that illusory visual motion would influence self-motion perception in the horizontal plane. Trials were arranged into 5 blocks based on stimulus type: moving star field with yaw rotation, moving star field with sway translation, illusory motion with yaw, illusory motion with sway, and static arrows with sway. Static arrows were used to evaluate the effect of cognitive suggestion on self-motion perception. Each trial had a control condition; the illusory motion controls were altered versions of the experimental image, which removed the illusory motion effect. For the moving visual stimulus, controls were carried out in a dark room. With the arrow visual stimulus, controls were a gray screen. In blocks containing a visual stimulus there was an 8s viewing interval with the inertial stimulus occurring over the final 1s. This allowed measurement of the visual illusion perception using objective methods. When no visual stimulus was present, only the 1s motion stimulus was presented. Eight women and five men (mean age 37) participated. To assess for a shift in self-motion perception, the effect of each visual stimulus on the self-motion stimulus (cm/s) at which subjects were equally likely to report motion in either direction was measured. Significant effects were seen for moving star fields for both translation (p = 0.001) and rotation (p<0.001), and arrows (p = 0.02). For the visual motion stimuli, inertial motion perception was shifted in the direction consistent with the visual stimulus. Arrows had a small effect on self-motion perception driven by a minority of subjects. There was no significant effect of illusory motion on self-motion perception for either translation or rotation (p>0.1 for both). Thus, although a true moving visual field can induce self-motion, results of this study show that illusory motion does not.

Visual and skill effects on soccer passing performance, kinematics, and outcome estimations

PubMed Central

Basevitch, Itay; Tenenbaum, Gershon; Land, William M.; Ward, Paul

2015-01-01

The role of visual information and action representations in executing a motor task was examined from a mental representations approach. High-skill (n = 20) and low-skill (n = 20) soccer players performed a passing task to two targets at distances of 9.14 and 18.29 m, under three visual conditions: normal, occluded, and distorted vision (i.e., +4.0 corrective lenses, a visual acuity of approximately 6/75) without knowledge of results. Following each pass, participants estimated the relative horizontal distance from the target as the ball crossed the target plane. Kinematic data during each pass were also recorded for the shorter distance. Results revealed that performance on the motor task decreased as a function of visual information and task complexity (i.e., distance from target) regardless of skill level. High-skill players performed significantly better than low-skill players on both the actual passing and estimation tasks, at each target distance and visual condition. In addition, kinematic data indicated that high-skill participants were more consistent and had different kinematic movement patterns than low-skill participants. Findings contribute to the understanding of the underlying mechanisms required for successful performance in a self-paced, discrete and closed motor task. PMID:25784886

Female and Male Interns and Their Mentors? Perception of Workforce Skill Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, Cathy W.; Pinelli, Thomas E.; Brush, Kimberly M.

2013-01-01

Participants in this study were student interns and mentors taking part in the 2012, 10- week Langley Aerospace Research Student Scholars (LARSS) summer internship program in Hampton, Virginia. The study examined mentors and student interns' ratings of their preparedness in basic knowledge and skills. The study focused on three primary areas: 1) overall evaluation of knowledge and skills by mentors and interns; 2) male and female interns' perceptions of their own skills in these key areas; and 3) mentors' perceptions of their student interns' knowledge and skills in the same areas by gender. Overall mentors were more positive about their interns' improvement in 12 of 17 areas assessed than were the student interns. There were no significant gender differences in how mentors rated their male and female interns' abilities in these workforce skills, but there were four key areas where female interns rated their own abilities lower than did their male peers: analytical thinking, computational skills, computer skills and technical skills. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Investigation on the music perception skills of Italian children with cochlear implants.

PubMed

Scorpecci, Alessandro; Zagari, Felicia; Mari, Giorgia; Giannantonio, Sara; D'Alatri, Lucia; Di Nardo, Walter; Paludetti, Gaetano

2012-10-01

To compare the music perception skills of a group of Italian-speaking children with cochlear implants to those of a group of normal hearing children; to analyze possible correlations between implanted children's musical skills and their demographics, clinical characteristics, phonological perception, and speech recognition and production abilities. 18 implanted children aged 5-12 years and a reference group of 23 normal-hearing subjects with typical language development were enrolled. Both groups received a melody identification test and a song (i.e. original version) identification test. The implanted children also received a test battery aimed at assessing speech recognition, speech production and phoneme discrimination. The implanted children scored significantly worse than the normal hearing subjects in both musical tests. In the cochlear implant group, phoneme discrimination abilities were significantly correlated with both melody and song identification skills, and length of device use was significantly correlated with song identification skills. Experience with device use and phonological perception had a moderate-to-strong correlation to implanted children's music perception abilities. In the light of these findings, it is reasonable to assume that a rehabilitation program specifically aimed at improving phonological perception could help pediatric cochlear implant recipients better understand the basic elements of music; moreover, a training aimed at improving the comprehension of the spectral elements of music could enhance implanted children's phonological skills. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of Using Graphics and Animation Online Problem-Based Learning on Visualization Skills among Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ariffin, A.; Samsudin, M. A.; Zain, A. N. Md.; Hamzah, N.; Ismail, M. E.

2017-05-01

The Engineering Drawing subject develops skills in geometry drawing becoming more professional. For the concept in Engineering Drawing, students need to have good visualization skills. Visualization is needed to help students get a start before translating into a drawing. So that, Problem Based Learning (PBL) using animation mode (PBL-A) and graphics mode (PBL-G) will be implemented in class. Problem-solving process is repeatedly able to help students interpret engineering drawings step work correctly and accurately. This study examined the effects of PBL-A online and PBL-G online on visualization skills of students in polytechnics. Sixty eight mechanical engineering students have been involved in this study. The visualization test adapted from Bennett, Seashore and Wesman was used in this study. Results showed significant differences in mean scores post-test of visualization skills among the students enrolled in PBL-G with the group of students who attended PBL-A online after effects of pre-test mean score is controlled. Therefore, the effects of animation modes have a positive impact on increasing students’ visualization skills.

Modeling of pilot's visual behavior for low-level flight

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schulte, Axel; Onken, Reiner

1995-06-01

Developers of synthetic vision systems for low-level flight simulators deal with the problem to decide which features to incorporate in order to achieve most realistic training conditions. This paper supports an approach to this problem on the basis of modeling the pilot's visual behavior. This approach is founded upon the basic requirement that the pilot's mechanisms of visual perception should be identical in simulated and real low-level flight. Flight simulator experiments with pilots were conducted for knowledge acquisition. During the experiments video material of a real low-level flight mission containing different situations was displayed to the pilot who was acting under a realistic mission assignment in a laboratory environment. Pilot's eye movements could be measured during the replay. The visual mechanisms were divided into rule based strategies for visual navigation, based on the preflight planning process, as opposed to skill based processes. The paper results in a model of the pilot's planning strategy of a visual fixing routine as part of the navigation task. The model is a knowledge based system based upon the fuzzy evaluation of terrain features in order to determine the landmarks used by pilots. It can be shown that a computer implementation of the model selects those features, which were preferred by trained pilots, too.

Pre-Service Teachers' Perceptions of Instructors' Teaching Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sahan, Hasan Huseyin

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of pre-service teachers attending the pedagogical formation program offered by Balikesir University Necatibey Faculty of Education pertaining to instructors' teaching skills. A total of 220 pre-service teachers participated in the study. The data were collected by "Perceptions of…

Texas English Teachers' Perception of Entering Freshmen's Writing Skills.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Harris, Maverick Marvin

A questionnaire was sent to English instructors in 134 Texas colleges and universities to ascertain their perceptions of entering freshmen's skills in written composition. The variables were type of institution, admission policy, enrollment, and teaching experience. Respondents were asked to indicate their perceptions of the number of entering…

The reliability and clinical correlates of figure-ground perception in schizophrenia.

PubMed

Malaspina, Dolores; Simon, Naomi; Goetz, Raymond R; Corcoran, Cheryl; Coleman, Eliza; Printz, David; Mujica-Parodi, Lilianne; Wolitzky, Rachel

2004-01-01

Schizophrenia subjects are impaired in a number of visual attention paradigms. However, their performance on tests of figure-ground visual perception (FGP), which requires subjects to visually discriminate figures embedded in a rival background, is relatively unstudied. We examined FGP in 63 schizophrenia patients and 27 control subjects and found that the patients performed the FGP test reliably and had significantly lower FGP scores than the control subjects. Figure-ground visual perception was significantly correlated with other neuropsychological test scores and was inversely related to negative symptoms. It was unrelated to antipsychotic medication treatment. Figure-ground visual perception depends on "top down" processing of visual stimuli, and thus this data suggests that dysfunction in the higher-level pathways that modulate visual perceptual processes may also be related to a core defect in schizophrenia.

Timing in audiovisual speech perception: A mini review and new psychophysical data.

PubMed

Venezia, Jonathan H; Thurman, Steven M; Matchin, William; George, Sahara E; Hickok, Gregory

2016-02-01

Recent influential models of audiovisual speech perception suggest that visual speech aids perception by generating predictions about the identity of upcoming speech sounds. These models place stock in the assumption that visual speech leads auditory speech in time. However, it is unclear whether and to what extent temporally-leading visual speech information contributes to perception. Previous studies exploring audiovisual-speech timing have relied upon psychophysical procedures that require artificial manipulation of cross-modal alignment or stimulus duration. We introduce a classification procedure that tracks perceptually relevant visual speech information in time without requiring such manipulations. Participants were shown videos of a McGurk syllable (auditory /apa/ + visual /aka/ = perceptual /ata/) and asked to perform phoneme identification (/apa/ yes-no). The mouth region of the visual stimulus was overlaid with a dynamic transparency mask that obscured visual speech in some frames but not others randomly across trials. Variability in participants' responses (~35 % identification of /apa/ compared to ~5 % in the absence of the masker) served as the basis for classification analysis. The outcome was a high resolution spatiotemporal map of perceptually relevant visual features. We produced these maps for McGurk stimuli at different audiovisual temporal offsets (natural timing, 50-ms visual lead, and 100-ms visual lead). Briefly, temporally-leading (~130 ms) visual information did influence auditory perception. Moreover, several visual features influenced perception of a single speech sound, with the relative influence of each feature depending on both its temporal relation to the auditory signal and its informational content.

Timing in Audiovisual Speech Perception: A Mini Review and New Psychophysical Data

PubMed Central

Venezia, Jonathan H.; Thurman, Steven M.; Matchin, William; George, Sahara E.; Hickok, Gregory

2015-01-01

Recent influential models of audiovisual speech perception suggest that visual speech aids perception by generating predictions about the identity of upcoming speech sounds. These models place stock in the assumption that visual speech leads auditory speech in time. However, it is unclear whether and to what extent temporally-leading visual speech information contributes to perception. Previous studies exploring audiovisual-speech timing have relied upon psychophysical procedures that require artificial manipulation of cross-modal alignment or stimulus duration. We introduce a classification procedure that tracks perceptually-relevant visual speech information in time without requiring such manipulations. Participants were shown videos of a McGurk syllable (auditory /apa/ + visual /aka/ = perceptual /ata/) and asked to perform phoneme identification (/apa/ yes-no). The mouth region of the visual stimulus was overlaid with a dynamic transparency mask that obscured visual speech in some frames but not others randomly across trials. Variability in participants' responses (∼35% identification of /apa/ compared to ∼5% in the absence of the masker) served as the basis for classification analysis. The outcome was a high resolution spatiotemporal map of perceptually-relevant visual features. We produced these maps for McGurk stimuli at different audiovisual temporal offsets (natural timing, 50-ms visual lead, and 100-ms visual lead). Briefly, temporally-leading (∼130 ms) visual information did influence auditory perception. Moreover, several visual features influenced perception of a single speech sound, with the relative influence of each feature depending on both its temporal relation to the auditory signal and its informational content. PMID:26669309

Importance of Social Skills in the Elementary Grades

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meier, Catherine R.; DiPerna, James C.; Oster, Maryjo M.

2006-01-01

This study explored elementary teachers' perceptions of the importance of social skills, as well as the stability of these perceptions over time. Importance ratings on the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS; Gresham & Elliott, 1990) were obtained from 50 elementary teachers (Grades 1-6) across six elementary schools. Results indicated that…

Perceptions of Safety Knowledge and Skills in Vocational Training

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bani-Salameh, Zakaria

2016-01-01

This research aims at investigating the perceptions towards safety knowledge and skills and perceived efficacies among flight attendants onboard. Many studies have reported deficiencies in vocational training among flight attendants to handle specific onboard emergencies, but these findings are not surprising as knowledge and skills that are not…

Expertise effects in cutaneous wind perception.

PubMed

Pluijms, Joost P; Cañal-Bruland, Rouwen; Bergmann Tiest, Wouter M; Mulder, Fabian A; Savelsbergh, Geert J P

2015-08-01

We examined whether expertise effects are present in cutaneous wind perception. To this end, we presented wind stimuli consisting of different wind directions and speeds in a wind simulator. The wind simulator generated wind stimuli from 16 directions and with three speeds by means of eight automotive wind fans. Participants were asked to judge cutaneously perceived wind directions and speeds without having access to any visual or auditory information. Expert sailors (n = 6), trained to make the most effective use of wind characteristics, were compared to less-skilled sailors (n = 6) and to a group of nonsailors (n = 6). The results indicated that expert sailors outperformed nonsailors in perceiving wind direction (i.e., smaller mean signed errors) when presented with low wind speeds. This suggests that expert sailors are more sensitive in picking up differences in wind direction, particularly when confronted with low wind speeds that demand higher sensitivity.

Impact of Robotic Surgery on Decision Making: Perspectives of Surgical Teams

PubMed Central

Randell, Rebecca; Alvarado, Natasha; Honey, Stephanie; Greenhalgh, Joanne; Gardner, Peter; Gill, Arron; Jayne, David; Kotze, Alwyn; Pearman, Alan; Dowding, Dawn

2015-01-01

There has been rapid growth in the purchase of surgical robots in both North America and Europe in recent years. Whilst this technology promises many benefits for patients, the introduction of such a complex interactive system into healthcare practice often results in unintended consequences that are difficult to predict. Decision making by surgeons during an operation is affected by variables including tactile perception, visual perception, motor skill, and instrument complexity, all of which are changed by robotic surgery, yet the impact of robotic surgery on decision making has not been previously studied. Drawing on the approach of realist evaluation, we conducted a multi-site interview study across nine hospitals, interviewing 44 operating room personnel with experience of robotic surgery to gather their perspectives on how robotic surgery impacts surgeon decision making. The findings reveal both potential benefits and challenges of robotic surgery for decision making. PMID:26958244

Impact of Robotic Surgery on Decision Making: Perspectives of Surgical Teams.

PubMed

Randell, Rebecca; Alvarado, Natasha; Honey, Stephanie; Greenhalgh, Joanne; Gardner, Peter; Gill, Arron; Jayne, David; Kotze, Alwyn; Pearman, Alan; Dowding, Dawn

2015-01-01

There has been rapid growth in the purchase of surgical robots in both North America and Europe in recent years. Whilst this technology promises many benefits for patients, the introduction of such a complex interactive system into healthcare practice often results in unintended consequences that are difficult to predict. Decision making by surgeons during an operation is affected by variables including tactile perception, visual perception, motor skill, and instrument complexity, all of which are changed by robotic surgery, yet the impact of robotic surgery on decision making has not been previously studied. Drawing on the approach of realist evaluation, we conducted a multi-site interview study across nine hospitals, interviewing 44 operating room personnel with experience of robotic surgery to gather their perspectives on how robotic surgery impacts surgeon decision making. The findings reveal both potential benefits and challenges of robotic surgery for decision making.

Virtual reality simulators and training in laparoscopic surgery.

PubMed

Yiannakopoulou, Eugenia; Nikiteas, Nikolaos; Perrea, Despina; Tsigris, Christos

2015-01-01

Virtual reality simulators provide basic skills training without supervision in a controlled environment, free of pressure of operating on patients. Skills obtained through virtual reality simulation training can be transferred on the operating room. However, relative evidence is limited with data available only for basic surgical skills and for laparoscopic cholecystectomy. No data exist on the effect of virtual reality simulation on performance on advanced surgical procedures. Evidence suggests that performance on virtual reality simulators reliably distinguishes experienced from novice surgeons Limited available data suggest that independent approach on virtual reality simulation training is not different from proctored approach. The effect of virtual reality simulators training on acquisition of basic surgical skills does not seem to be different from the effect the physical simulators. Limited data exist on the effect of virtual reality simulation training on the acquisition of visual spatial perception and stress coping skills. Undoubtedly, virtual reality simulation training provides an alternative means of improving performance in laparoscopic surgery. However, future research efforts should focus on the effect of virtual reality simulation on performance in the context of advanced surgical procedure, on standardization of training, on the possibility of synergistic effect of virtual reality simulation training combined with mental training, on personalized training. Copyright © 2014 Surgical Associates Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reading Disability and Visual Perception in Families: New Findings.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oxford, Rebecca L.

Frequently a variety of visual perception difficulties correlate with reading disabilities. A study was made to investigate the relationship between visual perception and reading disability in families, and to explore the genetic aspects of the relationship. One-hundred twenty-five reading-disabled students, ages 7.5 to 12 years, were matched with…

“You’re Not Born with Talent” Talented Girls’ and Boys’ Perceptions of Their Talents as Football Players

PubMed Central

Sæther, Stig Arve; Mehus, Ingar

2016-01-01

Generally in sports, there is a strong assumption of a connection between skill level in young age and adulthood. Studies have mainly focused on the coaches’ understanding and role in identifying and developing talent. In this article we turn our attention towards the athletes’ perspectives, interviewing talented young football players (five boys and five girls) about their perceptions of their own talent and development. The objective of the article is to investigate how boys and girls perceive their talent and to discuss how various perceptions influence coaching practice in talent development. We introduce the following questions: (a) do the players use a static or dynamic perception of their own talent and (b) do the players consider specific or general skills to be most important in their skill development? Results show that the boys have a more static perception of talent compared to the girls. Furthermore, the boys in this study stress the importance of highly specified skills. The girls have a more balanced view on what is important, but tend to stress the importance of basic skills. The study suggests two potential implications. First, the coaches should be aware of the possible vulnerability following players’ static perception of talent. Second, an exclusive focus on specified skills might make for less optimal preparation for the changing demands young players meet when moving through the different levels of play on their way to high level football. In future research it would be interesting to investigate how players with a lower skill level, not yet regarded as talent, perceive their talent and skill development. PMID:29910254

Perception of audio-visual speech synchrony in Spanish-speaking children with and without specific language impairment

PubMed Central

PONS, FERRAN; ANDREU, LLORENC.; SANZ-TORRENT, MONICA; BUIL-LEGAZ, LUCIA; LEWKOWICZ, DAVID J.

2014-01-01

Speech perception involves the integration of auditory and visual articulatory information and, thus, requires the perception of temporal synchrony between this information. There is evidence that children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) have difficulty with auditory speech perception but it is not known if this is also true for the integration of auditory and visual speech. Twenty Spanish-speaking children with SLI, twenty typically developing age-matched Spanish-speaking children, and twenty Spanish-speaking children matched for MLU-w participated in an eye-tracking study to investigate the perception of audiovisual speech synchrony. Results revealed that children with typical language development perceived an audiovisual asynchrony of 666ms regardless of whether the auditory or visual speech attribute led the other one. Children with SLI only detected the 666 ms asynchrony when the auditory component followed the visual component. None of the groups perceived an audiovisual asynchrony of 366ms. These results suggest that the difficulty of speech processing by children with SLI would also involve difficulties in integrating auditory and visual aspects of speech perception. PMID:22874648

Perception of audio-visual speech synchrony in Spanish-speaking children with and without specific language impairment.

PubMed

Pons, Ferran; Andreu, Llorenç; Sanz-Torrent, Monica; Buil-Legaz, Lucía; Lewkowicz, David J

2013-06-01

Speech perception involves the integration of auditory and visual articulatory information, and thus requires the perception of temporal synchrony between this information. There is evidence that children with specific language impairment (SLI) have difficulty with auditory speech perception but it is not known if this is also true for the integration of auditory and visual speech. Twenty Spanish-speaking children with SLI, twenty typically developing age-matched Spanish-speaking children, and twenty Spanish-speaking children matched for MLU-w participated in an eye-tracking study to investigate the perception of audiovisual speech synchrony. Results revealed that children with typical language development perceived an audiovisual asynchrony of 666 ms regardless of whether the auditory or visual speech attribute led the other one. Children with SLI only detected the 666 ms asynchrony when the auditory component preceded [corrected] the visual component. None of the groups perceived an audiovisual asynchrony of 366 ms. These results suggest that the difficulty of speech processing by children with SLI would also involve difficulties in integrating auditory and visual aspects of speech perception.

PERCEPT Indoor Navigation System for the Blind and Visually Impaired: Architecture and Experimentation

PubMed Central

Ganz, Aura; Schafer, James; Gandhi, Siddhesh; Puleo, Elaine; Wilson, Carole; Robertson, Meg

2012-01-01

We introduce PERCEPT system, an indoor navigation system for the blind and visually impaired. PERCEPT will improve the quality of life and health of the visually impaired community by enabling independent living. Using PERCEPT, blind users will have independent access to public health facilities such as clinics, hospitals, and wellness centers. Access to healthcare facilities is crucial for this population due to the multiple health conditions that they face such as diabetes and its complications. PERCEPT system trials with 24 blind and visually impaired users in a multistory building show PERCEPT system effectiveness in providing appropriate navigation instructions to these users. The uniqueness of our system is that it is affordable and that its design follows orientation and mobility principles. We hope that PERCEPT will become a standard deployed in all indoor public spaces, especially in healthcare and wellness facilities. PMID:23316225

Visual Imagery without Visual Perception?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bertolo, Helder

2005-01-01

The question regarding visual imagery and visual perception remain an open issue. Many studies have tried to understand if the two processes share the same mechanisms or if they are independent, using different neural substrates. Most research has been directed towards the need of activation of primary visual areas during imagery. Here we review…

Perception and Attention for Visualization

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Haroz, Steve

2013-01-01

This work examines how a better understanding of visual perception and attention can impact visualization design. In a collection of studies, I explore how different levels of the visual system can measurably affect a variety of visualization metrics. The results show that expert preference, user performance, and even computational performance are…

Influence of case-based e-learning on students' performance in point-of-care ultrasound courses: a randomized trial.

PubMed

Hempel, Dorothea; Sinnathurai, Sivajini; Haunhorst, Stephanie; Seibel, Armin; Michels, Guido; Heringer, Frank; Recker, Florian; Breitkreutz, Raoul

2016-08-01

Theoretical knowledge, visual perception, and sensorimotor skills are key elements in ultrasound education. Classroom-based presentations are used routinely to teach theoretical knowledge, whereas visual perception and sensorimotor skills typically require hands-on training (HT). We aimed to compare the effect of classroom-based lectures versus a case-based e-learning (based on clinical cases only) on the hands-on performance of trainees during an emergency ultrasound course. This is a randomized, controlled, parallel-group study. Sixty-two medical students were randomized into two groups [group 1 (G1) and group 2 (G2)]. G1 (n=29) was subjected to a precourse e-learning, based on 14 short screencasts (each 5 min), an on-site discussion (60 min), and a standardized HT session on the day of the course. G2 (n=31) received classroom-based presentations on the day of the course before an identical HT session. Both groups completed a multiple-choice (MC) pretest (test A), a practical postcourse test (objective structured clinical exam), and MC tests directly after the HT (test B) and 1 day after the course (test C). The Mann-Whitney U-test was used for statistical analysis. G1 performed markedly better in test A (median 84.2, 25%; 75% percentile: 68.5; 92.2) compared with G2 (65.8; 53.8; 80.4), who had not participated in case-based e-learning (P=0.0009). No differences were found in the objective structured clinical exam, test B, and test C. e-learning exclusively based on clinical cases is an effective method of education in preparation for HT sessions and can reduce attendance time in ultrasound courses.

A multivariate twin study of early literacy in Japanese Kana

PubMed Central

Fujisawa, Keiko K.; Wadsworth, Sally J.; Kakihana, Shinichiro; Olson, Richard K.; DeFries, John C.; Byrne, Brian; Ando, Juko

2013-01-01

This first Japanese twin study of early literacy development investigated the extent to which genetic and environmental factors influence individual differences in prereading skills in 238 pairs of twins at 42 months of age. Twin pairs were individually tested on measures of phonological awareness, kana letter name/sound knowledge, receptive vocabulary, visual perception, nonword repetition, and digit span. Results obtained from univariate behavioral-genetic analyses yielded little evidence for genetic influences, but substantial shared-environmental influences, for all measures. Phenotypic confirmatory factor analysis suggested three correlated factors: phonological awareness, letter name/sound knowledge, and general prereading skills. Multivariate behavioral genetic analyses confirmed relatively small genetic and substantial shared environmental influences on the factors. The correlations among the three factors were mostly attributable to shared environment. Thus, shared environmental influences play an important role in the early reading development of Japanese children. PMID:23997545

Communication skills assessment: the perceptions of medical students at the University of Nottingham.

PubMed

Rees, Charlotte; Sheard, Charlotte; McPherson, Amy

2002-09-01

Despite the wealth of literature surrounding communication curricula within medical education, there is a lack of in-depth research into medical students' perceptions of communication skills assessment. This study aims to address this gap in the research literature. Five focus group discussions were conducted with 32 students, with representatives from each of the 5 years of the medical degree course at Nottingham University. Audiotapes of the discussions were transcribed in full and the transcripts were theme analysed independently by 2 analysts. Two assessment-related themes emerged from the analysis: namely, students' perceptions of formative assessment and students' perceptions of summative assessment. While students seemed to value formative methods of assessing their communication skills, they did not appear to value summative methods like objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs). Students had mixed views about who should assess their oral communication skills. Some students preferred self-assessment while others preferred peer assessment. Although students appeared to value medical educators assessing their communication skills, other students preferred feedback from patients. Although summative methods like OSCEs were criticized widely, students suggested that examinations were essential to motivate students' learning of communication skills. This study begins to illustrate medical students' perceptions of communication skills assessment. However, further research using large-scale surveys is required to validate these findings. Medical educators should provide students with feedback on their communication skills wherever possible. This feedback should ideally come from a combination of different assessors. Over-assessment in other subject areas should be minimized to prevent students being discouraged from learning communication skills.

Do Visual Illusions Probe the Visual Brain?: Illusions in Action without a Dorsal Visual Stream

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coello, Yann; Danckert, James; Blangero, Annabelle; Rossetti, Yves

2007-01-01

Visual illusions have been shown to affect perceptual judgements more so than motor behaviour, which was interpreted as evidence for a functional division of labour within the visual system. The dominant perception-action theory argues that perception involves a holistic processing of visual objects or scenes, performed within the ventral,…

The outcomes and acceptability of near-peer teaching among medical students in clinical skills.

PubMed

Khaw, Carole; Raw, Lynne

2016-06-12

To determine the outcomes and acceptability of final-year students tutoring in Clinical Skills to Years 1-2 students in a 4-week Medical Education elective. A paper-based survey with 14 questions requiring responses on a Likert-like scale and 2 questions with free-text responses was used to investigate Year 6 student-tutor (n=45) and Years 1-2 tutee (n=348) perceptions of near-peer teaching in Clinical Skills. The independent t-test compared mean responses from student-tutors and tutees, and thematic analysis of free-text responses was conducted. Tutee perceptions were significantly higher than student-tutor self-perceptions in small-group teaching and facilitation skills (p=0.000), teaching history-taking skills (p=0.046) and teaching physical examination skills (p=0.000). Perceptions in aspects of 'Confidence in tutoring' were not significantly different for student-tutors and tutees, with both having lowest perceptions for identifying and providing remediation for underperforming tutees. Student-tutors rated all areas of personal and professional development highly. Main themes emerging from analysis of student comments were the benefits to student-tutors, benefits to tutees and areas needing improvement, with outcomes of this near-peer teaching relating well to cognitive and social theories in the literature. Both student tutors and their tutees perceived near-peer teaching in Clinical Skills to be acceptable and beneficial with particular implications for Medical Education.

Effects of Two and Three-Dimensional Visual Objects on the Acquisition of Drawing Skills among JSS1 Students in Osun State, Nigeria

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abass, Bada Tayo; Isyakka, Bello; Olaolu, Ijisakin Yemi; Olusegun, Fajuyigbe Michael

2014-01-01

The study examined the effects of two and three dimensional visual objects on learners' drawing skills in junior secondary schools in OsunState, Nigeria. It also determined students' ability to identify visual objects. Furthermore, it investigated the comparative effectiveness of two and three dimensional visual objects on drawing skills of junior…

Normal Visual Acuity and Electrophysiological Contrast Gain in Adults with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder.

PubMed

Tebartz van Elst, Ludger; Bach, Michael; Blessing, Julia; Riedel, Andreas; Bubl, Emanuel

2015-01-01

A common neurodevelopmental disorder, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is defined by specific patterns in social perception, social competence, communication, highly circumscribed interests, and a strong subjective need for behavioral routines. Furthermore, distinctive features of visual perception, such as markedly reduced eye contact and a tendency to focus more on small, visual items than on holistic perception, have long been recognized as typical ASD characteristics. Recent debate in the scientific community discusses whether the physiology of low-level visual perception might explain such higher visual abnormalities. While reports of this enhanced, "eagle-like" visual acuity contained methodological errors and could not be substantiated, several authors have reported alterations in even earlier stages of visual processing, such as contrast perception and motion perception at the occipital cortex level. Therefore, in this project, we have investigated the electrophysiology of very early visual processing by analyzing the pattern electroretinogram-based contrast gain, the background noise amplitude, and the psychophysical visual acuities of participants with high-functioning ASD and controls with equal education. Based on earlier findings, we hypothesized that alterations in early vision would be present in ASD participants. This study included 33 individuals with ASD (11 female) and 33 control individuals (12 female). The groups were matched in terms of age, gender, and education level. We found no evidence of altered electrophysiological retinal contrast processing or psychophysical measured visual acuities. There appears to be no evidence for abnormalities in retinal visual processing in ASD patients, at least with respect to contrast detection.

Effects of Age and Visual-Motor Skills on Preschool Children's Computer-Game Performance.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strein, William

1987-01-01

The relationship of both age and visual-motor skills to performance on an arcade-like video game was studied with 16 preschool children. While age was positively related to performance, no significant relationship was found for the visual-motor skills variable. (Author/CB)

Developing Visual Creative Literacies through Integrating Art-Based Inquiry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smilan, Cathy

2016-01-01

Visual literacy and the ability to think creatively are critical skills requisite to full participation and communication in the twenty-first century. Learning experiences that integrate studio-based inquiry and other academic concepts can develop discipline skills as well as communication skills of deciphering visual cues and de/re-constructing…

Influence of age, sex, and education on the Visual Object and Space Perception Battery (VOSP) in a healthy normal elderly population.

PubMed

Herrera-Guzmán, I; Peña-Casanova, J; Lara, J P; Gudayol-Ferré, E; Böhm, P

2004-08-01

The assessment of visual perception and cognition forms an important part of any general cognitive evaluation. We have studied the possible influence of age, sex, and education on a normal elderly Spanish population (90 healthy subjects) in performance in visual perception tasks. To evaluate visual perception and cognition, we have used the subjects performance with The Visual Object and Space Perception Battery (VOSP). The test consists of 8 subtests: 4 measure visual object perception (Incomplete Letters, Silhouettes, Object Decision, and Progressive Silhouettes) while the other 4 measure visual space perception (Dot Counting, Position Discrimination, Number Location, and Cube Analysis). The statistical procedures employed were either simple or multiple linear regression analyses (subtests with normal distribution) and Mann-Whitney tests, followed by ANOVA with Scheffe correction (subtests without normal distribution). Age and sex were found to be significant modifying factors in the Silhouettes, Object Decision, Progressive Silhouettes, Position Discrimination, and Cube Analysis subtests. Educational level was found to be a significant predictor of function for the Silhouettes and Object Decision subtests. The results of the sample were adjusted in line with the differences observed. Our study also offers preliminary normative data for the administration of the VOSP to an elderly Spanish population. The results are discussed and compared with similar studies performed in different cultural backgrounds.

Visual perception of ADHD children with sensory processing disorder.

PubMed

Jung, Hyerim; Woo, Young Jae; Kang, Je Wook; Choi, Yeon Woo; Kim, Kyeong Mi

2014-04-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate the visual perception difference between ADHD children with and without sensory processing disorder, and the relationship between sensory processing and visual perception of the children with ADHD. Participants were 47 outpatients, aged 6-8 years, diagnosed with ADHD. After excluding those who met exclusion criteria, 38 subjects were clustered into two groups, ADHD children with and without sensory processing disorder (SPD), using SSP reported by their parents, then subjects completed K-DTVP-2. Spearman correlation analysis was run to determine the relationship between sensory processing and visual perception, and Mann-Whitney-U test was conducted to compare the K-DTVP-2 score of two groups respectively. The ADHD children with SPD performed inferiorly to ADHD children without SPD in the on 3 quotients of K-DTVP-2. The GVP of K-DTVP-2 score was related to Movement Sensitivity section (r=0.368(*)) and Low Energy/Weak section of SSP (r=0.369*). The result of the present study suggests that among children with ADHD, the visual perception is lower in those children with co-morbid SPD. Also, visual perception may be related to sensory processing, especially in the reactions of vestibular and proprioceptive senses. Regarding academic performance, it is necessary to consider how sensory processing issues affect visual perception in children with ADHD.

Differential temporal dynamics during visual imagery and perception.

PubMed

Dijkstra, Nadine; Mostert, Pim; Lange, Floris P de; Bosch, Sander; van Gerven, Marcel Aj

2018-05-29

Visual perception and imagery rely on similar representations in the visual cortex. During perception, visual activity is characterized by distinct processing stages, but the temporal dynamics underlying imagery remain unclear. Here, we investigated the dynamics of visual imagery in human participants using magnetoencephalography. Firstly, we show that, compared to perception, imagery decoding becomes significant later and representations at the start of imagery already overlap with later time points. This suggests that during imagery, the entire visual representation is activated at once or that there are large differences in the timing of imagery between trials. Secondly, we found consistent overlap between imagery and perceptual processing around 160 ms and from 300 ms after stimulus onset. This indicates that the N170 gets reactivated during imagery and that imagery does not rely on early perceptual representations. Together, these results provide important insights for our understanding of the neural mechanisms of visual imagery. © 2018, Dijkstra et al.

Teacher (Mis)Perceptions of Preschoolers’ Academic Skills: Predictors and Associations With Longitudinal Outcomes

PubMed Central

Baker, Courtney N.; Tichovolsky, Marianne H.; Kupersmidt, Janis B.; Voegler-Lee, Mary Ellen; Arnold, David H.

2014-01-01

Preschool teachers have important impacts on children’s academic outcomes, and teachers’ misperceptions of children’s academic skills could have negative consequences, particularly for low-income preschoolers. This study utilized data gathered from 123 preschool teachers and their 760 preschoolers from 70 low-income, racially diverse centers. Hierarchical linear modeling was utilized to account for the nested data structure. Even after controlling for children’s actual academic skill, older children, children with stronger social skills, and children with fewer inattentive symptoms were perceived to have stronger academic abilities. Contrary to hypotheses, preschoolers with more behavior problems were perceived by teachers to have significantly better pre-academic abilities than they actually had. Teachers’ perceptions were not associated with child gender or child race/ethnicity. Although considerable variability was due to teacher-level characteristics, child characteristics explained 42% of the variability in teachers’ perceptions about children’s language and pre-literacy ability and 41% of the variability in teachers’ perceptions about mathability. Notably, these perceptions appear to have important impacts over time. Controlling for child baseline academic skill and child characteristics, teacher perceptions early in the preschool year were significantly associated with child academic outcomes during the spring for both language and pre-literacy and math. Study implications with regard to the achievement gap are discussed. PMID:26538767

Hazard recognition in mining: A psychological perspective. Information circular/1995

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Perdue, C.W.; Kowalski, K.M.; Barrett, E.A.

1995-07-01

This U.S. Bureau of Mines report considers, from a psychological perspective, the perceptual process by which miners recognize and respond to mining hazards. It proposes that if the hazard recognition skills of miners can be improved, mining accidents may be reduced to a significant degree. Prior studies of hazard perception in mining are considered, as are relevant studies from investigations of military target identification, pilot and gunnery officer training, transportation safety, automobile operator behavior, as well as research into sensory functioning and visual information processing. A general model of hazard perception is introduced, and selected concepts from the psychology ofmore » perception that are applicable to the detection of mining hazards are reviewed. Hazard recognition is discussed as a function of the perceptual cues available to the miner as well as the cognitive resources and strategies employed by the miner. The development of expertise in resonding to hazards is related to individual differences in the experience, aptitude, and personality of the worker. Potential applications to miner safety and training are presented.« less

Doctor-patient communication in rheumatology: studies of visual and verbal perception using educational booklets and other graphic material.

PubMed Central

Moll, J M

1986-01-01

Patients (n = 404) with osteoarthrosis and control subjects (n = 233) were studied to examine the communicational value of five styles of illustration (cartoon (C), matchstick (M), representational (R), symbolic (S), photographic (P) and two levels of text ('easy', 'hard'), presented as educational booklets about osteoarthrosis. Booklet comprehension was tested with a multiple choice questionnaire (MCQ) scored by two raw score and two, more sensitive, weight-of-evidence methods. Further studies assessed perception of image detail, tone, and colour by ranking, rating, latency, and questionnaire methods. A subgroup was tested psychometrically. The main findings were: pictures in booklets enhance communication; perception of pictorial style depends on its vehicle of presentation, cartoons being most effective in booklets, photographs overall; simplifying text does not significantly enhance communication; certain picture-text 'interactions' appear to increase comprehension (e.g. 'hard' text with 'easy' pictures); several 'endogenous' factors are associated with increased comprehension: 'psychological' (e.g., intelligence, memory, reading skill); 'demographic' (e.g., the young, males, higher social grades, higher educational levels); 'disease' (e.g., longer disease duration, previous information about the disease). Images PMID:3954469

Doctor-patient communication in rheumatology: studies of visual and verbal perception using educational booklets and other graphic material.

PubMed

Moll, J M

1986-03-01

Patients (n = 404) with osteoarthrosis and control subjects (n = 233) were studied to examine the communicational value of five styles of illustration (cartoon (C), matchstick (M), representational (R), symbolic (S), photographic (P) and two levels of text ('easy', 'hard'), presented as educational booklets about osteoarthrosis. Booklet comprehension was tested with a multiple choice questionnaire (MCQ) scored by two raw score and two, more sensitive, weight-of-evidence methods. Further studies assessed perception of image detail, tone, and colour by ranking, rating, latency, and questionnaire methods. A subgroup was tested psychometrically. The main findings were: pictures in booklets enhance communication; perception of pictorial style depends on its vehicle of presentation, cartoons being most effective in booklets, photographs overall; simplifying text does not significantly enhance communication; certain picture-text 'interactions' appear to increase comprehension (e.g. 'hard' text with 'easy' pictures); several 'endogenous' factors are associated with increased comprehension: 'psychological' (e.g., intelligence, memory, reading skill); 'demographic' (e.g., the young, males, higher social grades, higher educational levels); 'disease' (e.g., longer disease duration, previous information about the disease).

Exploring EFL Learners' Perceptions of Integrated Skills Approach: A Grounded Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tajzad, Maryam; Ostovar-Namaghi, Seyyed Ali

2014-01-01

This qualitative study aims at exploring EFL learners' perceptions of the integrated skills approach to language teaching. To this end, the researchers presented the integrated skills approach to a group of 30 participants and interviewed those who were willing to share their views and experience with the researchers. The researchers used grounded…

Factors Influencing Students' Perceptions of Their Quantitative Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matthews, Kelly E.; Hodgson, Yvonne; Varsavsky, Cristina

2013-01-01

There is international agreement that quantitative skills (QS) are an essential graduate competence in science. QS refer to the application of mathematical and statistical thinking and reasoning in science. This study reports on the use of the Science Students Skills Inventory to capture final year science students' perceptions of their QS across…

Music Educators' Self-Perceptions of Interpersonal Skills: An Exploratory Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Howard, Sandra A.; Seaver, Karen J.

2013-01-01

The purpose of this exploratory study was to measure music educators' ("N" = 9) self-perceptions of their use of interpersonal skills. Participants rated themselves on 32 statements included on the "My Use of Interpersonal Skills Inventory" in pre- and posttest formats. Participants participated in a 4-week period of weekly…

Perception of Summer Cooperative Graduates on Employers Generic Skills Preference, Haramaya University, Ethiopia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aman, Mohammed; Sitotaw, Melese

2014-01-01

Meeting the needs of employers and equipping graduates with employability skills are considered as among the shared responsibilities of Universities and different organizations. This study intends to assess the perception of summer cooperative graduates on their employers' preference for generic skills to secure employment, based on their…

Prospective EFL Teachers' Perceptions of Listening Comprehension Problems in Turkey

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Solak, Ekrem; Altay, Firat

2014-01-01

Listening skill has been called as the "Cinderella Skill" which is overlooked by its elder sister speaking in language learning. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to reemphasize the importance of listening skill in ELT context and to determine prospective English teachers' perceptions of listening comprehension problems. The study…

Visual Constructive and Visual-Motor Skills in Deaf Native Signers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hauser, Peter C.; Cohen, Julie; Dye, Matthew W. G.; Bavelier, Daphne

2007-01-01

Visual constructive and visual-motor skills in the deaf population were investigated by comparing performance of deaf native signers (n = 20) to that of hearing nonsigners (n = 20) on the Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration, Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test, Wechsler Memory Scale Visual Reproduction subtest, and…

Visual Form Perception Can Be a Cognitive Correlate of Lower Level Math Categories for Teenagers

PubMed Central

Cui, Jiaxin; Zhang, Yiyun; Cheng, Dazhi; Li, Dawei; Zhou, Xinlin

2017-01-01

Numerous studies have assessed the cognitive correlates of performance in mathematics, but little research has been conducted to systematically examine the relations between visual perception as the starting point of visuospatial processing and typical mathematical performance. In the current study, we recruited 223 seventh graders to perform a visual form perception task (figure matching), numerosity comparison, digit comparison, exact computation, approximate computation, and curriculum-based mathematical achievement tests. Results showed that, after controlling for gender, age, and five general cognitive processes (choice reaction time, visual tracing, mental rotation, spatial working memory, and non-verbal matrices reasoning), visual form perception had unique contributions to numerosity comparison, digit comparison, and exact computation, but had no significant relation with approximate computation or curriculum-based mathematical achievement. These results suggest that visual form perception is an important independent cognitive correlate of lower level math categories, including the approximate number system, digit comparison, and exact computation. PMID:28824513

Auditory, visual, and auditory-visual perception of emotions by individuals with cochlear implants, hearing AIDS, and normal hearing.

PubMed

Most, Tova; Aviner, Chen

2009-01-01

This study evaluated the benefits of cochlear implant (CI) with regard to emotion perception of participants differing in their age of implantation, in comparison to hearing aid users and adolescents with normal hearing (NH). Emotion perception was examined by having the participants identify happiness, anger, surprise, sadness, fear, and disgust. The emotional content was placed upon the same neutral sentence. The stimuli were presented in auditory, visual, and combined auditory-visual modes. The results revealed better auditory identification by the participants with NH in comparison to all groups of participants with hearing loss (HL). No differences were found among the groups with HL in each of the 3 modes. Although auditory-visual perception was better than visual-only perception for the participants with NH, no such differentiation was found among the participants with HL. The results question the efficiency of some currently used CIs in providing the acoustic cues required to identify the speaker's emotional state.

[Peculiarities of visual perception of dentition and smile aesthetic parameters].

PubMed

Riakhovskiĭ, A N; Usanova, E V

2007-01-01

As the result of the studies it was determined in which limits the dentition central line displacement from the face middle line and the change of smile line tilt angle become noticeable for visual perception. And also how much visual perception of the dentition aesthetic parameters were differed in doctors with different experience, dental technicians and patients.

Seen, Unseen or Overlooked? How Can Visual Perception Develop through a Multimodal Enquiry?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Payne, Rachel

2012-01-01

This article outlines an exploration into the development of visual perception through analysing the process of taking photographs of the mundane as small-scale research. A preoccupation with social construction of the visual lies at the heart of the investigation by correlating the perceptive process to Mitchell's (2002) counter thesis for visual…

Neural mechanisms underlying sound-induced visual motion perception: An fMRI study.

PubMed

Hidaka, Souta; Higuchi, Satomi; Teramoto, Wataru; Sugita, Yoichi

2017-07-01

Studies of crossmodal interactions in motion perception have reported activation in several brain areas, including those related to motion processing and/or sensory association, in response to multimodal (e.g., visual and auditory) stimuli that were both in motion. Recent studies have demonstrated that sounds can trigger illusory visual apparent motion to static visual stimuli (sound-induced visual motion: SIVM): A visual stimulus blinking at a fixed location is perceived to be moving laterally when an alternating left-right sound is also present. Here, we investigated brain activity related to the perception of SIVM using a 7T functional magnetic resonance imaging technique. Specifically, we focused on the patterns of neural activities in SIVM and visually induced visual apparent motion (VIVM). We observed shared activations in the middle occipital area (V5/hMT), which is thought to be involved in visual motion processing, for SIVM and VIVM. Moreover, as compared to VIVM, SIVM resulted in greater activation in the superior temporal area and dominant functional connectivity between the V5/hMT area and the areas related to auditory and crossmodal motion processing. These findings indicate that similar but partially different neural mechanisms could be involved in auditory-induced and visually-induced motion perception, and neural signals in auditory, visual, and, crossmodal motion processing areas closely and directly interact in the perception of SIVM. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Spatial Frequency Requirements and Gaze Strategy in Visual-Only and Audiovisual Speech Perception

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wilson, Amanda H.; Alsius, Agnès; Parè, Martin; Munhall, Kevin G.

2016-01-01

Purpose: The aim of this article is to examine the effects of visual image degradation on performance and gaze behavior in audiovisual and visual-only speech perception tasks. Method: We presented vowel-consonant-vowel utterances visually filtered at a range of frequencies in visual-only, audiovisual congruent, and audiovisual incongruent…

Interactive Anatomy-Augmented Virtual Simulation Training.

PubMed

Aebersold, Michelle; Voepel-Lewis, Terri; Cherara, Leila; Weber, Monica; Khouri, Christina; Levine, Robert; Tait, Alan R

2018-02-01

Traditionally, clinical psychomotor skills are taught through videos and demonstration by faculty which does not allow for the visualization of internal structures and anatomical landmarks that would enhance the learner skill performance. Sophomore and junior nursing students attending a large Midwestern Institution (N=69) participated in this mixed methods study. Students demonstrated their ability to place a nasogastric tube (NGT) after being randomly assigned to usual training (Control group) or an iPad anatomy-augmented virtual simulation training module (AR group). The ability of the participants to demonstrate competence in placing the NGT was assessed using a 17-item competency checklist. After the demonstration, students completed a survey to elicit information about students' level of training, prior experience with NGT placement, satisfaction with the AR technology, and perceptions of AR as a potential teaching tool for clinical skills training. The ability to correctly place the NGT through all the checklist items was statistically significant in the AR group compared with the control group (P = 0.011). Eighty-six percent of participants in the AR group rated AR as superior/far superior to other procedural training programs to which they had been exposed, whereas, only 5.9% of participants in the control group rated the control program as superior/far superior (P < 0.001). Overall the AR module was better received compared with the control group with regards to realism, identifying landmarks, visualization of internal organs, ease of use, usefulness, and promoting learning and understanding.

Skills-based childbirth preparation reduces stress for midwives.

PubMed

Howarth, Anne M; Scott, Kate M; Swain, Nicola R

2017-07-01

to explore the potential benefits of skills-based childbirth preparation on the work related stress levels of midwives. a questionnaire was sent out to midwives who had clients participating in an RCT of an education package for childbirth preparation (The Pink Kit (PK) Method for Birthing Better®) delivered to parents. midwives were in private practice and acted as lead maternity carers to New Zealand first time mothers. one hundred and four independent midwives participated. a brief questionnaire using a Visual Analogue Scale to portray perceptions of work-related stress and a yes/no question about expected and/or unexpected physical complications. midwives working with clients in the intervention group experienced less work-related stress after correction for medical complications compared to the two control groups. working with mothers who have used a programme that increased their childbirth self-efficacy decreased the work-related stress experienced by midwives. encouraging pregnant women to develop childbirth skills merits further investigation in an effort to reduce the work-related stress experienced by midwives. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Saccadic Corollary Discharge Underlies Stable Visual Perception

PubMed Central

Berman, Rebecca A.; Joiner, Wilsaan M.; Wurtz, Robert H.

2016-01-01

Saccadic eye movements direct the high-resolution foveae of our retinas toward objects of interest. With each saccade, the image jumps on the retina, causing a discontinuity in visual input. Our visual perception, however, remains stable. Philosophers and scientists over centuries have proposed that visual stability depends upon an internal neuronal signal that is a copy of the neuronal signal driving the eye movement, now referred to as a corollary discharge (CD) or efference copy. In the old world monkey, such a CD circuit for saccades has been identified extending from superior colliculus through MD thalamus to frontal cortex, but there is little evidence that this circuit actually contributes to visual perception. We tested the influence of this CD circuit on visual perception by first training macaque monkeys to report their perceived eye direction, and then reversibly inactivating the CD as it passes through the thalamus. We found that the monkey's perception changed; during CD inactivation, there was a difference between where the monkey perceived its eyes to be directed and where they were actually directed. Perception and saccade were decoupled. We established that the perceived eye direction at the end of the saccade was not derived from proprioceptive input from eye muscles, and was not altered by contextual visual information. We conclude that the CD provides internal information contributing to the brain's creation of perceived visual stability. More specifically, the CD might provide the internal saccade vector used to unite separate retinal images into a stable visual scene. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Visual stability is one of the most remarkable aspects of human vision. The eyes move rapidly several times per second, displacing the retinal image each time. The brain compensates for this disruption, keeping our visual perception stable. A major hypothesis explaining this stability invokes a signal within the brain, a corollary discharge, that informs visual regions of the brain when and where the eyes are about to move. Such a corollary discharge circuit for eye movements has been identified in macaque monkey. We now show that selectively inactivating this brain circuit alters the monkey's visual perception. We conclude that this corollary discharge provides a critical signal that can be used to unite jumping retinal images into a consistent visual scene. PMID:26740647

Accuracy of System Step Response Roll Magnitude Estimation from Central and Peripheral Visual Displays and Simulator Cockpit Motion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hosman, R. J. A. W.; Vandervaart, J. C.

1984-01-01

An experiment to investigate visual roll attitude and roll rate perception is described. The experiment was also designed to assess the improvements of perception due to cockpit motion. After the onset of the motion, subjects were to make accurate and quick estimates of the final magnitude of the roll angle step response by pressing the appropriate button of a keyboard device. The differing time-histories of roll angle, roll rate and roll acceleration caused by a step response stimulate the different perception processes related the central visual field, peripheral visual field and vestibular organs in different, yet exactly known ways. Experiments with either of the visual displays or cockpit motion and some combinations of these were run to asses the roles of the different perception processes. Results show that the differences in response time are much more pronounced than the differences in perception accuracy.

Auditory-visual fusion in speech perception in children with cochlear implants

PubMed Central

Schorr, Efrat A.; Fox, Nathan A.; van Wassenhove, Virginie; Knudsen, Eric I.

2005-01-01

Speech, for most of us, is a bimodal percept whenever we both hear the voice and see the lip movements of a speaker. Children who are born deaf never have this bimodal experience. We tested children who had been deaf from birth and who subsequently received cochlear implants for their ability to fuse the auditory information provided by their implants with visual information about lip movements for speech perception. For most of the children with implants (92%), perception was dominated by vision when visual and auditory speech information conflicted. For some, bimodal fusion was strong and consistent, demonstrating a remarkable plasticity in their ability to form auditory-visual associations despite the atypical stimulation provided by implants. The likelihood of consistent auditory-visual fusion declined with age at implant beyond 2.5 years, suggesting a sensitive period for bimodal integration in speech perception. PMID:16339316

Predictions penetrate perception: Converging insights from brain, behaviour and disorder

PubMed Central

O’Callaghan, Claire; Kveraga, Kestutis; Shine, James M; Adams, Reginald B.; Bar, Moshe

2018-01-01

It is argued that during ongoing visual perception, the brain is generating top-down predictions to facilitate, guide and constrain the processing of incoming sensory input. Here we demonstrate that these predictions are drawn from a diverse range of cognitive processes, in order to generate the richest and most informative prediction signals. This is consistent with a central role for cognitive penetrability in visual perception. We review behavioural and mechanistic evidence that indicate a wide spectrum of domains—including object recognition, contextual associations, cognitive biases and affective state—that can directly influence visual perception. We combine these insights from the healthy brain with novel observations from neuropsychiatric disorders involving visual hallucinations, which highlight the consequences of imbalance between top-down signals and incoming sensory information. Together, these lines of evidence converge to indicate that predictive penetration, be it cognitive, social or emotional, should be considered a fundamental framework that supports visual perception. PMID:27222169

Visual prediction and perceptual expertise

PubMed Central

Cheung, Olivia S.; Bar, Moshe

2012-01-01

Making accurate predictions about what may happen in the environment requires analogies between perceptual input and associations in memory. These elements of predictions are based on cortical representations, but little is known about how these processes can be enhanced by experience and training. On the other hand, studies on perceptual expertise have revealed that the acquisition of expertise leads to strengthened associative processing among features or objects, suggesting that predictions and expertise may be tightly connected. Here we review the behavioral and neural findings regarding the mechanisms involving prediction and expert processing, and highlight important possible overlaps between them. Future investigation should examine the relations among perception, memory and prediction skills as a function of expertise. The knowledge gained by this line of research will have implications for visual cognition research, and will advance our understanding of how the human brain can improve its ability to predict by learning from experience. PMID:22123523

Health literacy issues among women with visual impairments.

PubMed

Harrison, Tracie C; Mackert, Michael; Watkins, Casey

2010-01-01

The purpose of this secondary analysis using qualitative description was to explore health literacy using the health care experiences of women with permanent visual impairments (VIs). Interviews were analyzed from a sample of 15 community-dwelling women ages 44 to 79 with permanent VIs who had participated in a larger grounded theory study. The 15 women were interviewed twice; the audio-recorded interviews were then transcribed verbatim and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Using the Institute of Medicine's definition of health literacy, the women's experiences were categorized into their ability to obtain, process, and understand health information. Their perceptions of the factors that influenced their health literacy were also explored. The women voiced that barriers to their ability to gain information in a format amenable to their processing skills, combined with barriers arising from health care providers' attitudes, undermined their ability to build health literacy capacity. Copyright 2010, SLACK Incorporated.

Biocybernetic factors in human perception and memory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lai, D. C.

1975-01-01

The objective of this research is to develop biocybernetic techniques for use in the analysis and development of skills required for the enhancement of concrete images of the 'eidetic' type. The scan patterns of the eye during inspection of scenes are treated as indicators of the brain's strategy for the intake of visual information. The authors determine the features that differentiate visual scan patterns associated with superior imagery from scan patterns associated with inferior imagery, and simultaneously differentiate the EEG features correlated with superior imagery from those correlated with inferior imagery. A closely-coupled man-machine system has been designed to generate image enhancement and to train the individual to exert greater voluntary control over his own imagery. The models for EEG signals and saccadic eye movement in the man-machine system have been completed. The report describes the details of these models and discusses their usefulness.

Wii-based interactive video games as a supplement to conventional therapy for rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy: A pilot, randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Sajan, Jane Elizabeth; John, Judy Ann; Grace, Pearlin; Sabu, Sneha Sara; Tharion, George

2017-08-01

To assess the effect of interactive video gaming (IVG) with Nintendo Wii (Wii) supplemented to conventional therapy in rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy (CP). Randomized, controlled, assessor-blinded study. Children with CP; 10 children each in the control and intervention groups. IVG using Wii, given as a supplement to conventional therapy, for 45 min per day, 6 days a week for 3 weeks. The children in the control group received conventional therapy alone. Posture control and balance, upper limb function, visual-perceptual skills, and functional mobility. Significant improvement in upper limb functions was seen in the intervention group but not in the control group. Improvements in balance, visual perception, and functional mobility were not significantly different between control and intervention groups. Wii-based IVG may be offered as an effective supplement to conventional therapy in the rehabilitation of children with CP.

Looking inward and back: Real-time monitoring of visual working memories.

PubMed

Suchow, Jordan W; Fougnie, Daryl; Alvarez, George A

2017-04-01

Confidence in our memories is influenced by many factors, including beliefs about the perceptibility or memorability of certain kinds of objects and events, as well as knowledge about our skill sets, habits, and experiences. Notoriously, our knowledge and beliefs about memory can lead us astray, causing us to be overly confident in eyewitness testimony or to overestimate the frequency of recent experiences. Here, using visual working memory as a case study, we stripped away all these potentially misleading cues, requiring observers to make confidence judgments by directly assessing the quality of their memory representations. We show that individuals can monitor the status of information in working memory as it degrades over time. Our findings suggest that people have access to information reflecting the existence and quality of their working memories, and furthermore, that they can use this information to guide their behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

The Role of Cognitive Factors in Childhood Social Anxiety: Social Threat Thoughts and Social Skills Perception.

PubMed

van Niekerk, Rianne E; Klein, Anke M; Allart-van Dam, Esther; Hudson, Jennifer L; Rinck, Mike; Hutschemaekers, Giel J M; Becker, Eni S

2017-01-01

Models of cognitive processing in anxiety disorders state that socially anxious children display several distorted cognitive processes that maintain their anxiety. The present study investigated the role of social threat thoughts and social skills perception in relation to childhood trait and state social anxiety. In total, 141 children varying in their levels of social anxiety performed a short speech task in front of a camera and filled out self-reports about their trait social anxiety, state anxiety, social skills perception and social threat thoughts. Results showed that social threat thoughts mediated the relationship between trait social anxiety and state anxiety after the speech task, even when controlling for baseline state anxiety. Furthermore, we found that children with higher trait anxiety and more social threat thoughts had a lower perception of their social skills, but did not display a social skills deficit. These results provide evidence for the applicability of the cognitive social anxiety model to children.

Common polymorphism in the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) is associated with human social recognition skills

PubMed Central

Skuse, David H.; Lori, Adriana; Cubells, Joseph F.; Lee, Irene; Conneely, Karen N.; Puura, Kaija; Lehtimäki, Terho; Binder, Elisabeth B.; Young, Larry J.

2014-01-01

The neuropeptides oxytocin and vasopressin are evolutionarily conserved regulators of social perception and behavior. Evidence is building that they are critically involved in the development of social recognition skills within rodent species, primates, and humans. We investigated whether common polymorphisms in the genes encoding the oxytocin and vasopressin 1a receptors influence social memory for faces. Our sample comprised 198 families, from the United Kingdom and Finland, in whom a single child had been diagnosed with high-functioning autism. Previous research has shown that impaired social perception, characteristic of autism, extends to the first-degree relatives of autistic individuals, implying heritable risk. Assessments of face recognition memory, discrimination of facial emotions, and direction of gaze detection were standardized for age (7–60 y) and sex. A common SNP in the oxytocin receptor (rs237887) was strongly associated with recognition memory in combined probands, parents, and siblings after correction for multiple comparisons. Homozygotes for the ancestral A allele had impairments in the range −0.6 to −1.15 SD scores, irrespective of their diagnostic status. Our findings imply that a critical role for the oxytocin system in social recognition has been conserved across perceptual boundaries through evolution, from olfaction in rodents to visual memory in humans. PMID:24367110

Common polymorphism in the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) is associated with human social recognition skills.

PubMed

Skuse, David H; Lori, Adriana; Cubells, Joseph F; Lee, Irene; Conneely, Karen N; Puura, Kaija; Lehtimäki, Terho; Binder, Elisabeth B; Young, Larry J

2014-02-04

The neuropeptides oxytocin and vasopressin are evolutionarily conserved regulators of social perception and behavior. Evidence is building that they are critically involved in the development of social recognition skills within rodent species, primates, and humans. We investigated whether common polymorphisms in the genes encoding the oxytocin and vasopressin 1a receptors influence social memory for faces. Our sample comprised 198 families, from the United Kingdom and Finland, in whom a single child had been diagnosed with high-functioning autism. Previous research has shown that impaired social perception, characteristic of autism, extends to the first-degree relatives of autistic individuals, implying heritable risk. Assessments of face recognition memory, discrimination of facial emotions, and direction of gaze detection were standardized for age (7-60 y) and sex. A common SNP in the oxytocin receptor (rs237887) was strongly associated with recognition memory in combined probands, parents, and siblings after correction for multiple comparisons. Homozygotes for the ancestral A allele had impairments in the range -0.6 to -1.15 SD scores, irrespective of their diagnostic status. Our findings imply that a critical role for the oxytocin system in social recognition has been conserved across perceptual boundaries through evolution, from olfaction in rodents to visual memory in humans.

Improving Empathy and Communication Skills of Visually Impaired Early Adolescents through a Psycho-Education Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yildiz, Mehmet Ali; Duy, Baki

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of an interpersonal communication skills psycho-education program to improve empathy and communication skills of visually impaired adolescents. Participants of the study were sixteen early adolescents schooling in an elementary school for visually impaired youth in Diyarbakir. The…

Rise and fall of the two visual systems theory.

PubMed

Rossetti, Yves; Pisella, Laure; McIntosh, Robert D

2017-06-01

Among the many dissociations describing the visual system, the dual theory of two visual systems, respectively dedicated to perception and action, has yielded a lot of support. There are psychophysical, anatomical and neuropsychological arguments in favor of this theory. Several behavioral studies that used sensory and motor psychophysical parameters observed differences between perceptive and motor responses. The anatomical network of the visual system in the non-human primate was very readily organized according to two major pathways, dorsal and ventral. Neuropsychological studies, exploring optic ataxia and visual agnosia as characteristic deficits of these two pathways, led to the proposal of a functional double dissociation between visuomotor and visual perceptual functions. After a major wave of popularity that promoted great advances, particularly in knowledge of visuomotor functions, the guiding theory is now being reconsidered. Firstly, the idea of a double dissociation between optic ataxia and visual form agnosia, as cleanly separating visuomotor from visual perceptual functions, is no longer tenable; optic ataxia does not support a dissociation between perception and action and might be more accurately viewed as a negative image of action blindsight. Secondly, dissociations between perceptive and motor responses highlighted in the framework of this theory concern a very elementary level of action, even automatically guided action routines. Thirdly, the very rich interconnected network of the visual brain yields few arguments in favor of a strict perception/action dissociation. Overall, the dissociation between motor function and perceptive function explored by these behavioral and neuropsychological studies can help define an automatic level of action organization deficient in optic ataxia and preserved in action blindsight, and underlines the renewed need to consider the perception-action circle as a functional ensemble. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Visual motion perception predicts driving hazard perception ability.

PubMed

Lacherez, Philippe; Au, Sandra; Wood, Joanne M

2014-02-01

To examine the basis of previous findings of an association between indices of driving safety and visual motion sensitivity and to examine whether this association could be explained by low-level changes in visual function. A total of 36 visually normal participants (aged 19-80 years) completed a battery of standard vision tests including visual acuity, contrast sensitivity and automated visual fields and two tests of motion perception including sensitivity for movement of a drifting Gabor stimulus and sensitivity for displacement in a random dot kinematogram (Dmin ). Participants also completed a hazard perception test (HPT), which measured participants' response times to hazards embedded in video recordings of real-world driving, which has been shown to be linked to crash risk. Dmin for the random dot stimulus ranged from -0.88 to -0.12 log minutes of arc, and the minimum drift rate for the Gabor stimulus ranged from 0.01 to 0.35 cycles per second. Both measures of motion sensitivity significantly predicted response times on the HPT. In addition, while the relationship involving the HPT and motion sensitivity for the random dot kinematogram was partially explained by the other visual function measures, the relationship with sensitivity for detection of the drifting Gabor stimulus remained significant even after controlling for these variables. These findings suggest that motion perception plays an important role in the visual perception of driving-relevant hazards independent of other areas of visual function and should be further explored as a predictive test of driving safety. Future research should explore the causes of reduced motion perception to develop better interventions to improve road safety. © 2012 The Authors. Acta Ophthalmologica © 2012 Acta Ophthalmologica Scandinavica Foundation.

Auditory-Visual Speech Perception in Three- and Four-Year-Olds and Its Relationship to Perceptual Attunement and Receptive Vocabulary

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erdener, Dogu; Burnham, Denis

2018-01-01

Despite the body of research on auditory-visual speech perception in infants and schoolchildren, development in the early childhood period remains relatively uncharted. In this study, English-speaking children between three and four years of age were investigated for: (i) the development of visual speech perception--lip-reading and visual…

Inclusive Education in Spain: How Do Skills, Resources, and Supports Affect Regular Education Teachers' Perceptions of Inclusion?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chiner, Esther; Cardona, Maria Cristina

2013-01-01

This study examined regular education teachers' perceptions of inclusion in elementary and secondary schools in Spain and how these perceptions may differ depending on teaching experience, skills, and the availability of resources and supports. Stratified random sampling procedures were used to draw a representative sample of 336 general education…

The Relationship between Prosodic Perception, Phonological Awareness and Vocabulary in Emergent Literacy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beattie, Rachel L.; Manis, Franklin R.

2014-01-01

Studies have begun to focus on what skills contribute to the development of phonological awareness, an important predictor of reading attainment. One of these skills is the perception of prosody, which is the rhythm, tempo and stress of a language. To examine whether prosodic perception contributes to phonological awareness prior to reading…

Piloting Augmented Reality Technology to Enhance Realism in Clinical Simulation.

PubMed

Vaughn, Jacqueline; Lister, Michael; Shaw, Ryan J

2016-09-01

We describe a pilot study that incorporated an innovative hybrid simulation designed to increase the perception of realism in a high-fidelity simulation. Prelicensure students (N = 12) cared for a manikin in a simulation lab scenario wearing Google Glass, a wearable head device that projected video into the students' field of vision. Students reported that the simulation gave them confidence that they were developing skills and knowledge to perform necessary tasks in a clinical setting and that they met the learning objectives of the simulation. The video combined visual images and cues seen in a real patient and created a sense of realism the manikin alone could not provide.

Athletic Training Students' Perceptions of and Academic Preparation in the Use of Psychological Skills in Sport Injury Rehabilitation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kamphoff, Cindra S.; Hamson-Utley, J. Jordan; Antoine, Beth; Knutson, Rebecca; Thomae, Jeffrey; Hoenig, Catherine

2010-01-01

Context: Injured athletes rely on athletic trainers to assist them when recovering from injury. Over the last 20 years, the use of psychological skills to speed recovery has become increasingly popular. Objective: Explore athletic training students' perceptions of the importance and effectiveness of psychological skills in the rehabilitation of…

Athletes' Perception of Coaches' Behavior and Skills about Their Sport

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Üzüm, Hanifi

2018-01-01

This study examined the perception of athletes' about their coaches' behavior and skills in terms of knowledge and skills, fairness and coaches' characteristic features. The research was conducted by using relational survey method. The subjects of the study were 95 females and 180 males from different sports. Both team sports athletes such as…

Politics Perceptions as Moderator of the Political Skill-Job Performance Relationship: A Two-Study, Cross-National, Constructive Replication

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kapoutsis, Ilias; Papalexandris, Alexandros; Nikolopoulos, Andreas; Hochwarter, Wayne A.; Ferris, Gerald R.

2011-01-01

We developed a two-study, cross-national, constructive replication to examine the role of organizational politics perceptions as a contextual moderator of the political skill-job performance relationship. Specifically, we hypothesized that high levels of political skill would demonstrate its strongest positive effects on job performance when…

Perceptions of Southern Nevada Employers Regarding the Importance of SCANS Workplace Basic Skills.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richens, Greg P.

The perceptions of southern Nevada employers regarding the importance of the Secretary's Commission for Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) workplace basic skills were examined in a survey that was administered to a random sample of southern Nevada businesses. Of the 415 employers who completed the survey, 313 (75.4%) believed that the SCANS skills…

Touch to see: neuropsychological evidence of a sensory mirror system for touch.

PubMed

Bolognini, Nadia; Olgiati, Elena; Xaiz, Annalisa; Posteraro, Lucio; Ferraro, Francesco; Maravita, Angelo

2012-09-01

The observation of touch can be grounded in the activation of brain areas underpinning direct tactile experience, namely the somatosensory cortices. What is the behavioral impact of such a mirror sensory activity on visual perception? To address this issue, we investigated the causal interplay between observed and felt touch in right brain-damaged patients, as a function of their underlying damaged visual and/or tactile modalities. Patients and healthy controls underwent a detection task, comprising visual stimuli depicting touches or without a tactile component. Touch and No-touch stimuli were presented in egocentric or allocentric perspectives. Seeing touches, regardless of the viewing perspective, differently affects visual perception depending on which sensory modality is damaged: In patients with a selective visual deficit, but without any tactile defect, the sight of touch improves the visual impairment; this effect is associated with a lesion to the supramarginal gyrus. In patients with a tactile deficit, but intact visual perception, the sight of touch disrupts visual processing, inducing a visual extinction-like phenomenon. This disruptive effect is associated with the damage of the postcentral gyrus. Hence, a damage to the somatosensory system can lead to a dysfunctional visual processing, and an intact somatosensory processing can aid visual perception.

Visual perception and frontal lobe in intellectual disabilities: a study with evoked potentials and neuropsychology.

PubMed

Muñoz-Ruata, J; Caro-Martínez, E; Martínez Pérez, L; Borja, M

2010-12-01

Perception disorders are frequently observed in persons with intellectual disability (ID) and their influence on cognition has been discussed. The objective of this study is to clarify the mechanisms behind these alterations by analysing the visual event related potentials early component, the N1 wave, which is related to perception alterations in several pathologies. Additionally, the relationship between N1 and neuropsychological visual tests was studied with the aim to understand its functional significance in ID persons. A group of 69 subjects, with etiologically heterogeneous mild ID, performed an odd-ball task of active discrimination of geometric figures. N1a (frontal) and N1b (post-occipital) waves were obtained from the evoked potentials. They also performed several neuropsychological tests. Only component N1a, produced by the target stimulus, showed significant correlations with the visual integration, visual semantic association, visual analogical reasoning tests, Perceptual Reasoning Index (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Fourth Edition) and intelligence quotient. The systematic correlations, produced by the target stimulus in perceptual abilities tasks, with the N1a (frontal) and not with N1b (posterior), suggest that the visual perception process involves frontal participation. These correlations support the idea that the N1a and N1b are not equivalent. The relationship between frontal functions and early stages of visual perception is revised and discussed, as well as the frontal contribution with the neuropsychological tests used. A possible relationship between the frontal activity dysfunction in ID and perceptive problems is suggested. Perceptive alteration observed in persons with ID could indeed be because of altered sensory areas, but also to a failure in the frontal participation of perceptive processes conceived as elaborations inside reverberant circuits of perception-action. © 2010 The Authors. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Driver Vision Based Perception-Response Time Prediction and Assistance Model on Mountain Highway Curve.

PubMed

Li, Yi; Chen, Yuren

2016-12-30

To make driving assistance system more humanized, this study focused on the prediction and assistance of drivers' perception-response time on mountain highway curves. Field tests were conducted to collect real-time driving data and driver vision information. A driver-vision lane model quantified curve elements in drivers' vision. A multinomial log-linear model was established to predict perception-response time with traffic/road environment information, driver-vision lane model, and mechanical status (last second). A corresponding assistance model showed a positive impact on drivers' perception-response times on mountain highway curves. Model results revealed that the driver-vision lane model and visual elements did have important influence on drivers' perception-response time. Compared with roadside passive road safety infrastructure, proper visual geometry design, timely visual guidance, and visual information integrality of a curve are significant factors for drivers' perception-response time.

Visual Arts Teaching in Kindergarten through 3rd-Grade Classrooms in the UAE: Teacher Profiles, Perceptions, and Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buldu, Mehmet; Shaban, Mohamed S.

2010-01-01

This study portrayed a picture of kindergarten through 3rd-grade teachers who teach visual arts, their perceptions of the value of visual arts, their visual arts teaching practices, visual arts experiences provided to young learners in school, and major factors and/or influences that affect their teaching of visual arts. The sample for this study…

Does visual attention drive the dynamics of bistable perception?

PubMed Central

Dieter, Kevin C.; Brascamp, Jan; Tadin, Duje; Blake, Randolph

2016-01-01

How does attention interact with incoming sensory information to determine what we perceive? One domain in which this question has received serious consideration is that of bistable perception: a captivating class of phenomena that involves fluctuating visual experience in the face of physically unchanging sensory input. Here, some investigations have yielded support for the idea that attention alone determines what is seen, while others have implicated entirely attention-independent processes in driving alternations during bistable perception. We review the body of literature addressing this divide and conclude that in fact both sides are correct – depending on the form of bistable perception being considered. Converging evidence suggests that visual attention is required for alternations in the type of bistable perception called binocular rivalry, while alternations during other types of bistable perception appear to continue without requiring attention. We discuss some implications of this differential effect of attention for our understanding of the mechanisms underlying bistable perception, and examine how these mechanisms operate during our everyday visual experiences. PMID:27230785

Does visual attention drive the dynamics of bistable perception?

PubMed

Dieter, Kevin C; Brascamp, Jan; Tadin, Duje; Blake, Randolph

2016-10-01

How does attention interact with incoming sensory information to determine what we perceive? One domain in which this question has received serious consideration is that of bistable perception: a captivating class of phenomena that involves fluctuating visual experience in the face of physically unchanging sensory input. Here, some investigations have yielded support for the idea that attention alone determines what is seen, while others have implicated entirely attention-independent processes in driving alternations during bistable perception. We review the body of literature addressing this divide and conclude that in fact both sides are correct-depending on the form of bistable perception being considered. Converging evidence suggests that visual attention is required for alternations in the type of bistable perception called binocular rivalry, while alternations during other types of bistable perception appear to continue without requiring attention. We discuss some implications of this differential effect of attention for our understanding of the mechanisms underlying bistable perception, and examine how these mechanisms operate during our everyday visual experiences.

The Neural Basis of Mark Making: A Functional MRI Study of Drawing

PubMed Central

Yuan, Ye; Brown, Steven

2014-01-01

Compared to most other forms of visually-guided motor activity, drawing is unique in that it “leaves a trail behind” in the form of the emanating image. We took advantage of an MRI-compatible drawing tablet in order to examine both the motor production and perceptual emanation of images. Subjects participated in a series of mark making tasks in which they were cued to draw geometric patterns on the tablet's surface. The critical comparison was between when visual feedback was displayed (image generation) versus when it was not (no image generation). This contrast revealed an occipito-parietal stream involved in motion-based perception of the emerging image, including areas V5/MT+, LO, V3A, and the posterior part of the intraparietal sulcus. Interestingly, when subjects passively viewed animations of visual patterns emerging on the projected surface, all of the sensorimotor network involved in drawing was strongly activated, with the exception of the primary motor cortex. These results argue that the origin of the human capacity to draw and write involves not only motor skills for tool use but also motor-sensory links between drawing movements and the visual images that emanate from them in real time. PMID:25271440

Mobility scooter driving ability in visually impaired individuals.

PubMed

Cordes, Christina; Heutink, Joost; Brookhuis, Karel A; Brouwer, Wiebo H; Melis-Dankers, Bart J M

2018-06-01

To investigate how well visually impaired individuals can learn to use mobility scooters and which parts of the driving task deserve special attention. A mobility scooter driving skill test was developed to compare driving skills (e.g. reverse driving, turning) between 48 visually impaired (very low visual acuity = 14, low visual acuity = 10, peripheral field defects = 11, multiple visual impairments = 13) and 37 normal-sighted controls without any prior experience with mobility scooters. Performance on this test was rated on a three-point scale. Furthermore, the number of extra repetitions on the different elements were noted. Results showed that visually impaired participants were able to gain sufficient driving skills to be able to use mobility scooters. Participants with visual field defects combined with low visual acuity showed most problems learning different skills and needed more training. Reverse driving and stopping seemed to be most difficult. The present findings suggest that visually impaired individuals are able to learn to drive mobility scooters. Mobility scooter allocators should be aware that these individuals might need more training on certain elements of the driving task. Implications for rehabilitation Visual impairments do not necessarily lead to an inability to acquire mobility scooter driving skills. Individuals with peripheral field defects (especially in combination with reduced visual acuity) need more driving ability training compared to normal-sighted people - especially to accomplish reversing. Individual assessment of visually impaired people is recommended, since participants in this study showed a wide variation in ability to learn driving a mobility scooter.

Perception of Stand-on-ability: Do Geographical Slants Feel Steeper Than They Look?

PubMed

Hajnal, Alen; Wagman, Jeffrey B; Doyon, Jonathan K; Clark, Joseph D

2016-07-01

Past research has shown that haptically perceived surface slant by foot is matched with visually perceived slant by a factor of 0.81. Slopes perceived visually appear shallower than when stood on without looking. We sought to identify the sources of this discrepancy by asking participants to judge whether they would be able to stand on an inclined ramp. In the first experiment, visual perception was compared to pedal perception in which participants took half a step with one foot onto an occluded ramp. Visual perception closely matched the actual maximal slope angle that one could stand on, whereas pedal perception underestimated it. Participants may have been less stable in the pedal condition while taking half a step onto the ramp. We controlled for this by having participants hold onto a sturdy tripod in the pedal condition (Experiment 2). This did not eliminate the difference between visual and haptic perception, but repeating the task while sitting on a chair did (Experiment 3). Beyond balance requirements, pedal perception may also be constrained by the limited range of motion at the ankle and knee joints while standing. Indeed, when we restricted range of motion by wearing an ankle brace pedal perception underestimated the affordance (Experiment 4). Implications for ecological theory were offered by discussing the notion of functional equivalence and the role of exploration in perception. © The Author(s) 2016.

Visual perception and imagery: a new molecular hypothesis.

PubMed

Bókkon, I

2009-05-01

Here, we put forward a redox molecular hypothesis about the natural biophysical substrate of visual perception and visual imagery. This hypothesis is based on the redox and bioluminescent processes of neuronal cells in retinotopically organized cytochrome oxidase-rich visual areas. Our hypothesis is in line with the functional roles of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in living cells that are not part of haphazard process, but rather a very strict mechanism used in signaling pathways. We point out that there is a direct relationship between neuronal activity and the biophoton emission process in the brain. Electrical and biochemical processes in the brain represent sensory information from the external world. During encoding or retrieval of information, electrical signals of neurons can be converted into synchronized biophoton signals by bioluminescent radical and non-radical processes. Therefore, information in the brain appears not only as an electrical (chemical) signal but also as a regulated biophoton (weak optical) signal inside neurons. During visual perception, the topological distribution of photon stimuli on the retina is represented by electrical neuronal activity in retinotopically organized visual areas. These retinotopic electrical signals in visual neurons can be converted into synchronized biophoton signals by radical and non-radical processes in retinotopically organized mitochondria-rich areas. As a result, regulated bioluminescent biophotons can create intrinsic pictures (depictive representation) in retinotopically organized cytochrome oxidase-rich visual areas during visual imagery and visual perception. The long-term visual memory is interpreted as epigenetic information regulated by free radicals and redox processes. This hypothesis does not claim to solve the secret of consciousness, but proposes that the evolution of higher levels of complexity made the intrinsic picture representation of the external visual world possible by regulated redox and bioluminescent reactions in the visual system during visual perception and visual imagery.

Developmental dyslexia: exploring how much phonological and visual attention span disorders are linked to simultaneous auditory processing deficits.

PubMed

Lallier, Marie; Donnadieu, Sophie; Valdois, Sylviane

2013-07-01

The simultaneous auditory processing skills of 17 dyslexic children and 17 skilled readers were measured using a dichotic listening task. Results showed that the dyslexic children exhibited difficulties reporting syllabic material when presented simultaneously. As a measure of simultaneous visual processing, visual attention span skills were assessed in the dyslexic children. We presented the dyslexic children with a phonological short-term memory task and a phonemic awareness task to quantify their phonological skills. Visual attention spans correlated positively with individual scores obtained on the dichotic listening task while phonological skills did not correlate with either dichotic scores or visual attention span measures. Moreover, all the dyslexic children with a dichotic listening deficit showed a simultaneous visual processing deficit, and a substantial number of dyslexic children exhibited phonological processing deficits whether or not they exhibited low dichotic listening scores. These findings suggest that processing simultaneous auditory stimuli may be impaired in dyslexic children regardless of phonological processing difficulties and be linked to similar problems in the visual modality.

Developmental Dyslexia: Exploring How Much Phonological and Visual Attention Span Disorders Are Linked to Simultaneous Auditory Processing Deficits

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lallier, Marie; Donnadieu, Sophie; Valdois, Sylviane

2013-01-01

The simultaneous auditory processing skills of 17 dyslexic children and 17 skilled readers were measured using a dichotic listening task. Results showed that the dyslexic children exhibited difficulties reporting syllabic material when presented simultaneously. As a measure of simultaneous visual processing, visual attention span skills were…

Visual Skills and Chinese Reading Acquisition: A Meta-Analysis of Correlation Evidence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yang, Ling-Yan; Guo, Jian-Peng; Richman, Lynn C.; Schmidt, Frank L.; Gerken, Kathryn C.; Ding, Yi

2013-01-01

This paper used meta-analysis to synthesize the relation between visual skills and Chinese reading acquisition based on the empirical results from 34 studies published from 1991 to 2011. We obtained 234 correlation coefficients from 64 independent samples, with a total of 5,395 participants. The meta-analysis revealed that visual skills as a…

Illusory Reversal of Causality between Touch and Vision has No Effect on Prism Adaptation Rate.

PubMed

Tanaka, Hirokazu; Homma, Kazuhiro; Imamizu, Hiroshi

2012-01-01

Learning, according to Oxford Dictionary, is "to gain knowledge or skill by studying, from experience, from being taught, etc." In order to learn from experience, the central nervous system has to decide what action leads to what consequence, and temporal perception plays a critical role in determining the causality between actions and consequences. In motor adaptation, causality between action and consequence is implicitly assumed so that a subject adapts to a new environment based on the consequence caused by her action. Adaptation to visual displacement induced by prisms is a prime example; the visual error signal associated with the motor output contributes to the recovery of accurate reaching, and a delayed feedback of visual error can decrease the adaptation rate. Subjective feeling of temporal order of action and consequence, however, can be modified or even reversed when her sense of simultaneity is manipulated with an artificially delayed feedback. Our previous study (Tanaka et al., 2011; Exp. Brain Res.) demonstrated that the rate of prism adaptation was unaffected when the subjective delay of visual feedback was shortened. This study asked whether subjects could adapt to prism adaptation and whether the rate of prism adaptation was affected when the subjective temporal order was illusory reversed. Adapting to additional 100 ms delay and its sudden removal caused a positive shift of point of simultaneity in a temporal order judgment experiment, indicating an illusory reversal of action and consequence. We found that, even in this case, the subjects were able to adapt to prism displacement with the learning rate that was statistically indistinguishable to that without temporal adaptation. This result provides further evidence to the dissociation between conscious temporal perception and motor adaptation.

Object perception is selectively slowed by a visually similar working memory load.

PubMed

Robinson, Alan; Manzi, Alberto; Triesch, Jochen

2008-12-22

The capacity of visual working memory has been extensively characterized, but little work has investigated how occupying visual memory influences other aspects of cognition and perception. Here we show a novel effect: maintaining an item in visual working memory slows processing of similar visual stimuli during the maintenance period. Subjects judged the gender of computer rendered faces or the naturalness of body postures while maintaining different visual memory loads. We found that when stimuli of the same class (faces or bodies) were maintained in memory, perceptual judgments were slowed. Interestingly, this is the opposite of what would be predicted from traditional priming. Our results suggest there is interference between visual working memory and perception, caused by visual similarity between new perceptual input and items already encoded in memory.

Optical images of visible and invisible percepts in the primary visual cortex of primates

PubMed Central

Macknik, Stephen L.; Haglund, Michael M.

1999-01-01

We optically imaged a visual masking illusion in primary visual cortex (area V-1) of rhesus monkeys to ask whether activity in the early visual system more closely reflects the physical stimulus or the generated percept. Visual illusions can be a powerful way to address this question because they have the benefit of dissociating the stimulus from perception. We used an illusion in which a flickering target (a bar oriented in visual space) is rendered invisible by two counter-phase flickering bars, called masks, which flank and abut the target. The target and masks, when shown separately, each generated correlated activity on the surface of the cortex. During the illusory condition, however, optical signals generated in the cortex by the target disappeared although the image of the masks persisted. The optical image thus was correlated with perception but not with the physical stimulus. PMID:10611363

Visual Thinking in Teaching History: Reading the Visual Thinking Skills of 12 Year-Old Pupils in Istanbul

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dilek, Gulcin

2010-01-01

This study aims to explore the visual thinking skills of some sixth grade (12-13 year-old) primary pupils who created visual interpretations during history courses. Pupils drew pictures describing historical scenes or events based on visual sources. They constructed these illustrations by using visual and written primary and secondary sources in…

Selling students short: Racial differences in teachers’ evaluations of high, average, and low performing students

PubMed Central

Irizarry, Yasmiyn

2015-01-01

Education scholars document notable racial differences in teachers’ perceptions of students’ academic skills. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort, this study advances research on teacher perceptions by investigating whether racial differences in teachers’ evaluations of first grade students’ overall literacy skills vary for high, average, and low performing students. Results highlight both the overall accuracy of teachers’ perceptions, and the extent and nature of possible inaccuracies, as demonstrated by remaining racial gaps net literacy test performance. Racial differences in teachers’ perceptions of Black, non-White Latino, and Asian students (compared to White students) exist net teacher and school characteristics and vary considerably across literacy skill levels. Skill specific literacy assessments appear to explain the remaining racial gap for Asian students, but not for Black and non-White Latino students. Implications of these findings for education scholarship, gifted education, and the achievement gap are discussed. PMID:26004478

A comparison of the hazard perception ability of accident-involved and accident-free motorcycle riders.

PubMed

Cheng, Andy S K; Ng, Terry C K; Lee, Hoe C

2011-07-01

Hazard perception is the ability to read the road and is closely related to involvement in traffic accidents. It consists of both cognitive and behavioral components. Within the cognitive component, visual attention is an important function of driving whereas driving behavior, which represents the behavioral component, can affect the hazard perception of the driver. Motorcycle riders are the most vulnerable types of road user. The primary purpose of this study was to deepen our understanding of the correlation of different subtypes of visual attention and driving violation behaviors and their effect on hazard perception between accident-free and accident-involved motorcycle riders. Sixty-three accident-free and 46 accident-involved motorcycle riders undertook four neuropsychological tests of attention (Digit Vigilance Test, Color Trails Test-1, Color Trails Test-2, and Symbol Digit Modalities Test), filled out the Chinese Motorcycle Rider Driving Violation (CMRDV) Questionnaire, and viewed a road-user-based hazard situation with an eye-tracking system to record the response latencies to potentially dangerous traffic situations. The results showed that both the divided and selective attention of accident-involved motorcycle riders were significantly inferior to those of accident-free motorcycle riders, and that accident-involved riders exhibited significantly higher driving violation behaviors and took longer to identify hazardous situations compared to their accident-free counterparts. However, the results of the regression analysis showed that aggressive driving violation CMRDV score significantly predicted hazard perception and accident involvement of motorcycle riders. Given that all participants were mature and experienced motorcycle riders, the most plausible explanation for the differences between them is their driving style (influenced by an undesirable driving attitude), rather than skill deficits per se. The present study points to the importance of conceptualizing the influence of different driving behaviors so as to enrich our understanding of the role of human factors in road accidents and consequently develop effective countermeasures to prevent traffic accidents involving motorcycles. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Relation between Approximate Number System Acuity and Mathematical Achievement: The Influence of Fluency

PubMed Central

Wang, Li; Sun, Yuhua; Zhou, Xinlin

2016-01-01

Previous studies have observed inconsistent relations between the acuity of the Approximate Number System (ANS) and mathematical achievement. In this paper, we hypothesize that the relation between ANS acuity and mathematical achievement is influenced by fluency; that is, the mathematical achievement test covering a greater expanse of mathematical fluency may better reflect the relation between ANS acuity and mathematics skills. We explored three types of mathematical achievement tests utilized in this study: Subtraction, graded, and semester-final examination. The subtraction test was designed to measure the mathematical fluency. The graded test was more fluency-based than the semester-final examination, but both involved the same mathematical knowledge from the class curriculum. A total of 219 fifth graders from primary schools were asked to perform all three tests, then given a numerosity comparison task, a visual form perception task (figure matching), and a series of other tasks to assess general cognitive processes (mental rotation, non-verbal matrix reasoning, and choice reaction time). The findings were consistent with our expectations. The relation between ANS acuity and mathematical achievement was particularly clearly reflected in the participants’ performance on the visual form perception task, which supports the domain-general explanations for the underlying mechanisms of the relation between ANS acuity and math achievement. PMID:28066291

Do we track what we see? Common versus independent processing for motion perception and smooth pursuit eye movements: a review.

PubMed

Spering, Miriam; Montagnini, Anna

2011-04-22

Many neurophysiological studies in monkeys have indicated that visual motion information for the guidance of perception and smooth pursuit eye movements is - at an early stage - processed in the same visual pathway in the brain, crucially involving the middle temporal area (MT). However, these studies left some questions unanswered: Are perception and pursuit driven by the same or independent neuronal signals within this pathway? Are the perceptual interpretation of visual motion information and the motor response to visual signals limited by the same source of neuronal noise? Here, we review psychophysical studies that were motivated by these questions and compared perception and pursuit behaviorally in healthy human observers. We further review studies that focused on the interaction between perception and pursuit. The majority of results point to similarities between perception and pursuit, but dissociations were also reported. We discuss recent developments in this research area and conclude with suggestions for common and separate principles for the guidance of perceptual and motor responses to visual motion information. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Movement Sonification: Effects on Motor Learning beyond Rhythmic Adjustments

PubMed Central

Effenberg, Alfred O.; Fehse, Ursula; Schmitz, Gerd; Krueger, Bjoern; Mechling, Heinz

2016-01-01

Motor learning is based on motor perception and emergent perceptual-motor representations. A lot of behavioral research is related to single perceptual modalities but during last two decades the contribution of multimodal perception on motor behavior was discovered more and more. A growing number of studies indicates an enhanced impact of multimodal stimuli on motor perception, motor control and motor learning in terms of better precision and higher reliability of the related actions. Behavioral research is supported by neurophysiological data, revealing that multisensory integration supports motor control and learning. But the overwhelming part of both research lines is dedicated to basic research. Besides research in the domains of music, dance and motor rehabilitation, there is almost no evidence for enhanced effectiveness of multisensory information on learning of gross motor skills. To reduce this gap, movement sonification is used here in applied research on motor learning in sports. Based on the current knowledge on the multimodal organization of the perceptual system, we generate additional real-time movement information being suitable for integration with perceptual feedback streams of visual and proprioceptive modality. With ongoing training, synchronously processed auditory information should be initially integrated into the emerging internal models, enhancing the efficacy of motor learning. This is achieved by a direct mapping of kinematic and dynamic motion parameters to electronic sounds, resulting in continuous auditory and convergent audiovisual or audio-proprioceptive stimulus arrays. In sharp contrast to other approaches using acoustic information as error-feedback in motor learning settings, we try to generate additional movement information suitable for acceleration and enhancement of adequate sensorimotor representations and processible below the level of consciousness. In the experimental setting, participants were asked to learn a closed motor skill (technique acquisition of indoor rowing). One group was treated with visual information and two groups with audiovisual information (sonification vs. natural sounds). For all three groups learning became evident and remained stable. Participants treated with additional movement sonification showed better performance compared to both other groups. Results indicate that movement sonification enhances motor learning of a complex gross motor skill—even exceeding usually expected acoustic rhythmic effects on motor learning. PMID:27303255

Toward Model Building for Visual Aesthetic Perception

PubMed Central

Lughofer, Edwin; Zeng, Xianyi

2017-01-01

Several models of visual aesthetic perception have been proposed in recent years. Such models have drawn on investigations into the neural underpinnings of visual aesthetics, utilizing neurophysiological techniques and brain imaging techniques including functional magnetic resonance imaging, magnetoencephalography, and electroencephalography. The neural mechanisms underlying the aesthetic perception of the visual arts have been explained from the perspectives of neuropsychology, brain and cognitive science, informatics, and statistics. Although corresponding models have been constructed, the majority of these models contain elements that are difficult to be simulated or quantified using simple mathematical functions. In this review, we discuss the hypotheses, conceptions, and structures of six typical models for human aesthetic appreciation in the visual domain: the neuropsychological, information processing, mirror, quartet, and two hierarchical feed-forward layered models. Additionally, the neural foundation of aesthetic perception, appreciation, or judgement for each model is summarized. The development of a unified framework for the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the aesthetic perception of visual art and the validation of this framework via mathematical simulation is an interesting challenge in neuroaesthetics research. This review aims to provide information regarding the most promising proposals for bridging the gap between visual information processing and brain activity involved in aesthetic appreciation. PMID:29270194

Visual imagery without visual perception: lessons from blind subjects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bértolo, Helder

2014-08-01

The question regarding visual imagery and visual perception remain an open issue. Many studies have tried to understand if the two processes share the same mechanisms or if they are independent, using different neural substrates. Most research has been directed towards the need of activation of primary visual areas during imagery. Here we review some of the works providing evidence for both claims. It seems that studying visual imagery in blind subjects can be used as a way of answering some of those questions, namely if it is possible to have visual imagery without visual perception. We present results from the work of our group using visual activation in dreams and its relation with EEG's spectral components, showing that congenitally blind have visual contents in their dreams and are able to draw them; furthermore their Visual Activation Index is negatively correlated with EEG alpha power. This study supports the hypothesis that it is possible to have visual imagery without visual experience.

Audiovisual associations alter the perception of low-level visual motion

PubMed Central

Kafaligonul, Hulusi; Oluk, Can

2015-01-01

Motion perception is a pervasive nature of vision and is affected by both immediate pattern of sensory inputs and prior experiences acquired through associations. Recently, several studies reported that an association can be established quickly between directions of visual motion and static sounds of distinct frequencies. After the association is formed, sounds are able to change the perceived direction of visual motion. To determine whether such rapidly acquired audiovisual associations and their subsequent influences on visual motion perception are dependent on the involvement of higher-order attentive tracking mechanisms, we designed psychophysical experiments using regular and reverse-phi random dot motions isolating low-level pre-attentive motion processing. Our results show that an association between the directions of low-level visual motion and static sounds can be formed and this audiovisual association alters the subsequent perception of low-level visual motion. These findings support the view that audiovisual associations are not restricted to high-level attention based motion system and early-level visual motion processing has some potential role. PMID:25873869

EFFECTS OF STROBOSCOPIC VISUAL TRAINING ON VISUAL ATTENTION, MOTION PERCEPTION, AND CATCHING PERFORMANCE.

PubMed

Wilkins, Luke; Gray, Rob

2015-08-01

It has been shown recently that stroboscopic visual training can improve visual-perceptual abilities, such as central field motion sensitivity and anticipatory timing. Such training should also improve a sports skill that relies on these perceptual abilities, namely ball catching. Thirty athletes (12 women, 18 men; M age=22.5 yr., SD=4.7) were assigned to one of two types of stroboscopic training groups: a variable strobe rate (VSR) group for which the off-time of the glasses was systematically increased (as in previous research) and a constant strobe rate group (CSR) for which the glasses were always set at the shortest off-time. Training involved simple, tennis ball-catching drills (9×20 min.) occurring over a 6-wk. In pre- and post-training, the participants completed a one-handed ball-catching task and the Useful Field of View (UFOV) and the Motion in Depth Sensitivity (MIDS) tests. Since the CSR condition used in the present study has been shown to have no effect on catching performance, it was predicted that the VSR group would show significantly greater improvement pre-post-training. There were no significant differences between the CSR and VSR on any of the tests. However, changes in catching performance (total balls caught) pre-post-training were significantly correlated with changes in scores for the UFOV single-task and MIDS tests. That is, regardless of group, participants whose perceptual-cognitive performance improved in the post-test were significantly more likely to improve their catching performance. This suggests that the perceptual changes observed in previous stroboscopic training studies may be linked to changes in sports skill performance.

Auditory cross-modal reorganization in cochlear implant users indicates audio-visual integration.

PubMed

Stropahl, Maren; Debener, Stefan

2017-01-01

There is clear evidence for cross-modal cortical reorganization in the auditory system of post-lingually deafened cochlear implant (CI) users. A recent report suggests that moderate sensori-neural hearing loss is already sufficient to initiate corresponding cortical changes. To what extend these changes are deprivation-induced or related to sensory recovery is still debated. Moreover, the influence of cross-modal reorganization on CI benefit is also still unclear. While reorganization during deafness may impede speech recovery, reorganization also has beneficial influences on face recognition and lip-reading. As CI users were observed to show differences in multisensory integration, the question arises if cross-modal reorganization is related to audio-visual integration skills. The current electroencephalography study investigated cortical reorganization in experienced post-lingually deafened CI users ( n  = 18), untreated mild to moderately hearing impaired individuals (n = 18) and normal hearing controls ( n  = 17). Cross-modal activation of the auditory cortex by means of EEG source localization in response to human faces and audio-visual integration, quantified with the McGurk illusion, were measured. CI users revealed stronger cross-modal activations compared to age-matched normal hearing individuals. Furthermore, CI users showed a relationship between cross-modal activation and audio-visual integration strength. This may further support a beneficial relationship between cross-modal activation and daily-life communication skills that may not be fully captured by laboratory-based speech perception tests. Interestingly, hearing impaired individuals showed behavioral and neurophysiological results that were numerically between the other two groups, and they showed a moderate relationship between cross-modal activation and the degree of hearing loss. This further supports the notion that auditory deprivation evokes a reorganization of the auditory system even at early stages of hearing loss.

The Effects of Visual Beats on Prosodic Prominence: Acoustic Analyses, Auditory Perception and Visual Perception

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Krahmer, Emiel; Swerts, Marc

2007-01-01

Speakers employ acoustic cues (pitch accents) to indicate that a word is important, but may also use visual cues (beat gestures, head nods, eyebrow movements) for this purpose. Even though these acoustic and visual cues are related, the exact nature of this relationship is far from well understood. We investigate whether producing a visual beat…

Having Their Song Heard: Tracking Pre-Service Kindergarten Teachers' Perceptions and Confidence in Their Singing Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Neokleous, Rania

2013-01-01

This paper reports a study investigating pre-service kindergarten teachers' confidence levels and perceptions regarding their singing skills, and the impact of a music methods course on these self-perceptions. The course incorporated singing instruction in 24 lectures and two 10-minute private singing tutorials at the beginning and middle of the…

Self-estimation of physical ability in stepping over an obstacle is not mediated by visual height perception: a comparison between young and older adults.

PubMed

Sakurai, Ryota; Fujiwara, Yoshinori; Ishihara, Masami; Yasunaga, Masashi; Ogawa, Susumu; Suzuki, Hiroyuki; Imanaka, Kuniyasu

2017-07-01

Older adults tend to overestimate their step-over ability. However, it is unclear as to whether this is caused by inaccurate self-estimation of physical ability or inaccurate perception of height. We, therefore, measured both visual height perception ability and self-estimation of step-over ability among young and older adults. Forty-seven older and 16 young adults performed a height perception test (HPT) and a step-over test (SOT). Participants visually judged the height of vertical bars from distances of 7 and 1 m away in the HPT, then self-estimated and, subsequently, actually performed a step-over action in the SOT. The results showed no significant difference between young and older adults in visual height perception. In the SOT, young adults tended to underestimate their step-over ability, whereas older adults either overestimated their abilities or underestimated them to a lesser extent than did the young adults. Moreover, visual height perception was not correlated with the self-estimation of step-over ability in both young and older adults. These results suggest that the self-overestimation of step-over ability which appeared in some healthy older adults may not be caused by the nature of visual height perception, but by other factor(s), such as the likely age-related nature of self-estimation of physical ability, per se.

A Study of the Perceptions of Performance Skills of Middle School Principals by Selected Teachers and Principals.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meyer, Calvin F.; Van Hoose, John J.

This study investigates hypotheses about differences in the perceptions of middle school principals and teachers concerning those principal performance skills that are practiced and those that should be practiced. A survey instrument consisting of 37 principal performance skills on a five-point Likert-like scale was sent to the principals and…

Job-Related Basic Math Skills: An Analysis of Employees and Employers/Supervisors' Perception of Needed Math Skills for Office Occupations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Redmann, Donna H.

Phase I of a study was conducted to identify the basic mathematics competencies needed for job success in office occupations (14 job clusters). It also sought to determine the differences between employees' and employer/supervisors' perceptions of the degree of importance of mathematics skills for office occupations. Following a review of…

Strategies and Perceptions of Students' Field Note-Taking Skills: Insights from a Geothermal Field Lesson

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dohaney, Jacqueline; Brogt, Erik; Kennedy, Ben

2015-01-01

Field note-taking skills are fundamental in the geosciences but are rarely explicitly taught. In a mixed-method study of an introductory geothermal field lesson, we characterize the content and perceptions of students' note-taking skills to derive the strategies that students use in the field. We collected several data sets: observations of the…

Attitudes and Perceptions of Middle School Students toward Competitive Activities in Physical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bernstein, Eve; Phillips, Sharon Rose; Silverman, Stephen

2011-01-01

The attitudes and perceptions of middle school students toward competitive activities in physical education were examined. Ten boys and 14 girls volunteered (11-high-skilled, 11 moderate-skilled, and 2 low skilled students) in 6th and 7th grade from a total of 6 schools, all offering competitive activities. Data collection was conducted over…

Understanding the Role of Noncognitive Skills and School Environments in Students' Transitions to High School. REL 2018-282

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stoker, Ginger; Liu, Feng; Arellano, Brenda

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to: examine differences in students' perceptions of their noncognitive skills and school environments by race/ethnicity, and explore whether students' perceptions of their noncognitive skills and school environments were related to three outcomes that have been identified in the research as mattering most for a…

Qualitative Analysis of Student Perceptions Comparing Team-based Learning and Traditional Lecture in a Pharmacotherapeutics Course.

PubMed

Remington, Tami L; Bleske, Barry E; Bartholomew, Tracy; Dorsch, Michael P; Guthrie, Sally K; Klein, Kristin C; Tingen, Jeffrey M; Wells, Trisha D

2017-04-01

Objective. To qualitatively compare students' attitudes and perceptions regarding team-based learning (TBL) and lecture. Design. Students were exposed to TBL and lecture in an elective pharmacotherapeutics course in a randomized, prospective, cross-over design. After completing the course, students provided their attitudes and perceptions through a written self-reflection and narrative questions on the end-of-course evaluation. Student responses were reviewed using a grounded theory coding method. Assessment. Students' responses yielded five major themes: impact of TBL on learning, perceptions about TBL learning methods, changes in approaches to learning, building skills for professional practice, and enduring challenges. Overall, students report TBL enhances their learning of course content (knowledge and application), teamwork skills, and lifelong learning skills. Conclusion. Students' attitudes and perceptions support TBL as a viable pedagogy for teaching pharmacotherapeutics.

Qualitative Analysis of Student Perceptions Comparing Team-based Learning and Traditional Lecture in a Pharmacotherapeutics Course

PubMed Central

Bleske, Barry E.; Bartholomew, Tracy; Dorsch, Michael P.; Guthrie, Sally K.; Klein, Kristin C.; Tingen, Jeffrey M.; Wells, Trisha D.

2017-01-01

Objective. To qualitatively compare students’ attitudes and perceptions regarding team-based learning (TBL) and lecture. Design. Students were exposed to TBL and lecture in an elective pharmacotherapeutics course in a randomized, prospective, cross-over design. After completing the course, students provided their attitudes and perceptions through a written self-reflection and narrative questions on the end-of-course evaluation. Student responses were reviewed using a grounded theory coding method. Assessment. Students’ responses yielded five major themes: impact of TBL on learning, perceptions about TBL learning methods, changes in approaches to learning, building skills for professional practice, and enduring challenges. Overall, students report TBL enhances their learning of course content (knowledge and application), teamwork skills, and lifelong learning skills. Conclusion. Students’ attitudes and perceptions support TBL as a viable pedagogy for teaching pharmacotherapeutics. PMID:28496275

Perception of nurse caring, skills, and knowledge based on appearance.

PubMed

Thomas, Christine M; Ehret, Abigail; Ellis, Briana; Colon-Shoop, Sara; Linton, Jean; Metz, Stacie

2010-11-01

The objective of the study was to assess differences among perceptions of patients, nurses, nursing faculty, and nursing students regarding nurse caring, skill, and knowledge based on attire and level of visible body art. People often make judgments (positive and negative) based on how a person appears. Given somewhat more flexible dress codes for nurses, we wondered what type of perceptions a variety of stakeholders would have of nurses in different levels of attire. A descriptive comparative design was used. A convenience sample of 240 patients, nurses, students, and faculty were surveyed regarding their perceptions of a nurse based on appearance. Multivariate analyses of variance were calculated to determine if participants' perception of nurse caring, skill, and knowledge differed by scrub type or level of body art. For the entire sample, the nurse wearing the solid scrub was rated significantly more skilled and knowledgeable than a nurse wearing print or T-shirt attire. Students rated the nurse wearing the solid scrub and print scrub significantly more skilled and knowledgeable. They rated the print scrub higher, with faculty rating it lower. Nurses rated the T-shirt attire more caring than faculty. Patients rated the T-shirt attire more skilled than faculty and students. All subjects rated the nurse with the most body art (piercings and visible tattoo) the least caring, skilled, and knowledgeable. Nurses rated the most amount of body art more caring than patients and faculty. Students rated the most amount of body art more caring than patients and faculty. The conflict between the right to self-expression and professional role expectations during nurse and patient interactions is a difficult one. However, because a nurse's appearance can impact perceptions during an encounter, dress codes in the acute care setting should take this into account. To be perceived as skilled and knowledgeable, nurses should wear a solid colored uniform with limited visible body art.

Assistive technology applied to education of students with visual impairment.

PubMed

Alves, Cássia Cristiane de Freitas; Monteiro, Gelse Beatriz Martins; Rabello, Suzana; Gasparetto, Maria Elisabete Rodrigues Freire; de Carvalho, Keila Monteiro

2009-08-01

Verify the application of assistive technology, especially information technology in the education of blind and low-vision students from the perceptions of their teachers. Descriptive survey study in public schools in three municipalities of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The sample comprised 134 teachers. According to the teachers' opinions, there are differences in the specificities and applicability of assistive technology for blind and low-vision students, for whom specific computer programs are important. Information technology enhances reading and writing skills, as well as communication with the world on an equal basis, thereby improving quality of life and facilitating the learning process. The main reason for not using information technology is the lack of planning courses. The main requirements for the use of information technology in schools are enough computers for all students, advisers to help teachers, and pedagogical support. Assistive technology is applied to education of students with visual impairment; however, teachers indicate the need for infrastructure and pedagogical support. Information technology is an important tool in the inclusion process and can promote independence and autonomy of students with visual impairment.

Creating Visual Materials for Multi-Handicapped Deaf Learners.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hack, Carole; Brosmith, Susan

1980-01-01

The article describes two groups of visual materials developed for multiply handicapped deaf teenagers. The daily living skills project includes vocabulary lists, visuals, games and a model related to household cleaning, personal grooming, or consumer skills. The occupational information project includes visuals of tools, materials, and clothing…

Enhanced Local Processing of Dynamic Visual Information in Autism: Evidence from Speed Discrimination

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Y.; Norton, D. J.; McBain, R.; Gold, J.; Frazier, J. A.; Coyle, J. T.

2012-01-01

An important issue for understanding visual perception in autism concerns whether individuals with this neurodevelopmental disorder possess an advantage in processing local visual information, and if so, what is the nature of this advantage. Perception of movement speed is a visual process that relies on computation of local spatiotemporal signals…

Perceptions of the Visually Impaired toward Pursuing Geography Courses and Majors in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Murr, Christopher D.; Blanchard, R. Denise

2011-01-01

Advances in classroom technology have lowered barriers for the visually impaired to study geography, yet few participate. Employing stereotype threat theory, we examined whether beliefs held by the visually impaired affect perceptions toward completing courses and majors in visually oriented disciplines. A test group received a low-level threat…

Assistive Technology Competencies of Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments: A Comparison of Perceptions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhou, Li; Smith, Derrick W.; Parker, Amy T.; Griffin-Shirley, Nora

2011-01-01

This study surveyed teachers of students with visual impairments in Texas on their perceptions of a set of assistive technology competencies developed for teachers of students with visual impairments by Smith and colleagues (2009). Differences in opinion between practicing teachers of students with visual impairments and Smith's group of…

Determining the Motor Skills Development of Mentally Retarded Children through the Contribution of Visual Arts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erim, Gonca; Caferoglu, Müge

2017-01-01

Visual arts education is a process that helps the reflection of inner worlds, socialization via group works and healthier motor skills development of normally developing or handicapped children like the mentally retarded. This study aims to determine the influence of visual art studies on the motor skills development of primary school first grade…

Hazard perception skills of young drivers with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can be improved with computer based driver training: An exploratory randomised controlled trial.

PubMed

Bruce, C R; Unsworth, C A; Dillon, M P; Tay, R; Falkmer, T; Bird, P; Carey, L M

2017-12-01

Young drivers with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are at higher risk of road traffic injuries than their peers. Increased risk correlates with poor hazard perception skill. Few studies have investigated hazard perception training using computer technology with this group of drivers. *Determine the presence and magnitude of the between-group and within- subject change in hazard perception skills in young drivers with ADHD who receive Drive Smart training. *Determine whether training-facilitated change in hazard perception is maintained over time. This was a feasibility study, randomised control trial conducted in Australia. The design included a delayed treatment for the control group. Twenty-five drivers with a diagnosis of ADHD were randomised to the Immediate Intervention or Delayed Intervention group.The Immediate Intervention group received a training session using a computer application entitled Drive Smart. The Delayed Intervention group watched a documentary video initially (control condition), followed by the Drive Smart computer training session. The participant's hazard perception skill was measured using the Hazard Perception Test (HPT). After adjusting for baseline scores, there was a significant betweengroup difference in post-intervention HPT change scores in favour of the Immediate Intervention group. The magnitude of the effect was large. There was no significant within-group delayed intervention effect. A significant maintenance effect was found at 6-week follow-up for the Immediate Intervention group. The hazard perception skills of participants improved following training with large effect size and some maintenance of gain. A multimodal approach to training is indicated to facilitate maintenance. A full-scale trial is feasible. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Perception of Audio-Visual Speech Synchrony in Spanish-Speaking Children with and without Specific Language Impairment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pons, Ferran; Andreu, Llorenc; Sanz-Torrent, Monica; Buil-Legaz, Lucia; Lewkowicz, David J.

2013-01-01

Speech perception involves the integration of auditory and visual articulatory information, and thus requires the perception of temporal synchrony between this information. There is evidence that children with specific language impairment (SLI) have difficulty with auditory speech perception but it is not known if this is also true for the…

The role of vision in auditory distance perception.

PubMed

Calcagno, Esteban R; Abregú, Ezequiel L; Eguía, Manuel C; Vergara, Ramiro

2012-01-01

In humans, multisensory interaction is an important strategy for improving the detection of stimuli of different nature and reducing the variability of response. It is known that the presence of visual information affects the auditory perception in the horizontal plane (azimuth), but there are few researches that study the influence of vision in the auditory distance perception. In general, the data obtained from these studies are contradictory and do not completely define the way in which visual cues affect the apparent distance of a sound source. Here psychophysical experiments on auditory distance perception in humans are performed, including and excluding visual cues. The results show that the apparent distance from the source is affected by the presence of visual information and that subjects can store in their memory a representation of the environment that later improves the perception of distance.

A Comparative View of Face Perception

PubMed Central

Leopold, David A.; Rhodes, Gillian

2010-01-01

Face perception serves as the basis for much of human social exchange. Diverse information can be extracted about an individual from a single glance at their face, including their identity, emotional state, and direction of attention. Neuropsychological and fMRI experiments reveal a complex network of specialized areas in the human brain supporting these face-reading skills. Here we consider the evolutionary roots of human face perception by exploring the manner in which different animal species view and respond to faces. We focus on behavioral experiments collected from both primates and non-primates, assessing the types of information that animals are able to extract from the faces of their conspecifics, human experimenters, and natural predators. These experiments reveal that faces are an important category of visual stimuli for animals in all major vertebrate taxa, possibly reflecting the early emergence of neural specialization for faces in vertebrate evolution. At the same time, some aspects of facial perception are only evident in primates and a few other social mammals, and may therefore have evolved to suit the needs of complex social communication. Since the human brain likely utilizes both primitive and recently evolved neural specializations for the processing of faces, comparative studies may hold the key to understanding how these parallel circuits emerged during human evolution. PMID:20695655

A comparative view of face perception.

PubMed

Leopold, David A; Rhodes, Gillian

2010-08-01

Face perception serves as the basis for much of human social exchange. Diverse information can be extracted about an individual from a single glance at their face, including their identity, emotional state, and direction of attention. Neuropsychological and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiments reveal a complex network of specialized areas in the human brain supporting these face-reading skills. Here we consider the evolutionary roots of human face perception by exploring the manner in which different animal species view and respond to faces. We focus on behavioral experiments collected from both primates and nonprimates, assessing the types of information that animals are able to extract from the faces of their conspecifics, human experimenters, and natural predators. These experiments reveal that faces are an important category of visual stimuli for animals in all major vertebrate taxa, possibly reflecting the early emergence of neural specialization for faces in vertebrate evolution. At the same time, some aspects of facial perception are only evident in primates and a few other social mammals, and may therefore have evolved to suit the needs of complex social communication. Because the human brain likely utilizes both primitive and recently evolved neural specializations for the processing of faces, comparative studies may hold the key to understanding how these parallel circuits emerged during human evolution. 2010 APA, all rights reserved

3D Visualizations of Abstract DataSets

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-08-01

contrasts no shadows, drop shadows and drop lines. 15. SUBJECT TERMS 3D displays, 2.5D displays, abstract network visualizations, depth perception , human...altitude perception in airspace management and airspace route planning—simulated reality visualizations that employ altitude and heading as well as...cues employed by display designers for depicting real-world scenes on a flat surface can be applied to create a perception of depth for abstract

Integrative cortical dysfunction and pervasive motion perception deficit in fragile X syndrome.

PubMed

Kogan, C S; Bertone, A; Cornish, K; Boutet, I; Der Kaloustian, V M; Andermann, E; Faubert, J; Chaudhuri, A

2004-11-09

Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is associated with neurologic deficits recently attributed to the magnocellular pathway of the lateral geniculate nucleus. To test the hypotheses that FXS individuals 1) have a pervasive visual motion perception impairment affecting neocortical circuits in the parietal lobe and 2) have deficits in integrative neocortical mechanisms necessary for perception of complex stimuli. Psychophysical tests of visual motion and form perception defined by either first-order (luminance) or second-order (texture) attributes were used to probe early and later occipito-temporal and occipito-parietal functioning. When compared to developmental- and age-matched controls, FXS individuals displayed severe impairments in first- and second-order motion perception. This deficit was accompanied by near normal perception for first-order form stimuli but not second-order form stimuli. Impaired visual motion processing for first- and second-order stimuli suggests that both early- and later-level neurologic function of the parietal lobe are affected in Fragile X syndrome (FXS). Furthermore, this deficit likely stems from abnormal input from the magnocellular compartment of the lateral geniculate nucleus. Impaired visual form and motion processing for complex visual stimuli with normal processing for simple (i.e., first-order) form stimuli suggests that FXS individuals have normal early form processing accompanied by a generalized impairment in neurologic mechanisms necessary for integrating all early visual input.

Music Perception Influences Language Acquisition: Melodic and Rhythmic-Melodic Perception in Children with Specific Language Impairment.

PubMed

Sallat, Stephan; Jentschke, Sebastian

2015-01-01

Language and music share many properties, with a particularly strong overlap for prosody. Prosodic cues are generally regarded as crucial for language acquisition. Previous research has indicated that children with SLI fail to make use of these cues. As processing of prosodic information involves similar skills to those required in music perception, we compared music perception skills (melodic and rhythmic-melodic perception and melody recognition) in a group of children with SLI (N = 29, five-year-olds) to two groups of controls, either of comparable age (N = 39, five-year-olds) or of age closer to the children with SLI in their language skills and about one year younger (N = 13, four-year-olds). Children with SLI performed in most tasks below their age level, closer matching the performance level of younger controls with similar language skills. These data strengthen the view of a strong relation between language acquisition and music processing. This might open a perspective for the possible use of musical material in early diagnosis of SLI and of music in SLI therapy.

Music Perception Influences Language Acquisition: Melodic and Rhythmic-Melodic Perception in Children with Specific Language Impairment

PubMed Central

Sallat, Stephan; Jentschke, Sebastian

2015-01-01

Language and music share many properties, with a particularly strong overlap for prosody. Prosodic cues are generally regarded as crucial for language acquisition. Previous research has indicated that children with SLI fail to make use of these cues. As processing of prosodic information involves similar skills to those required in music perception, we compared music perception skills (melodic and rhythmic-melodic perception and melody recognition) in a group of children with SLI (N = 29, five-year-olds) to two groups of controls, either of comparable age (N = 39, five-year-olds) or of age closer to the children with SLI in their language skills and about one year younger (N = 13, four-year-olds). Children with SLI performed in most tasks below their age level, closer matching the performance level of younger controls with similar language skills. These data strengthen the view of a strong relation between language acquisition and music processing. This might open a perspective for the possible use of musical material in early diagnosis of SLI and of music in SLI therapy. PMID:26508812

Perceptions of Visual Literacy. Selected Readings from the Annual Conference of the International Visual Literacy Association (21st, Scottsdale, Arizona, October 1989).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Braden, Roberts A., Ed.; And Others

These proceedings contain 37 papers from 51 authors noted for their expertise in the field of visual literacy. The collection is divided into three sections: (1) "Examining Visual Literacy" (including, in addition to a 7-year International Visual Literacy Association bibliography covering the period from 1983-1989, papers on the perception of…

Visual Literacy: A Vital Skill in the Process of Rhetorical Criticism.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flory, Joyce

"Visual literacy" denotes the abilities, competencies, and skills necessary to accurately intercept, interpret, understand, and create communication in visual modes. The term also refers to a popular movement of both students and teachers (e.g., Visual Literacy Association, Action for Children's Television, The Screen Educator's Society) who wish…

Relation of Infant Vision to Early Cognitive and Language Status.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Duckman, Robert; Tulloch, Deborah

Relationships between infant visual skills and the development of object permanence and expressive language skills were examined with 31 infants in three groups: visually typical, visually atypical, and Down Syndrome. Measures used to evaluate visual status were: forced preferential looking, optokinetic nystagmus, and behavioral. Object permanence…

Models of Speed Discrimination

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1997-01-01

The prime purpose of this project was to investigate various theoretical issues concerning the integration of information across visual space. To date, most of the research efforts in the study of the visual system seem to have been focused in two almost non-overlaping directions. One research focus has been the low level perception as studied by psychophysics. The other focus has been the study of high level vision exemplified by the study of object perception. Most of the effort in psychophysics has been devoted to the search for the fundamental "features" of perception. The general idea is that the most peripheral processes of the visual system decompose the input into features that are then used for classification and recognition. The experimental and theoretical focus has been on finding and describing these analyzers that decompose images into useful components. Various models are then compared to the physiological measurements performed on neurons in the sensory systems. In the study of higher level perception, the work has been focused on the representation of objects and on the connections between various physical effects and object perception. In this category we find the perception of 3D from a variety of physical measurements including motion, shading and other physical phenomena. With few exceptions, there seem to be very limited development of theories describing how the visual system might combine the output of the analyzers to form the representation of visual objects. Therefore, the processes underlying the integration of information over space represent critical aspects of vision system. The understanding of these processes will have implications on our expectations for the underlying physiological mechanisms, as well as for our models of the internal representation for visual percepts. In this project, we explored several mechanisms related to spatial summation, attention, and eye movements. The project comprised three components: 1. Modeling visual search for the detection of speed deviation. 2. Perception of moving objects. 3. Exploring the role of eye movements in various visual tasks.

Evaluation of a Blended Learning Language Course: Students' Perceptions of Appropriateness for the Development of Skills and Language Areas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bueno-Alastuey, M. C.; López Pérez, M. V.

2014-01-01

This study investigated students' perceptions of the usefulness of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in all the skills and areas of language in an English as a Foreign Language blended course, which integrated ICT fully, and compared these perceptions to those of pupils of a Spanish as a Second Language blended course with a lower…

An Investigation into Student Perceptions towards Mathematics and Their Performance in First Year Chemistry: Introduction of Online Maths Skills Support

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnston, Peter R.; Watters, Dianne J.; Brown, Christopher L.; Loughlin, Wendy A.

2016-01-01

An online Maths Skills Site was developed as an integrated support programme for first year Chemistry students, the content of which, was based on an analysis of their high-school mathematical backgrounds. This study examined the students' perceptions of Maths, their patterns of usage of the Maths Skills Site and whether there was a relationship…

Brain networks engaged in audiovisual integration during speech perception revealed by persistent homology-based network filtration.

PubMed

Kim, Heejung; Hahm, Jarang; Lee, Hyekyoung; Kang, Eunjoo; Kang, Hyejin; Lee, Dong Soo

2015-05-01

The human brain naturally integrates audiovisual information to improve speech perception. However, in noisy environments, understanding speech is difficult and may require much effort. Although the brain network is supposed to be engaged in speech perception, it is unclear how speech-related brain regions are connected during natural bimodal audiovisual or unimodal speech perception with counterpart irrelevant noise. To investigate the topological changes of speech-related brain networks at all possible thresholds, we used a persistent homological framework through hierarchical clustering, such as single linkage distance, to analyze the connected component of the functional network during speech perception using functional magnetic resonance imaging. For speech perception, bimodal (audio-visual speech cue) or unimodal speech cues with counterpart irrelevant noise (auditory white-noise or visual gum-chewing) were delivered to 15 subjects. In terms of positive relationship, similar connected components were observed in bimodal and unimodal speech conditions during filtration. However, during speech perception by congruent audiovisual stimuli, the tighter couplings of left anterior temporal gyrus-anterior insula component and right premotor-visual components were observed than auditory or visual speech cue conditions, respectively. Interestingly, visual speech is perceived under white noise by tight negative coupling in the left inferior frontal region-right anterior cingulate, left anterior insula, and bilateral visual regions, including right middle temporal gyrus, right fusiform components. In conclusion, the speech brain network is tightly positively or negatively connected, and can reflect efficient or effortful processes during natural audiovisual integration or lip-reading, respectively, in speech perception.

Disentangling visual imagery and perception of real-world objects

PubMed Central

Lee, Sue-Hyun; Kravitz, Dwight J.; Baker, Chris I.

2011-01-01

During mental imagery, visual representations can be evoked in the absence of “bottom-up” sensory input. Prior studies have reported similar neural substrates for imagery and perception, but studies of brain-damaged patients have revealed a double dissociation with some patients showing preserved imagery in spite of impaired perception and others vice versa. Here, we used fMRI and multi-voxel pattern analysis to investigate the specificity, distribution, and similarity of information for individual seen and imagined objects to try and resolve this apparent contradiction. In an event-related design, participants either viewed or imagined individual named object images on which they had been trained prior to the scan. We found that the identity of both seen and imagined objects could be decoded from the pattern of activity throughout the ventral visual processing stream. Further, there was enough correspondence between imagery and perception to allow discrimination of individual imagined objects based on the response during perception. However, the distribution of object information across visual areas was strikingly different during imagery and perception. While there was an obvious posterior-anterior gradient along the ventral visual stream for seen objects, there was an opposite gradient for imagined objects. Moreover, the structure of representations (i.e. the pattern of similarity between responses to all objects) was more similar during imagery than perception in all regions along the visual stream. These results suggest that while imagery and perception have similar neural substrates, they involve different network dynamics, resolving the tension between previous imaging and neuropsychological studies. PMID:22040738

Hyperopia and emergent literacy of young children: pilot study.

PubMed

Shankar, Sunita; Evans, Mary Ann; Bobier, William R

2007-11-01

To compare emergent literacy skills in uncorrected hyperopic and emmetropic children. "Hyperopes" (>or=2.00 D sphere along the most hyperopic meridian; n=13; aged 67+/-13 mo) and "emmetropes" (

Speech perception skills of deaf infants following cochlear implantation: a first report

PubMed Central

Houston, Derek M.; Pisoni, David B.; Kirk, Karen Iler; Ying, Elizabeth A.; Miyamoto, Richard T.

2012-01-01

Summary Objective We adapted a behavioral procedure that has been used extensively with normal-hearing (NH) infants, the visual habituation (VH) procedure, to assess deaf infants’ discrimination and attention to speech. Methods Twenty-four NH 6-month-olds, 24 NH 9-month-olds, and 16 deaf infants at various ages before and following cochlear implantation (CI) were tested in a sound booth on their caregiver’s lap in front of a TV monitor. During the habituation phase, each infant was presented with a repeating speech sound (e.g. ‘hop hop hop’) paired with a visual display of a checkerboard pattern on half of the trials (‘sound trials’) and only the visual display on the other half (‘silent trials’). When the infant’s looking time decreased and reached a habituation criterion, a test phase began. This consisted of two trials: an ‘old trial’ that was identical to the ‘sound trials’ and a ‘novel trial’ that consisted of a different repeating speech sound (e.g. ‘ahhh’) paired with the same checkerboard pattern. Results During the habituation phase, NH infants looked significantly longer during the sound trials than during the silent trials. However, deaf infants who had received cochlear implants (CIs) displayed a much weaker preference for the sound trials. On the other hand, both NH infants and deaf infants with CIs attended significantly longer to the visual display during the novel trial than during the old trial, suggesting that they were able to discriminate the speech patterns. Before receiving CIs, deaf infants did not show any preferences. Conclusions Taken together, the findings suggest that deaf infants who receive CIs are able to detect and discriminate some speech patterns. However, their overall attention to speech sounds may be less than NH infants’. Attention to speech may impact other aspects of speech perception and spoken language development, such as segmenting words from fluent speech and learning novel words. Implications of the effects of early auditory deprivation and age at CI on speech perception and language development are discussed. PMID:12697350

Exploring EFL Students' Visual Literacy Skills and Global Understanding through Their Analysis of Louis Vuitton's Advertisement Featuring Mikhail Gorbachev

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Takaya, Kentei

2016-01-01

Visual literacy is an important skill for students to have in order to interpret embedded messages on signs and in advertisements successfully. As advertisements today tend to feature iconic people or events that shaped the modern world, it is crucial to develop students' visual literacy skills so they can comprehend the intended messages. This…

Effects of Using Dynamic Mathematics Software on Preservice Mathematics Teachers' Spatial Visualization Skills: The Case of Spatial Analytic Geometry

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kösa, Temel

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of using dynamic geometry software on preservice mathematics teachers' spatial visualization skills and to determine whether spatial visualization skills can be a predictor of success in learning analytic geometry of space. The study used a quasi-experimental design with a control group.…

Training-induced recovery of low-level vision followed by mid-level perceptual improvements in developmental object and face agnosia

PubMed Central

Lev, Maria; Gilaie-Dotan, Sharon; Gotthilf-Nezri, Dana; Yehezkel, Oren; Brooks, Joseph L; Perry, Anat; Bentin, Shlomo; Bonneh, Yoram; Polat, Uri

2015-01-01

Long-term deprivation of normal visual inputs can cause perceptual impairments at various levels of visual function, from basic visual acuity deficits, through mid-level deficits such as contour integration and motion coherence, to high-level face and object agnosia. Yet it is unclear whether training during adulthood, at a post-developmental stage of the adult visual system, can overcome such developmental impairments. Here, we visually trained LG, a developmental object and face agnosic individual. Prior to training, at the age of 20, LG's basic and mid-level visual functions such as visual acuity, crowding effects, and contour integration were underdeveloped relative to normal adult vision, corresponding to or poorer than those of 5–6 year olds (Gilaie-Dotan, Perry, Bonneh, Malach & Bentin, 2009). Intensive visual training, based on lateral interactions, was applied for a period of 9 months. LG's directly trained but also untrained visual functions such as visual acuity, crowding, binocular stereopsis and also mid-level contour integration improved significantly and reached near-age-level performance, with long-term (over 4 years) persistence. Moreover, mid-level functions that were tested post-training were found to be normal in LG. Some possible subtle improvement was observed in LG's higher-order visual functions such as object recognition and part integration, while LG's face perception skills have not improved thus far. These results suggest that corrective training at a post-developmental stage, even in the adult visual system, can prove effective, and its enduring effects are the basis for a revival of a developmental cascade that can lead to reduced perceptual impairments. PMID:24698161

Training-induced recovery of low-level vision followed by mid-level perceptual improvements in developmental object and face agnosia.

PubMed

Lev, Maria; Gilaie-Dotan, Sharon; Gotthilf-Nezri, Dana; Yehezkel, Oren; Brooks, Joseph L; Perry, Anat; Bentin, Shlomo; Bonneh, Yoram; Polat, Uri

2015-01-01

Long-term deprivation of normal visual inputs can cause perceptual impairments at various levels of visual function, from basic visual acuity deficits, through mid-level deficits such as contour integration and motion coherence, to high-level face and object agnosia. Yet it is unclear whether training during adulthood, at a post-developmental stage of the adult visual system, can overcome such developmental impairments. Here, we visually trained LG, a developmental object and face agnosic individual. Prior to training, at the age of 20, LG's basic and mid-level visual functions such as visual acuity, crowding effects, and contour integration were underdeveloped relative to normal adult vision, corresponding to or poorer than those of 5-6 year olds (Gilaie-Dotan, Perry, Bonneh, Malach & Bentin, 2009). Intensive visual training, based on lateral interactions, was applied for a period of 9 months. LG's directly trained but also untrained visual functions such as visual acuity, crowding, binocular stereopsis and also mid-level contour integration improved significantly and reached near-age-level performance, with long-term (over 4 years) persistence. Moreover, mid-level functions that were tested post-training were found to be normal in LG. Some possible subtle improvement was observed in LG's higher-order visual functions such as object recognition and part integration, while LG's face perception skills have not improved thus far. These results suggest that corrective training at a post-developmental stage, even in the adult visual system, can prove effective, and its enduring effects are the basis for a revival of a developmental cascade that can lead to reduced perceptual impairments. © 2014 The Authors. Developmental Science Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The Comparison of Visual Working Memory Representations with Perceptual Inputs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hyun, Joo-seok; Woodman, Geoffrey F.; Vogel, Edward K.; Hollingworth, Andrew; Luck, Steven J.

2009-01-01

The human visual system can notice differences between memories of previous visual inputs and perceptions of new visual inputs, but the comparison process that detects these differences has not been well characterized. In this study, the authors tested the hypothesis that differences between the memory of a stimulus array and the perception of a…

Effect of interprofessional clinical education programme length on students' attitudes towards teamwork.

PubMed

Renschler, Lauren; Rhodes, Darson; Cox, Carol

2016-05-01

This article reports on a study involving a range of health professions students who participated in similar one-semester (short) or two-semester (long) interprofessional clinical education programmes that focused on clinical assessment of senior citizens living independently in the community. Students' attitudes towards teamwork skills and perceptions of their own teamwork skills both before and after the programmes were assessed using two validated scales. Osteopathic medical student participants reported no significant changes in attitudes towards interprofessional healthcare teamwork skills or their perceptions of their own interprofessional teamwork skills after either the one- or two-semester programmes. For athletic training, speech-language pathology, exercise sciences, public health, and nursing students, though, attitudes towards teamwork skills significantly improved (p < .05) after the one-semester programme; and perceptions of their own team skills significantly improved (p < .05) after both the one- and two-semester programmes. Overall, this study provides some support for interprofessional teamwork attitude change, but with a significant difference between medical as compared to nursing, allied health, and public health students.

Long-Lasting Enhancement of Visual Perception with Repetitive Noninvasive Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

PubMed Central

Behrens, Janina R.; Kraft, Antje; Irlbacher, Kerstin; Gerhardt, Holger; Olma, Manuel C.; Brandt, Stephan A.

2017-01-01

Understanding processes performed by an intact visual cortex as the basis for developing methods that enhance or restore visual perception is of great interest to both researchers and medical practitioners. Here, we explore whether contrast sensitivity, a main function of the primary visual cortex (V1), can be improved in healthy subjects by repetitive, noninvasive anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Contrast perception was measured via threshold perimetry directly before and after intervention (tDCS or sham stimulation) on each day over 5 consecutive days (24 subjects, double-blind study). tDCS improved contrast sensitivity from the second day onwards, with significant effects lasting 24 h. After the last stimulation on day 5, the anodal group showed a significantly greater improvement in contrast perception than the sham group (23 vs. 5%). We found significant long-term effects in only the central 2–4° of the visual field 4 weeks after the last stimulation. We suspect a combination of two factors contributes to these lasting effects. First, the V1 area that represents the central retina was located closer to the polarization electrode, resulting in higher current density. Second, the central visual field is represented by a larger cortical area relative to the peripheral visual field (cortical magnification). This is the first study showing that tDCS over V1 enhances contrast perception in healthy subjects for several weeks. This study contributes to the investigation of the causal relationship between the external modulation of neuronal membrane potential and behavior (in our case, visual perception). Because the vast majority of human studies only show temporary effects after single tDCS sessions targeting the visual system, our study underpins the potential for lasting effects of repetitive tDCS-induced modulation of neuronal excitability. PMID:28860969

Distortions of Subjective Time Perception Within and Across Senses

PubMed Central

van Wassenhove, Virginie; Buonomano, Dean V.; Shimojo, Shinsuke; Shams, Ladan

2008-01-01

Background The ability to estimate the passage of time is of fundamental importance for perceptual and cognitive processes. One experience of time is the perception of duration, which is not isomorphic to physical duration and can be distorted by a number of factors. Yet, the critical features generating these perceptual shifts in subjective duration are not understood. Methodology/Findings We used prospective duration judgments within and across sensory modalities to examine the effect of stimulus predictability and feature change on the perception of duration. First, we found robust distortions of perceived duration in auditory, visual and auditory-visual presentations despite the predictability of the feature changes in the stimuli. For example, a looming disc embedded in a series of steady discs led to time dilation, whereas a steady disc embedded in a series of looming discs led to time compression. Second, we addressed whether visual (auditory) inputs could alter the perception of duration of auditory (visual) inputs. When participants were presented with incongruent audio-visual stimuli, the perceived duration of auditory events could be shortened or lengthened by the presence of conflicting visual information; however, the perceived duration of visual events was seldom distorted by the presence of auditory information and was never perceived shorter than their actual durations. Conclusions/Significance These results support the existence of multisensory interactions in the perception of duration and, importantly, suggest that vision can modify auditory temporal perception in a pure timing task. Insofar as distortions in subjective duration can neither be accounted for by the unpredictability of an auditory, visual or auditory-visual event, we propose that it is the intrinsic features of the stimulus that critically affect subjective time distortions. PMID:18197248

Effect of prematurity and low birth weight in visual abilities and school performance.

PubMed

Perez-Roche, T; Altemir, I; Giménez, G; Prieto, E; González, I; Peña-Segura, J L; Castillo, O; Pueyo, V

2016-12-01

Prematurity and low birth weight are known risk factors for cognitive and developmental impairments, and school failure. Visual perceptual and visual motor skills seem to be among the most affected cognitive domains in these children. To assess the influence of prematurity and low birth weight in visual cognitive skills and school performance. We performed a prospective cohort study, which included 80 boys and girls in an age range from 5 to 13. Subjects were grouped by gestational age at birth (preterm, <37 weeks; term, 37-42 weeks) and birth weight (small for gestational age (SGA), <10th centile; appropriate weight for gestational age (AGA), ≥10th centile). Each child underwent full ophthalmologic assessment and standardized testing of visual cognitive abilities (Test of Visual Perceptual Skills and Test of Visual Analysis Skills). Parents completed a questionnaire on school performance in children. Figure-ground skill and visual motor integration were significantly decreased in the preterm birth group, compared with term control subjects (figure-ground: 45.7 vs 66.5, p=0.012; visual motor integration, TVAS: (9.9 vs 11.8, p=0.018), while outcomes of visual memory (29.0 vs 47.7, p=0.012), form constancy (33.3 vs 52.8, p=0.019), figure-ground (37.4 vs 65.6, p=0.001), and visual closure (43.7 vs 62.6 p=0.016) testing were lower in the SGA (vs AGA) group. Visual cognitive difficulties corresponded with worse performance in mathematics (r=0.414, p=0.004) and reading (r=0.343, p=0.018). Specific patterns of visual perceptual and visual motor deficits are displayed by children born preterm or SGA, which hinder mathematics and reading performance. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Orientation of selective effects of body tilt on visually induced perception of self-motion.

PubMed

Nakamura, S; Shimojo, S

1998-10-01

We examined the effect of body posture upon visually induced perception of self-motion (vection) with various angles of observer's tilt. The experiment indicated that the tilted body of observer could enhance perceived strength of vertical vection, while there was no effect of body tilt on horizontal vection. This result suggests that there is an interaction between the effects of visual and vestibular information on perception of self-motion.

Visual enhancing of tactile perception in the posterior parietal cortex.

PubMed

Ro, Tony; Wallace, Ruth; Hagedorn, Judith; Farnè, Alessandro; Pienkos, Elizabeth

2004-01-01

The visual modality typically dominates over our other senses. Here we show that after inducing an extreme conflict in the left hand between vision of touch (present) and the feeling of touch (absent), sensitivity to touch increases for several minutes after the conflict. Transcranial magnetic stimulation of the posterior parietal cortex after this conflict not only eliminated the enduring visual enhancement of touch, but also impaired normal tactile perception. This latter finding demonstrates a direct role of the parietal lobe in modulating tactile perception as a result of the conflict between these senses. These results provide evidence for visual-to-tactile perceptual modulation and demonstrate effects of illusory vision of touch on touch perception through a long-lasting modulatory process in the posterior parietal cortex.

Perception of Graphical Virtual Environments by Blind Users via Sensory Substitution

PubMed Central

Maidenbaum, Shachar; Buchs, Galit; Abboud, Sami; Lavi-Rotbain, Ori; Amedi, Amir

2016-01-01

Graphical virtual environments are currently far from accessible to blind users as their content is mostly visual. This is especially unfortunate as these environments hold great potential for this population for purposes such as safe orientation, education, and entertainment. Previous tools have increased accessibility but there is still a long way to go. Visual-to-audio Sensory-Substitution-Devices (SSDs) can increase accessibility generically by sonifying on-screen content regardless of the specific environment and offer increased accessibility without the use of expensive dedicated peripherals like electrode/vibrator arrays. Using SSDs virtually utilizes similar skills as when using them in the real world, enabling both training on the device and training on environments virtually before real-world visits. This could enable more complex, standardized and autonomous SSD training and new insights into multisensory interaction and the visually-deprived brain. However, whether congenitally blind users, who have never experienced virtual environments, will be able to use this information for successful perception and interaction within them is currently unclear.We tested this using the EyeMusic SSD, which conveys whole-scene visual information, to perform virtual tasks otherwise impossible without vision. Congenitally blind users had to navigate virtual environments and find doors, differentiate between them based on their features (Experiment1:task1) and surroundings (Experiment1:task2) and walk through them; these tasks were accomplished with a 95% and 97% success rate, respectively. We further explored the reactions of congenitally blind users during their first interaction with a more complex virtual environment than in the previous tasks–walking down a virtual street, recognizing different features of houses and trees, navigating to cross-walks, etc. Users reacted enthusiastically and reported feeling immersed within the environment. They highlighted the potential usefulness of such environments for understanding what visual scenes are supposed to look like and their potential for complex training and suggested many future environments they wished to experience. PMID:26882473

Perception of Graphical Virtual Environments by Blind Users via Sensory Substitution.

PubMed

Maidenbaum, Shachar; Buchs, Galit; Abboud, Sami; Lavi-Rotbain, Ori; Amedi, Amir

2016-01-01

Graphical virtual environments are currently far from accessible to blind users as their content is mostly visual. This is especially unfortunate as these environments hold great potential for this population for purposes such as safe orientation, education, and entertainment. Previous tools have increased accessibility but there is still a long way to go. Visual-to-audio Sensory-Substitution-Devices (SSDs) can increase accessibility generically by sonifying on-screen content regardless of the specific environment and offer increased accessibility without the use of expensive dedicated peripherals like electrode/vibrator arrays. Using SSDs virtually utilizes similar skills as when using them in the real world, enabling both training on the device and training on environments virtually before real-world visits. This could enable more complex, standardized and autonomous SSD training and new insights into multisensory interaction and the visually-deprived brain. However, whether congenitally blind users, who have never experienced virtual environments, will be able to use this information for successful perception and interaction within them is currently unclear.We tested this using the EyeMusic SSD, which conveys whole-scene visual information, to perform virtual tasks otherwise impossible without vision. Congenitally blind users had to navigate virtual environments and find doors, differentiate between them based on their features (Experiment1:task1) and surroundings (Experiment1:task2) and walk through them; these tasks were accomplished with a 95% and 97% success rate, respectively. We further explored the reactions of congenitally blind users during their first interaction with a more complex virtual environment than in the previous tasks-walking down a virtual street, recognizing different features of houses and trees, navigating to cross-walks, etc. Users reacted enthusiastically and reported feeling immersed within the environment. They highlighted the potential usefulness of such environments for understanding what visual scenes are supposed to look like and their potential for complex training and suggested many future environments they wished to experience.

Using auditory-visual speech to probe the basis of noise-impaired consonant-vowel perception in dyslexia and auditory neuropathy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramirez, Joshua; Mann, Virginia

2005-08-01

Both dyslexics and auditory neuropathy (AN) subjects show inferior consonant-vowel (CV) perception in noise, relative to controls. To better understand these impairments, natural acoustic speech stimuli that were masked in speech-shaped noise at various intensities were presented to dyslexic, AN, and control subjects either in isolation or accompanied by visual articulatory cues. AN subjects were expected to benefit from the pairing of visual articulatory cues and auditory CV stimuli, provided that their speech perception impairment reflects a relatively peripheral auditory disorder. Assuming that dyslexia reflects a general impairment of speech processing rather than a disorder of audition, dyslexics were not expected to similarly benefit from an introduction of visual articulatory cues. The results revealed an increased effect of noise masking on the perception of isolated acoustic stimuli by both dyslexic and AN subjects. More importantly, dyslexics showed less effective use of visual articulatory cues in identifying masked speech stimuli and lower visual baseline performance relative to AN subjects and controls. Last, a significant positive correlation was found between reading ability and the ameliorating effect of visual articulatory cues on speech perception in noise. These results suggest that some reading impairments may stem from a central deficit of speech processing.

Visual arts training is linked to flexible attention to local and global levels of visual stimuli.

PubMed

Chamberlain, Rebecca; Wagemans, Johan

2015-10-01

Observational drawing skill has been shown to be associated with the ability to focus on local visual details. It is unclear whether superior performance in local processing is indicative of the ability to attend to, and flexibly switch between, local and global levels of visual stimuli. It is also unknown whether these attentional enhancements remain specific to observational drawing skill or are a product of a wide range of artistic activities. The current study aimed to address these questions by testing if flexible visual processing predicts artistic group membership and observational drawing skill in a sample of first-year bachelor's degree art students (n=23) and non-art students (n=23). A pattern of local and global visual processing enhancements was found in relation to artistic group membership and drawing skill, with local processing ability found to be specifically related to individual differences in drawing skill. Enhanced global processing and more fluent switching between local and global levels of hierarchical stimuli predicted both drawing skill and artistic group membership, suggesting that these are beneficial attentional mechanisms for art-making in a range of domains. These findings support a top-down attentional model of artistic expertise and shed light on the domain specific and domain-general attentional enhancements induced by proficiency in the visual arts. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Spatial Frequency Requirements and Gaze Strategy in Visual-Only and Audiovisual Speech Perception

PubMed Central

Wilson, Amanda H.; Paré, Martin; Munhall, Kevin G.

2016-01-01

Purpose The aim of this article is to examine the effects of visual image degradation on performance and gaze behavior in audiovisual and visual-only speech perception tasks. Method We presented vowel–consonant–vowel utterances visually filtered at a range of frequencies in visual-only, audiovisual congruent, and audiovisual incongruent conditions (Experiment 1; N = 66). In Experiment 2 (N = 20), participants performed a visual-only speech perception task and in Experiment 3 (N = 20) an audiovisual task while having their gaze behavior monitored using eye-tracking equipment. Results In the visual-only condition, increasing image resolution led to monotonic increases in performance, and proficient speechreaders were more affected by the removal of high spatial information than were poor speechreaders. The McGurk effect also increased with increasing visual resolution, although it was less affected by the removal of high-frequency information. Observers tended to fixate on the mouth more in visual-only perception, but gaze toward the mouth did not correlate with accuracy of silent speechreading or the magnitude of the McGurk effect. Conclusions The results suggest that individual differences in silent speechreading and the McGurk effect are not related. This conclusion is supported by differential influences of high-resolution visual information on the 2 tasks and differences in the pattern of gaze. PMID:27537379

Global motion perception is related to motor function in 4.5-year-old children born at risk of abnormal development

PubMed Central

Chakraborty, Arijit; Anstice, Nicola S.; Jacobs, Robert J.; Paudel, Nabin; LaGasse, Linda L.; Lester, Barry M.; McKinlay, Christopher J. D.; Harding, Jane E.; Wouldes, Trecia A.; Thompson, Benjamin

2017-01-01

Global motion perception is often used as an index of dorsal visual stream function in neurodevelopmental studies. However, the relationship between global motion perception and visuomotor control, a primary function of the dorsal stream, is unclear. We measured global motion perception (motion coherence threshold; MCT) and performance on standardized measures of motor function in 606 4.5-year-old children born at risk of abnormal neurodevelopment. Visual acuity, stereoacuity and verbal IQ were also assessed. After adjustment for verbal IQ or both visual acuity and stereoacuity, MCT was modestly, but significantly, associated with all components of motor function with the exception of gross motor scores. In a separate analysis, stereoacuity, but not visual acuity, was significantly associated with both gross and fine motor scores. These results indicate that the development of motion perception and stereoacuity are associated with motor function in pre-school children. PMID:28435122

Visual motion integration for perception and pursuit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stone, L. S.; Beutter, B. R.; Lorenceau, J.

2000-01-01

To examine the relationship between visual motion processing for perception and pursuit, we measured the pursuit eye-movement and perceptual responses to the same complex-motion stimuli. We show that humans can both perceive and pursue the motion of line-figure objects, even when partial occlusion makes the resulting image motion vastly different from the underlying object motion. Our results show that both perception and pursuit can perform largely accurate motion integration, i.e. the selective combination of local motion signals across the visual field to derive global object motion. Furthermore, because we manipulated perceived motion while keeping image motion identical, the observed parallel changes in perception and pursuit show that the motion signals driving steady-state pursuit and perception are linked. These findings disprove current pursuit models whose control strategy is to minimize retinal image motion, and suggest a new framework for the interplay between visual cortex and cerebellum in visuomotor control.

Visually Impaired: Curriculum Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton.

The curriculum guide provides guidelines for developing academic and living vocational skills in visually handicapped students from preschool to adolescence. The document, divided into two sections, outlines objectives, teaching strategies, and materials for each skill area. Section 1 covers the following academic skills: communication,…

Prenatal Exposure to Organohalogens, Including Brominated Flame Retardants, Influences Motor, Cognitive, and Behavioral Performance at School Age

PubMed Central

Roze, Elise; Meijer, Lisethe; Bakker, Attie; Van Braeckel, Koenraad N.J.A.; Sauer, Pieter J.J.; Bos, Arend F.

2009-01-01

Background Organohalogen compounds (OHCs) are known to have neurotoxic effects on the developing brain. Objective We investigated the influence of prenatal exposure to OHCs, including brominated flame retardants, on motor, cognitive, and behavioral outcome in healthy children of school age. Methods This study was part of the prospective Groningen infant COMPARE (Comparison of Exposure-Effect Pathways to Improve the Assessment of Human Health Risks of Complex Environmental Mixtures of Organohalogens) study. It included 62 children in whose mothers the following compounds had been determined in the 35th week of pregnancy: 2,2′-bis-(4 chlorophenyl)-1,1′-dichloroethene, pentachlorophenol (PCP), polychlorinated biphenyl congener 153 (PCB-153), 4-hydroxy-2,3,3′,4′,5-pentachlorobiphenyl (4OH-CB-107), 4OH-CB-146, 4OH-CB-187, 2,2′,4,4′-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47), BDE-99, BDE-100, BDE-153, BDE-154, and hexabromocyclododecane. Thyroid hormones were determined in umbilical cord blood. When the children were 5–6 years of age, we assessed their neuropsychological functioning: motor performance (coordination, fine motor skills), cognition (intelligence, visual perception, visuomotor integration, inhibitory control, verbal memory, and attention), and behavior. Results Brominated flame retardants correlated with worse fine manipulative abilities, worse attention, better coordination, better visual perception, and better behavior. Chlorinated OHCs correlated with less choreiform dyskinesia. Hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls correlated with worse fine manipulative abilities, better attention, and better visual perception. The wood protective agent (PCP) correlated with worse coordination, less sensory integrity, worse attention, and worse visuomotor integration. Conclusions Our results demonstrate for the first time that transplacental transfer of polybrominated flame retardants is associated with the development of children at school age. Because of the widespread use of these compounds, especially in the United States, where concentrations in the environment are four times higher than in Europe, these results cause serious concern. PMID:20049217

Prenatal exposure to organohalogens, including brominated flame retardants, influences motor, cognitive, and behavioral performance at school age.

PubMed

Roze, Elise; Meijer, Lisethe; Bakker, Attie; Van Braeckel, Koenraad N J A; Sauer, Pieter J J; Bos, Arend F

2009-12-01

Organohalogen compounds (OHCs) are known to have neurotoxic effects on the developing brain. We investigated the influence of prenatal exposure to OHCs, including brominated flame retardants, on motor, cognitive, and behavioral outcome in healthy children of school age. This study was part of the prospective Groningen infant COMPARE (Comparison of Exposure-Effect Pathways to Improve the Assessment of Human Health Risks of Complex Environmental Mixtures of Organohalogens) study. It included 62 children in whose mothers the following compounds had been determined in the 35th week of pregnancy: 2,2'-bis-(4 chlorophenyl)-1,1'-dichloroethene, pentachlorophenol (PCP), polychlorinated biphenyl congener 153 (PCB-153), 4-hydroxy-2,3,3',4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl (4OH-CB-107), 4OH-CB-146, 4OH-CB-187, 2,2',4,4'-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47), BDE-99, BDE-100, BDE-153, BDE-154, and hexabromocyclododecane. Thyroid hormones were determined in umbilical cord blood. When the children were 5-6 years of age, we assessed their neuropsychological functioning: motor performance (coordination, fine motor skills), cognition (intelligence, visual perception, visuomotor integration, inhibitory control, verbal memory, and attention), and behavior. Brominated flame retardants correlated with worse fine manipulative abilities, worse attention, better coordination, better visual perception, and better behavior. Chlorinated OHCs correlated with less choreiform dyskinesia. Hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls correlated with worse fine manipulative abilities, better attention, and better visual perception. The wood protective agent (PCP) correlated with worse coordination, less sensory integrity, worse attention, and worse visuomotor integration. Our results demonstrate for the first time that transplacental transfer of polybrominated flame retardants is associated with the development of children at school age. Because of the widespread use of these compounds, especially in the United States, where concentrations in the environment are four times higher than in Europe, these results cause serious concern.

Neuro-ophthalmic manifestations of cerebrovascular accidents.

PubMed

Ghannam, Alaa S Bou; Subramanian, Prem S

2017-11-01

Ocular functions can be affected in almost any type of cerebrovascular accident (CVA) creating a burden on the patient and family and limiting functionality. The present review summarizes the different ocular outcomes after stroke, divided into three categories: vision, ocular motility, and visual perception. We also discuss interventions that have been proposed to help restore vision and perception after CVA. Interventions that might help expand or compensate for visual field loss and visuospatial neglect include explorative saccade training, prisms, visual restoration therapy (VRT), and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). VRT makes use of neuroplasticity, which has shown efficacy in animal models but remains controversial in human studies. CVAs can lead to decreased visual acuity, visual field loss, ocular motility abnormalities, and visuospatial perception deficits. Although ocular motility problems can be corrected with surgery, vision, and perception deficits are more difficult to overcome. Interventions to restore or compensate for visual field deficits are controversial despite theoretical underpinnings, animal model evidence, and case reports of their efficacies.

A comparison of haptic material perception in blind and sighted individuals.

PubMed

Baumgartner, Elisabeth; Wiebel, Christiane B; Gegenfurtner, Karl R

2015-10-01

We investigated material perception in blind participants to explore the influence of visual experience on material representations and the relationship between visual and haptic material perception. In a previous study with sighted participants, we had found participants' visual and haptic judgments of material properties to be very similar (Baumgartner, Wiebel, & Gegenfurtner, 2013). In a categorization task, however, visual exploration had led to higher categorization accuracy than haptic exploration. Here, we asked congenitally blind participants to explore different materials haptically and rate several material properties in order to assess the role of the visual sense for the emergence of haptic material perception. Principal components analyses combined with a procrustes superimposition showed that the material representations of blind and blindfolded sighted participants were highly similar. We also measured haptic categorization performance, which was equal for the two groups. We conclude that haptic material representations can emerge independently of visual experience, and that there are no advantages for either group of observers in haptic categorization. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Re-entrant Projections Modulate Visual Cortex in Affective Perception: Evidence From Granger Causality Analysis

PubMed Central

Keil, Andreas; Sabatinelli, Dean; Ding, Mingzhou; Lang, Peter J.; Ihssen, Niklas; Heim, Sabine

2013-01-01

Re-entrant modulation of visual cortex has been suggested as a critical process for enhancing perception of emotionally arousing visual stimuli. This study explores how the time information inherent in large-scale electrocortical measures can be used to examine the functional relationships among the structures involved in emotional perception. Granger causality analysis was conducted on steady-state visual evoked potentials elicited by emotionally arousing pictures flickering at a rate of 10 Hz. This procedure allows one to examine the direction of neural connections. Participants viewed pictures that varied in emotional content, depicting people in neutral contexts, erotica, or interpersonal attack scenes. Results demonstrated increased coupling between visual and cortical areas when viewing emotionally arousing content. Specifically, intraparietal to inferotemporal and precuneus to calcarine connections were stronger for emotionally arousing picture content. Thus, we provide evidence for re-entrant signal flow during emotional perception, which originates from higher tiers and enters lower tiers of visual cortex. PMID:18095279

Conveying Clinical Reasoning Based on Visual Observation via Eye-Movement Modelling Examples

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jarodzka, Halszka; Balslev, Thomas; Holmqvist, Kenneth; Nystrom, Marcus; Scheiter, Katharina; Gerjets, Peter; Eika, Berit

2012-01-01

Complex perceptual tasks, like clinical reasoning based on visual observations of patients, require not only conceptual knowledge about diagnostic classes but also the skills to visually search for symptoms and interpret these observations. However, medical education so far has focused very little on how visual observation skills can be…

[Perception of physiological visual illusions by individuals with schizophrenia].

PubMed

Ciszewski, Słowomir; Wichowicz, Hubert Michał; Żuk, Krzysztof

2015-01-01

Visual perception by individuals with schizophrenia has not been extensively researched. The focus of this review is the perception of physiological visual illusions by patients with schizophrenia, a differences of perception reported in a small number of studies. Increased or decreased susceptibility of these patients to various illusions seems to be unconnected to the location of origin in the visual apparatus, which also takes place in illusions connected to other modalities. The susceptibility of patients with schizophrenia to haptic illusions has not yet been investigated, although the need for such investigation has been is clear. The emerging picture is that some individuals with schizophrenia are "resistant" to some of the illusions and are able to assess visual phenomena more "rationally", yet certain illusions (ex. Müller-Lyer's) are perceived more intensely. Disturbances in the perception of visual illusions have neither been classified as possible diagnostic indicators of a dangerous mental condition, nor included in the endophenotype of schizophrenia. Although the relevant data are sparse, the ability to replicate the results is limited, and the research model lacks a "gold standard", some preliminary conclusions may be drawn. There are indications that disturbances in visual perception are connected to the extent of disorganization, poor initial social functioning, poor prognosis, and the types of schizophrenia described as neurodevelopmental. Patients with schizophrenia usually fail to perceive those illusions that require volitional controlled attention, and show lack of sensitivity to the contrast between shape and background.

Evaluation of a visual risk communication tool: effects on knowledge and perception of blood transfusion risk.

PubMed

Lee, D H; Mehta, M D

2003-06-01

Effective risk communication in transfusion medicine is important for health-care consumers, but understanding the numerical magnitude of risks can be difficult. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of a visual risk communication tool on the knowledge and perception of transfusion risk. Laypeople were randomly assigned to receive transfusion risk information with either a written or a visual presentation format for communicating and comparing the probabilities of transfusion risks relative to other hazards. Knowledge of transfusion risk was ascertained with a multiple-choice quiz and risk perception was ascertained by psychometric scaling and principal components analysis. Two-hundred subjects were recruited and randomly assigned. Risk communication with both written and visual presentation formats increased knowledge of transfusion risk and decreased the perceived dread and severity of transfusion risk. Neither format changed the perceived knowledge and control of transfusion risk, nor the perceived benefit of transfusion. No differences in knowledge or risk perception outcomes were detected between the groups randomly assigned to written or visual presentation formats. Risk communication that incorporates risk comparisons in either written or visual presentation formats can improve knowledge and reduce the perception of transfusion risk in laypeople.

Effectiveness of a 10-week tier-1 response to intervention program in improving fine motor and visual-motor skills in general education kindergarten students.

PubMed

Ohl, Alisha M; Graze, Hollie; Weber, Karen; Kenny, Sabrina; Salvatore, Christie; Wagreich, Sarah

2013-01-01

This study examined the efficacy of a 10-wk Tier 1 Response to Intervention (RtI) program developed in collaboration with classroom teachers to improve the fine motor and visual-motor skills of general education kindergarten students. We recruited 113 students in six elementary schools. Two general education kindergarten classrooms at each school participated in the study. Classrooms were randomly assigned to the intervention and control groups. Fine motor skills, pencil grip, and visual-motor integration were measured at the beginning of the school year and after the 10-wk intervention. The intervention group demonstrated a statistically significant increase in fine motor and visual-motor skills, whereas the control group demonstrated a slight decline in both areas. Neither group demonstrated a change in pencil grip. This study provides preliminary evidence that a Tier 1 RtI program can improve fine motor and visual-motor skills in kindergarten students. Copyright © 2013 by the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.

Auditory, visual and auditory-visual memory and sequencing performance in typically developing children.

PubMed

Pillai, Roshni; Yathiraj, Asha

2017-09-01

The study evaluated whether there exists a difference/relation in the way four different memory skills (memory score, sequencing score, memory span, & sequencing span) are processed through the auditory modality, visual modality and combined modalities. Four memory skills were evaluated on 30 typically developing children aged 7 years and 8 years across three modality conditions (auditory, visual, & auditory-visual). Analogous auditory and visual stimuli were presented to evaluate the three modality conditions across the two age groups. The children obtained significantly higher memory scores through the auditory modality compared to the visual modality. Likewise, their memory scores were significantly higher through the auditory-visual modality condition than through the visual modality. However, no effect of modality was observed on the sequencing scores as well as for the memory and the sequencing span. A good agreement was seen between the different modality conditions that were studied (auditory, visual, & auditory-visual) for the different memory skills measures (memory scores, sequencing scores, memory span, & sequencing span). A relatively lower agreement was noted only between the auditory and visual modalities as well as between the visual and auditory-visual modality conditions for the memory scores, measured using Bland-Altman plots. The study highlights the efficacy of using analogous stimuli to assess the auditory, visual as well as combined modalities. The study supports the view that the performance of children on different memory skills was better through the auditory modality compared to the visual modality. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Arousal Rules: An Empirical Investigation into the Aesthetic Experience of Cross-Modal Perception with Emotional Visual Music

PubMed Central

Lee, Irene Eunyoung; Latchoumane, Charles-Francois V.; Jeong, Jaeseung

2017-01-01

Emotional visual music is a promising tool for the study of aesthetic perception in human psychology; however, the production of such stimuli and the mechanisms of auditory-visual emotion perception remain poorly understood. In Experiment 1, we suggested a literature-based, directive approach to emotional visual music design, and inspected the emotional meanings thereof using the self-rated psychometric and electroencephalographic (EEG) responses of the viewers. A two-dimensional (2D) approach to the assessment of emotion (the valence-arousal plane) with frontal alpha power asymmetry EEG (as a proposed index of valence) validated our visual music as an emotional stimulus. In Experiment 2, we used our synthetic stimuli to investigate possible underlying mechanisms of affective evaluation mechanisms in relation to audio and visual integration conditions between modalities (namely congruent, complementation, or incongruent combinations). In this experiment, we found that, when arousal information between auditory and visual modalities was contradictory [for example, active (+) on the audio channel but passive (−) on the video channel], the perceived emotion of cross-modal perception (visual music) followed the channel conveying the stronger arousal. Moreover, we found that an enhancement effect (heightened and compacted in subjects' emotional responses) in the aesthetic perception of visual music might occur when the two channels contained contradictory arousal information and positive congruency in valence and texture/control. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first to propose a literature-based directive production of emotional visual music prototypes and the validations thereof for the study of cross-modally evoked aesthetic experiences in human subjects. PMID:28421007

Neuro-cognitive mechanisms of conscious and unconscious visual perception: From a plethora of phenomena to general principles

PubMed Central

Kiefer, Markus; Ansorge, Ulrich; Haynes, John-Dylan; Hamker, Fred; Mattler, Uwe; Verleger, Rolf; Niedeggen, Michael

2011-01-01

Psychological and neuroscience approaches have promoted much progress in elucidating the cognitive and neural mechanisms that underlie phenomenal visual awareness during the last decades. In this article, we provide an overview of the latest research investigating important phenomena in conscious and unconscious vision. We identify general principles to characterize conscious and unconscious visual perception, which may serve as important building blocks for a unified model to explain the plethora of findings. We argue that in particular the integration of principles from both conscious and unconscious vision is advantageous and provides critical constraints for developing adequate theoretical models. Based on the principles identified in our review, we outline essential components of a unified model of conscious and unconscious visual perception. We propose that awareness refers to consolidated visual representations, which are accessible to the entire brain and therefore globally available. However, visual awareness not only depends on consolidation within the visual system, but is additionally the result of a post-sensory gating process, which is mediated by higher-level cognitive control mechanisms. We further propose that amplification of visual representations by attentional sensitization is not exclusive to the domain of conscious perception, but also applies to visual stimuli, which remain unconscious. Conscious and unconscious processing modes are highly interdependent with influences in both directions. We therefore argue that exactly this interdependence renders a unified model of conscious and unconscious visual perception valuable. Computational modeling jointly with focused experimental research could lead to a better understanding of the plethora of empirical phenomena in consciousness research. PMID:22253669

How do visual and postural cues combine for self-tilt perception during slow pitch rotations?

PubMed

Scotto Di Cesare, C; Buloup, F; Mestre, D R; Bringoux, L

2014-11-01

Self-orientation perception relies on the integration of multiple sensory inputs which convey spatially-related visual and postural cues. In the present study, an experimental set-up was used to tilt the body and/or the visual scene to investigate how these postural and visual cues are integrated for self-tilt perception (the subjective sensation of being tilted). Participants were required to repeatedly rate a confidence level for self-tilt perception during slow (0.05°·s(-1)) body and/or visual scene pitch tilts up to 19° relative to vertical. Concurrently, subjects also had to perform arm reaching movements toward a body-fixed target at certain specific angles of tilt. While performance of a concurrent motor task did not influence the main perceptual task, self-tilt detection did vary according to the visuo-postural stimuli. Slow forward or backward tilts of the visual scene alone did not induce a marked sensation of self-tilt contrary to actual body tilt. However, combined body and visual scene tilt influenced self-tilt perception more strongly, although this effect was dependent on the direction of visual scene tilt: only a forward visual scene tilt combined with a forward body tilt facilitated self-tilt detection. In such a case, visual scene tilt did not seem to induce vection but rather may have produced a deviation of the perceived orientation of the longitudinal body axis in the forward direction, which may have lowered the self-tilt detection threshold during actual forward body tilt. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Arousal Rules: An Empirical Investigation into the Aesthetic Experience of Cross-Modal Perception with Emotional Visual Music.

PubMed

Lee, Irene Eunyoung; Latchoumane, Charles-Francois V; Jeong, Jaeseung

2017-01-01

Emotional visual music is a promising tool for the study of aesthetic perception in human psychology; however, the production of such stimuli and the mechanisms of auditory-visual emotion perception remain poorly understood. In Experiment 1, we suggested a literature-based, directive approach to emotional visual music design, and inspected the emotional meanings thereof using the self-rated psychometric and electroencephalographic (EEG) responses of the viewers. A two-dimensional (2D) approach to the assessment of emotion (the valence-arousal plane) with frontal alpha power asymmetry EEG (as a proposed index of valence) validated our visual music as an emotional stimulus. In Experiment 2, we used our synthetic stimuli to investigate possible underlying mechanisms of affective evaluation mechanisms in relation to audio and visual integration conditions between modalities (namely congruent, complementation, or incongruent combinations). In this experiment, we found that, when arousal information between auditory and visual modalities was contradictory [for example, active (+) on the audio channel but passive (-) on the video channel], the perceived emotion of cross-modal perception (visual music) followed the channel conveying the stronger arousal. Moreover, we found that an enhancement effect (heightened and compacted in subjects' emotional responses) in the aesthetic perception of visual music might occur when the two channels contained contradictory arousal information and positive congruency in valence and texture/control. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first to propose a literature-based directive production of emotional visual music prototypes and the validations thereof for the study of cross-modally evoked aesthetic experiences in human subjects.

Examining Chemistry Students Visual-Perceptual Skills Using the VSCS tool and Interview Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Christian, Caroline

The Visual-Spatial Chemistry Specific (VSCS) assessment tool was developed to test students' visual-perceptual skills, which are required to form a mental image of an object. The VSCS was designed around the theoretical framework of Rochford and Archer that provides eight distinct and well-defined visual-perceptual skills with identified problems students might have with each skill set. Factor analysis was used to analyze the results during the validation process of the VSCS. Results showed that the eight factors could not be separated from each other, but instead two factors emerged as significant to the data. These two factors have been defined and described as a general visual-perceptual skill (factor 1) and a skill that adds on a second level of complexity by involving multiple viewpoints such as changing frames of reference. The questions included in the factor analysis were bolstered by the addition of an item response theory (IRT) analysis. Interviews were also conducted with twenty novice students to test face validity of the tool, and to document student approaches at solving visualization problems of this type. Students used five main physical resources or processes to solve the questions, but the resource that was the most successful was handling or building a physical representation of an object.

Selling students short: Racial differences in teachers' evaluations of high, average, and low performing students.

PubMed

Irizarry, Yasmiyn

2015-07-01

Education scholars document notable racial differences in teachers' perceptions of students' academic skills. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort, this study advances research on teacher perceptions by investigating whether racial differences in teachers' evaluations of first grade students' overall literacy skills vary for high, average, and low performing students. Results highlight both the overall accuracy of teachers' perceptions, and the extent and nature of possible inaccuracies, as demonstrated by remaining racial gaps net literacy test performance. Racial differences in teachers' perceptions of Black, non-White Latino, and Asian students (compared to White students) exist net teacher and school characteristics and vary considerably across literacy skill levels. Skill specific literacy assessments appear to explain the remaining racial gap for Asian students, but not for Black and non-White Latino students. Implications of these findings for education scholarship, gifted education, and the achievement gap are discussed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Visualizing time: how linguistic metaphors are incorporated into displaying instruments in the process of interpreting time-varying signals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garcia-Belmonte, Germà

2017-06-01

Spatial visualization is a well-established topic of education research that has allowed improving science and engineering students' skills on spatial relations. Connections have been established between visualization as a comprehension tool and instruction in several scientific fields. Learning about dynamic processes mainly relies upon static spatial representations or images. Visualization of time is inherently problematic because time can be conceptualized in terms of two opposite conceptual metaphors based on spatial relations as inferred from conventional linguistic patterns. The situation is particularly demanding when time-varying signals are recorded using displaying electronic instruments, and the image should be properly interpreted. This work deals with the interplay between linguistic metaphors, visual thinking and scientific instrument mediation in the process of interpreting time-varying signals displayed by electronic instruments. The analysis draws on a simplified version of a communication system as example of practical signal recording and image visualization in a physics and engineering laboratory experience. Instrumentation delivers meaningful signal representations because it is designed to incorporate a specific and culturally favored time view. It is suggested that difficulties in interpreting time-varying signals are linked with the existing dual perception of conflicting time metaphors. The activation of specific space-time conceptual mapping might allow for a proper signal interpretation. Instruments play then a central role as visualization mediators by yielding an image that matches specific perception abilities and practical purposes. Here I have identified two ways of understanding time as used in different trajectories through which students are located. Interestingly specific displaying instruments belonging to different cultural traditions incorporate contrasting time views. One of them sees time in terms of a dynamic metaphor consisting of a static observer looking at passing events. This is a general and widespread practice common in the contemporary mass culture, which lies behind the process of making sense to moving images usually visualized by means of movie shots. In contrast scientific culture favored another way of time conceptualization (static time metaphor) that historically fostered the construction of graphs and the incorporation of time-dependent functions, as represented on the Cartesian plane, into displaying instruments. Both types of cultures, scientific and mass, are considered highly technological in the sense that complex instruments, apparatus or machines participate in their visual practices.

The Effect of a Computerized Visual Perception and Visual-Motor Integration Training Program on Improving Chinese Handwriting of Children with Handwriting Difficulties

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Poon, K. W.; Li-Tsang, C. W .P.; Weiss, T. P. L.; Rosenblum, S.

2010-01-01

This study aimed to investigate the effect of a computerized visual perception and visual-motor integration training program to enhance Chinese handwriting performance among children with learning difficulties, particularly those with handwriting problems. Participants were 26 primary-one children who were assessed by educational psychologists and…

Visual Perception and Visual-Motor Integration in Very Preterm and/or Very Low Birth Weight Children: A Meta-Analysis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Geldof, C. J. A.; van Wassenaer, A. G.; de Kieviet, J. F.; Kok, J. H.; Oosterlaan, J.

2012-01-01

A range of neurobehavioral impairments, including impaired visual perception and visual-motor integration, are found in very preterm born children, but reported findings show great variability. We aimed to aggregate the existing literature using meta-analysis, in order to provide robust estimates of the effect of very preterm birth on visual…

Perception of the Auditory-Visual Illusion in Speech Perception by Children with Phonological Disorders

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dodd, Barbara; McIntosh, Beth; Erdener, Dogu; Burnham, Denis

2008-01-01

An example of the auditory-visual illusion in speech perception, first described by McGurk and MacDonald, is the perception of [ta] when listeners hear [pa] in synchrony with the lip movements for [ka]. One account of the illusion is that lip-read and heard speech are combined in an articulatory code since people who mispronounce words respond…

Add a picture for suspense: neural correlates of the interaction between language and visual information in the perception of fear.

PubMed

Willems, Roel M; Clevis, Krien; Hagoort, Peter

2011-09-01

We investigated how visual and linguistic information interact in the perception of emotion. We borrowed a phenomenon from film theory which states that presentation of an as such neutral visual scene intensifies the percept of fear or suspense induced by a different channel of information, such as language. Our main aim was to investigate how neutral visual scenes can enhance responses to fearful language content in parts of the brain involved in the perception of emotion. Healthy participants' brain activity was measured (using functional magnetic resonance imaging) while they read fearful and less fearful sentences presented with or without a neutral visual scene. The main idea is that the visual scenes intensify the fearful content of the language by subtly implying and concretizing what is described in the sentence. Activation levels in the right anterior temporal pole were selectively increased when a neutral visual scene was paired with a fearful sentence, compared to reading the sentence alone, as well as to reading of non-fearful sentences presented with the same neutral scene. We conclude that the right anterior temporal pole serves a binding function of emotional information across domains such as visual and linguistic information.

Mandarin Visual Speech Information

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Trevor H.

2010-01-01

While the auditory-only aspects of Mandarin speech are heavily-researched and well-known in the field, this dissertation addresses its lesser-known aspects: The visual and audio-visual perception of Mandarin segmental information and lexical-tone information. Chapter II of this dissertation focuses on the audiovisual perception of Mandarin…

Early but not late-blindness leads to enhanced auditory perception.

PubMed

Wan, Catherine Y; Wood, Amanda G; Reutens, David C; Wilson, Sarah J

2010-01-01

The notion that blindness leads to superior non-visual abilities has been postulated for centuries. Compared to sighted individuals, blind individuals show different patterns of brain activation when performing auditory tasks. To date, no study has controlled for musical experience, which is known to influence auditory skills. The present study tested 33 blind (11 congenital, 11 early-blind, 11 late-blind) participants and 33 matched sighted controls. We showed that the performance of blind participants was better than that of sighted participants on a range of auditory perception tasks, even when musical experience was controlled for. This advantage was observed only for individuals who became blind early in life, and was even more pronounced for individuals who were blind from birth. Years of blindness did not predict task performance. Here, we provide compelling evidence that superior auditory abilities in blind individuals are not explained by musical experience alone. These results have implications for the development of sensory substitution devices, particularly for late-blind individuals.

Effects of familial climate on the adolescents' driving habits: a recent literature.

PubMed

Foo, K Y

2015-01-01

Driving is a functional task that requires a complex interaction of visual perception, cognitive and motor skills. Next to circulatory diseases and cancer, road accidents remain the third epidemic cause of death internationally, with approximately half a million teen drivers killed annually. Driver behaviour has been cited as the pervasive marker of automotive crashes. A reliable and firm relationship between the positive parental model, message, and communication has been established. Specifically, the familial climate is proposed to be an important element of reinforcement, modelling, support and environmental determinant in interpreting personal perceptions, habits, values, and belief system. Confirming the assertion, this bibliographic review presents the most recent research findings on the contributions of families to the driving habits of teens. The emphasis is speculated on parental alcohol use, aggressiveness, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, relationship, and intergenerational transmission of driving styles. Besides, the effects of familial supervision, monitoring, education and awareness, and genders, partners, and demographic influence on the driving habits are discussed and outlined.

Musical Experience and the Aging Auditory System: Implications for Cognitive Abilities and Hearing Speech in Noise

PubMed Central

Parbery-Clark, Alexandra; Strait, Dana L.; Anderson, Samira; Hittner, Emily; Kraus, Nina

2011-01-01

Much of our daily communication occurs in the presence of background noise, compromising our ability to hear. While understanding speech in noise is a challenge for everyone, it becomes increasingly difficult as we age. Although aging is generally accompanied by hearing loss, this perceptual decline cannot fully account for the difficulties experienced by older adults for hearing in noise. Decreased cognitive skills concurrent with reduced perceptual acuity are thought to contribute to the difficulty older adults experience understanding speech in noise. Given that musical experience positively impacts speech perception in noise in young adults (ages 18–30), we asked whether musical experience benefits an older cohort of musicians (ages 45–65), potentially offsetting the age-related decline in speech-in-noise perceptual abilities and associated cognitive function (i.e., working memory). Consistent with performance in young adults, older musicians demonstrated enhanced speech-in-noise perception relative to nonmusicians along with greater auditory, but not visual, working memory capacity. By demonstrating that speech-in-noise perception and related cognitive function are enhanced in older musicians, our results imply that musical training may reduce the impact of age-related auditory decline. PMID:21589653

Musical experience and the aging auditory system: implications for cognitive abilities and hearing speech in noise.

PubMed

Parbery-Clark, Alexandra; Strait, Dana L; Anderson, Samira; Hittner, Emily; Kraus, Nina

2011-05-11

Much of our daily communication occurs in the presence of background noise, compromising our ability to hear. While understanding speech in noise is a challenge for everyone, it becomes increasingly difficult as we age. Although aging is generally accompanied by hearing loss, this perceptual decline cannot fully account for the difficulties experienced by older adults for hearing in noise. Decreased cognitive skills concurrent with reduced perceptual acuity are thought to contribute to the difficulty older adults experience understanding speech in noise. Given that musical experience positively impacts speech perception in noise in young adults (ages 18-30), we asked whether musical experience benefits an older cohort of musicians (ages 45-65), potentially offsetting the age-related decline in speech-in-noise perceptual abilities and associated cognitive function (i.e., working memory). Consistent with performance in young adults, older musicians demonstrated enhanced speech-in-noise perception relative to nonmusicians along with greater auditory, but not visual, working memory capacity. By demonstrating that speech-in-noise perception and related cognitive function are enhanced in older musicians, our results imply that musical training may reduce the impact of age-related auditory decline.

The effect of amblyopia on fine motor skills in children.

PubMed

Webber, Ann L; Wood, Joanne M; Gole, Glen A; Brown, Brian

2008-02-01

In an investigation of the functional impact of amblyopia in children, the fine motor skills of amblyopes and age-matched control subjects were compared. The influence of visual factors that might predict any decrement in fine motor skills was also explored. Vision and fine motor skills were tested in a group of children (n = 82; mean age, 8.2 +/- 1.7 [SD] years) with amblyopia of different causes (infantile esotropia, n = 17; acquired strabismus, n = 28; anisometropia, n = 15; mixed, n = 13; and deprivation n = 9), and age-matched control children (n = 37; age 8.3 +/- 1.3 years). Visual motor control (VMC) and upper limb speed and dexterity (ULSD) items of the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency were assessed, and logMAR visual acuity (VA) and Randot stereopsis were measured. Multiple regression models were used to identify the visual determinants of fine motor skills performance. Amblyopes performed significantly poorer than control subjects on 9 of 16 fine motor skills subitems and for the overall age-standardized scores for both VMC and ULSD items (P < 0.05). The effects were most evident on timed tasks. The etiology of amblyopia and level of binocular function significantly affected fine motor skill performance on both items; however, when examined in a multiple regression model that took into account the intercorrelation between visual characteristics, poorer fine motor skills performance was associated with strabismus (F(1,75) = 5.428; P = 0.022), but not with the level of binocular function, refractive error, or visual acuity in either eye. Fine motor skills were reduced in children with amblyopia, particularly those with strabismus, compared with control subjects. The deficits in motor performance were greatest on manual dexterity tasks requiring speed and accuracy.

Prefrontal cortex modulates posterior alpha oscillations during top-down guided visual perception

PubMed Central

Helfrich, Randolph F.; Huang, Melody; Wilson, Guy; Knight, Robert T.

2017-01-01

Conscious visual perception is proposed to arise from the selective synchronization of functionally specialized but widely distributed cortical areas. It has been suggested that different frequency bands index distinct canonical computations. Here, we probed visual perception on a fine-grained temporal scale to study the oscillatory dynamics supporting prefrontal-dependent sensory processing. We tested whether a predictive context that was embedded in a rapid visual stream modulated the perception of a subsequent near-threshold target. The rapid stream was presented either rhythmically at 10 Hz, to entrain parietooccipital alpha oscillations, or arrhythmically. We identified a 2- to 4-Hz delta signature that modulated posterior alpha activity and behavior during predictive trials. Importantly, delta-mediated top-down control diminished the behavioral effects of bottom-up alpha entrainment. Simultaneous source-reconstructed EEG and cross-frequency directionality analyses revealed that this delta activity originated from prefrontal areas and modulated posterior alpha power. Taken together, this study presents converging behavioral and electrophysiological evidence for frontal delta-mediated top-down control of posterior alpha activity, selectively facilitating visual perception. PMID:28808023

Tacit knowledge and visual expertise in medical diagnostic reasoning: implications for medical education.

PubMed

Heiberg Engel, Peter Johan

2008-01-01

Much education--especially at the university level--has been criticized for having primarily dealt with explicit knowledge, i.e. those aspects of mental activities, which are verbal and conscious. Furthermore, research in medical diagnostic reasoning has been criticized for having focused on the specialty of intern medicine, while specialties with other skills, i.e. perceptive skills within pathology and radiology, have been ignored. To show that the concept of tacit knowledge is important in medical education-at all levels and in medical diagnostic reasoning. Describing how tacit knowledge according to Michael Polany, is experienced and expressed in day-to-day life, it is shown that there is a tacit dimension to all knowledge. Reviewing recent literature on medical diagnostic reasoning, it is shown that tacit knowledge is recognized in connection with concepts such as "non-analytical reasoning" and "dual process of reasoning." It is important that educators are trained in how explicit and implicit knowledge is attained and that tacit knowledge is included in educational programmes of all medical specialties.

Spatial Visualization by Isometric View

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yue, Jianping

2007-01-01

Spatial visualization is a fundamental skill in technical graphics and engineering designs. From conventional multiview drawing to modern solid modeling using computer-aided design, visualization skills have always been essential for representing three-dimensional objects and assemblies. Researchers have developed various types of tests to measure…

Reaction time and anticipatory skill of athletes in open and closed skill-dominated sport.

PubMed

Nuri, Leila; Shadmehr, Azadeh; Ghotbi, Nastaran; Attarbashi Moghadam, Behrouz

2013-01-01

In sports, reaction time and anticipatory skill are critical aspects of perceptual abilities. To date, no study has compared reaction time and anticipatory skill of athletes from open and closed skill-dominated sport. Accordingly, the present study investigated whether a difference exists in sensory-cognitive skills between these two different sport domains. Eleven volleyball players and 11 sprinters participated in this experiment. Reaction time and anticipatory skill of both groups were recorded by a custom-made software called SART (speed anticipation and reaction time test). This software consists of six sensory-cognitive tests that evaluate visual choice reaction time, visual complex choice reaction time, auditory choice reaction time, auditory complex choice reaction time, and anticipatory skill of the high speed and low speed of the ball. For each variable, an independent t-test was performed. Results suggested that sprinters were better in both auditory reaction times (P<0.001 for both tests) and volleyball players were better in both anticipatory skill tests (P = 0.007 and P = 0.04 for anticipatory skill of the high speed and low speed of the ball, respectively). However, no significant differences were found in both visual choice reaction time tests (P > 0.05 for both visual reaction time tests). It is concluded that athletes have greater sensory-cognitive skills related to their specific sport domain either open or closed.

Gross Motor Skills and Sports Participation of Children with Visual Impairments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Houwen, Suzanne; Visscher, Chris; Hartman, Esther; Lemmink, Koen A. P. M.

2007-01-01

Gross motor skill performance of children with visual impairments and its association with the degree of visual impairment and sports participation was examined. Twenty children with visual impairments (M age = 9.2 years, SD = 1.5) and 100 sighted children (M age = 9.1 years, SD = 1.5) from mainstream schools participated. The results showed that…

A Visual Skills Inventory for Children with Neurological Impairments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McCulloch, D. L.; Mackie, R. T.; Dutton, G. N.; Bradnam, M. S.; Day, R. E.; McDaid, G. J.; Phillips, S.; Napier, A.; Herbert, A. M.; Saunders, K. J.; Shepherd, A. J.

2007-01-01

Children with neurological impairments often have visual deficits that are difficult to quantify. We have compared visual skills evaluated by carers with results of a comprehensive visual assessment. Participants were 76 children with mild to profound intellectual and/or motor impairment (33 males, 43 females; age range 7mo-16y; mean age 5y 1mo…

Perception of Visual Speed While Moving

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Durgin, Frank H.; Gigone, Krista; Scott, Rebecca

2005-01-01

During self-motion, the world normally appears stationary. In part, this may be due to reductions in visual motion signals during self-motion. In 8 experiments, the authors used magnitude estimation to characterize changes in visual speed perception as a result of biomechanical self-motion alone (treadmill walking), physical translation alone…

The Impact of Visual Impairment on Perceived School Climate

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schade, Benjamin; Larwin, Karen H.

2015-01-01

The current investigation examines whether visual impairment has an impact on a student's perception of the school climate. Using a large national sample of high school students, perceptions were examined for students with vision impairment relative to students with no visual impairments. Three factors were examined: self-reported level of…

Impact of Language on Development of Auditory-Visual Speech Perception

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sekiyama, Kaoru; Burnham, Denis

2008-01-01

The McGurk effect paradigm was used to examine the developmental onset of inter-language differences between Japanese and English in auditory-visual speech perception. Participants were asked to identify syllables in audiovisual (with congruent or discrepant auditory and visual components), audio-only, and video-only presentations at various…

Experience, Context, and the Visual Perception of Human Movement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jacobs, Alissa; Pinto, Jeannine; Shiffrar, Maggie

2004-01-01

Why are human observers particularly sensitive to human movement? Seven experiments examined the roles of visual experience and motor processes in human movement perception by comparing visual sensitivities to point-light displays of familiar, unusual, and impossible gaits across gait-speed and identity discrimination tasks. In both tasks, visual…

Parents' Perceptions of Physical Activity for Their Children with Visual Impairments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perkins, Kara; Columna, Luis; Lieberman, Lauren; Bailey, JoEllen

2013-01-01

Introduction: Ongoing communication with parents and the acknowledgment of their preferences and expectations are crucial to promote the participation of physical activity by children with visual impairments. Purpose: The study presented here explored parents' perceptions of physical activity for their children with visual impairments and explored…

Performance of patients with frontotemporal lobar degeneration on artistic tasks: A pilot study.

PubMed

Anauate, Maria Cristina; Bahia, Valéria Santoro; Nitrini, Ricardo; Radanovic, Marcia

2014-01-01

Several studies have addressed visuospatial and executive skills in artistic activities in Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (FTLD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). To investigate the performance of FTLD patients compared to controls on two artistic tasks. Four FTLD patients with mean age of 57 (8.7) years and schooling of 12.2 (4.5) years plus 10 controls with mean age of 62.9 (8.6) years and schooling of 12.3 (4.6) years, were assessed using the Lowenstein Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment (LOTCA) and by a three-stage artistic protocol including visual observation, copying and collage, based on a Sisley painting. FTLD patients had lower scores than controls on Visuospatial Perception, Copy, Collage, Examiner's Observation, and Total, showing distinct patterns of performance according to FTLD sub-type: semantic PPA, nonfluent PPA and bvFTD. FTLD patients presented impairment in the visuospatial and executive skills required to perform artistic tasks. We demonstrated that the application of the instrument as a complimentary method for assessing cognitive skills in this group of patients is possible. Further studies addressing larger and more homogeneous samples of FTLD patients as well as other dementias are warranted.

Performance of patients with frontotemporal lobar degeneration on artistic tasks: A pilot study

PubMed Central

Anauate, Maria Cristina; Bahia, Valéria Santoro; Nitrini, Ricardo; Radanovic, Marcia

2014-01-01

Several studies have addressed visuospatial and executive skills in artistic activities in Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (FTLD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Objective To investigate the performance of FTLD patients compared to controls on two artistic tasks. Methods Four FTLD patients with mean age of 57 (8.7) years and schooling of 12.2 (4.5) years plus 10 controls with mean age of 62.9 (8.6) years and schooling of 12.3 (4.6) years, were assessed using the Lowenstein Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment (LOTCA) and by a three-stage artistic protocol including visual observation, copying and collage, based on a Sisley painting. Results FTLD patients had lower scores than controls on Visuospatial Perception, Copy, Collage, Examiner's Observation, and Total, showing distinct patterns of performance according to FTLD sub-type: semantic PPA, nonfluent PPA and bvFTD. Conclusion FTLD patients presented impairment in the visuospatial and executive skills required to perform artistic tasks. We demonstrated that the application of the instrument as a complimentary method for assessing cognitive skills in this group of patients is possible. Further studies addressing larger and more homogeneous samples of FTLD patients as well as other dementias are warranted. PMID:29213882

Communication skills of medical students during the OSCE: Gender-specific differences in a longitudinal trend study.

PubMed

Graf, Joachim; Smolka, Robert; Simoes, Elisabeth; Zipfel, Stephan; Junne, Florian; Holderried, Friederike; Wosnik, Annette; Doherty, Anne M; Menzel, Karina; Herrmann-Werner, Anne

2017-05-02

Communication skills are essential in a patient-centred health service and therefore in medical teaching. Although significant differences in communication behaviour of male and female students are known, gender differences in the performance of students are still under-reported. The aim of this study was to analyse gender differences in communication skills of medical students in the context of an OSCE exam (OSCE = Objective Structured Clinical Examination). In a longitudinal trend study based on seven semester-cohorts, it was analysed if there are gender differences in medical students' communication skills. The students (self-perception) and standardized patients (SP) (external perception) were asked to rate the communication skills using uniform questionnaires. Statistical analysis was performed by using frequency analyses and t-tests in SPSS 21. Across all ratings in the self- and the external perception, there was a significant gender difference in favour of female students performing better in the dimensions of empathy, structure, verbal expression and non-verbal expression. The results of male students deteriorated across all dimensions in the external perception between 2011 and 2014. It is important to consider if gender-specific teaching should be developed, considering the reported differences between female and male students.

Visual scanning behavior and pilot workload

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harris, R. L., Sr.; Tole, J. R.; Stephens, A. T.; Ephrath, A. R.

1982-01-01

This paper describes an experimental paradigm and a set of results which demonstrate a relationship between the level of performance on a skilled man-machine control task, the skill of the operator, the level of mental difficulty induced by an additional task imposed on the basic control task, and visual scanning performance. During a constant, simulated piloting task, visual scanning of instruments was found to vary with the difficulty of a verbal mental loading task. The average dwell time of each fixation on the pilot's primary instrument increased with the estimated skill level of the pilots, with novices being affected by the loading task much more than experts. The results suggest that visual scanning of instruments in a controlled task may be an indicator of both workload and skill.

MEDIASSIST: medical assistance for intraoperative skill transfer in minimally invasive surgery using augmented reality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sudra, Gunther; Speidel, Stefanie; Fritz, Dominik; Müller-Stich, Beat Peter; Gutt, Carsten; Dillmann, Rüdiger

2007-03-01

Minimally invasive surgery is a highly complex medical discipline with various risks for surgeon and patient, but has also numerous advantages on patient-side. The surgeon has to adapt special operation-techniques and deal with difficulties like the complex hand-eye coordination, limited field of view and restricted mobility. To alleviate with these new problems, we propose to support the surgeon's spatial cognition by using augmented reality (AR) techniques to directly visualize virtual objects in the surgical site. In order to generate an intelligent support, it is necessary to have an intraoperative assistance system that recognizes the surgical skills during the intervention and provides context-aware assistance surgeon using AR techniques. With MEDIASSIST we bundle our research activities in the field of intraoperative intelligent support and visualization. Our experimental setup consists of a stereo endoscope, an optical tracking system and a head-mounted-display for 3D visualization. The framework will be used as platform for the development and evaluation of our research in the field of skill recognition and context-aware assistance generation. This includes methods for surgical skill analysis, skill classification, context interpretation as well as assistive visualization and interaction techniques. In this paper we present the objectives of MEDIASSIST and first results in the fields of skill analysis, visualization and multi-modal interaction. In detail we present a markerless instrument tracking for surgical skill analysis as well as visualization techniques and recognition of interaction gestures in an AR environment.

Attitudes towards and perceptions of visual loss and its causes among Hong Kong Chinese adults.

PubMed

Lau, Joseph Tak Fai; Lee, Vincent; Fan, Dorothy; Lau, Mason; Michon, John

2004-06-01

As part of a study of visual function among Hong Kong Chinese adults, their attitudes and perceptions related to visual loss were examined. These included fear of visual loss, negative functional impacts of visual loss, the relationship between ageing and visual loss and help-seeking behaviours related to visual loss. Demographic factors associated with these variables were also studied. The study population were people aged 40 and above randomly selected from the Shatin district of Hong Kong. The participants underwent eye examinations that included visual acuity, intraocular pressure measurement, visual field, slit-lamp biomicroscopy and ophthalmoscopy. The primary cause of visual disability was recorded. The participants were also asked about their attitudes and perceptions regarding visual loss using a structured questionnaire. The prevalence of bilateral visual disability was 2.2% among adults aged 40 or above and 6.4% among adults aged 60 or above. Nearly 36% of the participants selected blindness as the most feared disabling medical condition, which was substantially higher than conditions such as dementia, loss of limbs, deafness or aphasia. Inability to take care of oneself (21.0%), inconvenience related to mobility (20.2%) and inability to work (14.8%) were the three most commonly mentioned 'worst impact' effects of visual loss. Fully 68% of the participants believed that loss of vision is related to ageing. A majority of participants would seek help and advice from family members in case of visual loss. Visual function is perceived to be very important by Hong Kong Chinese adults. The fear of visual loss is widespread and particularly affects self-care and functional abilities. Visual loss is commonly seen as related to ageing. Attitudes and perceptions in this population may be modified by educational and outreach efforts in order to take advantage of preventive measures.

Visualizing water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baart, F.; van Gils, A.; Hagenaars, G.; Donchyts, G.; Eisemann, E.; van Velzen, J. W.

2016-12-01

A compelling visualization is captivating, beautiful and narrative. Here we show how melding the skills of computer graphics, art, statistics, and environmental modeling can be used to generate innovative, attractive and very informative visualizations. We focus on the topic of visualizing forecasts and measurements of water (water level, waves, currents, density, and salinity). For the field of computer graphics and arts, water is an important topic because it occurs in many natural scenes. For environmental modeling and statistics, water is an important topic because the water is essential for transport, a healthy environment, fruitful agriculture, and a safe environment.The different disciplines take different approaches to visualizing water. In computer graphics, one focusses on creating water as realistic looking as possible. The focus on realistic perception (versus the focus on the physical balance pursued by environmental scientists) resulted in fascinating renderings, as seen in recent games and movies. Visualization techniques for statistical results have benefited from the advancement in design and journalism, resulting in enthralling infographics. The field of environmental modeling has absorbed advances in contemporary cartography as seen in the latest interactive data-driven maps. We systematically review the design emerging types of water visualizations. The examples that we analyze range from dynamically animated forecasts, interactive paintings, infographics, modern cartography to web-based photorealistic rendering. By characterizing the intended audience, the design choices, the scales (e.g. time, space), and the explorability we provide a set of guidelines and genres. The unique contributions of the different fields show how the innovations in the current state of the art of water visualization have benefited from inter-disciplinary collaborations.

Video quality assessment method motivated by human visual perception

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, Meiling; Jiang, Gangyi; Yu, Mei; Song, Yang; Peng, Zongju; Shao, Feng

2016-11-01

Research on video quality assessment (VQA) plays a crucial role in improving the efficiency of video coding and the performance of video processing. It is well acknowledged that the motion energy model generates motion energy responses in a middle temporal area by simulating the receptive field of neurons in V1 for the motion perception of the human visual system. Motivated by the biological evidence for the visual motion perception, a VQA method is proposed in this paper, which comprises the motion perception quality index and the spatial index. To be more specific, the motion energy model is applied to evaluate the temporal distortion severity of each frequency component generated from the difference of Gaussian filter bank, which produces the motion perception quality index, and the gradient similarity measure is used to evaluate the spatial distortion of the video sequence to get the spatial quality index. The experimental results of the LIVE, CSIQ, and IVP video databases demonstrate that the random forests regression technique trained by the generated quality indices is highly correspondent to human visual perception and has many significant improvements than comparable well-performing methods. The proposed method has higher consistency with subjective perception and higher generalization capability.

Looking to Learn: The Effects of Visual Guidance on Observational Learning of the Golf Swing.

PubMed

D'Innocenzo, Giorgia; Gonzalez, Claudia C; Williams, A Mark; Bishop, Daniel T

2016-01-01

Skilled performers exhibit more efficient gaze patterns than less-skilled counterparts do and they look more frequently at task-relevant regions than at superfluous ones. We examine whether we may guide novices' gaze towards relevant regions during action observation in order to facilitate their learning of a complex motor skill. In a Pre-test-Post-test examination of changes in their execution of the full golf swing, 21 novices viewed one of three videos at intervention: i) a skilled golfer performing 10 swings (Free Viewing, FV); ii) the same video with transient colour cues superimposed to highlight key features of the setup (Visual Guidance; VG); iii) or a History of Golf video (Control). Participants in the visual guidance group spent significantly more time looking at cued areas than did the other two groups, a phenomenon that persisted after the cues had been removed. Moreover, the visual guidance group improved their swing execution at Post-test and on a Retention test one week later. Our results suggest that visual guidance to cued areas during observational learning of complex motor skills may accelerate acquisition of the skill.

Looking to Learn: The Effects of Visual Guidance on Observational Learning of the Golf Swing

PubMed Central

Gonzalez, Claudia C.; Williams, A. Mark

2016-01-01

Skilled performers exhibit more efficient gaze patterns than less-skilled counterparts do and they look more frequently at task-relevant regions than at superfluous ones. We examine whether we may guide novices’ gaze towards relevant regions during action observation in order to facilitate their learning of a complex motor skill. In a Pre-test-Post-test examination of changes in their execution of the full golf swing, 21 novices viewed one of three videos at intervention: i) a skilled golfer performing 10 swings (Free Viewing, FV); ii) the same video with transient colour cues superimposed to highlight key features of the setup (Visual Guidance; VG); iii) or a History of Golf video (Control). Participants in the visual guidance group spent significantly more time looking at cued areas than did the other two groups, a phenomenon that persisted after the cues had been removed. Moreover, the visual guidance group improved their swing execution at Post-test and on a Retention test one week later. Our results suggest that visual guidance to cued areas during observational learning of complex motor skills may accelerate acquisition of the skill. PMID:27224057

Ambiguities and conventions in the perception of visual art.

PubMed

Mamassian, Pascal

2008-09-01

Vision perception is ambiguous and visual arts play with these ambiguities. While perceptual ambiguities are resolved with prior constraints, artistic ambiguities are resolved by conventions. Is there a relationship between priors and conventions? This review surveys recent work related to these ambiguities in composition, spatial scale, illumination and color, three-dimensional layout, shape, and movement. While most conventions seem to have their roots in perceptual constraints, those conventions that differ from priors may help us appreciate how visual arts differ from everyday perception.

Cortical visual dysfunction in children: a clinical study.

PubMed

Dutton, G; Ballantyne, J; Boyd, G; Bradnam, M; Day, R; McCulloch, D; Mackie, R; Phillips, S; Saunders, K

1996-01-01

Damage to the cerebral cortex was responsible for impairment in vision in 90 of 130 consecutive children referred to the Vision Assessment Clinic in Glasgow. Cortical blindness was seen in 16 children. Only 2 were mobile, but both showed evidence of navigational blind-sight. Cortical visual impairment, in which it was possible to estimate visual acuity but generalised severe brain damage precluded estimation of cognitive visual function, was observed in 9 children. Complex disorders of cognitive vision were seen in 20 children. These could be divided into five categories and involved impairment of: (1) recognition, (2) orientation, (3) depth perception, (4) perception of movement and (5) simultaneous perception. These disorders were observed in a variety of combinations. The remaining children showed evidence of reduced visual acuity and/ or visual field loss, but without detectable disorders of congnitive visual function. Early recognition of disorders of cognitive vision is required if active training and remediation are to be implemented.

Gestalt Perception and Local-Global Processing in High-Functioning Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bolte, Sven; Holtmann, Martin; Poustka, Fritz; Scheurich, Armin; Schmidt, Lutz

2007-01-01

This study examined gestalt perception in high-functioning autism (HFA) and its relation to tasks indicative of local visual processing. Data on of gestalt perception, visual illusions (VI), hierarchical letters (HL), Block Design (BD) and the Embedded Figures Test (EFT) were collected in adult males with HFA, schizophrenia, depression and…

Audiovisual Perception of Congruent and Incongruent Dutch Front Vowels

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Valkenier, Bea; Duyne, Jurriaan Y.; Andringa, Tjeerd C.; Baskent, Deniz

2012-01-01

Purpose: Auditory perception of vowels in background noise is enhanced when combined with visually perceived speech features. The objective of this study was to investigate whether the influence of visual cues on vowel perception extends to incongruent vowels, in a manner similar to the McGurk effect observed with consonants. Method:…

Functional Dissociation between Perception and Action Is Evident Early in Life

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hadad, Bat-Sheva; Avidan, Galia; Ganel, Tzvi

2012-01-01

The functional distinction between vision for perception and vision for action is well documented in the mature visual system. Ganel and colleagues recently provided direct evidence for this dissociation, showing that while visual processing for perception follows Weber's fundamental law of psychophysics, action violates this law. We tracked the…

A Dynamic Systems Theory Model of Visual Perception Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coté, Carol A.

2015-01-01

This article presents a model for understanding the development of visual perception from a dynamic systems theory perspective. It contrasts to a hierarchical or reductionist model that is often found in the occupational therapy literature. In this proposed model vision and ocular motor abilities are not foundational to perception, they are seen…

Subliminal perception of complex visual stimuli.

PubMed

Ionescu, Mihai Radu

2016-01-01

Rationale: Unconscious perception of various sensory modalities is an active subject of research though its function and effect on behavior is uncertain. Objective: The present study tried to assess if unconscious visual perception could occur with more complex visual stimuli than previously utilized. Methods and Results: Videos containing slideshows of indifferent complex images with interspersed frames of interest of various durations were presented to 24 healthy volunteers. The perception of the stimulus was evaluated with a forced-choice questionnaire while awareness was quantified by self-assessment with a modified awareness scale annexed to each question with 4 categories of awareness. At values of 16.66 ms of stimulus duration, conscious awareness was not possible and answers regarding the stimulus were random. At 50 ms, nonrandom answers were coupled with no self-reported awareness suggesting unconscious perception of the stimulus. At larger durations of stimulus presentation, significantly correct answers were coupled with a certain conscious awareness. Discussion: At values of 50 ms, unconscious perception is possible even with complex visual stimuli. Further studies are recommended with a focus on a range of interest of stimulus duration between 50 to 16.66 ms.

Visual perceptual skills in children born with very low birth weights.

PubMed

Davis, Deborah Winders; Burns, Barbara M; Wilkerson, Shirley A; Steichen, Jean J

2005-01-01

A disproportionate number of very low birth weight (VLBW; < or =1500 g) children require special education services and have school-related problems even when they are free from major disabilities and have average intelligence quotient scores. Visual-perceptual problems have been suggested as contributors to deficits in academic performance, but few data are available describing specific visual-perceptual problems. This study was designed to identify specific visual-perceptual skills in VLBW children. Participants were 92 VLBW children aged 4 through 5 years who were free from major disability and appropriate for gestational age at birth. The Test of Visual-Perceptual Skills (non-motor)-Revised was used. Despite intelligent quotient scores in the average range, the majority (63% to 78.3%) of the children performed below age level on all seven subscales of a normed assessment of visual perceptual skills. Results suggest that visual perceptual screening should be considered as a part of routine evaluations of preschool-aged children born prematurely. Early identification of specific deficits could lead to interventions to improve achievement trajectories for these high-risk children.

Improved Visual Cognition through Stroboscopic Training

PubMed Central

Appelbaum, L. Gregory; Schroeder, Julia E.; Cain, Matthew S.; Mitroff, Stephen R.

2011-01-01

Humans have a remarkable capacity to learn and adapt, but surprisingly little research has demonstrated generalized learning in which new skills and strategies can be used flexibly across a range of tasks and contexts. In the present work we examined whether generalized learning could result from visual–motor training under stroboscopic visual conditions. Individuals were assigned to either an experimental condition that trained with stroboscopic eyewear or to a control condition that underwent identical training with non-stroboscopic eyewear. The training consisted of multiple sessions of athletic activities during which participants performed simple drills such as throwing and catching. To determine if training led to generalized benefits, we used computerized measures to assess perceptual and cognitive abilities on a variety of tasks before and after training. Computer-based assessments included measures of visual sensitivity (central and peripheral motion coherence thresholds), transient spatial attention (a useful field of view – dual task paradigm), and sustained attention (multiple-object tracking). Results revealed that stroboscopic training led to significantly greater re-test improvement in central visual field motion sensitivity and transient attention abilities. No training benefits were observed for peripheral motion sensitivity or peripheral transient attention abilities, nor were benefits seen for sustained attention during multiple-object tracking. These findings suggest that stroboscopic training can effectively improve some, but not all aspects of visual perception and attention. PMID:22059078

Vision for perception and vision for action in the primate brain.

PubMed

Goodale, M A

1998-01-01

Visual systems first evolved not to enable animals to see, but to provide distal sensory control of their movements. Vision as 'sight' is a relative newcomer to the evolutionary landscape, but its emergence has enabled animals to carry out complex cognitive operations on perceptual representations of the world. The two streams of visual processing that have been identified in the primate cerebral cortex are a reflection of these two functions of vision. The dorsal 'action' stream projecting from primary visual cortex to the posterior parietal cortex provides flexible control of more ancient subcortical visuomotor modules for the production of motor acts. The ventral 'perceptual' stream projecting from the primary visual cortex to the temporal lobe provides the rich and detailed representation of the world required for cognitive operations. Both streams process information about the structure of objects and about their spatial locations--and both are subject to the modulatory influences of attention. Each stream, however, uses visual information in different ways. Transformations carried out in the ventral stream permit the formation of perceptual representations that embody the enduring characteristics of objects and their relations; those carried out in the dorsal stream which utilize moment-to-moment information about objects within egocentric frames of reference, mediate the control of skilled actions. Both streams work together in the production of goal-directed behaviour.

A Causal Inference Model Explains Perception of the McGurk Effect and Other Incongruent Audiovisual Speech.

PubMed

Magnotti, John F; Beauchamp, Michael S

2017-02-01

Audiovisual speech integration combines information from auditory speech (talker's voice) and visual speech (talker's mouth movements) to improve perceptual accuracy. However, if the auditory and visual speech emanate from different talkers, integration decreases accuracy. Therefore, a key step in audiovisual speech perception is deciding whether auditory and visual speech have the same source, a process known as causal inference. A well-known illusion, the McGurk Effect, consists of incongruent audiovisual syllables, such as auditory "ba" + visual "ga" (AbaVga), that are integrated to produce a fused percept ("da"). This illusion raises two fundamental questions: first, given the incongruence between the auditory and visual syllables in the McGurk stimulus, why are they integrated; and second, why does the McGurk effect not occur for other, very similar syllables (e.g., AgaVba). We describe a simplified model of causal inference in multisensory speech perception (CIMS) that predicts the perception of arbitrary combinations of auditory and visual speech. We applied this model to behavioral data collected from 60 subjects perceiving both McGurk and non-McGurk incongruent speech stimuli. The CIMS model successfully predicted both the audiovisual integration observed for McGurk stimuli and the lack of integration observed for non-McGurk stimuli. An identical model without causal inference failed to accurately predict perception for either form of incongruent speech. The CIMS model uses causal inference to provide a computational framework for studying how the brain performs one of its most important tasks, integrating auditory and visual speech cues to allow us to communicate with others.