scholarly journals Individual differences in the influence of mental imagery on conscious perception

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Dijkstra ◽  
M. Hinne ◽  
S.E. Bosch ◽  
M.A.J. van Gerven
Keyword(s):  
Mental Imagery ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Sensory Input ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Conscious Perception ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Response Curves ◽  
Bayesian Hierarchical ◽  
Sensory Evidence ◽  
As Effects

AbstractMental imagery and visual perception rely on similar neural mechanisms, but the function of this overlap remains unclear. One idea is that imagery can influence perception. Previous research has shown that imagining a stimulus prior to binocular presentation of rivalling stimuli increases the chance of perceiving the imagined stimulus. In this study we investigated how this effect interacts with bottom-up sensory input by comparing psychometric response curves for congruent and incongruent imagery in humans. A Bayesian hierarchical model was used, allowing us to simultaneously study group-level effects as well as effects for individual participants. We found strong effects of both imagery as well as its interaction with sensory evidence within individual participants. However, the direction of these effects were highly variable between individuals, leading to weak effects at the group level. This highlights the heterogeneity of conscious perception and emphasizes the need for individualized investigation of such complex cognitive processes.

scholarly journals Between-subject variability in the influence of mental imagery on conscious perception

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Dijkstra ◽  
M. Hinne ◽  
S. E. Bosch ◽  
M. A. J. van Gerven
Keyword(s):  
Mental Imagery ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Conscious Perception ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Response Curves ◽  
Bayesian Hierarchical ◽  
Subject Variability ◽  
Sensory Evidence ◽  
As Effects

Abstract Mental imagery and visual perception rely on similar neural mechanisms, but the function of this overlap remains unclear. One idea is that imagery can influence perception. Previous research has shown that imagining a stimulus prior to binocular presentation of rivalling stimuli increases the chance of perceiving the imagined stimulus. In this study we investigated how this effect interacts with bottom-up sensory input by comparing psychometric response curves for congruent and incongruent imagery in humans. A Bayesian hierarchical model was used, allowing us to simultaneously study group-level effects as well as effects for individual participants. We found strong effects of both imagery as well as its interaction with sensory evidence within individual participants. However, the direction of these effects were highly variable between individuals, leading to weak effects at the group level. This highlights the heterogeneity of conscious perception and emphasizes the need for individualized investigation of such complex cognitive processes.

scholarly journals Deimatism: a neglected component of antipredator defence

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 20160936 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate D. L. Umbers ◽  
Sebastiano De Bona ◽  
Thomas E. White ◽  
Jussi Lehtonen ◽  
Johanna Mappes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Input ◽  
Sudden Change ◽  
Fundamental Difference ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Survival Advantage ◽  
Antipredator Defence

Deimatic or ‘startle’ displays cause a receiver to recoil reflexively in response to a sudden change in sensory input. Deimatism is sometimes implicitly treated as a form of aposematism (unprofitability associated with a signal). However, the fundamental difference is, in order to provide protection, deimatism does not require a predator to have any learned or innate aversion. Instead, deimatism can confer a survival advantage by exploiting existing neural mechanisms in a way that releases a reflexive response in the predator. We discuss the differences among deimatism, aposematism, and forms of mimicry, and their ecological and evolutionary implications. We highlight outstanding questions critical to progress in understanding deimatism.

Translation teams as cognitive systems

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-327
Author(s):  
Richard Pleijel
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Cognitive Process ◽  
Time Perspective ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Translation Studies ◽  
Cognitive Systems ◽  
Group Level ◽  
Cognitive Artifacts ◽  
Archival Material

Abstract This paper aims to bring research on different forms of group-level cognition into conversation with Cognitive Translation Studies (CTS), the focal point of the paper being cognitive processes in translation teams. It is argued that an analysis of cognition in translation teams, which exhibit the properties of a cognitive system, needs to be placed on group-level. A case study of a team, translating the Hebrew Bible Book of Psalms into Swedish in the 1980’s, is presented. The empirical base for the case study consists of archival material in the form of draft translations and paratexts. The methodological question is thus raised whether, and if so in what way, cognitive processes may be analyzed retrospectively, and not only from a real time perspective. By treating the archival material as cognitive artifacts which have constituted an integral part of the team’s cognitive process, the question is tentatively answered in a favourable way. This, it is finally argued, opens up interesting possibilities for joining CTS with translator archives research, Genetic Translation Studies (GTS), and cognitive archeology.

scholarly journals Light, Alertness, and Alerting Effects of White Light: A Literature Overview

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 589-601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renske Lok ◽  
Karin C. H. J. Smolders ◽  
Domien G. M. Beersma ◽  
Yvonne A. W. de Kort
Keyword(s):  
White Light ◽  
Light Exposure ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Experimental Paradigm ◽  
Research Paradigms ◽  
Lighting Conditions ◽  
Literature Overview ◽  
Dose Dependent ◽  
As Effects

Light is known to elicit non–image-forming responses, such as effects on alertness. This has been reported especially during light exposure at night. Nighttime results might not be translatable to the day. This article aims to provide an overview of (1) neural mechanisms regulating alertness, (2) ways of measuring and quantifying alertness, and (3) the current literature specifically regarding effects of different intensities of white light on various measures and correlates of alertness during the daytime. In general, the present literature provides inconclusive results on alerting effects of the intensity of white light during daytime, particularly for objective measures and correlates of alertness. However, the various research paradigms employed in earlier studies differed substantially, and most studies tested only a limited set of lighting conditions. Therefore, the alerting potential of exposure to more intense white light should be investigated in a systematic, dose-dependent manner with multiple correlates of alertness and within one experimental paradigm over the course of day.

Difficult Turned Easy: Suggestion Renders a Challenging Visual Task Simple

2020 ◽  
pp. 095679762095485
Author(s):  
Mathieu Landry ◽  
Jason Da Silva Castanheira ◽  
Jérôme Sackur ◽  
Amir Raz
Keyword(s):  
Mental Imagery ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Perceptual Experience ◽  
Sensory Input ◽  
Moving Objects ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Perceptual Information ◽  
Hypnotic Suggestion ◽  
Adult Participants ◽  
The Brain

Suggestions can cause some individuals to miss or disregard existing visual stimuli, but can they infuse sensory input with nonexistent information? Although several prominent theories of hypnotic suggestion propose that mental imagery can change our perceptual experience, data to support this stance remain sparse. The present study addressed this lacuna, showing how suggesting the presence of physically absent, yet critical, visual information transforms an otherwise difficult task into an easy one. Here, we show how adult participants who are highly susceptible to hypnotic suggestion successfully hallucinated visual occluders on top of moving objects. Our findings support the idea that, at least in some people, suggestions can add perceptual information to sensory input. This observation adds meaningful weight to theoretical, clinical, and applied aspects of the brain and psychological sciences.

Continuous Tonic Spike Activity in Spider Warm Cells in the Absence of Sensory Input

2006 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 989-997 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Gingl ◽  
H. Tichy
Keyword(s):  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Sensory Input ◽  
Discharge Rate ◽  
Rate Of Change ◽  
Intrinsic Properties ◽  
Response Curves ◽  
Temperature Changes ◽  
Different Temperatures ◽  
Low Amplitude ◽  
The Relationship

The warm cells of the spider tarsal organ respond very sensitively to low-amplitude changes in temperature and discharge continuously as the rate of change in temperature reaches zero. To test whether the continuous tonic discharge remains without sensory input, we blocked the warm cell's receptive region by Epoxy glue. The activity continued in this situation, but its dependence on temperature changes was strongly reduced. We interpret this to mean that the warm cells exhibit specific intrinsic properties that underlie the generation of the tonic discharge. Experiments with electrical stimulation confirmed the observation that the warm cells persist in activity without an external drive. In warm cells with blocked receptive region, the response curves describing the relationship between the tonic discharge and the level of depolarization is the same for different temperatures. In warm cells with intact receptive region, the curves are shifted upward with rising temperature, as if the injected current is simply added to the receptor current. This indicates a modulating effect of the receptor current on the tonic discharge. Stimulation causes a change in the tonic discharge rate and thereby enables individual warm cells to signal the direction in addition to the magnitude of temperature changes.

Rethinking Food Reward

2020 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan E. de Araujo ◽  
Mark Schatzker ◽  
Dana M. Small
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Food Reward ◽  
Food Reinforcement ◽  
Conscious Perception ◽  
Neural Pathways ◽  
Sensory Receptors ◽  
Flavor Perception ◽  
Dietary Choices ◽  
Brain Reward ◽  
Reward Pathways

The conscious perception of the hedonic sensory properties of caloric foods is commonly believed to guide our dietary choices. Current and traditional models implicate the consciously perceived hedonic qualities of food as driving overeating, whereas subliminal signals arising from the gut would curb our uncontrolled desire for calories. Here we review recent animal and human studies that support a markedly different model for food reward. These findings reveal in particular the existence of subcortical body-to-brain neural pathways linking gastrointestinal nutrient sensors to the brain's reward regions. Unexpectedly, consciously perceptible hedonic qualities appear to play a less relevant, and mostly transient, role in food reinforcement. In this model, gut-brain reward pathways bypass cranial taste and aroma sensory receptors and the cortical networks that give rise to flavor perception. They instead reinforce behaviors independently of the cognitive processes that support overt insights into the nature of our dietary decisions.

Comparative Cognition: Toward a General Understanding of Cognition in Behavior

1993 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 156-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward A. Wasserman
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Comparative Cognition ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Comparative Perspective ◽  
The Past ◽  
Nonhuman Animals ◽  
The Future

Human and nonhuman animals alike must adjust to complex and ever-changing circumstances if they are to survive and reproduce. Advanced neural mechanisms enable animals to remember the past, to act in the present, and to plan for the future. Exploring the species generality of cognitive processes in behavior is central to the field of comparative cognition. A comparative perspective may not only broaden but also deepen our understanding of cognition—both in human and in nonhuman animals.

scholarly journals The Mind's Eye Mapped Onto the Brain's Matter

2000 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 50-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marlene Behrmann
Keyword(s):  
Mental Imagery ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Considerable Variability ◽  
Visual Mental Imagery ◽  
Neural Substrate ◽  
Within Subjects ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Mind's Eye ◽  
Degree Of Overlap

Research on visual mental imagery has been fueled recently by the development of new behavioral and neuroscientific techniques. This review focuses on two major topics in light of these developments. The first concerns the extent to which visual mental imagery and visual perception share common psychological and neural mechanisms; although the research findings largely support convergence between these two processes, there are data that qualify the degree of overlap between them. The second issue involves the neural substrate mediating the process of imagery generation. The data suggest a slight left-hemisphere advantage for this process, although there is considerable variability across and within subjects. There also remain many unanswered questions in this field, including what the relationship is between imagery and working memory and what representational differences, if any, exist between imagery and perception.

scholarly journals Accumulation of sensory evidence is impaired in Parkinson’s disease with visual hallucinations

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire O’Callaghan ◽  
Julie M. Hall ◽  
Alessandro Tomassini ◽  
Alana J. Muller ◽  
Ishan C. Walpola ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Sensory Processing ◽  
Sensory Input ◽  
Decision Time ◽  
Visual Hallucinations ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Evidence Accumulation ◽  
Sensory Evidence ◽  
Response Output

AbstractModels of hallucinations across disorders emphasise an imbalance between sensory input and top-down influences over perception. However, the psychological and mechanistic correlates of this imbalance remain underspecified. Visual hallucinations in Parkinson’s disease (PD) are associated with impairments in lower level visual processes and attention, accompanied by over activity and connectivity in higher-order association brain networks. PD therefore provides an attractive framework to explore the relative contributions of bottom-up versus top-down disturbances in hallucinations. Here, we characterised sensory processing in PD patients with and without visual hallucinations, and in healthy controls, by fitting a hierarchical drift diffusion model (hDDM) to an attentional task. The hDDM uses Bayesian estimates to decompose reaction time and response output into parameters reflecting drift rates of evidence accumulation, decision thresholds and non-decision time. We observed slower drift rates in PD patients with hallucinations, which were insensitive to changes in task demand. In contrast, wider decision boundaries and shorter non-decision times relative to controls were found in PD regardless of hallucinator status. Inefficient and less flexible sensory evidence accumulation emerge as unique features of PD hallucinators. We integrate these results with current models of hallucinations, suggesting that slow and inefficient sensory input in PD is less informative, and may therefore be down-weighted leading to an over reliance on top-down influences. Our findings provide a novel computational framework to better specify the impairments in dynamic sensory processing that are a risk factor for visual hallucinations.

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