scholarly journals Late- but not early-onset blindness impairs the development of audio-haptic multisensory integration

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meike Scheller ◽  
Michael J. Proulx ◽  
Michelle de Haan ◽  
Annegret Dahlmann-Noor ◽  
Karin Petrini
Keyword(s):  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Multisensory Integration ◽  
Visual Experience ◽  
Low Vision ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Developmental Trajectory ◽  
List Type ◽  
Haptic Information ◽  
Estimation Model ◽  
Blind Individuals

AbstractIntegrating different senses to reduce sensory uncertainty and increase perceptual precision can have an important compensatory function for individuals with visual impairment and blindness. However, how visual impairment and blindness impact the development of optimal multisensory integration in the remaining senses is currently unknown. Here we first examined how audio-haptic integration develops and changes across the life span in 92 sighted (blindfolded) individuals between 7 to 70 years of age by using a child-friendly size discrimination task. We assessed whether audio-haptic performance resulted in a reduction of perceptual uncertainty compared to auditory-only and haptic-only performance as predicted by maximum-likelihood estimation model. We then tested how this ability develops in 28 children and adults with different levels of visual experience, focussing on low vision individuals, and blind individuals that lost their sight at different ages during development. Our results show that in sighted individuals, adult-like audio-haptic integration develops around 13-15 years of age, and remains stable until late adulthood. While early blind individuals, even at the youngest ages, integrate audio-haptic information in an optimal fashion, late blind individuals do not. Optimal integration in low vision individuals follows a similar developmental trajectory as that of sighted individuals. These findings demonstrate that visual experience is not necessary for optimal audio-haptic integration to emerge, but that consistency of sensory information across development is key for the functional outcome of optimal multisensory integration.Research HighlightsAudio-haptic integration follows principles of statistical optimality in sighted adults, remaining stable until at least 70 years of lifeNear-optimal audio-haptic integration develops at 13-15 years in sighted adolescentsBlindness within the first 8 years of life facilitates the development of optimal audio-haptic integration while blindness after 8 years impairs such developmentSensory consistency in early childhood is crucial for the development of optimal multisensory integration in the remaining senses

scholarly journals Vestibular modulation of multisensory integration during actual and vicarious tactile stimulation

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia Ponzo ◽  
Louise P. Kirsch ◽  
Aikaterini Fotopoulou ◽  
Paul M. Jenkinson
Keyword(s):  
Multisensory Integration ◽  
Tactile Stimulation ◽  
Sensory Modality ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Vestibular Stimulation ◽  
List Type ◽  
Rubber Hand ◽  
Vision Experiment ◽  
The Right ◽  
Proprioceptive Drift

AbstractBackgroundThe vestibular system has been shown to contribute to multisensory integration by balancing conflictual sensory information. It remains unclear whether such modulation of exteroceptive (e.g. vision), proprioceptive and interoceptive (e.g. affective touch) sensory sources is influenced by epistemically different aspects of tactile stimulation (i.e. felt from within vs seen, vicarious touch).ObjectiveWe aimed to i) replicate previous findings regarding the effects of galvanic stimulation of the right vestibular network (i.e. LGVS) in multisensory integration and ii) examine vestibular contributions to multisensory integration when touch is felt but not seen (and vice-versa).MethodDuring artificial vestibular stimulation (LGVS, RGVS and Sham), healthy participants (N=36, Experiment 1; N=37, Experiment 2) looked at a rubber hand while either their own unseen hand or the rubber hand were touched by affective or neutral touch.ResultsWe found that i) LGVS led to enhancement of vision over proprioception during visual only conditions (replicating our previous findings), and ii) LGVS (vs Sham) favoured proprioception over vision when touch was felt (Experiment 1), with the opposite results when touch was vicariously perceived via vision (Experiment 2), and with no difference between affective and neutral touch.ConclusionsWe showed how vestibular signals modulate the weight of each sensory modality according to the context in which they are perceived and that such modulation extends to different aspects of tactile stimulation: felt and seen touch are differentially balanced in multisensory integration according to their epistemic relevance.HighlightsLGVS increased proprioceptive drift during vision of a rubber handTouch on participant’s hand decreased proprioceptive drift during LGVSVicarious touch on the Rubber Hand increased proprioceptive drift during LGVSVestibular signals differently balance sensory sources in multisensory integration

Effects of a Disability Simulation Activity on the Achievement, Efficacy, Attitudes, and Interests of Preservice Professionals

2021 ◽  
pp. 0145482X2110466
Author(s):  
Alexandra Hollo ◽  
Carla B. Brigandi ◽  
Casey M. Jelsema ◽  
Mingming Shi
Keyword(s):  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Skill Acquisition ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Low Vision ◽  
Visual Impairments ◽  
Cluster Randomized Trial ◽  
Single Class ◽  
Related Services ◽  
Disability Simulation ◽  
Experimental Group

Introduction: Disability simulation activities are commonly used for various purposes in higher education; however, instructors may be unaware of controversies regarding their use. The purpose of this research was to assess the effects of an activity using low vision goggles to simulate visual impairment in the context of an undergraduate course in special education. We highlight the need for instructors to consider the appropriateness of disability simulation activities given possible countertherapeutic effects. Methods: In this cluster-randomized trial, 11 classes (248 students) of preservice education and related services professionals were randomized to experimental (lecture + simulation) or control (lecture only) conditions. During a single class session, all students received basic information about visual impairment and watched a video on being a human guide. Students in the experimental group then practiced guiding and being guided while wearing low vision goggles. At the end of class, students completed three Likert-type surveys and later completed a quiz using publisher-developed materials. Results: Results showed individuals in the experimental group reported higher levels of interest and enjoyment than those in the control condition; however, there were no statistically significant differences in attitudes toward persons with visual impairments, confidence or self-efficacy for working with students with visual impairments, content knowledge, or perceptions of activity usefulness. Discussion: Findings of positive engagement in the absence of harmful effects indicate that disability simulation activities should be neither promoted nor denigrated wholesale; instead, instructors must weigh carefully potential benefits and drawbacks. Discussion includes considerations for professional education programs in using such simulations to promote skill acquisition via positive and respectful learning experiences. Implications for practitioners: Instructors who use disability simulation activities are encouraged to consider whether to discontinue this practice or incorporate principles recommended by the disability community and assess outcomes to ensure they are not perpetuating harmful stereotypes.

scholarly journals Implications of a Remote Study of Children With Cerebral Visual Impairment for Conducting Virtual Pediatric Eye Care Research: Virtual Assessment Is Possible for Children With CVI

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reem Almagati ◽  
Barry S. Kran
Keyword(s):  
Visual Acuity ◽  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Low Vision ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Typically Developing Children ◽  
Parent Questionnaire ◽  
Low Vision Clinic ◽  
Age Range ◽  
Vision Function ◽  
E Mail

The Pandemic of 2020 impacted conducting in-person research. Our proposed project already had an asynchronous online component but was later morphed to add a synchronous online component, thereby eliminating the need for in-person assessment. The project compares the results of various tests between a group of children with Cerebral Visual Impairments (CVI) (N = 4) and an age-matched sample of children without CVI (N = 3) from a pediatric low vision clinic. This model was trialed with a small convenient sample of typically developing children in the same age range (N = 4). Given the positive feedback, recruitment for the larger study was done via encrypted e-mail rather than through traditional mailing. The asynchronous components included recruitment, pre-assessment information, the Flemish CVI questionnaire, Vineland-3 comprehensive parent questionnaire for assessment of age equivalent, and vision function tests, such as contrast sensitivity. The synchronous components were administered via Zoom telehealth provided by necoeyecare.org and included assessment of visual acuity via the Freiburg Visual Acuity and Contrast Test (FrACT) electronic software and assessment of visual perceptual batteries via the Children’s Visual Impairment Test for developmental ages 3–6-years (CVIT 3–6). Our virtual testing protocol was successful in the seven participants tested. This paper reviews and critiques the model that we utilized and discusses ways in which this model can be improved. Aside from public health considerations during the pandemic, this approach is more convenient for many families. In a broader perspective, this approach can be scaled for larger N studies of rare conditions, such as CVI without being confined by proximity to the researcher.

scholarly journals Shared understanding of color among congenitally blind and sighted adults

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judy Sein Kim ◽  
Brianna Aheimer ◽  
Veronica Montane Manrara ◽  
Marina Bedny
Keyword(s):  
Visual Experience ◽  
Natural Kinds ◽  
Shared Understanding ◽  
Linguistic Communication ◽  
Causal Explanations ◽  
Stop Sign ◽  
Congenitally Blind ◽  
Novel Objects ◽  
Blind Individuals

Empiricist philosophers such as Locke famously argued that people born blind could only acquire shallow, fragmented facts about color. Contrary to this intuition, we report that blind and sighted people share an in-depth understanding of color, despite disagreeing about arbitrary color facts. Relative to the sighted, blind individuals are less likely to generate ‘yellow’ for banana and ‘red’ for stop-sign. However, blind and sighted adults are equally likely to infer that two bananas (natural kinds) and two stop-signs (artifacts with functional colors) are more likely to have the same color than two cars (artifacts with non-functional colors), make similar inferences about novel objects’ colors, and provide similar causal explanations. We argue that people develop inferentially-rich and intuitive “theories” of color regardless of visual experience. Linguistic communication is more effective at aligning people’s theories than their knowledge of verbal facts.

scholarly journals Selective enhancement of object representations through multisensory integration

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Tovar ◽  
Micah M. Murray ◽  
Mark T. Wallace
Keyword(s):  
Multisensory Integration ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Stimulus Presentation ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Object Representations ◽  
The Individual ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Living Objects ◽  
Selective Enhancement ◽  
The Brain

AbstractObjects are the fundamental building blocks of how we create a representation of the external world. One major distinction amongst objects is between those that are animate versus inanimate. Many objects are specified by more than a single sense, yet the nature by which multisensory objects are represented by the brain remains poorly understood. Using representational similarity analysis of human EEG signals, we show enhanced encoding of audiovisual objects when compared to their corresponding visual and auditory objects. Surprisingly, we discovered the often-found processing advantages for animate objects was not evident in a multisensory context due to greater neural enhancement of inanimate objects—the more weakly encoded objects under unisensory conditions. Further analysis showed that the selective enhancement of inanimate audiovisual objects corresponded with an increase in shared representations across brain areas, suggesting that neural enhancement was mediated by multisensory integration. Moreover, a distance-to-bound analysis provided critical links between neural findings and behavior. Improvements in neural decoding at the individual exemplar level for audiovisual inanimate objects predicted reaction time differences between multisensory and unisensory presentations during a go/no-go animate categorization task. Interestingly, links between neural activity and behavioral measures were most prominent 100 to 200ms and 350 to 500ms after stimulus presentation, corresponding to time periods associated with sensory evidence accumulation and decision-making, respectively. Collectively, these findings provide key insights into a fundamental process the brain uses to maximize information it captures across sensory systems to perform object recognition.Significance StatementOur world is filled with an ever-changing milieu of sensory information that we are able to seamlessly transform into meaningful perceptual experience. We accomplish this feat by combining different features from our senses to construct objects. However, despite the fact that our senses do not work in isolation but rather in concert with each other, little is known about how the brain combines the senses together to form object representations. Here, we used EEG and machine learning to study how the brain processes auditory, visual, and audiovisual objects. Surprisingly, we found that non-living objects, the objects which were more difficult to process with one sense alone, benefited the most from engaging multiple senses.

Vision in context

2014 ◽  
pp. 903-920
Author(s):  
Alastair K.O. Denniston ◽  
Philip I. Murray
Keyword(s):  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Low Vision ◽  
Professional Standards ◽  
Support Strategies ◽  
The Impact

‘Vision in context’ helps the reader to address the whole patient, to consider the impact of visual impairment on their life and to think more broadly about how they may be supported. It includes issues around the assessment of low vision, registration, support strategies, driving standards and professional standards.

Luminance Contrast of Accessible Tactile Indicators for People With Visual Impairment

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 4-15
Author(s):  
Aldyfra Luhulima Lukman ◽  
Catherine Bridge ◽  
Stephen John Dain ◽  
Mei-Ying Boon
Keyword(s):  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Vision Loss ◽  
Low Vision ◽  
Visual Impairments ◽  
Ground Surface ◽  
Luminance Contrast ◽  
Safety Standard

Australia is one of only two known countries with a safety standard specifying levels of contrast required to provide accessible environments for people with visual impairment. However, these requirements were not developed based on empirical research involving people with vision loss. We investigated whether the level of luminance contrast in Australian accessibility standards, 30%, is adequate for people with visual impairments to detect and identify discrete tactile ground surface indicators over a range of contrasts with the background flooring before contact. We found that the 30% luminance contrast is adequate for people with low vision, although they preferred higher contrast.

Low vision rehabilitation services: Perceived barriers and facilitators to access for older adults with visual impairment

2019 ◽  
Vol 82 (8) ◽  
pp. 466-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Kaldenberg
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Visual Impairment ◽  
Low Vision ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Perceived Barriers ◽  
Barriers And Facilitators ◽  
Rehabilitation Services ◽  
Coordinated Care ◽  
Low Vision Rehabilitation ◽  
Vision Rehabilitation

Introduction The aim of this study is to describe the barriers and facilitators to accessing low vision rehabilitation services in Massachusetts, USA, and determine differences between communities with and without existing low vision rehabilitation services for older adults with visual impairment. Method A sample of older adults with visual impairment ( n = 64) from both communities participated in the study. Barriers and facilitators to accessing the services were explored through focus groups and prioritized during one-on-one interviews, which allowed for comparison between communities. Results Twelve themes were identified: (a) bureaucracy and funding (public policy); (b) public awareness and stigma (community); (c) services available, knowledge of providers, care coordination, transportation (organizational); (d) people and lack of awareness of family/friends (interpersonal); and (e) income, health status, knowledge, self-advocacy, and time (individual). Conclusion This study provides insights into the perceived barriers and facilitators of accessing low vision rehabilitation services for older adults with vision impairment living in Massachusetts, USA. Key findings indicate the need for improved awareness of these services at the provider and consumer level, coordinated care, increased education on the efficacy of occupational therapy low vision rehabilitation services, client-centered care provided when the client is ready to accept services, and service provision that addresses sociodemographic factors.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document