Effect of a Central Fixation Light on Auditory Spatial Responses in Area LIP

2004 ◽  
Vol 91 (6) ◽  
pp. 2929-2933 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon W. Gifford ◽  
Yale E. Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Stimulus ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Stimulus Location ◽  
Auditory Stimuli ◽  
Fixation Light ◽  
Behavioral Training ◽  
Lateral Intraparietal Area ◽  
Auditory Responses ◽  
Central Fixation

A recent report demonstrated that, while fixating a central light, lateral intraparietal area (LIP) neurons are not modulated by the location of auditory stimuli until monkeys learn to saccade to the location of an auditory stimulus. This finding suggests that auditory spatial responses in area LIP are dependent on auditory-saccadic training. We found that, in monkeys that had not been trained to make behavioral responses to auditory stimuli, LIP neurons are modulated by auditory-stimulus location when a central light is not present in the environment. These results indicate that LIP auditory responses are not wholly dependent on behavioral training with auditory stimuli.

Responses to Auditory Stimuli in Macaque Lateral Intraparietal Area I. Effects of Training

1999 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 330-342 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Grunewald ◽  
Jennifer F. Linden ◽  
Richard A. Andersen
Keyword(s):  
Information Theory ◽  
Auditory Stimulus ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Stimulus Location ◽  
Auditory Task ◽  
Auditory Stimuli ◽  
Theory Analysis ◽  
Lateral Intraparietal Area ◽  
Before And After

The lateral intraparietal area (LIP) of macaques has been considered unresponsive to auditory stimulation. Recent reports, however, indicate that neurons in this area respond to auditory stimuli in the context of an auditory-saccade task. Is this difference in auditory responsiveness of LIP due to auditory-saccade training? To address this issue, LIP responses in two monkeys were recorded at two different times: before and after auditory-saccade training. Before auditory-saccade training, the animals had never been trained on any auditory task, but had been trained on visual tasks. In both sets of experiments, activity of LIP neurons was recorded while auditory and visual stimuli were presented and the animals were fixating. Before training, 172 LIP neurons were recorded. Among these, the number of cells responding to auditory stimuli did not reach significance, whereas about one-half of the cells responded to visual stimuli. An information theory analysis confirmed that no information about auditory stimulus location was available in LIP neurons in the experiments before training. After training, activity from 160 cells was recorded. These experiments showed that 12% of cells in area LIP responded to auditory stimuli, whereas the proportion of cells responding to visual stimuli remained about the same as before training. The information theory analysis confirmed that, after training, information about auditory stimulus location was available in LIP neurons. Auditory-saccade training therefore generated responsiveness to auditory stimuli de novo in LIP neurons. Thus some LIP cells become active for auditory stimuli in a passive fixation task, once the animals have learned that these stimuli are important for oculomotor behavior.

Responses to Auditory Stimuli in Macaque Lateral Intraparietal Area II. Behavioral Modulation

1999 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 343-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer F. Linden ◽  
Alexander Grunewald ◽  
Richard A. Andersen
Keyword(s):  
Visual Memory ◽  
Posterior Parietal Cortex ◽  
Auditory Stimuli ◽  
Visual Responses ◽  
Lateral Intraparietal Area ◽  
Oculomotor Behavior ◽  
Auditory Responses ◽  
Posterior Parietal ◽  
Saccade Task ◽  
Sensory Responses

The lateral intraparietal area (LIP), a region of posterior parietal cortex, was once thought to be unresponsive to auditory stimulation. However, recent reports have indicated that neurons in area LIP respond to auditory stimuli during an auditory-saccade task. To what extent are auditory responses in area LIP dependent on the performance of an auditory-saccade task? To address this question, recordings were made from 160 LIP neurons in two monkeys while the animals performed auditory and visual memory-saccade and fixation tasks. Responses to auditory stimuli were significantly stronger during the memory-saccade task than during the fixation task, whereas responses to visual stimuli were not. Moreover, neurons responsive to auditory stimuli tended also to be visually responsive and to exhibit delay or saccade activity in the memory-saccade task. These results indicate that, in general, auditory responses in area LIP are modulated by behavioral context, are associated with visual responses, and are predictive of delay or saccade activity. Responses to auditory stimuli in area LIP may therefore be best interpreted as supramodal responses, and similar in nature to the delay activity, rather than as modality-specific sensory responses. The apparent link between auditory activity and oculomotor behavior suggests that the behavioral modulation of responses to auditory stimuli in area LIP reflects the selection of auditory stimuli as targets for eye movements.

Reliability of an Attention-Assessing Technique

1984 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 212-214
Author(s):  
H. W. Craver
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Stimulus ◽  
Visual Stimulus ◽  
Experimental Situation ◽  
Auditory Stimuli ◽  
Self Monitoring ◽  
Monitoring Techniques ◽  
Self Reports

The reliability of an attention-focusing technique was assessed for 12 subjects over 4 sessions. Subjects' thought intrusions were counted while they were focusing on either visual or auditory stimuli. Digital temperatures were recorded and an experimental-situation questionnaire was administered. This technique provides extremely reliable self-reports across the sessions. The total number of intrusions was higher for the auditory stimulus than for the visual stimulus. The study's relevance to assessing self-monitoring techniques such as meditation is discussed.

Motor intention activity in the macaque's lateral intraparietal area. I. Dissociation of motor plan from sensory memory

1996 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 1439-1456 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Mazzoni ◽  
R. M. Bracewell ◽  
S. Barash ◽  
R. A. Andersen
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Visual Stimulus ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Saccadic Eye Movements ◽  
Stimulus Location ◽  
Sensory Memory ◽  
Lateral Intraparietal Area ◽  
Preferred Direction ◽  
Motor Plan ◽  
Stimulation Of

1. The lateral intraparietal area (area LIP) of the monkey's posterior parietal cortex (PPC) contains neurons that are active during saccadic eye movements. These neurons' activity includes visual and saccade-related components. These responses are spatially tuned and the location of a neuron's visual receptive field (RF) relative to the fovea generally overlaps its preferred saccade amplitude and direction (i.e., its motor field, MF). When a delay is imposed between the presentation of a visual stimulus and a saccade made to its location (memory saccade task), many LIP neurons maintain elevated activity during the delay (memory activity, M), which appears to encode the metrics of the next intended saccadic eye movements. Recent studies have alternatively suggested that LIP neurons encode the locations of visual stimuli regardless of where the animal intends to look. We examined whether the M activity of LIP neurons specifically encodes movement intention or the locations of recent visual stimuli, or a combination of both. In the accompanying study, we investigated whether the intended-movement activity reflects changes in motor plan. 2. We trained monkeys (Macaca mulatta) to memorize the locations of two visual stimuli and plan a sequence of two saccades, one to each remembered target, as we recorded the activity of single LIP neurons. Two targets were flashed briefly while the monkey maintained fixation; after a delay the fixation point was extinguished, and the monkey made two saccades in sequence to each target's remembered location, in the order in which the targets were presented. This "delayed double saccade" (DDS) paradigm allowed us to dissociate the location of visual stimulation from the direction of the planned saccade and thus distinguish neuronal activity related to the target's location from activity related to the saccade plan. By imposing a delay, we eliminated the confounding effect of any phasic responses coincident with the appearance of the stimulus and with the saccade. 3. We arranged the two visual stimuli so that in one set of conditions at least the first one was in the neuron's visual RF, and thus the first saccade was in the neuron's motor field (MF). M activity should be high in these conditions according to both the sensory memory and motor plan hypotheses. In another set of conditions, the second stimulus appeared in the RF but the first one was presented outside the RF, instructing the monkey to plan the first saccade away from the neuron's MF. If the M activity encodes the motor plan, it should be low in these conditions, reflecting the plan for the first saccade (away from the MF). If it is a sensory trace of the stimulus' location, it should be high, reflecting stimulation of the RF by the second target. 4. We tested 49 LIP neurons (in 3 hemispheres of 2 monkeys) with M activity on the DDS task. Of these, 38 (77%) had M activity related to the next intended saccade. They were active in the delay period, as expected, if the first saccade was in their preferred direction. They were less active or silent if the next saccade was not in their preferred direction, even when the second stimulus appeared in their RF. 5. The M activity of 8 (16%) of the remaining neurons specifically encoded the location of the most recent visual stimulus. Their firing rate during the delay reflected stimulation of the RF independently of the saccade being planned. The remaining 3 neurons had M activity that did not consistently encode either the next saccade or the stimulus' location. 6. We also recorded the activity of a subset of neurons (n = 38) in a condition in which no stimulus appeared in a neuron's RF, but the second saccade was in the neuron's MF. In this case the majority of neurons tested (23/38, 60%) became active in the period between the first and second saccade, even if neither stimulus had appeared in their RF. Moreover, this activity appeared only after the first saccade had started in all but two of

Behavioral Auditory Assessment of Young Infants

2000 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Candace Bourland Hicks ◽  
Anne Marie Tharpe ◽  
Daniel H. Ashmead
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Auditory Stimuli ◽  
Behavioral Threshold ◽  
Auditory Thresholds ◽  
Young Infants ◽  
Behavioral Techniques ◽  
Behavioral Responsiveness ◽  
Forced Choice Task ◽  
Age Range

The determination of auditory thresholds by means of behavioral techniques in young infants can be difficult. This could be the result of limitations in methodology, a lack of observable auditory responsiveness, or both. In the current study, 2- and 4-month old infants were tested under enhanced conditions for obtaining behavioral responses (i.e., salient auditory stimuli, reduced visual distractions, reinforced correct responses). A two-interval, forced-choice task with four intensity levels was used. Although a behavioral threshold was obtained for the 4-month-olds, threshold determination for the 2-month-olds remained elusive. In light of the current findings and previous studies of visual acuity of infants, these results suggest a lack of behavioral responsiveness to auditory stimuli for the younger infants rather than methodological limitations. With infants in the 2-month-old age range, clinical audiologists should expect few behavioral responses to auditory stimuli at intensity levels below those that elicit startle responses.

scholarly journals Comparative analysis of reactions to visual and auditory stimuli in research on EEG evoked potentials

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 172-177
Author(s):  
Łukasz Tyburcy ◽  
Małgorzata Plechawska-Wójcik
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Evoked Potentials ◽  
Auditory Stimulus ◽  
Visual Stimulus ◽  
Visual Stimuli ◽  
Reaction Times ◽  
Auditory Stimuli

The paper describes results of comparison of reactions times to visual and auditory stimuli using EEG evoked potentials. Two experiments were used to applied. The first one explored reaction times to visual stimulus and the second one to auditory stimulus. After conducting an analysis of data, received results enable determining that visual stimuli evoke faster reactions than auditory stimuli.

Effects of Alcohol on Peripheral Vision as a Function of Attention

1974 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 174-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herbert Moskowitz ◽  
Satanand Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Steady State ◽  
Peripheral Vision ◽  
Performance Decrement ◽  
Fixation Light ◽  
Peripheral Sensory ◽  
Alcohol Treatments ◽  
Sensory Mechanisms ◽  
Central Fixation

Twelve males were tested under a control and two alcohol treatments in a perimeter apparatus used for testing peripheral vision. They were required to fixate either on a steady-state central fixation light and detect peripheral lights, or to count blinks produced by the cessations of the fixation light and to detect peripheral lights. Alcohol produced an impairment of peripheral vision only under conditions where the central fixation light blinked and thus required information processing. No performance decrement occurred when the central light did not blink. The results suggest that alcohol interferes with central information processing rather than peripheral sensory mechanisms.

Summation: Further Assessment of a Configural Theory

2002 ◽  
Vol 55 (1b) ◽  
pp. 61-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M. Pearce ◽  
David N. George ◽  
Aydan Aydin
Keyword(s):  
Pavlovian Conditioning ◽  
Auditory Stimulus ◽  
Visual Stimulus ◽  
Auditory Stimuli ◽  
Configural Theory

Rats received Pavlovian conditioning in which food was signalled by a visual stimulus, A+, an auditory stimulus, B+, and a compound composed of different visual and auditory stimuli, CD+. Test trials were then given with the compound AB. Experiments 1 and 2A revealed stronger responding during AB than during CD. In Experiment 2B, there was no evidence of a summation of responding during AB when A+ B+ training was conducted in the absence of CD+ trials. A further failure to observe abnormally strong responding during ABwas found in Experiment 3 for which the training trials with A+ B+ CD+ were accompanied by trials in which C and D were separately paired with food. The results are explained in terms of a configural theory of conditioning, which assumes that responding during a compound is determined by generalization from its components, as well as from other compounds to which it is similar.

Anticipation and Stuttering: A Pupillographic Study

1969 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 833-839 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth C. Gray ◽  
Dean E. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Stimulus ◽  
Pupil Size ◽  
Free Association ◽  
Pupil Dilation ◽  
Auditory Stimuli ◽  
Physiological Changes ◽  
Single Word ◽  
Pupil Response ◽  
Association Response ◽  
Pupil Reaction

Changes in pupil size were studied in 24 stuttering and 30 nonstuttering adults during a 4-sec period following the presentation of single-word auditory stimuli and before a signal to respond. Subjects were required first to respond with a single word which was the opposite of the word presented and later to give a one-word free-association response to words of both emotional and neutral connotations. Pupil size was measured also while subjects merely listened to the word stimuli. The process of attending to an auditory stimulus was associated with pupil dilation. Pupil response was significantly greater (in absolute diameter and in dilation) when subjects were required to give an oral response to the stimulus than when they simply listened to the stimulus. Furthermore, the extent of the pupil reaction was related to the nature of the stimulus presented. Such differences in arousal did not occur to any greater degree in stutterers than in nonstutterers. Moreover, among stutterers, measures of pupil size were not predictive of stuttering. Thus, the cues which the stutterer associates with the anticipation of stuttering do not appear to be reflected in the physiological changes associated with pupillary movement.

Bright light, negative air ions and auditory stimuli produce rapid mood changes in a student population: a placebo-controlled study

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (9) ◽  
pp. 1253-1263 ◽  
Author(s):  
NAMNI GOEL ◽  
GLENDA R. ETWAROO
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Auditory Stimulus ◽  
Bright Light ◽  
Negative Ions ◽  
High Density ◽  
Medium Effect ◽  
Controlled Study ◽  
Auditory Stimuli ◽  
Low Density ◽  
Mood Changes

Background. Bright light and high-density negative air ion exposure are efficacious for winter and non-seasonal depression compared with a low-density negative ion placebo. Similarly, auditory stimuli improve mood in clinical populations. This study compared the short-term effects of bright light, an auditory stimulus, and high- and low-density negative ions on mood and alertness in mildly depressed and non-depressed adults.Method. One hundred and eighteen subjects, 69 women and 49 men (mean age±S.D., 19·4±1·7 years), participated once across the year. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: bright light (10000 lux; n=29), auditory stimuli (60 dB; n=30), or high-density (4·5×1014 ions/s flow rate; n=29) or low-density (1·7×1011 ions/s; n=30; placebo control) negative ions. Exposure was for 30 min on three consecutive evenings between 1900 and 2100 hours. Mood and alertness assessments, using standardized scales, occurred before, and 15 and 30 min during exposure. The Beck Depression Inventory classified subjects as depressed ([ges ]10; n=35) or non-depressed (<10; n=83).Results. The three active stimuli, but not the low-density placebo, reduced depression, total mood disturbance (a global affect measure) and/or anger within 15–30 min. Neither testing season nor degree of depressive symptoms affected response to stimuli.Conclusions. The auditory stimulus, bright light and high-density ions all produced rapid mood changes – with small to medium effect sizes – in depressed and non-depressed subjects, compared with the low-density placebo, despite equivalent pre-study expectations. Thus, these stimuli improve mood acutely in a student sample, including a subset with depressive symptoms.

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