DiViDu – An Open Source Solution for Dual Task Experiments with Integrated Divided Visual Field Paradigm

A variation of the Wickens' Task was performed to examine the assumption that people can detect certain stimuli on their periphery without decreasing the performance of the primary task. Participants were instructed to respond to a change in a peripheral stimulus without shifting their gaze from a primary task in the center of their visual field. Our data suggests that both type and magnitude of change have a significant effect on detection rate and reaction time. The data also suggests that the performance of the primary task did not decay after the change of the stimuli occurred. Based on these findings, we argue that people can detect various types of changes without shifting gaze and without degrading task performance. Therefore, an interface particularly designed for peripheral vision is possible, and it will potentially provide benefits to both productivity and safety.

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Central and Divided Visual Field Presentation of Emotional Images to Measure Hemispheric Differences in Motivated Attention

Journal of Visualized Experiments ◽

10.3791/56257 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Aminda J. O'Hare ◽

Ruth Ann Atchley ◽

Keith M. Young

Keyword(s):

Visual Field ◽

Hemispheric Differences ◽

Divided Visual Field ◽

Motivated Attention

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The Lateralizer: a tool for students to explore the divided brain

AJP Advances in Physiology Education ◽

10.1152/advan.00060.2012 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 36 (3) ◽

pp. 220-225 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Benjamin A. Motz ◽

Karin H. James ◽

Thomas A. Busey

Keyword(s):

Visual Field ◽

Undergraduate Students ◽

Visual Fields ◽

Cerebral Hemispheres ◽

Brain Anatomy ◽

Skill Sets ◽

Divided Visual Field ◽

Field Technique ◽

Left And Right ◽

And Function

Despite a profusion of popular misinformation about the left brain and right brain, there are functional differences between the left and right cerebral hemispheres in humans. Evidence from split-brain patients, individuals with unilateral brain damage, and neuroimaging studies suggest that each hemisphere may be specialized for certain cognitive processes. One way to easily explore these hemispheric asymmetries is with the divided visual field technique, where visual stimuli are presented on either the left or right side of the visual field and task performance is compared between these two conditions; any behavioral differences between the left and right visual fields may be interpreted as evidence for functional asymmetries between the left and right cerebral hemispheres. We developed a simple software package that implements the divided visual field technique, called the Lateralizer, and introduced this experimental approach as a problem-based learning module in a lower-division research methods course. Second-year undergraduate students used the Lateralizer to experimentally challenge and explore theories of the differences between the left and right cerebral hemispheres. Measured learning outcomes after active exploration with the Lateralizer, including new knowledge of brain anatomy and connectivity, were on par with those observed in an upper-division lecture course. Moreover, the project added to the students' research skill sets and seemed to foster an appreciation of the link between brain anatomy and function.

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