Perception of Size of Movement Patterns

Physiological data suggest that perception and memory of kinesthesis may differ depending on whether a movement pattern is actively commanded or passively induced. An attempt was made to demonstrate a difference between these two types of movements by employing a cross-modal visual recognition test of size perception. Absolute and algebraic errors in the matching of kinesthesis with vision were measured. Positive algebraic errors were seen indicating that subjects’ perception for the size of kinesthetic movement patterns was magnified as compared to vision. Active kinesthesis was matched with vision more accurately than was passive kinesthesis, and the data yielded information about the differential contribution of active and passive muscle compartments to the global kinesthetic perception of voluntary movement. Cross-modal matching of kinesthesis with vision was in certain cases as accurate as visual intramodal matching. It was argued that active kinesthesis has internal references, and vision has external references to facilitate the similar-size recognition performance.     

Spatial representation of a two-dimensional pattern

The purpose of this study was (a) to determine if vision and kinesthesis contribute differentially to the coding of a specific two-dimensional pattern and (b) to identify the effect of repetition on the spatial representation of this pattern. The reproductions of a specific pattern presented visually were compared with those of a pattern presented kinesthetically. The results showed that vision and kinesthesis had contributed equally to the coding of the directional components of the pattern. However, there was dominance of visual information over kinesthetic information when coding the distance between the intersecting points of the pattern, especially at the beginning of the process. Generally speaking, the visual or kinesthetic repetition, or both, have increased favourably the precision with which a specific pattern was reproduced in distance and direction.     

Asymmetric transfer of prototype information between vision and audition

Specific and nonspecific transfer of pattern class concept information between vision and audition was examined. In Experiment 1, subjects learned visually or auditorily to distinguish between two pattern classes that were either the same as or different from the test classes. All subjects were then tested on the auditory classification of 50 patterns. Specific intramodal and cross-modal transfer was noted; subjects trained visually and auditorily on the test classes were equivalent in performance and more accurate than untrained controls. In Experiment 2, the training of Experiment 1 was repeated, but subjects were tested visually. There was no evidence of auditory-to-visual transfer but some suggestion of nonspecific transfer within the visual modality. The asymmetry of transfer is discussed in terms of the modality into which patterns are most likely translated for the cross-modal tasks and in terms of the quality of prototype formation with visual versus a,ditory patterns.     

The Role of Visual Cues in Movement Control and Motor Memory

3 groups of 12 Ss performed an index finger letter-writing task with visual information but without kinesthetic cues (+V?K), followed immediately by repeating the same letters without vision (?V?K). All groups performed 6 test trials of + V?K, then ?V?K writing. Group 1 had no experience with the task prior to the test trials, Group 2 practiced the letters without vision with kinesthetic cues (?V+K), while Group 3 had visual and kinesthetic practice (+V+K). Visual cues efficiently guided performance in the absence of kinesthesis, and visual memory traces had a marked reinforcing effect. Further, learned reliance on kinesthetic cues was present even in +V?K performance, but reliance on visual cues did not develop.     

Simple and contingent aftereffects of perceived duration in vision and audition

After repeated presentations of a long inspection tone (800 or 1,000 msec), a test tone of intermediate duration (600 msec) appeared shorter than it would otherwise appear. A short inspection tone (200 or 400 msec) tended to increase the apparent length of the intermediate test tone. Thus, a negative aftereffect of perceived auditory duration occurred, and a similar aftereffect occurred in the visual modality. These aftereffects, each involving a single sensory dimension, aresimple aftereffects. The following procedures producedcontingent aftereffects of perceived duration. A pair of lights, the first short and the second long, was presented repeatedly during an inspection period. When a pair of test lights of intermediate duration was then presented, the first member of the pair appeared longer in relation to the second. A similar aftereffect occurred in the auditory modality. In these latter aftereffects, the perceived duration of a test light or tone is contingent—dependent—on its temporal order, first or second, within a pair of test stimuli. An experiment designed to test the possibility of cross-modal transfer of contingent aftereffects between audition and vision found no significant cross-modal aftereffects.     

Tool characteristics in imagery of tool actions

Are tool characteristics represented in imagined tool actions? In two experiments participants imagined and executed coloring rectangles with a thick and a thin pen. In Experiment 2, an additional execution condition without visual feedback of coloring allowed us to dissociate between the relevance of kinesthetic and visual feedback. Pen thickness influenced coloring durations in all conditions, indicating that characteristics of a simple tool are represented during imagery. Imagination was shorter than execution, indicating that imagination may be less detailed than execution. Execution without visual feedback was even shorter than imagination, indicating that vision is more important than kinesthesis for differences between imagination and execution, and that either imagining the movement, inhibiting movement execution or imagining the progress of the action is effortful during imagery. In conclusion, characteristics of simple tools are represented in imagined tool actions but the representation of tools’ effects may not always be adequate.     

Size perception by vision and kinesthesia

When two sizes, one perceived by vision and the other by kinesthesia, are apparently equal, the physical relationship between them varies: The sizes may be equal, or the visual size may be larger than the kinesthetic size, or vice versa. In this study, the method of cross-modal matching and the method of magnitude production were used to explore the relationship between apparently equal sizes (5–40 cm) perceived by vision and by kinesthesia. The sizes were linear or circular, and the mode of standard presentation was visual, kinesthetic, or verbal. The size and the direction of the intermodal mismatch varied with the size of the standard. It was also found that an apparent length of movement varied with the direction of movement. In all conditions, the relationship between apparently equal visual and kinesthetic sizes was well approximated by a power function.     

Effects of training and visual distance on speechreading performance

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of training on subjects' ability to speechread sentences at varying visual distances of 3-6 ft., 6-12 ft., and 12-18 ft. 15 college women who received training obtained higher sentence speechreading scores than the 15 untrained women. The emphasis placed on kinesthetic feedback may have assisted the trained subjects' performance; however, distance up to 18 ft. did not appear to affect subjects' ability to speechread sentences, regardless of training.     

The role of cross-modal associations in statistical learning

Our environment is richly structured, with objects producing correlated information within and across sensory modalities. A prominent challenge faced by our perceptual system is to learn such regularities. Here, we examined statistical learning and addressed learners’ ability to track transitional probabilities between elements in the auditory and visual modalities. Specifically, we investigated whether cross-modal information affects statistical learning within a single modality. Participants were familiarized with a statistically structured modality (e.g., either audition or vision) accompanied by different types of cues in a second modality (e.g., vision or audition). The results revealed that statistical learning within either modality is affected by cross-modal information, with learning being enhanced or reduced according to the type of cue provided in the second modality.     

Visual dominance in the cross-modal kinesthetic to kinesthetic plus visual feedback condition

In previous studies subjects who have learned a positioning response with kinesthetic feedback tended to make greater errors when visual feedback was provided during later trials. These subjects have always performed with both kinesthetic and visual feedback available. This study determined whether subjects with only visual feedback would produce errors similar to those who received kinesthetic plus visual feedback. Blindfolded subjects learned to move a handle to a criterion location with knowledge of results following each trial. Subjects then were assigned to one of three experimental groups, with only kinesthetic feedback, with kinesthetic plus visual feedback, or with only visual feedback. Subjects had 9 trials without knowledge of results in these feedback conditions. When visual feedback was available, subjects tended to make longer response errors. This finding replicates previous studies. Also, the similarity of performances from the conditions with visual feedback indicated the dominance of visual information in the condition with kinesthetic plus visual feedback.     

Cross-modal links in exogenous covert spatial orienting between touch, audition, and vision

Three experiments investigated cross-modal links between touch, audition, and vision in the control of covert exogenous orienting. In the first two experiments, participants made speeded discrimination responses (continuous vs. pulsed) for tactile targets presented randomly to the index finger of either hand. Targets were preceded at a variable stimulus onset asynchrony (150,200, or 300 msec) by a spatially uninformative cue that was either auditory (Experiment 1) or visual (Experiment 2) on the same or opposite side as the tactile target. Tactile discriminations were more rapid and accurate when cue and target occurred on the same side, revealing cross-modal covert orienting. In Experiment 3, spatially uninformative tactile cues were presented prior to randomly intermingled auditory and visual targets requiring an elevation discrimination response (up vs. down). Responses were significantly faster for targets in both modalities when presented ipsilateral to the tactile cue. These findings demonstrate that the peripheral presentation of spatially uninforrnative auditory and visual cues produces cross-modal orienting that affects touch, and that tactile cues can also produce cross-modal covert orienting that affects audition and vision.     

Signal intensity, task context, and auditory-visual interactions

A study is reported of the effect of signal intensity on immediate cross-modal bias between vision and audition. Each signal was presented at high or low intensity, giving rise to four conditions. The study also dealt with the effectiveness of instructions and task context in directing attention. Two kinds of task (pointing) contexts were compared: a constant or unimodal context in which the modality of the target signal was the same throughout a session, and a bimodal one in which it changed from trial to trial. In both conditions subjects were instructed that the signals might come from the same or from different positions, depending on the trial. For visual bias of audition the results show that a signal with high intensity was more biasing and less biased than one with low intensity. Auditory bias of vision did not reach significance in any of the four intensity conditions. Type of task context had no effect on the extent of bias, suggesting that a constant-task (unimodal) context was no more effective in directing attention than instructions alone.     

保留的跨通道启动与老化：对于近期观点的总结

通道内重复启动的研究提示老年人内隐记忆未受损, 这不只体现在视觉通道上还包括其他感觉通道(例如触觉、听觉和嗅觉)。然而很少有研究考察启动任务是否具有通道特异性。在以年轻人为被试的研究中发现跨通道迁移(视觉到触觉和触觉到视觉)和通道内迁移(视觉到视觉, 触觉到触觉)具有相似性。一项最近的研究进一步探索老年人在跨通道启动任务上是否受损。结果显示视觉和触觉间的跨通道启动在年轻被试和老年被试上都是保留的且具有对称性。并且, 对于自然声响、图片的通道内和跨通道启动任务随着年老化发展仍旧保留。这些行为结果和其它最近神经科学结果显示跨通道启动发生于枕叶后纹状皮层区, 而这一区域在老年人中未损坏。这一领域未来的研究方向包括利用不同知觉通道间、利用熟悉的和新异的刺激并结合行为的和脑成像的方法, 通过设计完善的跨通道启动来研究正常老人与阿尔兹海默病人, 还包括将设计得完善的启动任务包括在用于改善老年人记忆功能的项目中。     

Tactual, visual, and cross-modal transfer of texture in 5- and 8-year-old children

Children's tactual, visual, and cross-modal transfer abilities for texture were investigated in a delayed matching-to-sample paradigm. Transfer performance from vision to touch was found to increase between 5 and 8 years of age, whereas transfer performance from touch to vision did not vary with age and matched touch-to-touch performance. Asymmetrical cross-modal abilities were observed at the age of 8 years, vision-to-touch transfer performance being higher than touch-to-vision transfer performance (experiment 2). This developmental pattern could not be attributed to limitations in the tactual or visual discriminability of the textures or to differences in tactual or visual memory between the two age groups (experiment 1). It is suggested that the increase with age in vision-to-touch performance may be related to the intervention of more efficient top-down perceptual processes in the older children.     

Relationship between upper extremity kinesthetic sense and writing performance by students with low vision

Kinesthetic sense plays an important role in writing. Children with low vision lack sensory input from the environment given their loss of vision. This study assessed the effect of upper extremity kinesthetic sense on writing function in two groups, one of students with low vision (9 girls and 11 boys, 9.4 +/- 1.9 yr. of age) and one of sighted students (10 girls and 10 boys, 10.1 +/- 1.3 yr. of age). All participants were given the Kinesthesia Test and Jebsen Hand Function Test-Writing subtest. Students with low vision scored lower on kinesthetic perception and writing performance than sighted peers. The correlation between scores for writing performance and upper extremity kinesthetic sense in the two groups was significant (r = -.34). The probability of deficiencies in kinesthetic information in students with low vision must be remembered.     

Transfer of recalibration from audition to touch: modality independence as a special case of anatomical independence

An important step in developing a theory of calibration is establishing what it is that participants become calibrated to as a result of feedback. Three experiments used a transfer of calibration paradigm to investigate this issue. In particular, these experiments investigated whether recalibration of perception of length transferred from audition to dynamic (i.e., kinesthetic) touch when objects were grasped at one end (Experiment 1), when objects were grasped at one end and when they were grasped at a different location (i.e., the middle) (Experiment 2), and when false (i.e., inflated) feedback was provided about object length (Experiment 3). In all three experiments, there was a transfer of recalibration of perception of length from audition to dynamic touch when feedback was provided on perception by audition. Such results suggest that calibration is not specific to a particular perceptual modality and are also consistent with previous research that perception of object length by audition and dynamic touch are each constrained by the object's mechanical properties.     

Age differences in the relationship between visual movement imagery and performance on kinesthetic acuity tests

The Vividness of Movement Imagery Questionnaire was administered to 280 fourteen-year-olds and 186 ten-year-olds, who were then tested on measures of kinesthetic acuity. The relationship between visual movement imagery and kinesthetic acuity scores was significant in the older group: Those with high levels of visual movement imagery performed significantly better on measures of kinesthetic acuity than did those with low imagery. No such effect was found in the younger group. The results indicate that for adolescents, the confounding effect of visual imagery affects the researcher's ability to interpret kinesthetic acuity scores. The relationship between imagery and kinesthesis appears to develop over the period between 10 and 14 years, although such an interpretation may be premature because the measurement of visual movement imagery in the younger age group is problematic.     

Practice and assimilation effects in a multilimb aiming task

When two limbs are required to move different distances simultaneously, assimilation effects are shown: The shorter distance limb tends to overshoot the target, whereas the longer distance limb undershoots. The effect of practice on assimilation effects was studied in two experiments, using a simultaneous four-limb aiming task. When subjects were required to move their left limbs a shorter distance than the right (5 cm vs. 9 cm), the right limbs moved a lesser distance and had greater variable and overall errors relative to a group required to move all limbs the same distance (9 cm). Practice reduced assimilation effects in the lower limbs, but spatial assimilations were present throughout 125 acquisition trials with KR and 50 no-KR transfer trials, spanning 24 hours. When the upper limbs were required to move a greater distance than the lower limbs (15 cm vs. 9 cm), the lower limbs showed longer distances and increased overall errors early in practice compared to the lower limbs of a group required to move all limbs 9 cm. With practice, the between-group differences decreased, with no assimilation effects shown on the transfer trials. The results suggest that neural crosstalk is greater between left and right sides than between upper and lower limbs. Results are discussed in light of the functional cerebral space model of simultaneous actions.     

Practice and Assimilation Effects in a Multilimb Aiming Task

When two limbs are required to move different distances simultaneously, assimilation effects are shown: The shorter distance limb tends to overshoot the target, whereas the longer distance limb undershoots. The effect of practice on assimilation effects was studied in two experiments, using a simultaneous four-limb aiming task. When subjects were required to move their left limbs a shorter distance than the right (5 cm vs. 9 cm), the right limbs moved a lesser distance and had greater variable and overall errors relative to a group required to move all limbs the same distance (9 cm). Practice reduced assimilation effects in the lower limbs, but spatial assimilations were present throughout 125 acquisition trials with KR and 50 no-KR transfer trials, spanning 24 hours. When the upper limbs were required to move a greater distance than the lower limbs (15 cm vs. 9 cm), the lower limbs showed longer distances and increased overall errors early in practice compared to the lower limbs of a group required to move all limbs 9 cm. With practice, the between-group differences decreased, with no assimilation effects shown on the transfer trials. The results suggest that neural crosstalk is greater between left and right sides than between upper and lower limbs. Results are discussed in light of the functional cerebral space model of simultaneous actions.     

Multisensory identification of natural objects in a two-way crossmodal priming paradigm

The question of how vision and audition interact in natural object identification is currently a matter of debate. We developed a large set of auditory and visual stimuli representing natural objects in order to facilitate research in the field of multisensory processing. Normative data was obtained for 270 brief environmental sounds and 320 visual object stimuli. Each stimulus was named, categorized, and rated with regard to familiarity and emotional valence by N=56 participants (Study 1). This multimodal stimulus set was employed in two subsequent crossmodal priming experiments that used semantically congruent and incongruent stimulus pairs in a S1-S2 paradigm. Task-relevant targets were either auditory (Study 2) or visual stimuli (Study 3). The behavioral data of both experiments expressed a crossmodal priming effect with shorter reaction times for congruent as compared to incongruent stimulus pairs. The observed facilitation effect suggests that object identification in one modality is influenced by input from another modality. This result implicates that congruent visual and auditory stimulus pairs were perceived as the same object and demonstrates a first validation of the multimodal stimulus set.