The Occipital Cortex in the Blind

ABSTRACT— Studying the brains of blind individuals provides a unique opportunity to investigate how the brain changes and adapts in response to afferent (input) and efferent (output) demands. We discuss evidence suggesting that regions of the brain normally associated with the processing of visual information undergo remarkable dynamic change in response to blindness. These neuroplastic changes implicate not only processing carried out by the remaining senses but also higher cognitive functions such as language and memory. A strong emphasis is placed on evidence obtained from advanced neuroimaging techniques that allow researchers to identify areas of human brain activity, as well as from lesion approaches (both reversible and irreversible) to address the functional relevance and role of these activated areas. A possible mechanism and conceptual framework for these physiological and behavioral changes is proposed.     

对感觉记忆在相同范畴视觉搜索中作用的研究

该文以三种字母卡片为刺激物,通过两种靶字母搜索实验,探讨了感觉记忆在相同范畴视觉搜索中的作用。实验结果显示,感觉记忆和短时记忆信息都可能利用时的搜索成绩,明显高于限用短时记忆信息时的搜索成绩。这表明,感觉记忆信息可以直接用于相同范畴的视觉搜索。     

时-空整合影响图形识别的眼动研究

采用眼动追踪的方法对在不同方向(上、下、左与右)及距离(2.0°‘和4.0°视角)上先后出现的特征组合不同的图形识别过程进行了研究。结果表明。首先,对由不同颜色和形状构成的图形的识别受到图形特征组合的影响,视觉系统对颜色和形状的加工存在明显差异,与颜色加工相比,视觉系统需要更多的时间才能完成形状识别。此外,虽然图形识别的速度和准确性受运动方向与距离的影响较小,但在不同运动方向和距离上,视觉系统是通过改变眼动的时间和空间特性来完成识别任务的,视觉系统在识别过程中的这种时间与空间的整合特点还有待于进一步研究。     

自闭症幼儿的视觉性自我认知实验研究

通过对平均心理年龄为23个月的6名自闭症幼儿的实验研究．甄别他们是否能从视觉上进行自我与他人的分化认知并进一步探索自闭症幼儿对镜像自我认知与录像自我认知上的差异;以秒为单位．对实验结果和过程进行了编码分析。结果表明：这6名幼儿在看自己的录像时,比看同伴的表现出更多的关注和喜悦;对录像的自我进行认知寸表现出更大的关注和积极情绪。由此推断他们已具有初步的自我认知。     

Ernst Kris and the art of the mentally ill1

Ernst Kris, a gifted art historian as well as an eminent psychoanalyst, had little regard for the aesthetic value of the spontaneous artistic products of the mentally ill, considering them to be of interest only for the insight they might provide about the patient's psychopathology and unconscious conflicts. Recent scholarship and developments in the art world warrant a critical review of his position, which appears to have derived from his adherence to classical and Renaissance criteria. The works of two untrained and psychiatrically disturbed artists are offered as evidence of their potential aesthetic worth.     

坡度知觉及其影响因素的研究进展

人们对于地表斜坡的知觉是非常不准确的,通常表现为对坡度估计过高。但是,研究发现,在以行为的方式对坡度进行模拟时,所模拟的坡度值却与实际坡度基本一致。这种面对同一视觉线索出现的视知觉与行为不一致的现象即为坡度知觉中的“知觉-行为分离”。本文回顾了影响坡度知觉的各种因素,涉及视觉线索、认知判断、感觉通道、生理状态以及报告方式等方面的研究,并对坡度知觉的未来研究进行了展望。     

On using Vernier acuity to assess magnocellular sensitivity

A recent study [Keri, S., & Benedek, G. (2009). Visual pathway deficit in female fragile × premutation carriers: A potential endophenotype. Brain and Cognition, 69, 291–295] has found Vernier acuity deficiencies together with contrast sensitivity defects consistent with a magnocellular deficit in female fragile × premutation carriers. This may appear to support the notion that Vernier acuity may serve as a test of magnocellular sensitivity. However, Vernier acuity deficiencies have been reported in other conditions (e.g., schizophrenia, amblyopia and cortical visual impairment) where there is little evidence for magnocellular deficits. The observation that Vernier acuity deficiencies can occur without magnocellular deficits indicates that Vernier acuity is not a reliable test of magnocellular sensitivity.     

High regularities in eye-movement patterns reveal the dynamics of the visual working memory allocation mechanism

With only two to five slots of visual working memory (VWM), humans are able to quickly solve complex visual problems to near optimal solutions. To explain the paradox between tightly constrained VWM and impressively complex human visual problem-solving ability, we propose several principles for dynamic VWM allocation. In particular, we propose that complex visual information is represented in a temporal manner using only a few slots of VWM that include global and local visual chunks. We built a model of human traveling salesman problem solving based on these principles of VWM allocation and tested the model with eye-movement data. Exactly as the model predicted, human eye movements during traveling salesman problem solving have precise quantitative regularities with regard to both the general statistical pattern of attentional fixations and how they vary across individuals with different VWM capacities. Even though VWM capacity is very limited, eye movements dynamically allocate VWM resources to both local and global information, enabling attention to fine details without loss of the big picture.     

‘Not in our front garden’: Land use conflict,spatial meaning and the politics of naming place

Strategies aimed at reducing land use conflict often stress the need to make planning decisions more democratic. However, this goal is obstructed by overly‐narrow conceptual perspectives that neglect the symbolic significance of place. We illustrate this by examining place names, which function as repositories of socio‐political meaning. Drawing on elements of discursive and rhetorical psychology and subject positioning theory, we investigated the variety of meanings associated with place names in the context of a proposed housing development in Swindon, in the South of England. Thirty interviews with different stakeholders were conducted to gauge their opinions towards the proposal. Noting differences in the way the proposed site was named, we analysed the range of meanings associated with each name in relation to participants' stances towards development. Our results show how, in naming place, spatial meanings are negotiated and contested in ways that support contrasting political objectives. We conclude that planning professionals should exercise greater sensitivity towards existing spatial meanings, especially place names. In addition, socio‐political understandings of subjective spatial relationships can serve as a basis for achieving more productive dialogue and improving development designs. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.