318 research outputs found
Restoring Civic Virtue: The Buckley Model
No full textThe political life of William F. Buckley Jr. stands as a model for reinvigorating the civic virtue that the American founders recognized as necessary.
Author information: Moriah Poliakoff is a junior at Christopher Newport University majoring in American Studies and minoring in Philosophy and US National Security Studies. She has a particular interest in political philosophy
Public engagement
No full textThomas L. Webb and Ellen Poliakoff argue that it’s time to take a psychological approach to understanding and promoting participation in public engagement activities
Spontaneous Ocular Scanning of Visual Symmetry Is Similar During Classification and Evaluation Tasks
No full textVisual symmetry perception and symmetry preference have been studied extensively. However, less is known about how people spontaneously scan symmetrical stimuli with their eyes. We thus examined spontaneous saccadic eye movements when participants (N = 20) observed patterns with horizontal or vertical mirror reflection. We found that participants tend to make saccades along the axis of reflection and that this oculomotor behaviour was similar during objective classification and subjective evaluation tasks. The axis-scanning behaviour generates a dynamic sequence of novel symmetrical images from a single static stimulus. This could aid symmetry perception and evaluation by enhancing the neural response to symmetry
Visuo-tactile synesthesia in non-synethetic subjects: a distinction between self and other.
No full textVisuo-tactile synesthesia in non-synesthetic subjects. A distinction between self and other.
Andrea Serino 1,2, Francesca Pizzoferrato 2 & Elisabetta Làdavas1,2.
1 – Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università degli Studi di Bologna.
2 – Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Cesena
Abstract
Observation of actions, sensations or emotions activates the same brain areas directly involved in action execution, sensory and emotional feelings, respectively, i.e. the so called “mirror system” (Rizzolatti & Craighero, 2004). In this study, we show that such resonance of brain activity when observing and feeling has a behavioural landmark in the domain of touch. Observing an image of a face being touched by human hands enhanced tactile processing on the face. This effect was: a) specific for observation of touch: tactile enhancement was found when the hands touched the face compared to when they just approached the face; b) specific to viewing a body part: viewing the image of a house being touched did not improve touch; c) sensitive to the identity of the observed face: tactile enhancement was stronger when subjects viewed their own face rather than another person’s face.
These findings suggest that observation of touch directly modulates tactile processing, probably by activating primary somatosensory areas in a mirror-like way. Such modulation is stronger when visual information is related to the self. This suggests a gradient in mirror-like activity due to observation of touch that discriminates between observing an another person and the self
Selective virtual lesions of somatosensory and motor underpinnings of action simulation
No full textMere action observation may trigger a mental simulation process that is reflected in the activation of fronto-parietal sensorimotor circuits for making the same action. This occurs not only during observation of naturalistic movements but also when viewing biomechanically impossible movements that tap the afferent component of action, possibly by eliciting strong somatic feelings in the onlooker. Information on the possible causative role of frontal and parietal structures in simulating motor and sensory action components is lacking. By combining low-frequency repetitive and single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation we found that virtual lesions of ventral promotor cortex (vPMc) and primary somatosensory cortex (S1) suppressed motor facilitation contingent upon observation of possible and impossible movements respectively. In contrast, virtual lesions of the primary motor cortex did not influence mirror motor facilitation. The reported double dissociation suggests that vPMc and S1 play an active, differential role in simulating efferent and afferent components of observed actions
Photoelectron trapping in N 2 O 7σ→kσ resonant ionization
No full textVibrationally resolved photoelectron spectroscopy of the N(2)O(+)(A (2)Sigma(+)) state is used to compare the dependence of the photoelectron dynamics on molecular geometry for two shape resonances in the same ionization channel. Spectra are acquired over the photon energy range of 18 k sigma channel and one in the 7 sigma -> k pi channel. Vibrational branching ratio curves are determined by measuring vibrationally resolved photoelectron spectra as a function of photon energy, and theoretical branching ratio curves are generated via Schwinger variational scattering calculations. In the region 30 k pi channel. This k sigma resonance is manifested in non-Franck-Condon behavior in the approximately antisymmetric nu(3) stretching mode, but it is not visible in the branching ratio curve for the approximately symmetric nu(1) stretch. The behavior of the 35-eV k sigma resonance is compared to a previously studied N(2)O 7 sigma -> k sigma shape resonance at lower energy. The mode sensitivity of the 35-eV k sigma resonance is the opposite of what was observed for the lower-energy resonance. The contrasting mode-specific behavior observed for the high- and low-energy 7 sigma -> k sigma resonances can be explained on the basis of the "approximate" symmetry of the quasibound photoelectron resonant wave function, and the contrasting behavior reflects differences in the continuum electron trapping. An examination of the geometry dependence of the photoelectron dipole matrix elements shows that the k sigma resonances have qualitatively different dependences on the individual bond lengths. The low-energy resonance is influenced only by changes in the end-to-end length of the molecule, whereas the higher-energy resonance depends on the individual N-N and N-O bond lengths. Branching ratios are determined for several vibrational levels, including the symmetry-forbidden bending mode, and all of the observed behavior is explained in the context of an independent particle, Born-Oppenheimer framework
Mental rotation of prosthetic hands
No full textThis study focusses on the mental rotation of real and prosthetic hands within a laterality judgement task. When such tasks contain human hands they are believed to invoke motor imagery based mental rotation. This can be detected through a resulting biomechanical constraint effect; the limited range of movement available to human hands is reflected in task performance with medial hand rotation taking longer than lateral rotation (Zapparoli et al., 2016). When similar tasks use inanimate stimuli, motor imagery is not induced, and a visual rotation strategy is used (Zacks, 2008). This experiment partially replicates and builds upon a final year undergraduate project at the University of Manchester in 2021 examining the processing of prosthetic hands (Duncan-Cross, 2021). As prosthetic hands are known to elicit eeriness in some observers (Poliakoff et al., 2018), in line with Mori’s theory of the Uncanny Valley (Mori et al., 2012), it is possible that their eeriness may also be responsible for changes in their processing.
Research question 1: Is motor imagery used to process artificial hands?
The previous study found that real, realistic, and mechanical hands all produced a biomechanical constraints effect, suggesting that motor imagery is used across hand types.
Research question 2: Are artificial hands processed differently to real hands in the hand laterality task?
The previous study found that mechanical and realistic prosthetic hands produced lower slope values than real hands, suggesting differences in processing. For all hand types, palms of hands produced slower reaction times and lower slopes.
Duncan-Cross, I. (2021). What can mental rotation tell us about the uncanny valley for prosthetic hands? Unpublished final year undergraduate study.
Mori, M., Mac Dorman, K. F., & Kageki, N. N. (2012). The uncanny valley [Bukimi no tani]. IEEE Robotics and Automation, 19(2), 98-100. DOI: 10.1109/MRA.2012.2192811
Poliakoff, E., O’Kane, S., Carefoot, O., Kyberd, P., & Gowen, E. (2018). Investigating the uncanny valley for prosthetic hands. Prosthetics and Orthotics International, 42(1), 21-27. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309364617744083
Zacks, J. M. (2008). Neuroimaging studies of mental rotation: a meta-analysis and review. Journal of cognitive neuroscience, 20(1), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1162/jocn.2008.20013
Zapparoli, L., Saetta, G., De Santis, C., Gandola, M., Zerbi, A., Banfi, G., & Paulesu, E. (2016). When I am (almost) 64: The effect of normal ageing on implicit motor imagery in young elderlies. Behavioural brain research, 303, 137-151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2016.01.05
The effect of visual threat on spatial attention to touch
No full textViewing a threatening stimulus can bias visual attention toward that location. Such effects have typically been investigated only in the visual modality, despite the fact that many threatening stimuli are most dangerous when close to or in contact with the body. Recent multisensory research indicates that a neutral visual stimulus, such as a light flash, can lead to a tactile attention shift towards a nearby body part. Here, we investigated whether the threat value of a visual stimulus modulates its effect on attention to touch. Participants made speeded discrimination responses about tactile stimuli presented to one or other hand, preceded by a picture cue (snake, spider, flower or mushroom) presented close to the same or the opposite hand. Pictures of snakes led to a significantly greater tactile attentional facilitation effect than did non-threatening pictures of flowers and mushrooms. Furthermore, there was a correlation between self-reported fear of snakes and spiders and the magnitude of early facilitation following cues of that type. These findings demonstrate that the attentional bias towards threat extends to the tactile modality and indicate that perceived threat value can modulate the cross-modal effect that a visual cue has on attention to touch.Viewing a threatening stimulus can bias visual attention toward that location. Such effects have typically been investigated only in the visual modality, despite the fact that many threatening stimuli are most dangerous when close to or in contact with the body. Recent multisensory research indicates that a neutral visual stimulus, such as a light flash, can lead to a tactile attention shift towards a nearby body part. Here, we investigated whether the threat value of a visual stimulus modulates its effect on attention to touch. Participants made speeded discrimination responses about tactile stimuli presented to one or other hand, preceded by a picture cue (snake, spider, flower or mushroom) presented close to the same or the opposite hand. Pictures of snakes led to a significantly greater tactile attentional facilitation effect than did non-threatening pictures of flowers and mushrooms. Furthermore, there was a correlation between self-reported fear of snakes and spiders and the magnitude of early facilitation following cues of that type. These findings demonstrate that the attentional bias towards threat extends to the tactile modality and indicate that perceived threat value can modulate the cross-modal effect that a visual cue has on attention to touch. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Experience in Action: Using art-science activities to explore experiences of movement and the body in Parkinson’s and autism
No full textFor older autistic adults and people with Parkinson’s, movement and coordination problems can be issues that have implications for mobility, independence and quality of life. Therefore, in both conditions it is important to understand how movement is affected and under what conditions it may be improved to inform support and future interventions. This paper describes a series of informal workshops and activities designed through an interdisciplinary collaborative art-science project with Body Eyes and Movement Lab (BEAM, Led by Ellen Poliakoff and Emma Gowen) and artist Antony Hall that aimed to gain greater insight into these conditions. During the workshops, which took place at Manchester Art Gallery, participants were invited to try a series of interactive artworks and experiments inspired by research at BEAM Lab. The workshops provided a relaxed and playful environment in which participants also got the opportunity have conversations with scientists (and each other) about their experiences. This approach enabled participants not only to find out more about the research processes at BEAM Lab but also to become feel more involved in the research process . Therefore, encouraging openness and providing better data and new ideas for experiments
Attention to the body in nonclinical somatoform dissociation depends on emotional state.
No full textOBJECTIVE: Unexplained neurological symptoms ("somatoform dissociation") are common in health care settings and associated with disproportionately high levels of distress, disability, and resource utilization. Theory suggests that somatoform dissociation is associated with disturbed attentional processing, but there is a paucity of research in this area and the available evidence is contradictory. METHODS: We compared undergraduate participants (n=124) with high and low scores on the Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire (SDQ-20) on a tactile cueing paradigm measuring the time course of attention to touch, following either a neutral film or a film designed to simulate the emotional effects of trauma exposure. RESULTS: Following the neutral film, high SDQ-20 participants exhibited delayed disengagement from tactile cue stimuli compared to the low SDQ-20 group. Following the "trauma" film, however, the high SDQ-20 group showed attentional effects suggesting avoidance of the tactile stimuli in this condition. Early attention to tactile cues following the trauma film predicted film-related intrusive thoughts after the experiment. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that both body vigilance and body avoidance may be involved in the expression of somatoform dissociation
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