scholarly journals Topology-defined units in numerosity perception

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (41) ◽  
pp. E5647-E5655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lixia He ◽  
Ke Zhou ◽  
Tiangang Zhou ◽  
Sheng He ◽  
Lin Chen
Keyword(s):  
Number Sense ◽  
Color Contrast ◽  
Intraparietal Sulcus ◽  
Tuning Curves ◽  
Visual Property ◽  
Numerosity Judgment ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Color Similarity ◽  
Equality Judgment ◽  
Numerosity Perception

What is a number? The number sense hypothesis suggests that numerosity is “a primary visual property” like color, contrast, or orientation. However, exactly what attribute of a stimulus is the primary visual property and determines numbers in the number sense? To verify the invariant nature of numerosity perception, we manipulated the numbers of items connected/enclosed in arbitrary and irregular forms while controlling for low-level features (e.g., orientation, color, and size). Subjects performed discrimination, estimation, and equality judgment tasks in a wide range of presentation durations and across small and large numbers. Results consistently show that connecting/enclosing items led to robust numerosity underestimation, with the extent of underestimation increasing monotonically with the number of connected/enclosed items. In contrast, grouping based on color similarity had no effect on numerosity judgment. We propose that numbers or the primitive units counted in numerosity perception are influenced by topological invariants, such as connectivity and the inside/outside relationship. Beyond the behavioral measures, neural tuning curves to numerosity in the intraparietal sulcus were obtained using functional MRI adaptation, and the tuning curves showed that numbers represented in the intraparietal sulcus were strongly influenced by topology.

scholarly journals The Human Intraparietal Sulcus Modulates Task-Evoked Functional Connectivity

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 875-887
Author(s):  
Kai Hwang ◽  
James M Shine ◽  
Dillan Cellier ◽  
Mark D’Esposito
Keyword(s):  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Intraparietal Sulcus ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Adaptive Communication ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Functional Connectivity Strength ◽  
Ventral Temporal Cortex ◽  
Cortical Regions

Abstract Past studies have demonstrated that flexible interactions between brain regions support a wide range of goal-directed behaviors. However, the neural mechanisms that underlie adaptive communication between brain regions are not well understood. In this study, we combined theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the sources of top-down biasing signals that influence task-evoked functional connectivity. Subjects viewed sequences of images of faces and buildings and were required to detect repetitions (2-back vs. 1-back) of the attended stimuli category (faces or buildings). We found that functional connectivity between ventral temporal cortex and the primary visual cortex (VC) increased during processing of task-relevant stimuli, especially during higher memory loads. Furthermore, the strength of functional connectivity was greater for correct trials. Increases in task-evoked functional connectivity strength were correlated with increases in activity in multiple frontal, parietal, and subcortical (caudate and thalamus) regions. Finally, we found that TMS to superior intraparietal sulcus (IPS), but not to primary somatosensory cortex, decreased task-specific modulation in connectivity patterns between the primary VC and the parahippocampal place area. These findings demonstrate that the human IPS is a source of top-down biasing signals that modulate task-evoked functional connectivity among task-relevant cortical regions.

scholarly journals SENIOR FRIENDLY PACKAGING AND PRODUCT TESTING: FEEDBACK FROM OLDER CONSUMERS

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S639-S640
Author(s):  
Lisa A Hollis-Sawyer ◽  
Alison O’Neil
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Evaluation Study ◽  
The United States ◽  
Consumer Products ◽  
Color Contrast ◽  
Product Testing ◽  
Package Design ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Wide Range

Abstract By 2050, older adults ages 65 or older will account for 83.7 million people in the U.S. population (An Aging Nation: The Older Population in the United States, 2014). It is imperative that products and technologies are designed to accommodate age-related changes that older adults are likely to experience. Given this population surge of older adults, there is a growing interest in identifying consumer products that are usable for older adults or “senior friendly.” Senior-friendly product testing (e.g., Senior Select®) focuses on the usability of various health and consumer products targeted to people with diminishment of any of the following: hearing, vision, taste, touch, smell, mobility & dexterity and /or mental acuity. A usability evaluation study was conducted in three senior living communities located in the Atlanta area. Twenty-nine participants ranged in age from 66 years old to 102 years old. Participants were shown a snack bar product and then asked to use the product themselves to perform a series of prepared tasks. After interacting with the product, participants were asked to share any comments that they had concerning the product. Issues of color contrast between the main packaging and the pull tab, easy of gripping and tearing the wrapper, the labeling of the nutrition information, and the package labeling (should refer to “adult” snack) were reported. Many respondents suggested that senior-friendly package design relates to their health and well-being. Implications toward a wide range of products for older adults of varying ability levels will be discussed.

Measuring Perceptual Distance of Organismal Color Pattern using the Features of Deep Neural Networks

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Drew C. Wham ◽  
Briana Ezray ◽  
Heather M. Hines
Keyword(s):  
Deep Neural Networks ◽  
Color Pattern ◽  
Color Contrast ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Color Patterns ◽  
Biologically Relevant ◽  
Perceptual Distance ◽  
Data Formats ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Study Designs

ABSTRACTA wide range of research relies upon the accurate and repeatable measurement of the degree to which organisms resemble one another. Here, we present an unsupervised workflow for analyzing the relationships between organismal color patterns. This workflow utilizes several recent advancements in deep learning based computer vision techniques to calculate perceptual distance. We validate this approach using previously published datasets surrounding diverse applications of color pattern analysis including mimicry, population differentiation, heritability, and development. We demonstrate that our approach is able to reproduce the biologically relevant color pattern relationships originally reported in these studies. Importantly, these results are achieved without any task-specific training. In many cases, we were able to reproduce findings directly from original photographs or plates with minimum standardization, avoiding the need for intermediate representations such as a cartoonized images or trait matrices. We then present two artificial datasets designed to highlight how this approach handles aspects of color patterns, such as changes in pattern location and the perception of color contrast. These results suggest that this approach will generalize well to support the study of a wide range of biological processes in a diverse set of taxa while also accommodating a variety of data formats, preprocessing techniques, and study designs.

scholarly journals Different Serotonin Receptor Agonists Have Distinct Effects on Sound-Evoked Responses in Inferior Colliculus

2006 ◽  
Vol 96 (5) ◽  
pp. 2177-2188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura M. Hurley
Keyword(s):  
Inferior Colliculus ◽  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Serotonin Receptors ◽  
Serotonin Receptor ◽  
Frequency Tuning ◽  
Receptor Subtypes ◽  
Tuning Curves ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Selective Agonists ◽  
Auditory Nucleus

The neuromodulator serotonin has a complex set of effects on the auditory responses of neurons within the inferior colliculus (IC), a midbrain auditory nucleus that integrates a wide range of inputs from auditory and nonauditory sources. To determine whether activation of different types of serotonin receptors is a source of the variability in serotonergic effects, four selective agonists of serotonin receptors in the serotonin (5-HT) 1 and 5-HT2 families were iontophoretically applied to IC neurons, which were monitored for changes in their responses to auditory stimuli. Different agonists had different effects on neural responses. The 5-HT1A agonist had mixed facilitatory and depressive effects, whereas 5-HT1B and 5-HT2C agonists were both largely facilitatory. Different agonists changed threshold and frequency tuning in ways that reflected their effects on spike count. When pairs of agonists were applied sequentially to the same neurons, selective agonists sometimes affected neurons in ways that were similar to serotonin, but not to other selective agonists tested. Different agonists also differentially affected groups of neurons classified by the shapes of their frequency-tuning curves, with serotonin and the 5-HT1 receptors affecting proportionally more non-V-type neurons relative to the other agonists tested. In all, evidence suggests that the diversity of serotonin receptor subtypes in the IC is likely to account for at least some of the variability of the effects of serotonin and that receptor subtypes fulfill specialized roles in auditory processing.

scholarly journals A random-matrix theory of the number sense

2018 ◽  
Vol 373 (1740) ◽  
pp. 20170253 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Hannagan ◽  
A. Nieder ◽  
P. Viswanathan ◽  
S. Dehaene
Keyword(s):  
Random Matrix Theory ◽  
Random Matrix ◽  
Matrix Theory ◽  
Number Sense ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Tuning Curves ◽  
Self Organized ◽  
Human Adults ◽  
Brain States ◽  
Von Mises

Number sense, a spontaneous ability to process approximate numbers, has been documented in human adults, infants and newborns, and many other animals. Species as distant as monkeys and crows exhibit very similar neurons tuned to specific numerosities. How number sense can emerge in the absence of learning or fine tuning is currently unknown. We introduce a random-matrix theory of self-organized neural states where numbers are coded by vectors of activation across multiple units, and where the vector codes for successive integers are obtained through multiplication by a fixed but random matrix. This cortical implementation of the ‘von Mises' algorithm explains many otherwise disconnected observations ranging from neural tuning curves in monkeys to looking times in neonates and cortical numerotopy in adults. The theory clarifies the origin of Weber–Fechner's Law and yields a novel and empirically validated prediction of multi-peak number neurons. Random matrices constitute a novel mechanism for the emergence of brain states coding for quantity. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘The origins of numerical abilities’.

scholarly journals Practical Color Contrast Sensitivity Functions for Luminance Levels up to 10000 cd/m2

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (28) ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Rafał K. Mantiuk ◽  
Minjung Kim ◽  
Maliha Ashraf ◽  
Qiang Xu ◽  
M. Ronnier Luo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Contrast Sensitivity ◽  
Dynamic Range ◽  
Color Space ◽  
High Dynamic Range ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Color Contrast ◽  
Sensitivity Functions ◽  
Spatial Frequencies ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Opponent Color

We model color contrast sensitivity for Gabor patches as a function of spatial frequency, luminance and chromacity of the background, modulation direction in the color space and stimulus size. To fit the model parameters, we combine the data from five independent datasets, which let us make predictions for background luminance levels between 0.0002 cd/m2 and 10 000 cd/m2, and for spatial frequencies between 0.06 cpd and 32 cpd. The data are well-explained by two models: a model that encodes cone contrast and a model that encodes postreceptoral, opponent-color contrast. Our intention is to create practical models, which can well explain the detection performance for natural viewing in a wide range of conditions. As our models are fitted to the data spanning very large range of luminance, they can find applications in modeling visual performance for high dynamic range and augmented reality displays.

Developmental Dyscalculia as a Heterogeneous Disability

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Avishai Henik ◽  
Orly Rubinsten ◽  
Sarit Ashkenazi
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Number Sense ◽  
Intraparietal Sulcus ◽  
Comprehensive Understanding ◽  
Developmental Dyscalculia ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Cognitive Operations

This chapter discusses heterogeneous aspects of developmental dyscalculia (DD) in terms of behaviour, cognitive operations, and neural structures. It has been suggested that DD is an isolated learning deficiency, involves a domain-specific deficit (in the capacity to enumerate), and a specific neural deficiency (in the intraparietal sulcus). We present findings that (1) DD involves both domain-specific and domain-general abilities; (2) in many cases behaviours, as well as cognition in those with DD are characterized by deficits in other areas, such as attention or memory and not only as a number sense deficiency; and (3) studies of the neural structures involved in DD reveal areas and mechanisms that hint toward heterogeneous damage. We suggest that similar to other learning disabilities, heterogeneity is the rule, rather than an exception. Accordingly, in order to reach a comprehensive understanding of DD, studies should aim at unravelling the basis for this heterogeneity.

Marc D. Hauser (1996). The evolution of communication. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. Pp. xiii+760.

Phonology ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-106
Author(s):  
William H. Ham ◽  
Abigail C. Cohn
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Short Review ◽  
Visual Signals ◽  
Tuning Curves ◽  
Perceived Need ◽  
Contentious Issue ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Sexual Selection Theory ◽  
Evolution Of Communication

This volume impressively synthesises vast literatures from the fields of linguistics, bioacoustics, psychology, neurobiology, evolutionary biology, ethology and anthropology, and in the process raises a number of provocative questions regarding the contentious issue of human language origins. Because the book is so far-reaching, both in terms of the breadth of communicative phenomena which it covers and the depth in which it discusses them, a short review such as the present one can only scratch the surface of the wealth of information and ideas which it contains.This book was written to fill a perceived need for a text covering a wide range of issues in comparative communication, for which it is certainly well suited. Those interested in the production and perception of auditory and visual signals, as well as in issues as diverse as evolutionary biology and cognitive psychology, will find it an easily readable – or browseable – piece of work. As Hauser notes, he has ‘attempted to write a book that is aimed primarily at the expert while being useful to those wishing to pick out pieces...for undergraduate and graduate instruction’ (p. 14). The book is successful along both lines. It is extremely well organised and well indexed, making it easy to select case studies relevant to specific communicative phenomena (e.g. audition, vocalisation, acquisition, signed languages, etc.) or particular species (humans, monkeys, anurans, birds, etc.). Particularly useful are the large number of graphics and illustrations, as well as conceptual ‘boxes’ which succinctly summarise key concepts or theoretical perspectives which may be unfamiliar to some readers (e.g. statistical information theory, neural tuning curves, source-filter theory and sexual selection theory, to name just a few).

Iridescent (angle-dependent reflectance) properties of dorsal coloration in Podarcis muralis (Laurenti, 1768)

2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 441-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillem Pérez i de Lanuza ◽  
Enrique Font
Keyword(s):  
Viewing Angle ◽  
Podarcis Muralis ◽  
Angle Dependence ◽  
Visual Property ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Functional Implications ◽  
Colour Parameters

Iridescence is a visual property of those surfaces that change in colour with viewing angle. Iridescence has been rarely reported in reptiles, but some snakes and lizards show this type of coloration. Here we study the effect of different angles of light incidence and observation on the spectrophotometrically assessed reflectance of dorsal coloration in the lizard Podarcis muralis. The results demonstrate clear angle dependence of several colour parameters. In particular, different angles of light incidence and observation result in changes in hue of more than 30 nm. This suggests that lizard dorsal coloration may be perceived, depending on viewing geometry, as being of different colours by a wide range of potential observers. Functional implications of iridescence in dorsal coloration are discussed.

Computational foundations of the visual number sense

2017 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivilin Peev Stoianov ◽  
Marco Zorzi
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Computational Model ◽  
Network Model ◽  
Neural Network Model ◽  
Deep Neural Network ◽  
Number Sense ◽  
Numerosity Perception ◽  
Visual Properties ◽  
Visual Number

AbstractWe provide an emergentist perspective on the computational mechanism underlying numerosity perception, its development, and the role of inhibition, based on our deep neural network model. We argue that the influence of continuous visual properties does not challenge the notion of number sense, but reveals limit conditions for the computation that yields invariance in numerosity perception. Alternative accounts should be formalized in a computational model.

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