Pupil Response: A Psychophysiological Measure of Fear during Analogue Desensitization,

1989 ◽  
Vol 69 (3-2) ◽  
pp. 1351-1367
Author(s):  
Robert S. Sturgeon ◽  
Leslie M. Cooper ◽  
Robert J. Howell
Keyword(s):  
Pupil Size ◽  
Pupillary Response ◽  
Pupil Response ◽  
Current Technology ◽  
Pupillary Responses

15 highly aroused snake phobics individually constructed fear hierarchies by selecting colored photographs of snakes. Subjects either imagined fear scenes based on their photographs or were exposed to duplicate projected slides during desensitization. Pupillary responses of the Slide Group were also recorded before, during, and after desensitization. Fear of snakes was significantly reduced for both groups within five or fewer desensitization sessions. Changes in pupil size of the Slide Group appear to reflect arousal of fear as well as reduction of fear after treatment. Current technology makes pupillary response a viable psychophysiological measure of fear.

Pupil Response: A Psychophysiological Measure of Fear during Analogue Desensitization

1989 ◽  
Vol 69 (3_suppl) ◽  
pp. 1351-1367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert S. Sturgeon ◽  
Leslie M. Cooper ◽  
Robert J. Howell
Keyword(s):  
Pupil Size ◽  
Pupillary Response ◽  
Pupil Response ◽  
Current Technology ◽  
Pupillary Responses

15 highly aroused snake phobics individually constructed fear hierarchies by selecting colored photographs of snakes. Subjects either imagined fear scenes based on their photographs or were exposed to duplicate projected slides during desensitization. Pupillary responses of the Slide Group were also recorded before, during, and after desensitization. Fear of snakes was significantly reduced for both groups within five or fewer desensitization sessions. Changes in pupil size of the Slide Group appear to reflect arousal of fear as well as reduction of fear after treatment. Current technology makes pupillary response a viable psychophysiological measure of fear.

scholarly journals Modeling pupil responses to rapid sequential events

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel N. Denison ◽  
Jacob A. Parker ◽  
Marisa Carrasco
Keyword(s):  
Pupil Size ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Impulse Response Function ◽  
Parameter Estimates ◽  
Response Dynamics ◽  
Parameter Recovery ◽  
Pupil Response ◽  
Experimental Trial ◽  
Pupillary Responses ◽  
Model Fits

AbstractPupil size is an easily accessible, noninvasive online indicator of various perceptual and cognitive processes. Pupil measurements have the potential to reveal continuous processing dynamics throughout an experimental trial, including anticipatory responses. However, the relatively sluggish (∼2 s) response dynamics of pupil dilation make it challenging to connect changes in pupil size to events occurring close together in time. Researchers have used models to link changes in pupil size to specific trial events, but such methods have not been systematically evaluated. Here we developed and evaluated a general linear model (GLM) pipeline that estimates pupillary responses to multiple rapid events within an experimental trial. We evaluated the modeling approach using a sample dataset in which multiple sequential stimuli were presented within 2-s trials. We found: (1) Model fits improved when the pupil impulse response function (puRF) was fit for each observer. PuRFs varied substantially across individuals but were consistent for each individual. (2) Model fits also improved when pupil responses were not assumed to occur simultaneously with their associated trial events, but could have non-zero latencies. For example, pupil responses could anticipate predictable trial events. (3) Parameter recovery confirmed the validity of the fitting procedures, and we quantified the reliability of the parameter estimates for our sample dataset. (4) A cognitive task manipulation modulated pupil response amplitude. We provide our pupil analysis pipeline as open-source software (Pupil Response Estimation Toolbox: PRET) to facilitate the estimation of pupil responses and the evaluation of the estimates in other datasets.

scholarly journals Pupillary Responses for Cognitive Load Measurement to Classify Difficulty Levels in an Educational Video Game: Empirical Study

10.2196/21620 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. e21620
Author(s):  
Hugo Mitre-Hernandez ◽  
Roberto Covarrubias Carrillo ◽  
Carlos Lara-Alvarez
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Pupil Size ◽  
Pupillary Response ◽  
Difficulty Level ◽  
Educational Video ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Pupillary Responses ◽  
Perceived Difficulty ◽  
Significant Difference

Background A learning task recurrently perceived as easy (or hard) may cause poor learning results. Gamer data such as errors, attempts, or time to finish a challenge are widely used to estimate the perceived difficulty level. In other contexts, pupillometry is widely used to measure cognitive load (mental effort); hence, this may describe the perceived task difficulty. Objective This study aims to assess the use of task-evoked pupillary responses to measure the cognitive load measure for describing the difficulty levels in a video game. In addition, it proposes an image filter to better estimate baseline pupil size and to reduce the screen luminescence effect. Methods We conducted an experiment that compares the baseline estimated from our filter against that estimated from common approaches. Then, a classifier with different pupil features was used to classify the difficulty of a data set containing information from students playing a video game for practicing math fractions. Results We observed that the proposed filter better estimates a baseline. Mauchly’s test of sphericity indicated that the assumption of sphericity had been violated (χ214=0.05; P=.001); therefore, a Greenhouse-Geisser correction was used (ε=0.47). There was a significant difference in mean pupil diameter change (MPDC) estimated from different baseline images with the scramble filter (F5,78=30.965; P<.001). Moreover, according to the Wilcoxon signed rank test, pupillary response features that better describe the difficulty level were MPDC (z=−2.15; P=.03) and peak dilation (z=−3.58; P<.001). A random forest classifier for easy and hard levels of difficulty showed an accuracy of 75% when the gamer data were used, but the accuracy increased to 87.5% when pupillary measurements were included. Conclusions The screen luminescence effect on pupil size is reduced with a scrambled filter on the background video game image. Finally, pupillary response data can improve classifier accuracy for the perceived difficulty of levels in educational video games.

scholarly journals Pupillary Responses for Cognitive Load Measurement to Classify Difficulty Levels in an Educational Video Game: Empirical Study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugo Mitre-Hernandez ◽  
Roberto Covarrubias Carrillo ◽  
Carlos Lara-Alvarez
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Load ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Pupil Size ◽  
Pupillary Response ◽  
Difficulty Level ◽  
Educational Video ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Pupillary Responses ◽  
Perceived Difficulty ◽  
Significant Difference

BACKGROUND A learning task recurrently perceived as easy (or hard) may cause poor learning results. Gamer data such as errors, attempts, or time to finish a challenge are widely used to estimate the perceived difficulty level. In other contexts, pupillometry is widely used to measure cognitive load (mental effort); hence, this may describe the perceived task difficulty. OBJECTIVE This study aims to assess the use of task-evoked pupillary responses to measure the cognitive load measure for describing the difficulty levels in a video game. In addition, it proposes an image filter to better estimate baseline pupil size and to reduce the screen luminescence effect. METHODS We conducted an experiment that compares the baseline estimated from our filter against that estimated from common approaches. Then, a classifier with different pupil features was used to classify the difficulty of a data set containing information from students playing a video game for practicing math fractions. RESULTS We observed that the proposed filter better estimates a baseline. Mauchly’s test of sphericity indicated that the assumption of sphericity had been violated (χ<sup>2</sup><sub>14</sub>=0.05; <i>P</i>=.001); therefore, a Greenhouse-Geisser correction was used (ε=0.47). There was a significant difference in mean pupil diameter change (MPDC) estimated from different baseline images with the scramble filter (<i>F</i><sub>5,78</sub>=30.965; <i>P</i>&lt;.001). Moreover, according to the Wilcoxon signed rank test, pupillary response features that better describe the difficulty level were MPDC (<i>z</i>=−2.15; <i>P</i>=.03) and peak dilation (<i>z</i>=−3.58; <i>P</i>&lt;.001). A random forest classifier for easy and hard levels of difficulty showed an accuracy of 75% when the gamer data were used, but the accuracy increased to 87.5% when pupillary measurements were included. CONCLUSIONS The screen luminescence effect on pupil size is reduced with a scrambled filter on the background video game image. Finally, pupillary response data can improve classifier accuracy for the perceived difficulty of levels in educational video games.

scholarly journals Pupillary Responses Obey Emmert’s Law and Co-vary with Autistic Traits

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Tortelli ◽  
Marco Turi ◽  
David C. Burr ◽  
Paola Binda
Keyword(s):  
Light Stimulus ◽  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Pupillary Response ◽  
Interindividual Differences ◽  
Pupil Response ◽  
Contextual Processing ◽  
Pupillary Responses ◽  
3D Information ◽  
Emmert’S Law

Abstract We measured the pupil response to a light stimulus subject to a size illusion and found that stimuli perceived as larger evoke a stronger pupillary response. The size illusion depends on combining retinal signals with contextual 3D information; contextual processing is thought to vary across individuals, being weaker in individuals with stronger autistic traits. Consistent with this theory, autistic traits correlated negatively with the magnitude of pupil modulations in our sample of neurotypical adults; however, psychophysical measurements of the illusion did not correlate with autistic traits, or with the pupil modulations. This shows that pupillometry provides an accurate objective index of complex perceptual processes, particularly useful for quantifying interindividual differences, and potentially more informative than standard psychophysical measures.

scholarly journals Listener’s personality traits predict changes in pupil size during auditory language comprehension

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabell Hubert Lyall ◽  
Juhani Järvikivi
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Pupil Size ◽  
Pupil Dilation ◽  
Systematic Research ◽  
Cognitive Resources ◽  
Personality Profiles ◽  
Pupillary Responses ◽  
Grammatical Errors

AbstractResearch suggests that listeners’ comprehension of spoken language is concurrently affected by linguistic and non-linguistic factors, including individual difference factors. However, there is no systematic research on whether general personality traits affect language processing. We correlated 88 native English-speaking participants’ Big-5 traits with their pupillary responses to spoken sentences that included grammatical errors, "He frequently have burgers for dinner"; semantic anomalies, "Dogs sometimes chase teas"; and statements incongruent with gender stereotyped expectations, such as "I sometimes buy my bras at Hudson's Bay", spoken by a male speaker. Generalized additive mixed models showed that the listener's Openness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism traits modulated resource allocation to the three different types of unexpected stimuli. No personality trait affected changes in pupil size across the board: less open participants showed greater pupil dilation when processing sentences with grammatical errors; and more introverted listeners showed greater pupil dilation in response to both semantic anomalies and socio-cultural clashes. Our study is the first one demonstrating that personality traits systematically modulate listeners’ online language processing. Our results suggest that individuals with different personality profiles exhibit different patterns of the allocation of cognitive resources during real-time language comprehension.

scholarly journals Safe and sensible baseline correction of pupil-size data

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastiaan Mathôt ◽  
Jasper Fabius ◽  
Elle van Heusden ◽  
Stefan Van der Stigchel
Keyword(s):  
Pupil Size ◽  
Statistical Power ◽  
Baseline Period ◽  
Experimental Manipulation ◽  
Pupillary Response ◽  
Baseline Correction ◽  
Data Loss ◽  
Eye Blinks ◽  
Random Fluctuations ◽  
Size Data

Measurement of pupil size (pupillometry) has recently gained renewed interest from psychologists, but there is little agreement on how pupil-size data is best analyzed. Here we focus on one aspect of pupillometric analyses: baseline correction, that is, analyzing changes in pupil size relative to a baseline period. Baseline correction is useful in experiments that investigate the effect of some experimental manipulation on pupil size. In such experiments, baseline correction improves statistical power by taking into account random fluctuations in pupil size over time. However, we show that baseline correction can also distort data if unrealistically small pupil sizes are recorded during the baseline period, which can easily occur due to eye blinks, data loss, or other distortions. Divisive baseline correction (corrected pupil size = pupil size / baseline) is affected more strongly by such distortions than subtractive baseline correction (corrected pupil size = pupil size - baseline). We make four recommendations for safe and sensible baseline correction of pupil-size data: 1) use subtractive baseline correction; 2) visually compare your corrected and uncorrected data; 3) be wary of pupil-size effects that emerge faster than the latency of the pupillary response allows (within ±220 ms after the manipulation that induces the effect); and 4) remove trials on which baseline pupil size is unrealistically small (indicative of blinks and other distortions).

scholarly journals Is Pupil Activity Associated With the Strength of Memory Signal for Words in a Continuous Recognition Memory Paradigm?

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jorge Oliveira ◽  
Marta Fernandes ◽  
Pedro J. Rosa ◽  
Pedro Gamito
Keyword(s):  
Retention Interval ◽  
Recognition Memory ◽  
Pupil Size ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Recognition Performance ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Subjective Feeling ◽  
Consistent Finding ◽  
Pupillary Responses ◽  
Study Test

Research on pupillometry provides an increasing evidence for associations between pupil activity and memory processing. The most consistent finding is related to an increase in pupil size for old items compared with novel items, suggesting that pupil activity is associated with the strength of memory signal. However, the time course of these changes is not completely known, specifically, when items are presented in a running recognition task maximizing interference by requiring the recognition of the most recent items from a sequence of old/new items. The sample comprised 42 healthy participants who performed a visual word recognition task under varying conditions of retention interval. Recognition responses were evaluated using behavioral variables for discrimination accuracy, reaction time, and confidence in recognition decisions. Pupil activity was recorded continuously during the entire experiment. The results suggest a decrease in recognition performance with increasing study-test retention interval. Pupil size decreased across retention intervals, while pupil old/new effects were found only for words recognized at the shortest retention interval. Pupillary responses consisted of a pronounced early pupil constriction at retrieval under longer study-test lags corresponding to weaker memory signals. However, the pupil size was also sensitive to the subjective feeling of familiarity as shown by pupil dilation to false alarms (new items judged as old). These results suggest that the pupil size is related not only to the strength of memory signal but also to subjective familiarity decisions in a continuous recognition memory paradigm.

scholarly journals Elaborate pupils in skates may help camouflage the eye

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Youn ◽  
Corey Okinaka ◽  
Lydia M Mäthger
Keyword(s):  
Light Intensity ◽  
Spatial Frequency ◽  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Pupillary Response ◽  
Pupil Dilation ◽  
Primary Factor ◽  
Natural Substrate ◽  
Spatial Frequencies ◽  
Pupillary Responses ◽  
Changing Light

AbstractThe little skate Leucoraja erinacea has elaborately shaped pupils, whose characteristics and functions have not been studied extensively. It has been suggested that such pupil shapes may camouflage the eye; yet, no experimental evidence has been presented to support this claim. Skates are bottom-dwellers that often bury into the substrate with their eyes protruding. If these pupils serve any camouflage function, we expect there to be a pupillary response related to the spatial frequency (“graininess”) of the background against which the eye is viewed. Here, we tested whether skate pupils dilate or constrict in response to background spatial frequency. We placed skates on background substrates with different spatial frequencies and recorded pupillary responses at three light intensities. In experiment 1, the skates’ pupillary response to three artificial checkerboards of different spatial frequencies was recorded. Skates responded to changing light intensity with pupil dilation/constriction; yet, their pupils did not change in response to spatial frequency. In experiment 2, in which skates could bury into three natural substrates with different spatial frequencies, such that their eyes protruded above the substrate, the pupils showed a subtle but statistically significant response to changes in substrate spatial frequency. Given the same light intensity, the smaller the spatial frequency of the natural substrate, the more constricted the pupil. While light intensity is the primary factor determining pupil dilation, these experiments are the first to show that pupils also change in response to background spatial frequency, which suggests that the pupil may aid in camouflaging the eye.

Anticipation and Stuttering: A Pupillographic Study

1969 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 833-839 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth C. Gray ◽  
Dean E. Williams
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Stimulus ◽  
Pupil Size ◽  
Free Association ◽  
Pupil Dilation ◽  
Auditory Stimuli ◽  
Physiological Changes ◽  
Single Word ◽  
Pupil Response ◽  
Association Response ◽  
Pupil Reaction

Changes in pupil size were studied in 24 stuttering and 30 nonstuttering adults during a 4-sec period following the presentation of single-word auditory stimuli and before a signal to respond. Subjects were required first to respond with a single word which was the opposite of the word presented and later to give a one-word free-association response to words of both emotional and neutral connotations. Pupil size was measured also while subjects merely listened to the word stimuli. The process of attending to an auditory stimulus was associated with pupil dilation. Pupil response was significantly greater (in absolute diameter and in dilation) when subjects were required to give an oral response to the stimulus than when they simply listened to the stimulus. Furthermore, the extent of the pupil reaction was related to the nature of the stimulus presented. Such differences in arousal did not occur to any greater degree in stutterers than in nonstutterers. Moreover, among stutterers, measures of pupil size were not predictive of stuttering. Thus, the cues which the stutterer associates with the anticipation of stuttering do not appear to be reflected in the physiological changes associated with pupillary movement.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document