Symmetry and Artistic Elongation of the Human Form: Exploring the Attainment of Aesthetic Appeal

Perception ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 030100662110583
Author(s):  
G D Schott
Keyword(s):  
Functional Mri ◽  
Scientific Basis ◽  
Human Form ◽  
Artistic Style ◽  
Aesthetic Appeal ◽  
Mri Studies ◽  
Cerebral Processing ◽  
The Brain

Although typically associated with the Mannerist artistic style of the Renaissance, artists throughout history have created pictures and sculptures of humans depicted in an unrealistic and abnormally elongated form. The scientific basis for adopting this form of distortion is discussed here. First, probably subconsciously, artists have appreciated that the human form displays a symmetry which is often aesthetically pleasing. Second, perceived beauty is enhanced when the symmetrical image is elongated. There is evidence that the appeal of artworks which feature these characteristics can be attributed to their ease of cerebral processing, a view supported by functional MRI studies indicating there is an overlap between regions of the brain devoted to processing of symmetry and those devoted to appreciation of beauty.

Reorganization of the brain in spinal cord injury: a meta-analysis of functional MRI studies

2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (11) ◽  
pp. 1309-1318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenzhao Wang ◽  
Wei Xie ◽  
Qianqian Zhang ◽  
Lei Liu ◽  
Jian Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Spinal Cord Injury ◽  
Functional Mri ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Mri Studies ◽  
Cord Injury ◽  
The Brain

Risky Business: Disambiguating Ambiguity-Related Responses in the Brain

2009 ◽  
Vol 102 (2) ◽  
pp. 645-647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin O'Neill ◽  
Shunsuke Kobayashi
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Psychology ◽  
Functional Mri ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Aversive Event ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
Behavioral Economic ◽  
Economic Theories ◽  
Mri Studies ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Risky Business

Previous functional MRI studies reported neural correlates of risk and ambiguity based on behavioral economic theories. A recent study controlled for uncertainty by adding noise to information of an impending aversive event and demonstrated brain areas that did not track the degree of uncertainty: the activation peaked when the degraded information could be restored by cognitive efforts. In this review, we discuss how the variables defined in economics and cognitive psychology frameworks can be dissociated.

scholarly journals Improved in vivo PET imaging of the adenosine A2A receptor in the brain using [18F]FLUDA, a deuterated radiotracer with high metabolic stability

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thu Hang Lai ◽  
Magali Toussaint ◽  
Rodrigo Teodoro ◽  
Sladjana Dukić-Stefanović ◽  
Daniel Gündel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Specific Binding ◽  
Radiochemical Yield ◽  
Toxicity Study ◽  
In Vivo Evaluation ◽  
One Pot ◽  
Specific Binding Ratio ◽  
Mri Studies ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Purpose The adenosine A2A receptor has emerged as a therapeutic target for multiple diseases, and thus the non-invasive imaging of the expression or occupancy of the A2A receptor has potential to contribute to diagnosis and drug development. We aimed at the development of a metabolically stable A2A receptor radiotracer and report herein the preclinical evaluation of [18F]FLUDA, a deuterated isotopologue of [18F]FESCH. Methods [18F]FLUDA was synthesized by a two-step one-pot approach and evaluated in vitro by autoradiographic studies as well as in vivo by metabolism and dynamic PET/MRI studies in mice and piglets under baseline and blocking conditions. A single-dose toxicity study was performed in rats. Results [18F]FLUDA was obtained with a radiochemical yield of 19% and molar activities of 72–180 GBq/μmol. Autoradiography proved A2A receptor–specific accumulation of [18F]FLUDA in the striatum of a mouse and pig brain. In vivo evaluation in mice revealed improved stability of [18F]FLUDA compared to that of [18F]FESCH, resulting in the absence of brain-penetrant radiometabolites. Furthermore, the radiometabolites detected in piglets are expected to have a low tendency for brain penetration. PET/MRI studies confirmed high specific binding of [18F]FLUDA towards striatal A2A receptor with a maximum specific-to-non-specific binding ratio in mice of 8.3. The toxicity study revealed no adverse effects of FLUDA up to 30 μg/kg, ~ 4000-fold the dose applied in human PET studies using [18F]FLUDA. Conclusions The new radiotracer [18F]FLUDA is suitable to detect the availability of the A2A receptor in the brain with high target specificity. It is regarded ready for human application.

scholarly journals A systematic review of structural and functional MRI studies on pain catastrophizing

2019 ◽  
Vol Volume 12 ◽  
pp. 1155-1178 ◽  
Author(s):  
Attila Galambos ◽  
Edina Szabó ◽  
Zita Nagy ◽  
Andrea Edit Édes ◽  
Natália Kocsel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Functional Mri ◽  
Pain Catastrophizing ◽  
Mri Studies

scholarly journals Oxidative Stress and Cognitive Alterations Induced by Cancer Chemotherapy Drugs: A Scoping Review

Antioxidants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1116
Author(s):  
Omar Cauli
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Repeated Administration ◽  
Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester ◽  
Scientific Basis ◽  
Clinical Settings ◽  
Chemotherapy Drugs ◽  
Scientific Attention ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Cognitive Alterations

Cognitive impairment is one of the most deleterious effects of chemotherapy treatment in cancer patients, and this problem sometimes remains even after chemotherapy ends. Common classes of chemotherapy-based regimens such as anthracyclines, taxanes, and platinum derivatives can induce both oxidative stress in the blood and in the brain, and these effects can be reproduced in neuronal and glia cell cultures. In rodent models, both the acute and repeated administration of doxorubicin or adriamycin (anthracyclines) or cisplatin impairs cognitive functions, as shown by their diminished performance in different learning and memory behavioural tasks. Administration of compounds with strong antioxidant effects such as N-acetylcysteine, gamma-glutamyl cysteine ethyl ester, polydatin, caffeic acid phenethyl ester, and 2-mercaptoethane sulfonate sodium (MESNA) counteract both oxidative stress and cognitive alterations induced by chemotherapeutic drugs. These antioxidant molecules provide the scientific basis to design clinical trials in patients with the aim of reducing the oxidative stress and cognitive alterations, among other probable central nervous system changes, elicited by chemotherapy in cancer patients. In particular, N-acetylcysteine and MESNA are currently used in clinical settings and are therefore attracting scientific attention.

Model Guidelines for Visibility of On-Premise Advertisement Signs

1997 ◽  
Vol 1605 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beverly Thompson Kuhn ◽  
Philip M. Garvey ◽  
Martin T. Pietrucha
Keyword(s):  
Human Factors ◽  
Traffic Safety ◽  
Scientific Basis ◽  
Specialized Training ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Local Planning ◽  
Lane Changing ◽  
Aesthetic Appeal ◽  
Model Set ◽  
Lateral Offset

On-premise advertising signs play an important role in directing drivers. Well-placed and well-designed on-premise advertising signs can guide vehicle operators toward their destinations with minimal demand for attention. Poor placement of signs can sap a driver’s cognitive and perceptual resources, resulting in erratic maneuvers such as inappropriate slowing and lane changing. Increasingly, however, the visibility of on-premise advertising signs is being determined not by human factors researchers, visibility experts, or traffic engineers but by local planning and zoning officials, who lack specialized training in relevant fields. Regulations affecting on-premise sign visibility characteristics, such as means of illumination, lateral offset, and sign size, have been established mainly on the basis of arguments for improved aesthetic appeal and of vague, often unsubstantiated safety claims. There is a clear need to determine, from scientific and ergonomic perspectives, the effects these regulations have on sign visibility and traffic safety. An organized synthesis of existing literature on sign visibility based on 60 years of research and consisting of more than 150 journal articles and technical reports is presented. The synthesis may be used by sign designers to optimize the visual effectiveness of their signs. It also can provide a scientific basis for the development of new on-premise sign regulations or changes to existing regulations. A model set of guidelines for designing and locating on-premise advertisement signs for conspicuity and legibility is provided.

scholarly journals Category representations in the brain are both discretely localized and widely distributed

2018 ◽  
Vol 119 (6) ◽  
pp. 2256-2264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zarrar Shehzad ◽  
Gregory McCarthy
Keyword(s):  
Functional Mri ◽  
Brain Connectivity ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Distributed Representations ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Category Information ◽  
Shared Information ◽  
Unique Domain ◽  
The Brain

Whether category information is discretely localized or represented widely in the brain remains a contentious issue. Initial functional MRI studies supported the localizationist perspective that category information is represented in discrete brain regions. More recent fMRI studies using machine learning pattern classification techniques provide evidence for widespread distributed representations. However, these latter studies have not typically accounted for shared information. Here, we find strong support for distributed representations when brain regions are considered separately. However, localized representations are revealed by using analytical methods that separate unique from shared information among brain regions. The distributed nature of shared information and the localized nature of unique information suggest that brain connectivity may encourage spreading of information but category-specific computations are carried out in distinct domain-specific regions. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Whether visual category information is localized in unique domain-specific brain regions or distributed in many domain-general brain regions is hotly contested. We resolve this debate by using multivariate analyses to parse functional MRI signals from different brain regions into unique and shared variance. Our findings support elements of both models and show information is initially localized and then shared among other regions leading to distributed representations being observed.

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