scholarly journals Both high and low spatial frequencies are critical for visual consciousness in autism: Evidence of an emotional attentional blink paradigm.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adeline Lacroix ◽  
Marie Gomot ◽  
Margot Fombonne ◽  
Mickaël J. R. Perrier ◽  
Carole Peyrin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Perception ◽  
Attentional Blink ◽  
Face Processing ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Local Information ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Spatial Frequencies ◽  
Coarse Information ◽  
Visual Consciousness

Abstract High Spatial Frequencies (HSF - conveying local information) may serve a critical role in visual consciousness. Despite an HSF bias during visual perception in autism, autistic individuals demonstrate impairments in face processing. Our aim was to investigate the respective role of HSF and Low Spatial Frequencies (LSF - conveying coarse information) on visual consciousness in autism. Thirty-two autistic adults and 35 typically developing (TD) controls performed an emotional attentional blink paradigm with spatially filtered distractors. TD participants showed reduced T2 accuracy (i.e., accuracy for the second target given the correct report of the first target T1) after unfiltered and HSF distractors compared to LSF distractors. In the autistic group, we observed lower T2 accuracy than controls after HSF and LSF distractors but not after unfiltered distractors. Results suggest the importance of HSF for visual consciousness in TD participants whereas, both LSF and HSF seem important in autism.

scholarly journals Heightened sensitivity to low-level visual information in autism during an emotional attentional blink task

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adeline Lacroix ◽  
Marie Gomot ◽  
Margot Fombonne ◽  
Mickaël J. R. Perrier ◽  
Carole Peyrin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Recognition ◽  
Attentional Blink ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Facial Emotion Recognition ◽  
Facial Emotion ◽  
Autistic Group ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Spatial Frequencies ◽  
Visual Consciousness ◽  
T1 And T2

Abstract Background Impairments in facial emotion recognition have been a hallmark of autism, which may contribute to the difficulty in social engagement and interpersonal interaction. Impaired facial emotion recognition in autism could be partly due to the asymmetrical perceptual bias to High Spatial Frequencies (HSF) information observed during visual perception. While Low Spatial Frequencies (LSF) convey coarse information, which would be critical for a fast analysis and categorization of emotional faces, HSF convey local information, which may serve a critical role in visual consciousness. However, to our knowledge, the effect of HSF on visual consciousness in autism has not been specifically studied so far. Methods Thirty-three adult autistic participants and 35 typically developing (TD) control participants performed an emotional attentional blink paradigm. Participants had to identify and report two targets (happy faces, T1 and T2) embedded in a stream of distractors (angry faces). The distractors between T1 and T2 were unfiltered or filtered in HSF or LSF. We used ANOVA to compare the impact of spatial frequency information on visual consciousness in the two groups of participants. Results TD control participants showed significantly reduced T2 accuracy (i.e., accuracy for the second target given the correct report of the first target T1) after unfiltered and HSF distractors compared to LSF distractors. As predicted, reduced T2 accuracy was observed after HSF distractors in the autistic group as compared to the TD group. Although we did not hypothesized, we also found reduced T2 accuracy after LSF distractors in the autistic group. The accuracy between the two groups did not differ regarding unfiltered distractors. Limitations Our sample was adult, high functioning and mainly late diagnosed. Therefore, our findings may not generalize to the whole autistic population. Conclusion Results confirm that HSF plays a critical role in visual consciousness in both TD and autistic participants. More importantly, autistic participants demonstrated impaired target detections after filtered distractors, suggesting that they have enhanced sensitivity for low-level characteristics, such as high and low spatial frequencies filtering. These findings are discussed in the context of the Enhanced Perceptual Functioning theory and predictive coding frameworks.

Monkey Perirhinal Cortex is Critical for Visual Memory, but not for Visual Perception: Reexamination of the Behavioural Evidence from Monkeys

2005 ◽  
Vol 58 (3-4b) ◽  
pp. 283-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert R. Hampton
Keyword(s):  
Visual Perception ◽  
Learning And Memory ◽  
Discrimination Learning ◽  
Visual Memory ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Perirhinal Cortex ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Data Call ◽  
Behavioural Evidence

Overdependence on discrimination learning paradigms to assess the function of perirhinal cortex has complicated understanding of the cognitive role of this structure. Impairments in discrimination learning can result from at least two distinct causes: (a) failure to accurately apprehend and represent the relevant stimuli, or (b) failure to form and remember associations between stimulus representations and reward. Thus, the results of discrimination learning experiments do not readily differentiate deficits in perception from deficits in learning and memory. Here I describe studies that do dissociate learning and memory from perception and show that perirhinal cortex damage impairs learning and/or memory, but not perception. Reanalysis and reconsideration of other published data call into further question the hypothesis that the monkey perirhinal cortex plays a critical role in visual perception.

The Importance of High Spatial Frequencies for Exogenous Consciousness. Evidence from the Attentional Blink Paradigm.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mickaël Jean Rémi Perrier ◽  
Louise Kauffmann ◽  
Carole Peyrin ◽  
Nicolas Vermeulen ◽  
Frederic Dutheil ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Frequency ◽  
Visual System ◽  
Attentional Blink ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Conscious Perception ◽  
Frequency Content ◽  
Spatial Frequencies ◽  
Low Pass ◽  
Visual Consciousness ◽  
High Pass

We attempted to highlight the respective importance of low spatial frequencies (LSFs) and high spatial frequencies (HSFs) in the emergence of visual consciousness by using an attentional blink paradigm in order to manipulate the conscious report of visual stimuli. Thirty-eight participants were asked to identify and report two targets (happy faces) embedded in a rapid stream of distractors (angry faces). Conscious perception of the second target (T2) usually improved as the lag between the targets increased. The distractors between T1 and T2 were either non-filtered (broad spatial frequencies, BSF), low-pass filtered (LSF), or high-pass filtered (HSF). The spatial frequency content of the distractors resulted in a greater disturbance of T2 reporting in the HSF than in the LSF condition. We argue that this could support the idea of HSF information playing a crucial role in the emergence of exogenous consciousness in the visual system. Other interpretations are also discussed.

scholarly journals Perception of invisible masked objects in early infancy

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yusuke Nakashima ◽  
So Kanazawa ◽  
Masami K. Yamaguchi
Keyword(s):  
Visual Perception ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Early Infancy ◽  
First Year ◽  
Backward Masking ◽  
Recurrent Processing ◽  
First Year Of Life ◽  
Visual Backward Masking

AbstractRecurrent loops in the visual cortex play a critical role in visual perception, which is likely not mediated by purely feedforward pathways. However, the development of recurrent loops is poorly understood. The role of recurrent processing has been studied using visual backward masking, a perceptual phenomenon in which a visual stimulus is rendered invisible by a following mask, possibly because of the disruption of recurrent processing. Anatomical studies have reported that recurrent pathways are immature in early infancy. This raises the possibility that younger infants process visual information mainly in a feedforward manner, and thus, they might be able to perceive visual stimuli that adults cannot see because of backward masking. Here, we show that infants under 7 months of age are immune to visual backward masking and that masked stimuli remain visible to younger infants while older infants cannot perceive them. These results suggest that recurrent processing is immature in infants under 7 months and that they are able to perceive objects even without recurrent processing. Our findings indicate that the algorithm for visual perception drastically changes in the second half of the first year of life.

Age Differences in Face Processing: The Role of Perceptual Degradation and Holistic Processing

2018 ◽  
Vol 74 (6) ◽  
pp. 933-942 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Boutet ◽  
Bozana Meinhardt-Injac
Keyword(s):  
Age Differences ◽  
Face Processing ◽  
Middle Age ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Signal Strength ◽  
Holistic Processing ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Spatial Frequencies ◽  
Comparable Magnitude

Abstract Objectives We simultaneously investigated the role of three hypotheses regarding age-related differences in face processing: perceptual degradation, impaired holistic processing, and an interaction between the two. Methods Young adults (YA) aged 20–33-year olds, middle-age adults (MA) aged 50–64-year olds, and older adults (OA) aged 65–82-year olds were tested on the context congruency paradigm, which allows measurement of face-specific holistic processing across the life span (Meinhardt-Injac, Persike & Meinhardt, 2014. Acta Psychologica, 151, 155–163). Perceptual degradation was examined by measuring performance with faces that were not filtered (FSF), with faces filtered to preserve low spatial frequencies (LSF), and with faces filtered to preserve high spatial frequencies (HSF). Results We found that reducing perceptual signal strength had a greater impact on MA and OA for HSF faces, but not LSF faces. Context congruency effects were significant and of comparable magnitude across ages for FSF, LSF, and HSF faces. By using watches as control objects, we show that these holistic effects reflect face-specific mechanisms in all age groups. Discussion Our results support the perceptual degradation hypothesis for faces containing only HSF and suggest that holistic processing is preserved in aging even under conditions of reduced signal strength.

scholarly journals Two faces of the attentional blink: Gradual and discrete loss of perceptual awareness

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aytaç Karabay ◽  
Jing Wang ◽  
Sophia A. Wilhelm ◽  
Sander Martens ◽  
Elkan G. Akyürek
Keyword(s):  
Attentional Blink ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Spatial Location ◽  
Feature Location ◽  
Perceptual Awareness ◽  
Spatial Overlap ◽  
Discrete Task ◽  
Series Of Experiments ◽  
Location Binding

AbstractIn a series of experiments, the nature of perceptual awareness during the attentional blink was investigated. Previous work has considered the attentional blink as a discrete, all-or-none phenomenon, indicative for access to conscious awareness. Using continuous report measures in combination with mixture modeling, the current outcomes show that, in fact, the attentional blink can be a gradual phenomenon. The nature of the blink depended on whether targets might compete for the same spatial location or not. Without the possibility of spatial overlap, the attentional blink was of a gradual nature, in which representations of blinked targets were impoverished, but nonetheless approached the actual identity of the target that was presented. Conversely, with spatial overlap, the attentional blink was discrete; no partially correct reports could be made about blinked targets. These two different faces of the attentional blink challenge current accounts of awareness and temporal attention, which do not recognize the critical role of feature-location binding in producing discrete task performance, and consequently cannot explain the existence of gradual awareness, including that of targets subject to the attentional blink.

scholarly journals Task demands modulate effects of threatening faces on early perceptual encoding

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Burra ◽  
Dirk Kerzel
Keyword(s):  
Facial Expression ◽  
Face Processing ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Task Demands ◽  
Face Stimulus ◽  
The Face ◽  
Task Irrelevant ◽  
Face Task ◽  
Threatening Stimuli

The threat capture hypothesis states that threatening stimuli are automatically processed with higher priority than non-threatening stimuli, irrespective of the task. We evaluated the threat capture hypothesis with respect to the early perceptual stages of face processing. We focused on an electrophysiological marker of face processing (the lateralized N170) in response to neutral, happy, and angry facial expressions displayed in competition with a non-face stimulus (a house). We evaluated how effects of facial expression on the lateralized N170 were modulated by task demands. In one task, participants were required to identify the gender of the face, which made the face task-relevant and entailed structural encoding of the face stimulus. In another task, participants identified the location of a missing pixel in the fixation cross, which made the face task-irrelevant and placed it outside the focus of attention. When faces were relevant, the lateralized N170 to angry faces was enhanced compared to happy and neutral faces. When faces were irrelevant, facial expression had no effect. These results reveal the critical role of task demands on the preference for threatening faces, indicating that top-down, voluntary processing modulates the prioritization of threat.

scholarly journals High spatial frequency information in primes hastens happy faces categorization in autistic adults.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adeline Lacroix ◽  
Ladislas Nalborczyk ◽  
Frederic Dutheil ◽  
Klara Kovarski ◽  
Sylvie Chokron ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Visual Information ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
High Spatial Frequency ◽  
Decision Time ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Main Hypothesis ◽  
Spatial Frequencies ◽  
Coarse Information ◽  
Autistic Adults ◽  
Emotional Face

Where does the remarkable human ability to quickly identify facial emotion come from? Coarse-to-Fine integration of visual information may play a critical role. Coarse information of a visual stimulus is conveyed by Low Spatial Frequencies (LSF) and is thought to be rapidly extracted to generate predictions. This may guide inhibition of irrelevant information and facilitate fast recognition with the subsequent integration of fine information, conveyed by High Spatial Frequencies (HSF). In autism, emotional face recognition is challenging and may contribute to socio-emotional difficulties. It has been suggested that perceptual changes, such as a bias toward HSF or a reduced LSF processing, could partly explain atypical face processing in autism. However, alterations in predictive processes related to LSF have not been investigated so far. Here, we analyzed the data of 27 autistic adults and 34 matched typically developing (TD) controls on an emotional Stroop task (i.e., emotional face with congruent or incongruent emotional word) with spatially filtered primes (HSF vs. LSF). We hypothesized that LSF primes would generate predictions leading to faster categorization of the target face stimulus in the context of incongruent information, compared to HSF primes, in the control group but not in the autistic group. Surprisingly, HSF primes led to faster categorization than LSF primes in both groups and irrespective of the congruency. Moreover, whereas the advantage of HSF vs. LSF primes was stronger for angry than happy faces in the control group, it was stronger for happy than angry faces in autistic participants. Additional exploratory analyses using drift diffusion modelling confirmed HSF advantage for achieving the task and showed a longer non-decision time (i.e., encoding and motor response) in autism compared to control. Our main hypothesis of predictive impairments in autism in relation to LSF was not corroborated by our data. However, our analyses suggest specificities in autistic individuals according to the type of emotion processed and in the slower non-decision-related processes.

Nonword Repetition Skills in Gulf Arabic–Speaking Children With Developmental Language Disorder

2020 ◽  
Vol 63 (11) ◽  
pp. 3700-3713
Author(s):  
Saleh Shaalan
Keyword(s):  
Phonological Processing ◽  
Language Disorder ◽  
Nonword Repetition ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Developmental Language Disorder ◽  
Gulf Arabic ◽  
Arabic Speaking ◽  
Phonological Complexity

Purpose This study examined the performance of Gulf Arabic–speaking children with developmental language disorder (DLD) on a Gulf Arabic nonword repetition (GA-NWR) test and compared it to their age- and language-matched groups. We also investigated the role of syllable length, wordlikeness, and phonological complexity in light of NWR theories. Method A new GA-NWR test was conducted with three groups of Gulf Arabic–speaking children: school-age children with DLD, language-matched controls (LCs), and age-matched controls (ACs). The test consisted of two- and three-syllable words that either had no clusters, medial clusters, final clusters, or medial + final clusters. Results The GA-NWR distinguished between the performance of children with DLD and the LC and AC groups. Results showed significant syllable length, wordlikeness, and phonological complexity effects. Differences between the DLD and typically developing groups were seen in two- and three-syllable nonwords; however, when compared on nonwords with no clusters, children with DLD were not significantly different from the LC group. Conclusions The GA-NWR test differentiated between children with DLD and their ACs and LCs. Findings, therefore, support its clinical utility in this variety of Arabic. Results showed that phonological processing factors, such as phonological complexity, may have stronger effects when compared to syllable length effects. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12996812

Examining the Role of Language in Play Among Children With and Without Developmental Disabilities

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 795-806 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth J. Short ◽  
Rachael Cooper Schindler ◽  
Rita Obeid ◽  
Maia M. Noeder ◽  
Laura E. Hlavaty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Disabilities ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Free Play ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Play Skills ◽  
Critical Aspect ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Better Than

Purpose Play is a critical aspect of children's development, and researchers have long argued that symbolic deficits in play may be diagnostic of developmental disabilities. This study examined whether deficits in play emerge as a function of developmental disabilities and whether our perceptions of play are colored by differences in language and behavioral presentations. Method Ninety-three children participated in this study (typically developing [TD]; n = 23, developmental language disorders [DLD]; n = 24, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD]; n = 26, and autism spectrum disorder [ASD]; n = 20). Children were videotaped engaging in free-play. Children's symbolic play (imagination, organization, elaboration, and comfort) was scored under conditions of both audible language and no audible language to assess diagnostic group differences in play and whether audible language impacted raters' perception of play. Results Significant differences in play were evident across diagnostic groups. The presence of language did not alter play ratings for the TD group, but differences were found among the other diagnostic groups. When language was audible, children with DLD and ASD (but not ADHD) were scored poorly on play compared to their TD peers. When language was not audible, children with DLD were perceived to play better than when language was audible. Conversely, children with ADHD showed organizational deficits when language was not available to support their play. Finally, children with ASD demonstrated poor play performance regardless of whether language was audible or not. Conclusions Language affects our understanding of play skills in some young children. Parents, researchers, and clinicians must be careful not to underestimate or overestimate play based on language presentation. Differential skills in language have the potential to unduly influence our perceptions of play for children with developmental disabilities.

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