Photorealistic Reconstruction of Visual Texture From EEG Signals

Recent advances in brain decoding have made it possible to classify image categories based on neural activity. Increasing numbers of studies have further attempted to reconstruct the image itself. However, because images of objects and scenes inherently involve spatial layout information, the reconstruction usually requires retinotopically organized neural data with high spatial resolution, such as fMRI signals. In contrast, spatial layout does not matter in the perception of “texture,” which is known to be represented as spatially global image statistics in the visual cortex. This property of “texture” enables us to reconstruct the perceived image from EEG signals, which have a low spatial resolution. Here, we propose an MVAE-based approach for reconstructing texture images from visual evoked potentials measured from observers viewing natural textures such as the textures of various surfaces and object ensembles. This approach allowed us to reconstruct images that perceptually resemble the original textures with a photographic appearance. The present approach can be used as a method for decoding the highly detailed “impression” of sensory stimuli from brain activity.

Comparison of the visual texture calculation methods by image analysis, applied to mirror and scaled carp skin

Regions of interest (ROI) representative of the visual texture of images of mirror carp Cyprinus carpio carpio and scaled carp Cyprinus carpio were taken. Red, green, blue and grayscale (R, G, B, GS) histograms of these ROI were calculated. The following methods of visual texture calculations were performed on the ROIs: 1) image energy based on histograms, 2) image entropy based on histograms, 3) image energy based on co-occurrence matrices, 4) image entropy based on co-occurrence matrices, 5) texture based on fractal dimensions, 6) texture based on texture primitives method. Calculations were performed for color and grayscale images. The identification of the smoothest and roughest ROIs depended on the method used. The largest range between the minimum and maximum values was found in the co-occurrence matrix-based entropy calculation. A close second was the texture change index (TCI) method.

Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors: In search of national representation in the image of folklore

In this case study analysis of the film Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1965) directed by Sergei Parajanov (1924–90) I will explore the ways in which traditional dress in this film, as part of a wider imagery of folklore, has been defamiliarized from the ideological canon of social realism. More specifically, I will look at the ways Parajanov’s film, filled with music, dance, colour and ethnographic texture, significantly departed from the traditional representation of non-Russians on the Soviet screen under the Friendship of Peoples policy. Based on a folkloric legend, adapted and published in 1911 by Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi (1864–1913), Shadows celebrates the ethnographic texture of the Hutsul region by departing significantly from causality and narrative logic and bringing together primitive and modern elements instead. Praised for its authenticity, the film became a turning point in the search for a new site of national expression for Ukrainian filmmakers and more specifically, the role of folklore in its visual presentation. The work of the costume designer Lidiya Bajkova (1905–80) is emblematic in the way it renders authenticity beyond historical, ethnic and material accuracy by seamlessly integrating the costumes into the visual texture of the cinematic image. Her approach demonstrates how motifs and patterns that have previously been delegated to domesticated and melodramatic narratives could conversely become a fundamental substance of the cinematic experience.

Research on the Visual Texture Presentation of Fabrics

This article discusses the process of repairing, optimizing and manufacturing of fabrics by 3D software, and the 3D scanned imaging theory. To present a simulated texture effect on the fabric, it needs to refer to three necessary conditions of visual texture and use the advantages of 3D software. It will be possible to form a highly simulated visual texture fabric after optimized testing.

Vegetable Freshness Perception in Dementia with Lewy Bodies and Alzheimer’s Disease

Introduction: Although various visual function deficits have been reported in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), vegetable freshness perception has not been thoroughly examined. Objective: To investigate vegetable freshness perception in patients with AD and DLB and to clarify the relationship between vegetable freshness perception and various visuoperceptual functions. Methods: We enrolled 37 patients with probable DLB, 58 patients with probable AD, and 32 age-matched healthy controls. We assessed vegetable freshness perception and visuoperceptual functions, including vegetable brightness perception, contrast sensitivity, color perception, and stereopsis. Patients with DLB showed disproportionate deficits in vegetable freshness perception and vegetable luminance perception compared to patients with AD and controls. Analyses of the groups with higher and lower vegetable freshness perceptions revealed significant differences in contrast sensitivity and visual texture recognition. Results: In the vegetable freshness test, we found significant differences among the 3 groups (F = 30.029, p < 0.0001); the extent of impairment in patients with DLB was greater than that in patients with AD. In patients with DLB, the vegetable freshness judgments were significantly correlated with texture judgment scores and contrast sensitivity. Conclusion: Our findings revealed significantly impaired vegetable freshness perception in patients with DLB. Vegetable freshness perception may be related to visual texture recognition in patients with DLB.