object exploration
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Author(s):  
André W.C. Oliveira ◽  
Jéssica V.N. Pacheco ◽  
Clara S. Costa ◽  
Jéssica Aquino ◽  
Rafael S. Maior ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Miralles ◽  
Guillem Garrofé ◽  
Calota Parés ◽  
Alejandro González ◽  
Gerard Serra ◽  
...  

Abstract The cognitive connection between the senses of touch and vision is probably the best-known case of cross-modality. Recent discoveries suggest that the mapping between both senses is learned rather than innate. These evidences open the door to a dynamic cross-modality that allows individuals to adaptively develop within their environment. Mimicking this aspect of human learning, we propose a new cross-modal mechanism that allows artificial cognitive systems (ACS) to adapt quickly to unforeseen perceptual anomalies generated by the environment or by the system itself. In this context, visual recognition systems have advanced remarkably in recent years thanks to the creation of large-scale datasets together with the advent of deep learning algorithms. However, such advances have not occurred on the haptic mode, mainly due to the lack of two-handed dexterous datasets that allow learning systems to process the tactile information of human object exploration. This data imbalance limits the creation of synchronized multimodal datasets that would enable the development of cross-modality in ACS during object exploration. In this work, we use a multimodal dataset recently generated from tactile sensors placed on a collection of objects that capture haptic data from human manipulation, together with the corresponding visual counterpart. Using this data, we create a cross-modal learning transfer mechanism capable of detecting both sudden and permanent anomalies in the visual channel and still maintain visual object recognition performance by retraining the visual mode for a few minutes using haptic information. Here we show the importance of cross-modality in perceptual awareness and its ecological capabilities to self-adapt to different environments.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. A534-A535
Author(s):  
Alice Hill ◽  
Colin Johnston ◽  
Joanna L Spencer-Segal

Abstract Survivors of critical illness often report traumatic memories of their illness period, and these memories are thought to contribute to development of neuropsychiatric disorders, such as PTSD. Many patients are treated with high doses of glucocorticoids for their vasoactive and anti-inflammatory properties, and glucocorticoids have also been shown to prevent the development of PTSD after trauma. Due to their activity in the hippocampus and amygdala, the putative protective effect of glucocorticoids may occur via memory formation during illness. To examine the effect of glucocorticoids on memory formation during acute infectious illness, male and female C57BL/6 mice (N=80, 40 male/40 female) underwent cecal ligation and puncture and were treated with either corticosterone (16 mg/kg) or vehicle in the early afternoon daily for five days beginning on the day of surgery. All mice were habituated to a neutral object in their home cage for five days and underwent one 30-minute footshock/no shock training session during the illness period. After physiologic recovery (2 weeks), the mice underwent behavioral testing including open field exploration, object recognition testing in which they were presented with both the familiar (habituated) object and a novel object, and testing in the shock context. The results showed that drug treatment had no effect on behavior in the open field, including time spent in the center (VEH: 20.19±10.81 vs CORT: 22.32±12.87 sec; P=0.476). Drug treatment increased overall object exploration (12.28±10.79 vs 19.17±15.88 sec; P=0.049). Corticosterone-treated mice showed a preference for the familiar object (60.9±23.0% of total exploration time with familiar object; P=0.015), while vehicle-treated mice did not (54.1±23.3%; P=0.378). The increase in overall object exploration seen in corticosterone-treated mice could be accounted for by an increase in exploration of the familiar object. History of footshock increased freezing in the training context (3.96±2.54% vs 36.08±15.42%; P<0.0001) and corticosterone treatment had no effect (18.06±17.65% vs 22.16±21.19%; P=0.557). In conclusion, administration of corticosterone during infectious illness facilitated memory of a neutral object from the illness period, and recovered mice exhibited a preference for this object over a novel one. Corticosterone treatment had no impact on fear memory formed during illness. This is consistent with human literature suggesting that hydrocortisone decreases PTSD symptoms without impacting traumatic memories. These findings suggest that glucocorticoids selectively enhance the formation, consolidation, and/or recall of neutral but not fear memories during illness, which may rely on hippocampal circuitry. We further suggest that accurate memories of the illness period may influence patients’ perception of this experience and alter their risk for psychiatric sequelae.


2021 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Adamo ◽  
Paul A. Abell ◽  
Robert C. Anderson ◽  
Brent W. Barbee ◽  
Thomas D. Jones ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruchi Malik ◽  
Yi Li ◽  
Selin Schamiloglu ◽  
Vikaas S. Sohal

SummaryThe prefrontal cortex (PFC) is postulated to exert ‘top-down control’ by modulating information processing throughout the brain to promote specific actions based on current goals. However, the pathways mediating top-down control remain poorly understood. In particular, knowledge about direct prefrontal connections that might facilitate top-down prefrontal control of information processing in the hippocampus remains sparse. Here we describe novel monosynaptic long-range GABAergic projections from PFC to hippocampus. These preferentially inhibit vasoactive intestinal polypeptide expressing interneurons, which are known to disinhibit hippocampal microcircuits. Indeed, stimulating prefrontal–hippocampal GABAergic projections increases hippocampal feedforward inhibition and reduces hippocampal activity in vivo. The net effect of these actions is to specifically enhance the signal-to-noise ratio for hippocampal representations of objects. Correspondingly, stimulation of PFC-to-hippocampus GABAergic projections promotes object exploration. Together, these results elucidate a novel top-down pathway in which long-range GABAergic projections target disinhibitory microcircuits, thereby enhancing signals and network dynamics underlying exploratory behavior.


Author(s):  
Yukari Tanaka ◽  
Yasuhiro Kanakogi ◽  
Masako Myowa

AbstractInfants’ social touch with caregivers has been considered a means of regulating infant physiological and emotional state. In non-human mammals, such regulatory function also facilitates infant exploration and social behavior. However, the types of social touch in human mother–infant interaction that contribute to specific behavioral responses toward people and objects remain unclear. Using a pre- and post-task design, this study investigated the effects of social touch during mother–infant interactions on infants’ subsequent preferential looking at social stimuli, social engagement with strangers, and object exploration. Between tasks, mothers and infants spent the time playing in one of two conditions, More Physical Contact or Less Physical Contact. We found that infants in the More Physical Contact Condition showed a greater decrease in evasive behavior with the stranger and enhanced object exploration than those in the Less Physical Contact Condition. Conversely, social touch did not affect infants’ preferential looking at static social images. Among the types of social touch, the frequency of affectionate touch reduced evasive behavior to the stranger and facilitated object exploration. These results suggest that social touch, especially affectionate touch, during mother–infant interactions, assist in the modulation of infants’ evasive behaviors toward people and object exploration.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linus Milinski ◽  
Simon P. Fisher ◽  
Nanyi Cui ◽  
Laura E. McKillop ◽  
Cristina Blanco Duque ◽  
...  

AbstractHomeostatic regulation of sleep is reflected in the maintenance of a daily balance between sleep and wake. Although numerous internal and external factors can influence sleep, it is unclear whether and to what extent the process that keeps track of time spent awake is determined by the content of the waking experience. We hypothesised that alterations in environmental conditions may elicit different types of wakefulness, which will in turn influence both the capacity to sustain continuous wakefulness as well the rates of accumulating sleep pressure. To address this, we performed two experiments, where we compared wakefulness dominated by novel object exploration with either (i) the effects of voluntary wheel running (Experiment 1) or (ii) performance in a simple touchscreen task (Experiment 2). We find that voluntary wheel running results in longer wake episodes, as compared with exploratory behaviour; yet it does not lead to higher levels of EEG slow wave activity (SWA) during subsequent sleep. On the other hand, engagement in a touchscreen task, motivated by a food reward, results in lower SWA during subsequent sleep, as compared to exploratory wakefulness, even though the total duration of wakefulness was similar. Overall, our study suggests that sleep-wake behaviour is highly flexible within an individual, and that the homeostatic process that keeps track of time spent awake is sensitive to the nature of the waking experience. We therefore conclude that sleep dynamics are determined, to a large degree, by the interaction between the organism and the environment.


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