Cortical Circuits for Top-down Control of Perceptual Grouping

A fundamental characteristic of human visual perception is the ability to group together disparate elements in a scene and treat them as a single unit. The mechanisms by which humans create such groupings remain unknown, but grouping seems to play an important role in a wide variety of visual phenomena, and a good understanding of these mechanisms might provide guidance for how to improve machine vision algorithms. Here, we build on a proposal that some groupings are the result of connections in cortical area V2 that join disparate elements, thereby allowing them to be selected and segmented together. In previous instantiations of this proposal, connection formation was based on the anatomy (e.g., extent) of receptive fields, which made connection formation obligatory when the stimulus conditions stimulate the corresponding receptive fields. We now propose dynamic circuits that provide greater flexibility in the formation of connections and that allow for top-down control of perceptual grouping. With computer simulations we explain how the circuits work and show how they can account for a wide variety of Gestalt principles of perceptual grouping and two texture segmentation tasks. We propose that human observers use such top-down control to implement task-dependent connection strategies that encourage particular groupings of stimulus elements in order to promote performance on various kinds of visual tasks.

THE COGNITIVE SCIENCE OF POWERPOINT

PowerPoint, Google Slides, Keynote, Prezi and other visual tools have become ubiquitous in modernclassrooms, business meetings, and engineering briefings. Unfortunately, many slides are poorly designed with a high cognitive load. That is, they either contain too much information or have poorly organized information. Given the inverse correlation between cognitive overload and memory, reducing the cognitive load of slides can lead to more effective presentations – improving communication, retention, and instruction. The paper will first provide an overview of cognitiveload theory and its significance/relation to human factors engineering. Then, selected theories from cognitive psychology, including the expert-novice divide, dualchannel theory, gestalt principles, and constructivism will be introduced. Using authentic examples of classroom slides, this paper will demonstrate how these cognitive theories' practical application can reduce cognitive load. This paper aims to be a "why-to" as well as a "how-to" guide for improving visual pedagogical aids, specifically, slides, in the engineering classroom.

How to Make a Class

It was not a cybernetician but a neoliberal economist who provided the first systematic treatise on connectionism or, as it would later be known, the paradigm of artificial neural networks. In his 1952 book The Sensory Order, Friedrich Hayek advanced a connectionist theory of the mind already far more advanced than the theory of symbolic artificial intelligence, whose birth is redundantly celebrated in 1956 with the exalted Dartmouth workshop. In this text Hayek provided a synthesis of Gestalt principles and considerations of artificial neural networks, even speculating about the possibility of a machine fulfilling a similar function of “the nervous system as an instrument of classification,” auguring what we call today a “classifier algorithm.” This article shows how Hayek’s connectionist theory of the mind was used to shore up a specific and ideological view of the market and schematically reconstructs Hayek’s line of argumentation from his economic paradigm backward to his theory of cognition. Eventually, in Hayek’s interpretation, connectionism provides a relativist cognitive paradigm that justifies the “methodological individualism” of neoliberalism.

A brief gestalt intervention changes ultrasound measures of tongue movement during breastfeeding: case series

Abstract Background Lactation consultants frequently advise adjustments to fit and hold (or positioning and attachment) with the aim of optimising intra-oral nipple placement. However, approaches to fit and hold interventions vary widely, with little evidence of benefits, and effects of fit and hold on infant tongue movement have not been examined. The aim of this preliminary study was to investigate whether a gestalt breastfeeding intervention alters tongue movement, using measurements from ultrasound imaging to determine nipple placement and intra-oral nipple and breast tissue dimensions. Methods Ultrasound measurements were conducted in five breastfeeding dyads, infants aged between four and 20 weeks, while feeding in their usual or ‘standard’ position and again after brief application of gestalt principles of fit and hold. Four of the mother-baby pairs, who had received comprehensive lactation support, reported persisting nipple pain. Three of these infants had difficulty latching and fussed at the breast; three had been diagnosed with oral ties. A fifth pair was breastfeeding successfully. Results Ultrasound demonstrated that the distance from nipple tip to junction of the hard and soft palate decreased, intra-oral nipple and breast tissue dimensions increased, and nipple slide decreased after a brief gestalt intervention. Conclusion These preliminary findings suggest that changes in fit and hold impact on infant tongue movement. Further research investigating short-and long-term outcomes of a gestalt breastfeeding intervention in larger cohorts is required.

Exploratory Discoveries from Eye-Tracking Tests of Wertheimer’s Gestalt Patterns

In this study, we use a novel eye-tracking technology to determine how viewing behavior complies with Wertheimer’s descriptions of Gestalt principles of similarity, proximity, continuation, and closure. Our results show that viewers respond predictably to the most Gestalt principles, while discovering important nuances when it comes to our better understanding of the role of visual attention in closure principle and competing principles. In addition, our results revealed a fundamental distinction between visual attention and visual perception. By grasping this critical difference between attention and perception, designers may become more successful in applying Gestalt principles to their design.

AN APPRAISAL OF THE USE OF GESTALT PRINCIPLES IN LOGOGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION AMONG SELECT GRAPHIC ARTISTS IN A NIGERIAN URBAN CITY

This paper appraised the use of Gestalt design principles in logo graphics communication, in recognition of the role logos play in image-making and the identity of companies, businesses and brands. When a new business is planned, the need to find a logo designer who can come up with a creative and exclusive business logo arises. Elegance, creativity and excellence of design help business logos to give unlimited boost to organizations. Against this backdrop, the purpose of this study was to ascertain the use of the Gestalt principles by logographic artists in select business areas in Awka urban. We asked, how aware are logographic artists of Gestalt principles and whether they applied these principles in their logo designs. The Gestalt principles of design were employed as the yardstick for this study. Data were collected from a selected number of logographic artists in Awka Urban, Anambra state, using IDIs (In- depth interviews), from the business areas in town. The major findings of this study suggested that more than two- third of the artists studied were aware of the Gestalt principles but were not so keen in applying them to their designs due to the dictates of client’s choice and satisfaction

VISUALISING SYSTEMS: MAPPING SYSTEM FEATURES AND INTERACTIVE INFORMATION VISUALISATIONS IN DESIGN

Interactive computer-supported information visualisations are being increasingly used in design. However, while there are frameworks that discuss how traditional representations, such as sketches, CAD models and static diagrams support design tasks, no such mapping exists for interactive visualisations of product-related information. As novel contributions, this paper reviews the design literature for the use of information visualisations. Moreover, using systems theory and Gestalt principles, insights on the applicability of such information visualisations for various design tasks are given.