scholarly journals Response outcomes gate the impact of expectations on perceptual decisions

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ainhoa Hermoso-Mendizabal ◽  
Alexandre Hyafil ◽  
Pavel E. Rueda-Orozco ◽  
Santiago Jaramillo ◽  
David Robbe ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTPerceptual decisions are not only determined by current sensory information but are also influenced by expectations based on recent experiences. Can the impact of these expectations be flexibly modulated based on the outcome of previous decisions? We trained rats in several two-alternative forced choice auditory tasks, where the probability to repeat the previous stimulus category was varied in blocks of trials. All rats capitalized on the serial correlations of the stimulus sequence by consistently exploiting atransition bias:a tendency to repeat or alternate their previous response using an internal trial-by-trial estimate of the sequence repeating probability. Surprisingly, this bias was null in trials immediately following an error. The internal estimate however was not reset and it became effective again causing a bias after the next correct response. This ability to rapidly activate and inactivate the bias was captured by a non-linear generative model of rat behavior, whereby a reward-driven modulatory signal gated the use of the latent estimate of the environment statistics on the current decision. These results demonstrate that, based on the outcome of previous choices, rats flexibly modulate how expectations influence their current decisions.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Géraldine Fauville ◽  
Anna C. M. Queiroz ◽  
Erika S. Woolsey ◽  
Jonathan W. Kelly ◽  
Jeremy N. Bailenson

AbstractResearch about vection (illusory self-motion) has investigated a wide range of sensory cues and employed various methods and equipment, including use of virtual reality (VR). However, there is currently no research in the field of vection on the impact of floating in water while experiencing VR. Aquatic immersion presents a new and interesting method to potentially enhance vection by reducing conflicting sensory information that is usually experienced when standing or sitting on a stable surface. This study compares vection, visually induced motion sickness, and presence among participants experiencing VR while standing on the ground or floating in water. Results show that vection was significantly enhanced for the participants in the Water condition, whose judgments of self-displacement were larger than those of participants in the Ground condition. No differences in visually induced motion sickness or presence were found between conditions. We discuss the implication of this new type of VR experience for the fields of VR and vection while also discussing future research questions that emerge from our findings.


2000 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 371-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas N. Jackson ◽  
Victor R. Wroblewski ◽  
Michael C. Ashton

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-115
Author(s):  
Eva Koderman

Abstract Anxiety is characterized by a sustained state of heightened vigilance due to uncertain danger, producing increased attention to a perceived threat in one's environment. To further examine this exploited the temporal resolution afforded by event-related potentials to investigate the impact of predictability of threat on early perceptual activity. We recruited 28 participants and utilized a within-subject design to examine hypervigilance in anticipation of shock, unpleasant picture and unpleasant sound during a task with unpredictable, predictable and no threat. We investigated if habituation to stimuli was present by asking the participants to rate unpleasantness and intensity of the stimuli before and after the experiment. We observed hypervigilance in the unpredictable threat of shock. Habituation was observed for the visual stimuli. The present study suggests that unpredictability enhances attentional engagement with neutral somatosensory stimuli when the threat is of the same modality, meaning we observed the presence of hypervigilance which is a characteristic of anxiety.


Author(s):  
Aglaia Tourimpampa ◽  
Athanasios Drigas ◽  
Alexandra Economou ◽  
Petros Roussos

This study is a comprehensive attempt to assess the impact of the cognitive skill of perception in the ability to comprehend a text. More specifically, it investigates the function of perception as a primary structure of the human brain to contact the world and examines the certain cognitive processes of perception that affect text comprehension. It is also presented the relation between cognitive perception and the linguistic approach of pragmatics in order the subject to comprehend the text. Perception is the organization, identification and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the environment. Pragmatics is the linguistic field that studies how people comprehend and produce speech or a text as a communicative act. Furthermore, it features the current scientific achievements on the ICTs processes and tools, which exploit the assessment of perception in text comprehension.


2012 ◽  
Vol 25 (0) ◽  
pp. 189
Author(s):  
Tamara L. Ansons ◽  
Aradhna Krishna ◽  
Norbert Schwarz

Does sensory imagery influence consumers’ perception of variety for a set of products? We tested this possibility across two studies in which participants received one of three alternate coffee menus where all the coffees were the same but the category labels were varied on how imagery-evocative they were. The less evocative labels (i) were more generic in nature (e.g., ‘Sweet’ or ‘Category A’), whereas the more evocative ones related either (ii) to the sensory experience of coffee (e.g., ‘Sweet Chocolate Flavor’ or ‘Smokey-Sweet Charred Dark Roast’) or (iii) to imagery related to where the coffee was grown (e.g., ‘Rich Volcanic Soil’ or ‘Dark Rich Volcanic Soil’). The labels relating to where the coffee was grown was included as a second control to show that merely increasing imagery does not increase perceived variety; it is increasing the sensory imagery relating to the items that does so. As expected, only category labels that evoked sensory imagery increased consumers’ perception of variety, whereas imagining where the coffee was grown did not enhance perception of variety. This finding extends recent research that shows that the type of sensory information included in an ad alters the perceptions of a product (Elder and Krishna, 2010) by illustrating that the inclusion of sensory information can also alter the perceived variety of a set of products. Thus, the inclusion of sensory information can be used flexibly to alter perceptions of both a single product and a set of choice alternatives.


2010 ◽  
Vol 104 (4) ◽  
pp. 1978-1996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yann Le Franc ◽  
Gwendal Le Masson

Deep dorsal horn relay neurons (dDHNs) of the spinal cord are known to exhibit multiple firing patterns under the control of local metabotropic neuromodulation: tonic firing, plateau potential, and spontaneous oscillations. This work investigates the role of interactions between voltage-gated channels and the occurrence of different firing patterns and then correlates these two phenomena with their functional role in sensory information processing. We designed a conductance-based model using the NEURON software package, which successfully reproduced the classical features of plateau in dDHNs, including a wind-up of the neuronal response after repetitive stimulation. This modeling approach allowed us to systematically test the impact of conductance interactions on the firing patterns. We found that the expression of multiple firing patterns can be reproduced by changes in the balance between two currents (L-type calcium and potassium inward rectifier conductances). By investigating a possible generalization of the firing state switch, we found that the switch can also occur by varying the balance of any hyperpolarizing and depolarizing conductances. This result extends the control of the firing switch to neuromodulators or to network effects such as synaptic inhibition. We observed that the switch between the different firing patterns occurs as a continuous function in the model, revealing a particular intermediate state called the accelerating mode. To characterize the functional effect of a firing switch on information transfer, we used correlation analysis between a model of peripheral nociceptive afference and the dDHN model. The simulation results indicate that the accelerating mode was the optimal firing state for information transfer.


2021 ◽  
Vol 101 (1) ◽  
pp. 353-415
Author(s):  
Jochen F. Staiger ◽  
Carl C. H. Petersen

The array of whiskers on the snout provides rodents with tactile sensory information relating to the size, shape and texture of objects in their immediate environment. Rodents can use their whiskers to detect stimuli, distinguish textures, locate objects and navigate. Important aspects of whisker sensation are thought to result from neuronal computations in the whisker somatosensory cortex (wS1). Each whisker is individually represented in the somatotopic map of wS1 by an anatomical unit named a ‘barrel’ (hence also called barrel cortex). This allows precise investigation of sensory processing in the context of a well-defined map. Here, we first review the signaling pathways from the whiskers to wS1, and then discuss current understanding of the various types of excitatory and inhibitory neurons present within wS1. Different classes of cells can be defined according to anatomical, electrophysiological and molecular features. The synaptic connectivity of neurons within local wS1 microcircuits, as well as their long-range interactions and the impact of neuromodulators, are beginning to be understood. Recent technological progress has allowed cell-type-specific connectivity to be related to cell-type-specific activity during whisker-related behaviors. An important goal for future research is to obtain a causal and mechanistic understanding of how selected aspects of tactile sensory information are processed by specific types of neurons in the synaptically connected neuronal networks of wS1 and signaled to downstream brain areas, thus contributing to sensory-guided decision-making.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (Suppl. 1-2) ◽  
pp. 60-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolaus E. Wolter ◽  
Karen A. Gordon ◽  
Jennifer L. Campos ◽  
Luis D. Vilchez Madrigal ◽  
David D. Pothier ◽  
...  

Introduction: To determine the impact of a head-referenced cochlear implant (CI) stimulation system, BalanCI, on balance and postural control in children with bilateral cochleovestibular loss (BCVL) who use bilateral CI. Methods: Prospective, blinded case-control study. Balance and postural control testing occurred in two settings: (1) quiet clinical setting and (2) immersive realistic virtual environment (Challenging Environment Assessment Laboratory [CEAL], Toronto Rehabilitation Institute). Postural control was assessed in 16 and balance in 10 children with BCVL who use bilateral CI, along with 10 typically developing children. Children with neuromotor, cognitive, or visual deficits that would prevent them from performing the tests were excluded. Children wore the BalanCI, which is a head-mounted device that couples with their CIs through the audio port and provides head-referenced spatial information delivered via the intracochlear electrode array. Postural control was measured by center of pressure (COP) and time to fall using the WiiTM (Nintendo, WA, USA) Balance Board for feet and the BalanCI for head, during the administration of the Modified Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction in Balance (CTSIB-M). The COP of the head and feet were assessed for change by deviation, measured as root mean square around the COP (COP-RMS), rate of deviation (COP-RMS/duration), and rate of path length change from center (COP-velocity). Balance was assessed by the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency 2, balance subtest (BOT-2), specifically, BOT-2 score as well as time to fall/fault. Results: In the virtual environment, children demonstrated more stable balance when using BalanCI as measured by an improvement in BOT-2 scores. In a quiet clinical setting, the use of BalanCI led to improved postural control as demonstrated by significant reductions in COP-RMS and COP-velocity. With the use of BalanCI, the number of falls/faults was significantly reduced and time to fall increased. Conclusions: BalanCI is a simple and effective means of improving postural control and balance in children with BCVL who use bilateral CI. BalanCI could potentially improve the safety of these children, reduce the effort they expend maintaining balance and allow them to take part in more complex balance tasks where sensory information may be limited and/or noisy.


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