Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Discipline
Articles 1 - 5 of 5
Full-Text Articles in Psychology
Perceptual Precedence Or Increased Effort?: On The Mechanism Of The Small-Picture-Size Advantage In Category Learning, Toshiya Miyatsu
Perceptual Precedence Or Increased Effort?: On The Mechanism Of The Small-Picture-Size Advantage In Category Learning, Toshiya Miyatsu
Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations
I have previously identified a novel perceptual manipulation that enhances learning of some complex natural categories, and the current dissertation aims to uncover its mechanism. Specifically, learning of categories of tropical fish was enhanced when learned through small pictures (about 2º) compared to large pictures (about 19º). Through analyzing the previous results and extant theories in various domains, I identified two potential mechanisms through which this small-picture-size advantage manifested. The perceptual precedence hypothesis postulates that the processing of local dimensions is prioritized in large pictures and the processing of global dimensions is prioritized in small pictures. Therefore, small picture size …
Coupled Correlates Of Attention And Consciousness, Ravi Varkki Chacko
Coupled Correlates Of Attention And Consciousness, Ravi Varkki Chacko
McKelvey School of Engineering Theses & Dissertations
Introduction: Brain Computer Interfaces (BCIs) have been shown to restore lost motor function that occurs in stroke using electrophysiological signals. However, little evidence exists for the use of BCIs to restore non-motor stroke deficits, such as the attention deficits seen in hemineglect. Attention is a cognitive function that selects objects or ideas for further neural processing, presumably to facilitate optimal behavior. Developing BCIs for attention is different from developing motor BCIs because attention networks in the brain are more distributed and associative than motor networks. For example, hemineglect patients have reduced levels of arousal, which exacerbates their attentional deficits. More …
The Consequences Of Processing Of Goal-Irrelevant Information During The Stroop Task In Younger And Older Adults, Jessica Nicosia
The Consequences Of Processing Of Goal-Irrelevant Information During The Stroop Task In Younger And Older Adults, Jessica Nicosia
Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Recent evidence from memory paradigms indicates that older adults can sometimes benefit more from processing goal-irrelevant information than younger adults, however these studies have often failed to simultaneously provide evidence of age-related control deficits. In the present experiments, participants initially studied a list of words. They then received a color-naming Stroop task where neutral words were either previously studied or new words. Across three experiments, participants were given different types of memory tests to examine the lingering effects of the neutral words during color-naming in younger and older adults. The results from all three experiments (including an attempted replication study) …
Perceiving Oldness In Parietal Cortex: Fmri Characterization Of A Parietal Memory Network, Adrian Gilmore
Perceiving Oldness In Parietal Cortex: Fmri Characterization Of A Parietal Memory Network, Adrian Gilmore
Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The manner in which the human brain recognizes certain stimuli as novel or familiar is a matter of ongoing investigation. The overarching goal of this dissertation is to improve our understanding of how this may be accomplished. More specifically, work contained herein focuses on a recently described "parietal memory network" (PMN; Gilmore et al., 2015) that shows opposite patterns of activity when perceiving novel or familiar stimuli: deactivating in response to novelty, and activating in response to familiarity. Critically, our understanding of this network is based on explicit memory tasks, in which subjects are deliberately instructed to learn or remember …
An Investigation Into Peripersonal Space Representations In Older Adults, Emily K. Bloesch
An Investigation Into Peripersonal Space Representations In Older Adults, Emily K. Bloesch
Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Peripersonal space is the space immediately surrounding one's body. This space is believed to have a unique representation in order to facilitate successful interaction with the surrounding environment. Supporting this theory, there are consistent findings of changes in cognition within as compared to beyond peripersonal space, including differences in visual attention and perception. However, research on peripersonal space in healthy populations has largely focused on young adults. Representations of peripersonal space take place in multimodal brain regions, areas that show structural and functional changes during senescence. Because of this, there is reason to suspect that older adults represent peripersonal space …