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Sidhu A, Uiga L, Langley B, Masters RSW. Reduced influence of perceptual context in mild traumatic brain injury is not an illusion. Sci Rep 2024; 14:6434. [PMID: 38499578 PMCID: PMC10948892 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-56713-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2023] [Accepted: 03/09/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Perceptual grouping is impaired following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). This may affect visual size perception, a process influenced by perceptual grouping abilities. We conducted two experiments to evaluate visual size perception in people with self-reported history of mTBI, using two different size-contrast illusions: the Ebbinghaus Illusion (Experiment 1) and the Müller-Lyer illusion (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, individuals with mTBI and healthy controls were asked to compare the size of two target circles that were either the same size or different sizes. The target circles appeared by themselves (no-context condition), or were surrounded by smaller or larger circles (context condition). Similar levels of accuracy were evident between the groups in the no-context condition. However, size judgements by mTBI participants were more accurate in the context condition, suggesting that they processed the target circles separately from the surrounding circles. In Experiment 2, individuals with mTBI and healthy controls judged the length of parallel lines that appeared with arrowheads (context condition) or without arrowheads (no context condition). Consistent with Experiment 1, size judgements by mTBI participants were more accurate than size judgements by control participants in the context condition. These findings suggest that mTBI influences size perception by impairing perceptual grouping of visual stimuli in near proximity.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Sidhu
- Te Huataki Waiora School of Health, University of Waikato, Hamilton, 3240, New Zealand.
| | - L Uiga
- Department of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK
| | - B Langley
- Te Huataki Waiora School of Health, University of Waikato, Hamilton, 3240, New Zealand
| | - R S W Masters
- Te Huataki Waiora School of Health, University of Waikato, Hamilton, 3240, New Zealand
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Kamps FS, Julian JB, Battaglia P, Landau B, Kanwisher N, Dilks DD. Dissociating intuitive physics from intuitive psychology: Evidence from Williams syndrome. Cognition 2017; 168:146-153. [PMID: 28683351 PMCID: PMC5572752 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2017.06.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2016] [Revised: 06/16/2017] [Accepted: 06/27/2017] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Prior work suggests that our understanding of how things work ("intuitive physics") and how people work ("intuitive psychology") are distinct domains of human cognition. Here we directly test the dissociability of these two domains by investigating knowledge of intuitive physics and intuitive psychology in adults with Williams syndrome (WS) - a genetic developmental disorder characterized by severely impaired spatial cognition, but relatively spared social cognition. WS adults and mental-age matched (MA) controls completed an intuitive physics task and an intuitive psychology task. If intuitive physics is a distinct domain (from intuitive psychology), then we should observe differential impairment on the physics task for individuals with WS compared to MA controls. Indeed, adults with WS performed significantly worse on the intuitive physics than the intuitive psychology task, relative to controls. These results support the hypothesis that knowledge of the physical world can be disrupted independently from knowledge of the social world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederik S Kamps
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States
| | - Joshua B Julian
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States
| | - Peter Battaglia
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
| | - Barbara Landau
- Department of Cognitive Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, United States
| | - Nancy Kanwisher
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
| | - Daniel D Dilks
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States.
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Van Herwegen J. Williams syndrome and its cognitive profile: the importance of eye movements. Psychol Res Behav Manag 2015; 8:143-51. [PMID: 26082669 PMCID: PMC4461016 DOI: 10.2147/prbm.s63474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
People with Williams syndrome (WS), a rare neurodevelopmental disorder that is caused by a deletion on the long arm of chromosome 7, often show an uneven cognitive profile with participants performing better on language and face recognition tasks, in contrast to visuospatial and number tasks. Recent studies have shown that this specific cognitive profile in WS is a result of atypical developmental processes that interact with and affect brain development from infancy onward. Using examples from language, face processing, number, and visuospatial studies, this review evaluates current evidence from eye-tracking and developmental studies and argues that domain general processes, such as the ability to plan or execute saccades, influence the development of these domain-specific outcomes. Although more research on eye movements in WS is required, the importance of eye movements for cognitive development suggests a possible intervention pathway to improve cognitive abilities in this population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jo Van Herwegen
- Department of Psychology, Kingston University London, Surrey, UK
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Palomares M, Shannon MT. Global dot integration in typically developing children and in Williams syndrome. Brain Cogn 2013; 83:262-70. [PMID: 24095844 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2013.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2013] [Revised: 08/22/2013] [Accepted: 09/11/2013] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Williams Syndrome (WS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that results in deficits in visuospatial perception and cognition. The dorsal stream vulnerability hypothesis in WS predicts that visual motion processes are more susceptible to damage than visual form processes. We asked WS participants and typically developing children to detect the global structure Glass patterns, under "static" and "dynamic" conditions in order to evaluate this hypothesis. Sequentially presented Glass patterns are coined as dynamic because they induce illusory motion, which is modeled after the interaction between orientation (form) and direction (motion) mechanisms. If the dorsal stream vulnerability holds in WS participants, then they should process real and illusory motion atypically. However, results are consistent with the idea that form and motion integration mechanisms are functionally delayed or attenuated in WS. Form coherence thresholds for both static and dynamic Glass patterns in WS were similar to those of 4-5year old children, younger than what is predicted by mental age. Dynamic presentation of Glass patterns improved thresholds to the same degree as typical participants. Motion coherence thresholds in WS were similar to those of mental age matches. These data pose constraints on the dorsal vulnerability hypothesis, and refine our understanding of the relationship between form and motion processing in development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melanie Palomares
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, 1512 Pendleton Street, Columbia, SC 29208, United States.
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Dessalegn B, Landau B, Rapp B. Consequences of severe visual-spatial deficits for reading acquisition: evidence from Williams syndrome. Neurocase 2013; 19:328-47. [PMID: 22583550 DOI: 10.1080/13554794.2012.667127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
To further understand the nature of the visual-spatial representations required for successful acquisition of written language skills, we investigated the written language abilities of two individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) a developmental genetic disorder in which the presence of severe visual-spatial developmental delays and deficits has been well established. Using a case study approach, we examined the relationship between reading achievement and general cognitive ability, phonological skills, and visual-spatial skills for the two individuals. We found that, despite the strong similarity between the two individuals in terms of their verbal and non-verbal cognitive abilities and their phonological abilities (as well as chronological age and educational opportunities), their reading and spelling abilities differed by more than 5 grade levels. We present evidence that the difference in written language performance was likely to be due to differences in the severity and nature of their visual-spatial impairment. Moreover, we show that specific difficulty processing the orientation of visual stimuli is related to the reading difficulties of one of the two individuals. These results underscore the contribution of visual-spatial abilities to the reading acquisition process and identify WS as a potential source of valuable information regarding the role of visual-spatial processing in reading development.
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Palomares M, Englund JA, Ahlers S. Patterns and trajectories in Williams Syndrome: the case of visual orientation discrimination. RESEARCH IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES 2011; 32:1021-1029. [PMID: 21334848 DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2011.01.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2011] [Revised: 01/19/2011] [Accepted: 01/19/2011] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Williams Syndrome (WS) is a developmental disorder typified by deficits in visuospatial cognition. To understand the nature of this deficit, we characterized how people with WS perceive visual orientation, a fundamental ability related to object identification. We compared WS participants to typically developing children (3-6 years of age) and typical adults in an orientation discrimination task with four stimulus types (small circular, large circular, collinear elongated and parallel elongated gratings). We measured orientation discrimination thresholds and the proportion of orthogonal errors (i.e., mirror-image reversal errors). We evaluated how these metrics (1) are modulated by stimulus condition, and (2) vary with chronological or mental age. We found that orientation perception in WS is comparable to that of typically developing children. Orientation discrimination thresholds were better for elongated gratings than circular gratings across all participant groups. For large circular gratings, the proportion of orthogonal errors was disproportionately greater in WS participants and typically developing 3-6 year old children than in typical adults. Moreover, we found that the ability to judge orientation in WS improves with increasing mental age, but not chronological age. These results suggest that orientation discrimination in WS is developmentally arrested, as opposed to abnormal or delayed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melanie Palomares
- Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, 1512 Pendleton Street, Columbia, SC 29208, United States.
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Palomares M, Landau B, Egeth H. Orientation perception in Williams Syndrome: discrimination and integration. Brain Cogn 2009; 70:21-30. [PMID: 19231058 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2008.11.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2008] [Revised: 11/11/2008] [Accepted: 11/20/2008] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Williams Syndrome (WS) is a rare neurodevelopmental disorder, which stems from a genetic deletion on chromosome 7 and causes a profound weakness in visuospatial cognition. Our current study explores how orientation perception may contribute to the visuospatial deficits in WS. In Experiment 1, we found that WS individuals and normal 3-4 year olds had similar orientation discrimination thresholds and had similar prevalence of mirror-reversal errors for diagonal targets (+/-45 deg). In Experiment 2, we asked whether this immaturity in orientation discrimination would also be reflected in a task requiring integration of oriented elements. We found that sensitivities of WS individuals for detecting orientation-defined contours were higher than sensitivities of normal 3-4 year olds, and were not significantly different from sensitivities of normal adults. Together, these results suggest that orientation discrimination and orientation integration have different maturational trajectories in normal development and different susceptibilities to damage in WS. These may reflect largely separate visuospatial mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melanie Palomares
- Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 20874, USA.
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Palomares M, Landau B, Egeth H. Visuospatial interpolation in typically developing children and in people with Williams Syndrome. Vision Res 2008; 48:2439-50. [PMID: 18782587 DOI: 10.1016/j.visres.2008.08.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2008] [Revised: 08/05/2008] [Accepted: 08/09/2008] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Visuospatial interpolation is the estimation of object position or contour shape computed from known "anchor" positions. We characterized the developmental profile of interpolation by measuring positional thresholds as a function of inter-element separation without (Experiment 1) and with (Experiment 2) the context of illusory contours in typically developing children, typical adults and individuals with Williams Syndrome (WS), a genetic disorder that causes impaired global visuospatial abilities. We found that typically developing children and WS individuals had more difficulty integrating information across distant elements than typical adults. However, illusory contours improved thresholds in all participant groups in a similar way. Our results suggest that in WS individuals, and in typically developing children, the grouping mechanisms that enable long-range spatial integration are immature. We hypothesize that WS individuals and young children can use stimulus-driven grouping cues for bottom-up integration, but have immature mechanisms for top-down integration of spatial information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melanie Palomares
- Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Ames Hall, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
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