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Vaughan M, García-Porta N, Tabernero J, Gantes-Nuñez J, Artal P, Pardhan S. Ocular effects of exposure to low-humidity environment with contact lens wear: A pilot study. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt 2024; 44:718-726. [PMID: 38551074 DOI: 10.1111/opo.13308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2023] [Revised: 03/13/2024] [Accepted: 03/16/2024] [Indexed: 05/01/2024]
Abstract
PURPOSE To compare the ocular effects of exposure to a low-humidity environment with and without contact lens (CL) wear using various non-invasive tests. METHODS Fourteen habitual soft CL wearers were exposed to controlled low humidity (5% relative humidity [RH]) in an environmental chamber for 90 min on two separate occasions. First, when wearing their habitual spectacles and then, on a separate visit, when wearing silicone hydrogel CLs that were fitted specifically for this purpose. All participants had adapted to the new CL prior to data collection. Three non-invasive objective measurements were taken at each visit: blinking rate, objective ocular scatter (measured using the objective scatter index) and ocular surface cooling rate (measured using a long-wave infrared thermal camera). At each visit, measurements were taken before the exposure in comfortable environmental conditions (RH: 45%), and after exposure to environmental stress (low humidity, RH: 5%). RESULTS CL wearers showed increased blinking rate (p < 0.005) and ocular scatter (p = 0.03) but similar cooling rate of the ocular surface (p = 0.08) when compared with spectacle wear in comfortable environmental conditions. The exposure to low humidity increased the blinking rate significantly with both types of corrections (p = 0.01). Interestingly, ocular scatter (p = 0.96) and cooling rate (p = 0.73) were not significantly different before and after exposure to low humidity. There were no significant two-way interactions between correction and exposure in any of the measurements. CONCLUSIONS CLs significantly increased the blinking rate, which prevented a quick degradation of the tear film integrity as it was refreshed more regularly. It is hypothesised that the increased blinking rate in CL wearers aids in maintaining ocular scatter quality and cooling rate when exposed to a low-humidity environment. These results highlight the importance of blinking in maintaining tear film stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan Vaughan
- Vision and Eye Research Institute, School of Medicine, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK
| | - Nery García-Porta
- Applied Physics Department, Optics and Optometry Faculty, University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago, Spain
- Institute of Materials (iMATUS), University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago, Spain
| | - Juan Tabernero
- Vision and Eye Research Institute, School of Medicine, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK
- Department of Electromagnetism and Electronics, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | | | - Pablo Artal
- Laboratorio de Óptica, Centro de Investigación en Óptica y Nanofísica, Campus Espinardo, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - Shahina Pardhan
- Vision and Eye Research Institute, School of Medicine, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK
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Saeedpour-Parizi MR, Williams NL, Wong T, Guan P, Manocha D, Erkelens IM. Perceptual Thresholds for Radial Optic Flow Distortion in Near-Eye Stereoscopic Displays. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON VISUALIZATION AND COMPUTER GRAPHICS 2024; 30:2570-2579. [PMID: 38437086 DOI: 10.1109/tvcg.2024.3372075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/06/2024]
Abstract
We provide the first perceptual quantification of user's sensitivity to radial optic flow artifacts and demonstrate a promising approach for masking this optic flow artifact via blink suppression. Near-eye HMOs allow users to feel immersed in virtual environments by providing visual cues, like motion parallax and stereoscopy, that mimic how we view the physical world. However, these systems exhibit a variety of perceptual artifacts that can limit their usability and the user's sense of presence in VR. One well-known artifact is the vergence-accommodation conflict (VAC). Varifocal displays can mitigate VAC, but bring with them other artifacts such as a change in virtual image size (radial optic flow) when the focal plane changes. We conducted a set of psychophysical studies to measure users' ability to perceive this radial flow artifact before, during, and after self-initiated blinks. Our results showed that visual sensitivity was reduced by a factor of 10 at the start and for ~70 ms after a blink was detected. Pre- and post-blink sensitivity was, on average, ~O.15% image size change during normal viewing and increased to ~1.5- 2.0% during blinks. Our results imply that a rapid (under 70 ms) radial optic flow distortion can go unnoticed during a blink. Furthermore, our results provide empirical data that can be used to inform engineering requirements for both hardware design and software-based graphical correction algorithms for future varifocal near-eye displays. Our project website is available at https://gamma.umd.edu/ROF/.
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Rolfs M, Hübner C. Blink and you see it. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2404021121. [PMID: 38578986 PMCID: PMC11032442 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2404021121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/07/2024] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Martin Rolfs
- Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10099Berlin, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin10115, Germany
- Exzellenzcluster Science of Intelligence, Technische Universität Berlin, 10587Berlin, Germany
| | - Carolin Hübner
- Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10099Berlin, Germany
- Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Chemnitz, 09120Chemnitz, Germany
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4
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Pitigoi IC, Coe BC, Calancie OG, Brien DC, Yep R, Riek HC, Kirkpatrick RH, Noyes BK, White BJ, Blohm G, Munoz DP. Attentional modulation of eye blinking is altered by sex, age, and task structure. eNeuro 2024; 11:ENEURO.0296-23.2024. [PMID: 38331578 PMCID: PMC10915461 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0296-23.2024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2023] [Revised: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Spontaneous eye blinking is gaining popularity as a proxy for higher cognitive functions, as it is readily modulated by both environmental demands and internal processes. Prior studies were impoverished in sample size, sex representation and age distribution, making it difficult to establish a complete picture of the behavior. Here we present eye-tracking data from a large cohort of normative participants (n=604, 393 F, aged 5-93 years) performing two tasks: one with structured, discrete trials (interleaved pro/anti-saccade task; IPAST) and one with a less structured, continuous organization in which participants watch movies (free-viewing; FV). Sex- and age-based analyses revealed that females had higher blink rates between the ages of 22 and 58 years in the IPAST, and 22 and 34 years in FV. We derived a continuous measure of blink probability to reveal behavioral changes driven by stimulus appearance in both paradigms. In the IPAST, blinks were suppressed near stimulus appearance, particularly on correct anti-saccade trials, which we attribute to the stronger inhibitory control required for anti-saccades compared to pro-saccades. In FV, blink suppression occurred immediately after scene changes, and the effect was sustained on scenes where gaze clustered among participants (indicating engagement of attention). Females were more likely than males to blink during appearance of novel stimuli in both tasks, but only within the age bin of 18-44 years. The consistency of blink patterns in each paradigm endorses blinking as a sensitive index for changes in visual processing and attention, while sex and age differences drive interindividual variability.Significance Statement Eye-tracking is becoming useful as a non-invasive tool for detecting preclinical markers of neurological and psychiatric disease. Blinks are understudied despite being an important supplement to saccade and pupil eye-tracking metrics. The present study is a crucial step in developing a healthy baseline for blink behavior to compare to clinical groups. While many prior blink studies suffered from small sample sizes with relatively low age- and sex-diversity (review by Jongkees & Colzato, 2016), our large cohort of healthy participants has permitted a more detailed analysis of sex and age effects in blink behavior. Furthermore, our analysis techniques are robust to temporal changes in blink probability, greatly clarifying the relationship between blinking, visual processing, and inhibitory control mechanisms on visual tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabell C Pitigoi
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada K7L 3N6
| | - Brian C Coe
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada K7L 3N6
| | - Olivia G Calancie
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada K7L 3N6
| | - Donald C Brien
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada K7L 3N6
| | - Rachel Yep
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada K7L 3N6
| | - Heidi C Riek
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada K7L 3N6
| | - Ryan H Kirkpatrick
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada K7L 3N6
| | - Blake K Noyes
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada K7L 3N6
| | - Brian J White
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada K7L 3N6
| | - Gunnar Blohm
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada K7L 3N6
| | - Douglas P Munoz
- Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada K7L 3N6
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5
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Page C, Liu CC, Meltzer J, Ghosh Hajra S. Blink-Related Oscillations Provide Naturalistic Assessments of Brain Function and Cognitive Workload within Complex Real-World Multitasking Environments. SENSORS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 24:1082. [PMID: 38400241 PMCID: PMC10892680 DOI: 10.3390/s24041082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2023] [Revised: 01/14/2024] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND There is a significant need to monitor human cognitive performance in complex environments, with one example being pilot performance. However, existing assessments largely focus on subjective experiences (e.g., questionnaires) and the evaluation of behavior (e.g., aircraft handling) as surrogates for cognition or utilize brainwave measures which require artificial setups (e.g., simultaneous auditory stimuli) that intrude on the primary tasks. Blink-related oscillations (BROs) are a recently discovered neural phenomenon associated with spontaneous blinking that can be captured without artificial setups and are also modulated by cognitive loading and the external sensory environment-making them ideal for brain function assessment within complex operational settings. METHODS Electroencephalography (EEG) data were recorded from eight adult participants (five F, M = 21.1 years) while they completed the Multi-Attribute Task Battery under three different cognitive loading conditions. BRO responses in time and frequency domains were derived from the EEG data, and comparisons of BRO responses across cognitive loading conditions were undertaken. Simultaneously, assessments of blink behavior were also undertaken. RESULTS Blink behavior assessments revealed decreasing blink rate with increasing cognitive load (p < 0.001). Prototypical BRO responses were successfully captured in all participants (p < 0.001). BRO responses reflected differences in task-induced cognitive loading in both time and frequency domains (p < 0.05). Additionally, reduced pre-blink theta band desynchronization with increasing cognitive load was also observed (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION This study confirms the ability of BRO responses to capture cognitive loading effects as well as preparatory pre-blink cognitive processes in anticipation of the upcoming blink during a complex multitasking situation. These successful results suggest that blink-related neural processing could be a potential avenue for cognitive state evaluation in operational settings-both specialized environments such as cockpits, space exploration, military units, etc. and everyday situations such as driving, athletics, human-machine interactions, etc.-where human cognition needs to be seamlessly monitored and optimized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cleo Page
- Division of Engineering Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 2E4, Canada
| | - Careesa Chang Liu
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Science, Florida Institute of Technology, 150 W University Boulevard, Melbourne, FL 32901, USA;
| | - Jed Meltzer
- Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, ON M6A 2E1, Canada
| | - Sujoy Ghosh Hajra
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Science, Florida Institute of Technology, 150 W University Boulevard, Melbourne, FL 32901, USA;
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Ziv I, Avni I, Dinstein I, Meiri G, Bonneh YS. Oculomotor randomness is higher in autistic children and increases with the severity of symptoms. Autism Res 2024; 17:249-265. [PMID: 38189581 DOI: 10.1002/aur.3083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 12/09/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
A variety of studies have suggested that at least some children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) view the world differently. Differences in gaze patterns as measured by eye tracking have been demonstrated during visual exploration of images and natural viewing of movies with social content. Here we analyzed the temporal randomness of saccades and blinks during natural viewing of movies, inspired by a recent measure of "randomness" applied to micro-movements of the hand and head in ASD (Torres et al., 2013; Torres & Denisova, 2016). We analyzed a large eye-tracking dataset of 189 ASD and 41 typically developing (TD) children (1-11 years old) who watched three movie clips with social content, each repeated twice. We found that oculomotor measures of randomness, obtained from gamma parameters of inter-saccade intervals (ISI) and blink duration distributions, were significantly higher in the ASD group compared with the TD group and were correlated with the ADOS comparison score, reflecting increased "randomness" in more severe cases. Moreover, these measures of randomness decreased with age, as well as with higher cognitive scores in both groups and were consistent across repeated viewing of each movie clip. Highly "random" eye movements in ASD children could be associated with high "neural variability" or noise, poor sensory-motor control, or weak engagement with the movies. These findings could contribute to the future development of oculomotor biomarkers as part of an integrative diagnostic tool for ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inbal Ziv
- School of Optometry and Vision Science, Faculty of Life Science, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Inbar Avni
- Cognitive and Brain Sciences Department, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, Israel
- Azrieli National Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopment Research, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, Israel
| | - Ilan Dinstein
- Cognitive and Brain Sciences Department, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, Israel
- Azrieli National Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopment Research, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, Israel
- Psychology Department, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, Israel
| | - Gal Meiri
- Azrieli National Centre for Autism and Neurodevelopment Research, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, Israel
- Pre-school Psychiatry Unit, Soroka Medical Center, Be'er Sheva, Israel
| | - Yoram S Bonneh
- School of Optometry and Vision Science, Faculty of Life Science, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
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7
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Le Cunff AL, Dommett E, Giampietro V. Neurophysiological measures and correlates of cognitive load in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and dyslexia: A scoping review and research recommendations. Eur J Neurosci 2024; 59:256-282. [PMID: 38109476 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.16201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Revised: 10/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/20/2023]
Abstract
Working memory is integral to a range of critical cognitive functions such as reasoning and decision-making. Although alterations in working memory have been observed in neurodivergent populations, there has been no review mapping how cognitive load is measured in common neurodevelopmental conditions such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and dyslexia. This scoping review explores the neurophysiological measures used to study cognitive load in these specific populations. Our findings highlight that electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) are the most frequently used methods, with a limited number of studies employing functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRs), magnetoencephalography (MEG) or eye-tracking. Notably, eye-related measures are less commonly used, despite their prominence in cognitive load research among neurotypical individuals. The review also highlights potential correlates of cognitive load, such as neural oscillations in the theta and alpha ranges for EEG studies, blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) responses in lateral and medial frontal brain regions for fMRI and fNIRS studies and eye-related measures such as pupil dilation and blink rate. Finally, critical issues for future studies are discussed, including the technical challenges associated with multimodal approaches, the possible impact of atypical features on cognitive load measures and balancing data richness with participant well-being. These insights contribute to a more nuanced understanding of cognitive load measurement in neurodivergent populations and point to important methodological considerations for future neuroscientific research in this area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne-Laure Le Cunff
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Eleanor Dommett
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Vincent Giampietro
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
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8
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Andreu-Sánchez C, Martín-Pascual MÁ, Delgado-García JM. Editorial: Neuroscience and the media. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1327123. [PMID: 38046656 PMCID: PMC10691673 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1327123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 11/01/2023] [Indexed: 12/05/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Celia Andreu-Sánchez
- Neuro-Com Research Group, Department of Audiovisual Communication and Advertising, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Miguel Ángel Martín-Pascual
- Neuro-Com Research Group, Department of Audiovisual Communication and Advertising, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Research and Development, Institute of Spanish Public Television (RTVE), Corporación Radio Televisión Española, Barcelona, Spain
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9
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Alyan E, Arnau S, Reiser JE, Getzmann S, Karthaus M, Wascher E. Blink-related EEG activity measures cognitive load during proactive and reactive driving. Sci Rep 2023; 13:19379. [PMID: 37938617 PMCID: PMC10632495 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-46738-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 11/04/2023] [Indexed: 11/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Assessing drivers' cognitive load is crucial for driving safety in challenging situations. This research employed the occurrence of drivers' natural eye blinks as cues in continuously recorded EEG data to assess the cognitive workload while reactive or proactive driving. Twenty-eight participants performed either a lane-keeping task with varying levels of crosswind (reactive) or curve road (proactive). The blink event-related potentials (bERPs) and spectral perturbations (bERSPs) were analyzed to assess cognitive load variations. The study found that task load during reactive driving did not significantly impact bERPs or bERSPs, possibly due to enduring alertness for vehicle control. The proactive driving revealed significant differences in the occipital N1 component with task load, indicating the necessity to adapt the attentional resources allocation based on road demands. Also, increased steering complexity led to decreased frontal N2, parietal P3, occipital P2 amplitudes, and alpha power, requiring more cognitive resources for processing relevant information. Interestingly, the proactive and reactive driving scenarios demonstrated a significant interaction at the parietal P2 and occipital N1 for three difficulty levels. The study reveals that EEG measures related to natural eye blink behavior provide insights into the effect of cognitive load on different driving tasks, with implications for driver safety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emad Alyan
- Department of Ergonomics, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, 44139, Dortmund, Germany.
| | - Stefan Arnau
- Department of Ergonomics, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, 44139, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Julian Elias Reiser
- Department of Ergonomics, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, 44139, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Stephan Getzmann
- Department of Ergonomics, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, 44139, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Melanie Karthaus
- Department of Ergonomics, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, 44139, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Edmund Wascher
- Department of Ergonomics, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, 44139, Dortmund, Germany
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10
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Lange EB, Fink LK. Eye blinking, musical processing, and subjective states-A methods account. Psychophysiology 2023; 60:e14350. [PMID: 37381918 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14350] [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: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 04/29/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023]
Abstract
Affective sciences often make use of self-reports to assess subjective states. Seeking a more implicit measure for states and emotions, our study explored spontaneous eye blinking during music listening. However, blinking is understudied in the context of research on subjective states. Therefore, a second goal was to explore different ways of analyzing blink activity recorded from infra-red eye trackers, using two additional data sets from earlier studies differing in blinking and viewing instructions. We first replicate the effect of increased blink rates during music listening in comparison with silence and show that the effect is not related to changes in self-reported valence, arousal, or to specific musical features. Interestingly, but in contrast, felt absorption reduced participants' blinking. The instruction to inhibit blinking did not change results. From a methodological perspective, we make suggestions about how to define blinks from data loss periods recorded by eye trackers and report a data-driven outlier rejection procedure and its efficiency for subject-mean analyses, as well as trial-based analyses. We ran a variety of mixed effects models that differed in how trials without blinking were treated. The main results largely converged across accounts. The broad consistency of results across different experiments, outlier treatments, and statistical models demonstrates the reliability of the reported effects. As recordings of data loss periods come for free when interested in eye movements or pupillometry, we encourage researchers to pay attention to blink activity and contribute to the further understanding of the relation between blinking, subjective states, and cognitive processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elke B Lange
- Department of Music, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt/M, Germany
| | - Lauren K Fink
- Department of Music, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt/M, Germany
- Max Planck NYU Center for Language, Music, & Emotion, Frankfurt/M, Germany
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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11
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Miller SS, Hutson JP, Strain ML, Smith TJ, Palavamäki M, Loschky LC, Saucier DA. The role of individual differences in resistance to persuasion on memory for political advertisements. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1196209. [PMID: 37621945 PMCID: PMC10445487 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1196209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023] Open
Abstract
When people see political advertisements on a polarized issue they take a stance on, what factors influence how they respond to and remember the adverts contents? Across three studies, we tested competing hypotheses about how individual differences in social vigilantism (i.e., attitude superiority) and need for cognition relate to intentions to resist attitude change and memory for political advertisements concerning abortion. In Experiments 1 and 2, we examined participants' intentions to use resistance strategies to preserve their pre-existing attitudes about abortion, by either engaging against opposing opinions or disengaging from them. In Experiment 3, we examined participants' memory for information about both sides of the controversy presented in political advertisements. Our results suggest higher levels of social vigilantism are related to greater intentions to counterargue and better memory for attitude-incongruent information. These findings extend our understanding of individual differences in how people process and respond to controversial social and political discourse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stuart S Miller
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, United States
| | - John P Hutson
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, United States
| | - Megan L Strain
- Psychology, University of Nebraska at Kearney, Kearney, NE, United States
| | - Tim J Smith
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of London Birkbeck College, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Lester C Loschky
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, United States
| | - Donald A Saucier
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, United States
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12
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Callara AL, Greco A, Scilingo EP, Bonfiglio L. Neuronal correlates of eyeblinks are an expression of primary consciousness phenomena. Sci Rep 2023; 13:12617. [PMID: 37537328 PMCID: PMC10400571 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39500-z] [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: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 08/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The blinking rate far exceeds that required for moistening the cornea and changes depending on whether a person is resting or engaged in cognitive tasks. During ecological cognitive tasks (such as speaking, reading, and watching videos), blinks occur at breakpoints of attention suggesting a role in information segmentation, but the close relationship between cognition dynamics and blink timing still escapes a full understanding. The aim of the present study is to seek (1) if there is a temporal relationship between blink events and the consecutive steps of cognitive processing, and (2) if blink timing and the intensity of blink-related EEG responses are affected by task-relevance of stimuli. Our results show that, in a classical visual oddball task, (i) the occurrence of blinks is influenced by stimuli, irrespective of their relevance, (ii) blinks following relevant stimuli are only apparently delayed due to the need of finalizing a behavioural response, and (iii) stimulus relevance does not affect the intensity of the blink-related EEG response. This evidence reinforce the idea that blinks are not emitted until the last step of the processing sequence has been completed and suggests that blink-related EEG responses are generated by primary consciousness phenomena which are considered by their nature non-modulable (all-or-nothing) phenomena.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandro Luis Callara
- Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell'Informazione, University of Pisa, Via G. Caruso 16, 56122, Pisa, Italy
- Research Center "E. Piaggio", University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino 1, 56122, Pisa, Italy
| | - Alberto Greco
- Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell'Informazione, University of Pisa, Via G. Caruso 16, 56122, Pisa, Italy
- Research Center "E. Piaggio", University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino 1, 56122, Pisa, Italy
| | - Enzo Pasquale Scilingo
- Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell'Informazione, University of Pisa, Via G. Caruso 16, 56122, Pisa, Italy
- Research Center "E. Piaggio", University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino 1, 56122, Pisa, Italy
| | - Luca Bonfiglio
- Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
- Unit of Developmental Neurorehabilitation, Maternal and Child Department, Pisa University Hospital, Pisa, Italy.
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13
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Cardona G, Argilés M, Pérez-Cabré E. Loss of Blink Regularity and Its Impact on Ocular Surface Exposure. Diagnostics (Basel) 2023; 13:2362. [PMID: 37510106 PMCID: PMC10377809 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics13142362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Revised: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/11/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
(1) Background: Changes in blink parameters have been found to influence ocular surface exposure, eliciting symptoms of dry eye and ocular signs. The aim of the study was to highlight the relevance of including blink regularity as a new parameter to fully characterize blinking; (2) Methods: A novel characterization of blink parameters is described, including spontaneous eyeblink rate (SEBR), percentage of incomplete blinks, and blink regularity. A pilot study was designed in which tear film break-up time (TFBUT), blink parameters, and the time percentage of ocular surface exposure were determined in eight subjects (52.0 ± 16.6 years, 4 females) in three experimental conditions (baseline, reading a hard-copy text, and reading from an electronic display). Blink parameters were monitored through asynchronous image analysis of one minute video segments; (3) Results: All blink parameters were influenced by experimental conditions. A trend was observed in which both reading tasks resulted in an increase in ocular surface exposure, mainly related to a combination of reduced SEBR, increased percentage of incomplete blinks, and loss of blink regularity; (4) Conclusions: A complete characterization of blink parameters is relevant to better understand ocular dryness related to surface exposure and to advice patients towards a reeducation of their blinking habits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Genis Cardona
- Optics and Optometry Department, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, c/Violinista Vellsolà, 37, 08222 Terrassa, Spain
- Applied Optics and Image Processing Group (GOAPI), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), 08222 Terrassa, Spain
| | - Marc Argilés
- Optics and Optometry Department, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, c/Violinista Vellsolà, 37, 08222 Terrassa, Spain
- Center for Sensors, Instruments, and Systems Development (CD6), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), 08222 Terrassa, Spain
| | - Elisabet Pérez-Cabré
- Optics and Optometry Department, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, c/Violinista Vellsolà, 37, 08222 Terrassa, Spain
- Applied Optics and Image Processing Group (GOAPI), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), 08222 Terrassa, Spain
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14
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Nishizono R, Saijo N, Kashino M. Highly reproducible eyeblink timing during formula car driving. iScience 2023; 26:106803. [PMID: 37378324 PMCID: PMC10291330 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2022] [Revised: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 04/28/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
How do humans blink while driving a vehicle? Although gaze control patterns have been previously reported in relation to successful steering, eyeblinks that disrupt vision are believed to be randomly distributed during driving or are ignored. Herein, we demonstrate that eyeblink timing shows reproducible patterns during real formula car racing driving and is related to car control. We studied three top-level racing drivers. Their eyeblinks and driving behavior were acquired during practice sessions. The results revealed that the drivers blinked at surprisingly similar positions on the courses. We identified three factors underlying the eyeblink patterns: the driver's individual blink count, lap pace associated with how strictly they followed their pattern on each lap, and car acceleration associated with when/where to blink at a moment. These findings suggest that the eyeblink pattern reflected cognitive states during in-the-wild driving and experts appear to change such cognitive states continuously and dynamically.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryota Nishizono
- NTT Communication Science Laboratories, Morinosato Wakamiya 3-1, Atsugi, Kanagawa 243-0198, Japan
| | - Naoki Saijo
- NTT Communication Science Laboratories, Morinosato Wakamiya 3-1, Atsugi, Kanagawa 243-0198, Japan
| | - Makio Kashino
- NTT Communication Science Laboratories, Morinosato Wakamiya 3-1, Atsugi, Kanagawa 243-0198, Japan
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15
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Derchi CC, Mikulan E, Mazza A, Casarotto S, Comanducci A, Fecchio M, Navarro J, Devalle G, Massimini M, Sinigaglia C. Distinguishing intentional from nonintentional actions through eeg and kinematic markers. Sci Rep 2023; 13:8496. [PMID: 37231006 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-34604-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023] Open
Abstract
How can an intentional movement be distinguished from the same movement done nonintentionally? How can this distinction be drawn without asking the subject, or in patients who are unable to communicate? Here we address these questions, by focusing on blinking. This is one of the most frequent spontaneous actions in our daily life, but it can also be done intentionally. Furthermore, blinking is often spared in patients with severe brain injuries, and for some, it is the only way to report complex meanings. Using kinematic and EEG-based measures, we found that intentional and spontaneous blinking are preceded by different brain activities, even when they are indistinguishable. Unlike spontaneous ones, intentional blinks are characterized by a slow negative EEG drift, resembling the classic readiness potential. We investigated the theoretical implication of this finding in stochastic decision models as well as the practical significance of using brain-based signals to improve the discrimination between intentional and nonintentional actions. As proof of principle, we considered three brain-injured patients with rare neurological syndromes characterized by motor and communicative impairments. Although further research is needed, our results indicate that brain-based signals can offer a feasible way to infer intentionality even in absence of overt communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- C C Derchi
- IRCCS, Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS, 20148, Milan, Italy
| | - E Mikulan
- Department of Health Sciences, Università Degli Studi di Milano, Via di Rudinì 8, 20146, Milan, Italy
| | - A Mazza
- IRCCS, Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS, 20148, Milan, Italy
| | - S Casarotto
- IRCCS, Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS, 20148, Milan, Italy
- Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Università Degli Studi Di Milano, Via G. B. Grassi 75, 20157, Milan, Italy
| | - A Comanducci
- IRCCS, Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS, 20148, Milan, Italy
| | - M Fecchio
- Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - J Navarro
- IRCCS, Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS, 20148, Milan, Italy
| | - G Devalle
- IRCCS, Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS, 20148, Milan, Italy
| | - M Massimini
- IRCCS, Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS, 20148, Milan, Italy.
- Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Università Degli Studi Di Milano, Via G. B. Grassi 75, 20157, Milan, Italy.
| | - C Sinigaglia
- Department of Philosophy, Università Degli Studi Di Milano, Via Festa del Perdono 7, 20122, Milan, Italy.
- Cognition in Action (CIA) Unit, PHILAB, 20122, Milan, Italy.
- Department of Philosophy, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
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16
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Huber SE, Martini M, Sachse P. Task-synchronized eye blink modulation neither requires visual stimulation nor active motor response and is modulated by task predictability. Int J Psychophysiol 2023; 187:1-10. [PMID: 36773888 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2023.01.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2022] [Revised: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023]
Abstract
It has been repeatedly shown that temporal task features are reflected in eye blink dynamics during attention tasks. Eye blinks occur with increased likeliness particularly when demands on external attention allocation are low. Both predictive, top-down and reactive, bottom-up processes were shown to be involved in blink regulation. However, whether temporal stimulus prediction is a generally active component of the attention system or rather specific to the visual domain has not been fully elaborated yet. By monitoring eye blinking of 99 students during an auditory attention task and analyzing particularly the dynamics of eye blink onsets relative to stimuli timings, we show here that prediction does, in principle, not require visual stimulation, and is also not merely a consequence of the involvement of manual responses during the task. We further show that both the inclusion of manual response to stimuli and elevated task predictability enhance the prediction component reflected in eye blink dynamics, whereas for the latter we experimentally manipulate objective task predictability by adjusting the frequency dependence of the power spectral densities of the series of inter-stimulus time intervals. This allows us finally to explain why, for specific choices of experimental conditions, the generally active and present prediction component involved in attention can become difficult to detect in non-visual, auditory tasks. Conversely, this comes with the important implication that, if tasks aim for elaborating particularly temporal prediction, distributing stimuli over time such that inter-stimulus-intervals conform to a sample of Gaussian noise represents a specifically unfavorable choice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan E Huber
- Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Universitätsstraße 5-7, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria; Institute of Psychology, University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 2, A-8010 Graz, Austria.
| | - Markus Martini
- Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Universitätsstraße 5-7, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Pierre Sachse
- Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Universitätsstraße 5-7, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
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17
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Rowe ZW, Robins JH, Rands SA. Red deer Cervus elaphus blink more in larger groups. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e9908. [PMID: 36937074 PMCID: PMC10015368 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2022] [Revised: 02/19/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 03/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Most animals need to spend time being vigilant for predators, at the expense of other activities such as foraging. Group-living animals can benefit from the shared vigilance effort of other group members, with individuals reducing personal vigilance effort as group size increases. Behaviors like active scanning or head lifting are usually used to quantify vigilance but may not be accurate measures of this. We suggest that measuring an animal's blinking rate gives a meaningful measure of vigilance: increased blinking implies reduced vigilance, as the animal cannot detect predators when its eyes are closed. We describe an observational study of a captive population of red deer, where we measured the blinking rates of individual deer from groups of differing sizes (where mean group size ranged between 1 and 42.7 individuals). We demonstrate that as group size increases in red deer, individuals increase their blink rate, confirming the prediction that vigilance should decrease. Blinking is a simple non-invasive measure and offers a useful metric for assessing the welfare of animals experiencing an increase in perceived predation risk or other stressors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeke W. Rowe
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of BristolBristolUK
- Department of Ecological SciencesVrije Universiteit AmsterdamAmsterdamNetherlands
| | | | - Sean A. Rands
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of BristolBristolUK
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18
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Wascher E, Reiser J, Rinkenauer G, Larrá M, Dreger FA, Schneider D, Karthaus M, Getzmann S, Gutberlet M, Arnau S. Neuroergonomics on the Go: An Evaluation of the Potential of Mobile EEG for Workplace Assessment and Design. HUMAN FACTORS 2023; 65:86-106. [PMID: 33861182 PMCID: PMC9846382 DOI: 10.1177/00187208211007707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 03/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE We demonstrate and discuss the use of mobile electroencephalogram (EEG) for neuroergonomics. Both technical state of the art as well as measures and cognitive concepts are systematically addressed. BACKGROUND Modern work is increasingly characterized by information processing. Therefore, the examination of mental states, mental load, or cognitive processing during work is becoming increasingly important for ergonomics. RESULTS Mobile EEG allows to measure mental states and processes under real live conditions. It can be used for various research questions in cognitive neuroergonomics. Besides measures in the frequency domain that have a long tradition in the investigation of mental fatigue, task load, and task engagement, new approaches-like blink-evoked potentials-render event-related analyses of the EEG possible also during unrestricted behavior. CONCLUSION Mobile EEG has become a valuable tool for evaluating mental states and mental processes on a highly objective level during work. The main advantage of this technique is that working environments don't have to be changed while systematically measuring brain functions at work. Moreover, the workflow is unaffected by such neuroergonomic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edmund Wascher
- IfADo – Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and
Human Factors, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Julian Reiser
- IfADo – Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and
Human Factors, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Gerhard Rinkenauer
- IfADo – Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and
Human Factors, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Mauro Larrá
- IfADo – Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and
Human Factors, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Felix A. Dreger
- IfADo – Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and
Human Factors, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Daniel Schneider
- IfADo – Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and
Human Factors, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Melanie Karthaus
- IfADo – Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and
Human Factors, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Stephan Getzmann
- IfADo – Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and
Human Factors, Dortmund, Germany
| | | | - Stefan Arnau
- IfADo – Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and
Human Factors, Dortmund, Germany
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19
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Visual Demands of Walking Are Reflected in Eye-Blink-Evoked EEG-Activity. APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/app12136614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
Blinking is a natural user-induced response which paces visual information processing. This study investigates whether blinks are viable for segmenting continuous electroencephalography (EEG) activity, for inferring cognitive demands in ecologically valid work environments. We report the blink-related EEG measures of participants who performed auditory tasks either standing, walking on grass, or whilst completing an obstacle course. Blink-related EEG activity discriminated between different levels of cognitive demand during walking. Both behavioral parameters (e.g., blink duration or head motion) and blink-related EEG activity varied with walking conditions. Larger occipital N1 was observed during walking, relative to standing and traversing an obstacle course, which reflects differences in bottom-up visual perception. In contrast, the amplitudes of top-down components (N2, P3) significantly decreased with increasing walking demands, which reflected narrowing attention. This is consistent with blink-related EEG, specifically in Theta and Alpha power that, respectively, increased and decreased with increasing demands of the walking task. This work presents a novel and robust analytical approach to evaluate the cognitive demands experienced in natural work settings, which precludes the use of artificial task manipulations for data segmentation.
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20
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Hikida K. Eyeblink rate as an indicator of concentration on grooming in Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). Am J Primatol 2022; 84:e23392. [PMID: 35612538 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Revised: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 05/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
In primates, social relationships with a high frequency of social grooming are referred to as "affiliate relationships," "friendship," "bonding," and are described as involving positive emotion. However, the psychological state during social grooming has not been fully understood. In this study, I focused on blinking as a behavior that reflects psychological state during grooming in Macaca fuscata, a nonhuman wild primate, and examined for the first time whether the blink rate reflects concentration on social grooming. To test this hypothesis, I focused on ectoparasite removals during social grooming with the following three predictions: (1) blinks are synchronized with breakpoints (when monkeys can release visual attention) of mouthing ectoparasites during grooming, (2) the blink rate is lower during grooming (when requiring visual concentration) than during resting (when no visual concentration is required), and (3) the lower the blink rate during grooming (supposedly in high concentration), the higher the frequency of ectoparasites removals (outputs of the task). I recorded the faces of 10 wild female Japanese macaques on Kinkazan Island, Miyagi Prefecture, with video, while they were resting and grooming, and recorded the timing and frequency of eyeblink and ectoparasite removals. All three predictions were supported, suggesting that the blink rate during grooming can be an indicator of concentration on grooming in nonhuman primates. Whether grooming concentration is associated with an affiliative relationship with the grooming partner is an issue that should be carefully examined in future studies, but eyeblink studies may provide new perspectives for understanding the psychological state of individuals during grooming in a noninvasive manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenichiro Hikida
- Lab. of Human Evolution Studies, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
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21
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Madsen J, Parra LC. Cognitive processing of a common stimulus synchronizes brains, hearts, and eyes. PNAS NEXUS 2022; 1:pgac020. [PMID: 36712806 PMCID: PMC9802497 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgac020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2021] [Revised: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 03/01/2022] [Indexed: 04/21/2023]
Abstract
Neural, physiological, and behavioral signals synchronize between human subjects in a variety of settings. Multiple hypotheses have been proposed to explain this interpersonal synchrony, but there is no clarity under which conditions it arises, for which signals, or whether there is a common underlying mechanism. We hypothesized that cognitive processing of a shared stimulus is the source of synchrony between subjects, measured here as intersubject correlation (ISC). To test this, we presented informative videos to participants in an attentive and distracted condition and subsequently measured information recall. ISC was observed for electro-encephalography, gaze position, pupil size, and heart rate, but not respiration and head movements. The strength of correlation was co-modulated in the different signals, changed with attentional state, and predicted subsequent recall of information presented in the videos. There was robust within-subject coupling between brain, heart, and eyes, but not respiration or head movements. The results suggest that ISC is the result of effective cognitive processing, and thus emerges only for those signals that exhibit a robust brain-body connection. While physiological and behavioral fluctuations may be driven by multiple features of the stimulus, correlation with other individuals is co-modulated by the level of attentional engagement with the stimulus.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lucas C Parra
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, City College of New York, 160 Convent Avenue, New York, NY 10031, USA
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22
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Blinking While Speaking and Talking, Hearing, and Listening: Communication or Individual Underlying Process? JOURNAL OF NONVERBAL BEHAVIOR 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10919-021-00387-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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23
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The confounding effects of eye blinking on pupillometry, and their remedy. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0261463. [PMID: 34919586 PMCID: PMC8683032 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2021] [Accepted: 12/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Pupillometry, thanks to its strong relationship with cognitive factors and recent advancements in measuring techniques, has become popular among cognitive or neural scientists as a tool for studying the physiological processes involved in mental or neural processes. Despite this growing popularity of pupillometry, the methodological understanding of pupillometry is limited, especially regarding potential factors that may threaten pupillary measurements' validity. Eye blinking can be a factor because it frequently occurs in a manner dependent on many cognitive components and induces a pulse-like pupillary change consisting of constriction and dilation with substantive magnitude and length. We set out to characterize the basic properties of this "blink-locked pupillary response (BPR)," including the shape and magnitude of BPR and their variability across subjects and blinks, as the first step of studying the confounding nature of eye blinking. Then, we demonstrated how the dependency of eye blinking on cognitive factors could confound, via BPR, the pupillary responses that are supposed to reflect the cognitive states of interest. By building a statistical model of how the confounding effects of eye blinking occur, we proposed a probabilistic-inference algorithm of de-confounding raw pupillary measurements and showed that the proposed algorithm selectively removed BPR and enhanced the statistical power of pupillometry experiments. Our findings call for attention to the presence and confounding nature of BPR in pupillometry. The algorithm we developed here can be used as an effective remedy for the confounding effects of BPR on pupillometry.
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24
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Huber SE, Martini M, Sachse P. Patterns of eye blinks are modulated by auditory input in humans. Cognition 2021; 221:104982. [PMID: 34923195 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2021.104982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Revised: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 12/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Previous studies could elaborate a link between attentional processes and eye blinking in both visual and auditory attention tasks. Here we show that this link is active at a fundamental level of perception: presentation of a series of bare sine tones is sufficient to induce a modulation of temporal blink patterns, allowing to determine which series was presented to participants even when they are not required to interactively engage in processing the auditory input. In particular, we monitored eye blinking during an auditory attention task using two series of sine tones, differing in the predictability of the timing of tone onsets. Whereas inter-onset intervals in one tone series corresponded to uncorrelated samples from a normal distribution, they were distributed according to a Gaussian random walk in the other tone series. We find that blink patterns are dynamically modulated by both purely auditory inputs. The magnitude, form, and coherence of the temporal associations between tone onsets and blink events depend strongly on the requirement to respond to the presented stimuli. The predictability of the tone series appears to modulate pre-stimulus blink inhibition given that a response is required. Altogether, these findings suggest eye blink as a readily available, non-invasive behavioral marker for context-sensitive, moment-to-moment allocation of attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan E Huber
- Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 52, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria; Institute for Basic Sciences in Engineering Science, University of Innsbruck, Technikerstraße 13/4, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.
| | - Markus Martini
- Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 52, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Pierre Sachse
- Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innrain 52, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
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25
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Marumo C, Nakano T. Early phase of pupil dilation is mediated by the peripheral parasympathetic pathway. J Neurophysiol 2021; 126:2130-2137. [PMID: 34851753 PMCID: PMC8715046 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00401.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Pupil diameter fluctuates in association with changes in brain states induced by the neuromodulator systems. However, it remains unclear how the neuromodulator systems control the activity of the iris sphincter (constrictor) and dilator muscles to change the pupil size. The present study compared temporal patterns of pupil dilation during movement when each muscle was pharmacologically manipulated in the human eye. When the iris sphincter muscle was blocked with tropicamide, the latency of pupil dilation was delayed and the magnitude of pupil dilation was reduced during movement. In contrast, when the iris dilator muscle was continuously stimulated with phenylephrine, the latency and magnitude of rapid pupil dilation did not differ from the untreated control eye, but sustained pupil dilation was reduced until the end of movement. These results suggest that the iris sphincter muscle, which is under the control of the parasympathetic pathway, is quickly modulated by the neuromodulator system and plays a major role in rapid pupil dilation. However, the iris dilator muscle receives signals from the neuromodulator system with a slow latency and is involved in maintaining sustained pupil dilation. NEW & NOTEWORTHY By pharmacologically manipulating the pupil dilator and constrictor muscles of human eye separately, we found that the pupil constrictor muscle is a primary controller of rapid pupil dilation upon brain arousal. However, the pupil dilator muscle, which is innervated by the sympathetic nervous system and is generally considered as a major regulator of pupil dilation, is not involved in rapid pupil dilation, but was involved in long-lasting pupil dilation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tamami Nakano
- Faculty of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan.,Graduate School of Frontiers Bioscience, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
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26
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Brych M, Murali S, Händel B. How the motor aspect of speaking influences the blink rate. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0258322. [PMID: 34624051 PMCID: PMC8500445 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2020] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The blink rate increases if a person indulges in a conversation compared to quiet rest. Since various factors were suggested to explain this increase, the present series of studies tested the influence of different motor activities, cognitive processes and auditory input on the blink behavior but at the same time minimized visual stimulation as well as social influences. Our results suggest that neither cognitive demands without verbalization, nor isolated lip, jaw or tongue movements, nor auditory input during vocalization or listening influence our blinking behavior. In three experiments, we provide evidence that complex facial movements during unvoiced speaking are the driving factors that increase blinking. If the complexity of the motor output increased such as during the verbalization of speech, the blink rate rose even more. Similarly, complex facial movements without cognitive demands, such as sucking on a lollipop, increased the blink rate. Such purely motor-related influences on blinking advise caution particularly when using blink rates assessed during patient interviews as a neurological indicator.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mareike Brych
- Department of Psychology III, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Supriya Murali
- Department of Psychology III, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Barbara Händel
- Department of Psychology III, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
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27
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Enders LR, Smith RJ, Gordon SM, Ries AJ, Touryan J. Gaze Behavior During Navigation and Visual Search of an Open-World Virtual Environment. Front Psychol 2021; 12:681042. [PMID: 34434140 PMCID: PMC8380848 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.681042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Eye tracking has been an essential tool within the vision science community for many years. However, the majority of studies involving eye-tracking technology employ a relatively passive approach through the use of static imagery, prescribed motion, or video stimuli. This is in contrast to our everyday interaction with the natural world where we navigate our environment while actively seeking and using task-relevant visual information. For this reason, an increasing number of vision researchers are employing virtual environment platforms, which offer interactive, realistic visual environments while maintaining a substantial level of experimental control. Here, we recorded eye movement behavior while subjects freely navigated through a rich, open-world virtual environment. Within this environment, subjects completed a visual search task where they were asked to find and count occurrence of specific targets among numerous distractor items. We assigned each participant into one of four target conditions: Humvees, motorcycles, aircraft, or furniture. Our results show a statistically significant relationship between gaze behavior and target objects across Target Conditions with increased visual attention toward assigned targets. Specifically, we see an increase in the number of fixations and an increase in dwell time on target relative to distractor objects. In addition, we included a divided attention task to investigate how search changed with the addition of a secondary task. With increased cognitive load, subjects slowed their speed, decreased gaze on objects, and increased the number of objects scanned in the environment. Overall, our results confirm previous findings and support that complex virtual environments can be used for active visual search experimentation, maintaining a high level of precision in the quantification of gaze information and visual attention. This study contributes to our understanding of how individuals search for information in a naturalistic (open-world) virtual environment. Likewise, our paradigm provides an intriguing look into the heterogeneity of individual behaviors when completing an un-timed visual search task while actively navigating.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Anthony J Ries
- DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, United States.,Warfighter Effectiveness Research Center, U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO, United States
| | - Jonathan Touryan
- DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, United States
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Nota N, Trujillo JP, Holler J. Facial Signals and Social Actions in Multimodal Face-to-Face Interaction. Brain Sci 2021; 11:1017. [PMID: 34439636 PMCID: PMC8392358 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11081017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2021] [Revised: 07/07/2021] [Accepted: 07/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
In a conversation, recognising the speaker's social action (e.g., a request) early may help the potential following speakers understand the intended message quickly, and plan a timely response. Human language is multimodal, and several studies have demonstrated the contribution of the body to communication. However, comparatively few studies have investigated (non-emotional) conversational facial signals and very little is known about how they contribute to the communication of social actions. Therefore, we investigated how facial signals map onto the expressions of two fundamental social actions in conversations: asking questions and providing responses. We studied the distribution and timing of 12 facial signals across 6778 questions and 4553 responses, annotated holistically in a corpus of 34 dyadic face-to-face Dutch conversations. Moreover, we analysed facial signal clustering to find out whether there are specific combinations of facial signals within questions or responses. Results showed a high proportion of facial signals, with a qualitatively different distribution in questions versus responses. Additionally, clusters of facial signals were identified. Most facial signals occurred early in the utterance, and had earlier onsets in questions. Thus, facial signals may critically contribute to the communication of social actions in conversation by providing social action-specific visual information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naomi Nota
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands; (J.P.T.); (J.H.)
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, 6525 XD Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - James P. Trujillo
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands; (J.P.T.); (J.H.)
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, 6525 XD Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Judith Holler
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands; (J.P.T.); (J.H.)
- Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, 6525 XD Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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29
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Andreu-Sánchez C, Martín-Pascual MÁ, Gruart A, Delgado-García JM. Viewers Change Eye-Blink Rate by Predicting Narrative Content. Brain Sci 2021; 11:422. [PMID: 33810422 PMCID: PMC8065395 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11040422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2021] [Revised: 03/20/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Eye blinks provoke a loss of visual information. However, we are not constantly making conscious decisions about the appropriate moment to blink. The presence or absence of eye blinks also denotes levels of attention. We presented three movies with the exact same narrative but different styles of editing and recorded participants' eye blinks. We found that moments of increased or decreased eye blinks by viewers coincided with the same content in the different movie styles. The moments of increased eye blinks corresponded to those when the actor leaves the scene and when the movie repeats the same action for a while. The moments of decreased eye blinks corresponded to actions where visual information was crucial to proper understanding of the scene presented. According to these results, viewers' attention is more related to narrative content than to the style of editing when watching movies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Celia Andreu-Sánchez
- Neuro-Com Research Group, Department of Audiovisual Communication and Advertising, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Barcelona, Spain;
| | - Miguel Ángel Martín-Pascual
- Neuro-Com Research Group, Department of Audiovisual Communication and Advertising, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Barcelona, Spain;
- Innovation and Technology, Instituto de Radio Televisión Española, Corporación Radio Televisión Española, 08174 Sant Cugat del Vallès, Spain
| | - Agnès Gruart
- Division of Neurosciences, Pablo de Olavide University, 41013 Sevilla, Spain; (A.G.); (J.M.D.-G.)
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30
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Rands SA. Phylogenetically-controlled correlates of primate blinking behaviour. PeerJ 2021; 9:e10950. [PMID: 33643718 PMCID: PMC7896502 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.10950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2020] [Accepted: 01/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Eye blinking is an essential maintenance behaviour for many terrestrial animals, but is also a risky behaviour as the animal is unable to scan the environment and detect hazards while its eyes are temporarily closed. It is therefore likely that the length of time that the eyes are closed and the length of the gap between blinks for a species may reflect aspects of the ecology of that species, such as its social or physical environment. An earlier published study conducted a comparative study linking blinking behaviour and ecology, and detailed a dataset describing the blinking behaviour of a large number of primate species that was collected from captive animals, but the analysis presented did not control for the nonindependence of the data due to common evolutionary history. In the present study, the dataset is reanalysed using phylogenetic comparative methods, after reconsideration of the parameters describing the physical and social environments of the species. I find that blink rate is best described by the locomotion mode of a species, where species moving through arboreal environments blink least, ground-living species blink most, and species that use both environments show intermediate rates. The duration of a blink was also related to locomotion mode, and positively correlated with both mean species group size and mean species body mass, although the increase in relation to group size is small. How a species moves through the environment therefore appears to be important for determining blinking behaviour, and suggests that complex arboreal environments may require less interruption to visual attention. Given that the data were collected with captive individuals, caution is recommended for interpreting the correlations found.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean A. Rands
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
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31
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Andreu-Sánchez C, Martín-Pascual MÁ, Gruart A, Delgado-García JM. The Effect of Media Professionalization on Cognitive Neurodynamics During Audiovisual Cuts. Front Syst Neurosci 2021; 15:598383. [PMID: 33584210 PMCID: PMC7876408 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2021.598383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2020] [Accepted: 01/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Experts apply their experience to the proper development of their routine activities. Their acquired expertise or professionalization is expected to help in the development of those recurring tasks. Media professionals spend their daily work watching narrative contents on screens, so learning how they manage visual perception of those contents could be of interest in an increasingly audiovisual society. Media works require not only the understanding of the storytelling, but also the decoding of the formal rules and presentations. We recorded electroencephalographic (EEG) signals from 36 participants (18 media professionals and 18 non-media professionals) while they were watching audiovisual contents, and compared their eyeblink rate and their brain activity and connectivity. We found that media professionals decreased their blink rate after the cuts, suggesting that they can better manage the loss of visual information that blinks entail by sparing them when new visual information is being presented. Cuts triggered similar activation of basic brain processing in the visual cortex of the two groups, but different processing in medial and frontal cortical areas, where media professionals showed a lower activity. Effective brain connectivity occurred in a more organized way in media professionals–possibly due to a better communication between cortical areas that are coordinated for decoding new visual content after cuts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Celia Andreu-Sánchez
- Department of Audiovisual Communication and Advertising, Neuro-Com Research Group, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Serra Húnter Fellow
| | - Miguel Ángel Martín-Pascual
- Department of Audiovisual Communication and Advertising, Neuro-Com Research Group, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Technological Innovation, Instituto Radio Televisiòn Española (RTVE), Corporaciòn RTVE, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Agnès Gruart
- Division of Neuroscience, University Pablo de Olavide, Sevilla, Spain
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32
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A songbird strategically modifies its blinking behavior when viewing human faces. Anim Cogn 2021; 24:787-801. [PMID: 33501597 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01476-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2020] [Revised: 01/04/2021] [Accepted: 01/08/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Even though blinking is necessary to maintain clear vision in many species, blinking is likely costly because it temporarily impairs vision. Given this cost, individuals can strategically modify their blinking behavior to minimize information loss. We tested whether a songbird species modifies its blinking behavior when viewing potential threats (human faces). We recorded the blinking behavior of captive great-tailed grackles (Quiscalus mexicanus) before, during, and after they viewed human face stimuli or control stimuli (tree bark as well as scrambled versions of human faces and tree bark). We found that the birds inhibited their blinking behavior the most when viewing human faces versus controls. In addition, they inhibited their blinking behavior more when viewing human faces that were directed rather than averted. Furthermore, when viewing the human faces, their blinking behavior was modified based on reactivity. These results suggest that a songbird can strategically modify its blinking behavior based on its perceived level of risk.
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33
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Brill M, Schwab F. T-pattern analysis and spike train dissimilarity for the analysis of structure in blinking behavior. Physiol Behav 2020; 227:113163. [PMID: 32891608 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.113163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2020] [Revised: 08/26/2020] [Accepted: 08/26/2020] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Spontaneous eye-blinks are a ubiquitous behavior. However, blink timing is not random, nor does it always follow physiological demands. Research rather suggests that blink timing, and thus the structure of blinking behavior, is influenced by cognitive processes, such as attention. Since attention is regarded a necessary precursor of media use phenomena, the present study investigates the relation between the structure of blinking behavior and the media use phenomenon of spatial presence. To this end, spontaneous eye-blinks have been observed in an experiment during the reception of a video story. The methods of T-pattern analysis, ISI distance, and IBI variability have been used to quantify stimulus-dependent blink structure, which has then been related to self-reports of spatial presence experiences. While the T-pattern analysis and ISI distance showed converging results for behavior structure, a hypothesized relation between more stimulus-dependent blink structure and stronger presence experiences was not found. On the contrary, blink data suggested a difference in attention allocation, whereas self-report data indicated no difference in presence experiences. This demonstrates that beyond self-report and the analysis of event frequencies, the analysis of behavior structure offers insights into behavior synchronization between participants, allowing for new inferences on internal processing of media stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Brill
- University of Würzburg, Department of Media Psychology, Oswald-Külpe-Weg 82, 97074 Würzburg, Germany.
| | - Frank Schwab
- University of Würzburg, Department of Media Psychology, Oswald-Külpe-Weg 82, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
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34
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Brych M, Händel B. Disentangling top-down and bottom-up influences on blinks in the visual and auditory domain. Int J Psychophysiol 2020; 158:400-410. [PMID: 33181189 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2020.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2020] [Revised: 07/23/2020] [Accepted: 11/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Sensory input as well as cognitive factors can drive the modulation of blinking. Our aim was to dissociate sensory driven bottom-up from cognitive top-down influences on blinking behavior and compare these influences between the auditory and the visual domain. Using an oddball paradigm, we found a significant pre-stimulus decrease in blink probability for visual input compared to auditory input. Sensory input further led to an early post-stimulus blink increase in both modalities if a task demanded attention to the input. Only visual input caused a pronounced early increase without a task. In case of a target or the omission of a stimulus (as compared to standard input), an additional late increase in blink rate was found in the auditory and visual domain. This suggests that blink modulation must be based on the interpretation of the input, but does not need any sensory input at all to occur. Our results show a complex modulation of blinking based on top-down factors such as prediction and attention in addition to sensory-based influences. The magnitude of the modulation is mainly influenced by general attentional demands, while the latency of this modulation allows dissociating general from specific top-down influences that are independent of the sensory domain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mareike Brych
- Department of Psychology III, University of Wuerzburg, Germany.
| | - Barbara Händel
- Department of Psychology III, University of Wuerzburg, Germany.
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35
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Abstract
We blink more often than required for maintaining the corneal tear film. Whether there are perceptual or cognitive consequences of blinks that may justify their high frequency is unclear. Previous findings showed that blinks may indicate switches between large-scale cortical networks, such as dorsal attention and default-mode networks. Thus, blinks may trigger a refresh of visual attention. Yet, this has so far not been confirmed behaviorally. Here, we tested the effect of blinks on visual performance in a series of rapid serial visual presentation tasks. In Experiment 1, participants had to identify a target digit embedded in a random stream of letter distractors, presented foveally for 60 ms each. Participants blinked once during the presentation stream. In a separate condition, blinks were simulated by shutter glasses. Detection performance was enhanced (up to 13% point increase in accuracy) for targets appearing up to 300 ms after eye blinks. Performance boosts were stronger for voluntary blinks than artificial blinks. This performance boost was also replicated with more naturalistic stimuli (Experiment 2). We conclude that eye blinks lead to attentional benefits for object recognition in the period after reopening of the eyelids and may be used strategically for temporarily boosting visual performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jit Wei A Ang
- Psychology Programme, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore., https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8271-5031
| | - Gerrit W Maus
- Psychology Programme, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore., https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4843-3748
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36
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Stawarczyk D, François C, Wertz J, D'Argembeau A. Drowsiness or mind-wandering? Fluctuations in ocular parameters during attentional lapses. Biol Psychol 2020; 156:107950. [PMID: 32871227 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2020.107950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2019] [Revised: 11/05/2019] [Accepted: 08/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Two independent lines of evidence suggest that drowsiness and mind-wandering share common neurocognitive processes indexed by ocular parameters (e.g., eyeblink frequency and pupil dynamics). Mind-wandering and drowsiness frequently co-occur, however, such that it remains unclear whether observed oculometric variations are related to mind-wandering, drowsiness, or a mix of both. To address this issue, we assessed fluctuations in mind-wandering and sleepiness during a sustained attention task while ocular parameters were recorded. Results showed that oculometric variations during mind-wandering were fully explained by increased sleepiness. However, mind-wandering and sleepiness had additive deleterious effects on performance that were not fully explained by ocular parameters. These findings suggest that oculometric variations during task performance reflect increased drowsiness rather than processes specifically involved in mind-wandering, and that the neurocognitive processes indexed by oculometric parameters (e.g., regulatory processes of the locus coeruleus norepinephrine system) do not fully explain how mind-wandering and sleepiness cause attentional lapses.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Stawarczyk
- Department of Psychology, Psychology and Neuroscience of Cognition Research Unit, University of Liège, 4000, Liège, Belgium.
| | | | | | - Arnaud D'Argembeau
- Department of Psychology, Psychology and Neuroscience of Cognition Research Unit, University of Liège, 4000, Liège, Belgium; GIGA-CRC In Vivo Imaging, University of Liège, 4000, Liège, Belgium
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37
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Magliacano A, Fiorenza S, Estraneo A, Trojano L. Eye blink rate increases as a function of cognitive load during an auditory oddball paradigm. Neurosci Lett 2020; 736:135293. [PMID: 32771601 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2020.135293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2020] [Revised: 05/08/2020] [Accepted: 08/03/2020] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
Previous evidence suggests that changes in spontaneous eye blink rate (EBR) in human adults might reflect the amount of attentional demand (i.e. cognitive load) during cognitive tasks. However, the actual direction of this relation is uncertain, since most studies investigated the role of cognitive load on EBR by employing visual tasks only. Here we aimed at elucidating the relationship between EBR and cognitive load in non-visual tasks. Sixteen healthy participants performed two auditory oddball tasks, i.e. passive listening to auditory tones versus active counting of target tones; each oddball task was immediately followed by a rest phase. Throughout the oddball tasks we assessed EBR and recorded the P300 on ERPs as an electrophysiological measure of attention. The results showed that participants' EBR increased during the active task compared to the respective rest phase. Amplitude and latency of the P300 too differed between passive and active tasks, but changes in EBR and P300 features were not correlated with each other. Our findings demonstrated that an increase in cognitive load is associated with an increase in EBR in cognitive tasks not involving visual attention. These findings are consistent with previous evidence suggesting shared neurobiological bases between attention and EBR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alfonso Magliacano
- Department of Psychology, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Caserta, Italy.
| | - Salvatore Fiorenza
- Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, SB S.p.A., Laboratorio di Valutazione Multimodale dei Disordini della Coscienza, Telese Terme BN, Italy
| | | | - Luigi Trojano
- Department of Psychology, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Caserta, Italy
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Ranti C, Jones W, Klin A, Shultz S. Blink Rate Patterns Provide a Reliable Measure of Individual Engagement with Scene Content. Sci Rep 2020; 10:8267. [PMID: 32427957 PMCID: PMC7237680 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-64999-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2019] [Accepted: 04/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Eye-blinking has emerged as a promising means of measuring viewer engagement with visual content. This method capitalizes on the fact that although we remain largely unaware of our eye-blinking in everyday situations, eye-blinks are inhibited at precise moments in time so as to minimize the loss of visual information that occurs during a blink. Probabilistically, the more important the visual information is to the viewer, the more likely he or she will be to inhibit blinking. In the present study, viewer engagement was experimentally manipulated in order to: (1) replicate past studies suggesting that a group of viewers will blink less often when watching content that they perceive as more important or relevant; (2) test the reliability of the measure by investigating constraints on the timescale over which blink rate patterns can be used to accurately quantify viewer engagement; and (3) examine whether blink rate patterns can be used to quantify what an individual - as opposed to a group of viewers-perceives as engaging. Results demonstrate that blink rate patterns can be used to measure changes in individual and group engagement that unfold over relatively short (1 second) and long (60 second) timescales. However, for individuals with lower blink rates, blink rate patterns may provide less optimal measures when engagement shifts rapidly (at intervals of 1 second or less). Findings support the use of eye-blink measures in future studies investigating a person's subjective perception of how engaging a stimulus is.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolyn Ranti
- Marcus Autism Center, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia, 30329, USA
- Division of Autism & Related Disabilities, Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, 30022, USA
| | - Warren Jones
- Marcus Autism Center, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia, 30329, USA
- Division of Autism & Related Disabilities, Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, 30022, USA
- Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, 30022, USA
| | - Ami Klin
- Marcus Autism Center, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia, 30329, USA
- Division of Autism & Related Disabilities, Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, 30022, USA
- Center for Translational Social Neuroscience, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, 30022, USA
| | - Sarah Shultz
- Marcus Autism Center, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia, 30329, USA.
- Division of Autism & Related Disabilities, Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, 30022, USA.
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39
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Receptive versus interactive video screens: A role for the brain's default mode network in learning from media. COMPUTERS IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2019.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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40
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Brill M, Schwab F. A Mixed-Methods Approach Using Self-Report, Observational Time Series Data, and Content Analysis for Process Analysis of a Media Reception Phenomenon. Front Psychol 2019; 10:1666. [PMID: 31396130 PMCID: PMC6667654 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01666] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2019] [Accepted: 07/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Due to the complexityof research objects, theoretical concepts, and stimuli in media research, researchers in psychology and communications presumably need sophisticated measures beyond self-report scales to answer research questions on media use processes. The present study evaluates stimulus-dependent structure in spontaneous eye-blink behavior as an objective, corroborative measure for the media use phenomenon of spatial presence. To this end, a mixed methods approach is used in an experimental setting to collect, combine, analyze, and interpret data from standardized participant self-report, observation of participant behavior, and content analysis of the media stimulus. T-pattern detection is used to analyze stimulus-dependent blinking behavior, and this structural data is then contrasted with self-report data. The combined results show that behavioral indicators yield the predicted results, while self-report data shows unpredicted results that are not predicted by the underlying theory. The use of a mixed methods approach offered insights that support further theory development and theory testing beyond a traditional, mono-method experimental approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Brill
- Department of Media Psychology, Faculty of Human Sciences, Institute Human-Computer-Media, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Frank Schwab
- Department of Media Psychology, Faculty of Human Sciences, Institute Human-Computer-Media, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
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41
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Jajdelska E, Anderson M, Butler C, Fabb N, Finnigan E, Garwood I, Kelly S, Kirk W, Kukkonen K, Mullally S, Schwan S. Picture This: A Review of Research Relating to Narrative Processing by Moving Image Versus Language. Front Psychol 2019; 10:1161. [PMID: 31297071 PMCID: PMC6607898 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2019] [Accepted: 05/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Reading fiction for pleasure is robustly correlated with improved cognitive attainment and other benefits. It is also in decline among young people in developed nations, in part because of competition from moving image fiction. We review existing research on the differences between reading or hearing verbal fiction and watching moving image fiction, as well as looking more broadly at research on image or text interactions and visual versus verbal processing. We conclude that verbal narrative generates more diverse responses than moving image narrative. We note that reading and viewing narrative are different tasks, with different cognitive loads. Viewing moving image narrative mostly involves visual processing with some working memory engagement, whereas reading narrative involves verbal processing, visual imagery, and personal memory (Xu et al., 2005). Attempts to compare the two by creating equivalent stimuli and task demands face a number of challenges. We discuss the difficulties of such comparative approaches. We then investigate the possibility of identifying lower level processing mechanisms that might distinguish cognition of the two media and propose internal scene construction and working memory as foci for future research. Although many of the sources we draw on concentrate on English-speaking participants in European or North American settings, we also cover material relating to speakers of Dutch, German, Hebrew, and Japanese in their respective countries, and studies of a remote Turkish mountain community.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Christopher Butler
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Nigel Fabb
- English, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Elizabeth Finnigan
- English, Southern Regional College of Northern Ireland, Armagh, United Kingdom
| | - Ian Garwood
- Film and Television Studies, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Stephen Kelly
- Psychology, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Wendy Kirk
- Glasgow Women's Library, Glasgow, United Kingdom
| | - Karin Kukkonen
- Comparative Literature, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Sinead Mullally
- Neuropsychology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - Stephan Schwan
- Psychology, Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien, Tübingen, Germany
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42
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Tam FYK, Suen YN, Hui CLM, Woo HSY, Chang WC, Chan SKW, Lee EHM, Chen EYH. Spontaneous eye blink in patients with psychosis in perceptions of stimulus salience. Schizophr Res 2019; 209:275-277. [PMID: 31153671 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2019.05.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2019] [Revised: 05/17/2019] [Accepted: 05/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Yi Nam Suen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
| | | | | | - Wing Chung Chang
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Sherry Kit Wa Chan
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | | | - Eric Yu Hai Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
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Batten JP, Smith TJ. Saccades predict and synchronize to visual rhythms irrespective of musical beats. VISUAL COGNITION 2019; 26:695-718. [PMID: 30828706 PMCID: PMC6382286 DOI: 10.1080/13506285.2018.1544181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2018] [Accepted: 10/30/2018] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Music has been shown to entrain movement. One of the body’s most frequent movements, saccades, are arguably subject to a timer that may also be susceptible to musical entrainment. We developed a continuous and highly-controlled visual search task and varied the timing of the search target presentation, it was either gaze-contingent, tap-contingent, or visually-timed. We found: (1) explicit control of saccadic timing is limited to gross duration variations and imprecisely synchronized; (2) saccadic timing does not implicitly entrain to musical beats, even when closely aligned in phase; (3) eye movements predict visual onsets produced by motor-movements (finger-taps) and externally-timed sequences, beginning fixation prior to visual onset; (4) eye movement timing can be rhythmic, synchronizing to both motor-produced and externally timed visual sequences; each unaffected by musical beats. These results provide evidence that saccadic timing is sensitive to the temporal demands of visual tasks and impervious to influence from musical beats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan P Batten
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
| | - Tim J Smith
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
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Maffei A, Angrilli A. Spontaneous blink rate as an index of attention and emotion during film clips viewing. Physiol Behav 2019; 204:256-263. [PMID: 30822434 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2019.02.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2018] [Revised: 01/21/2019] [Accepted: 02/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Spontaneous blinking is a non-invasive indicator known to reflect dopaminergic influence over frontal cortex and attention allocation in perceptual tasks. 38 participants watched eighteen short film clips (2 min), designed to elicit specific affective states, and arranged in six different emotional categories, while their eye movements were recorded from the vertical electroculogram. The largest blink rate inhibition, reflecting greater attention allocation to the movie, was observed during the presentation of Erotic clips, excerpts on wilderness depicting beautiful landscapes (Scenery), as well as clips showing crying characters (Compassion). Instead, the minimum blink rate inhibition was found for Fear clips, which induced a defensive response with stimulus rejection. Blink rate across time evidenced how Compassion clips elicited early inhibition while Sadness clips induced a slower, later inhibition. Correlation analyses also revealed a negative correlation (r < -0.40) between total blink rate recorded during Erotic and Compassion clips and self-reported interest. Overall, the main variable explaining blink rate was emotional Valence. Results suggest that blink modulation is related with the motivational relevance and biological significance of the stimuli, tracking their differential recruitment of attentional resources. Furthermore, they provide a solid background for studying the emotion-attention patterns and their deficits also in clinical samples (e.g., neurological and psychiatric patients) using spontaneous blinking as a not-interfering psychophysiological measure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Maffei
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Italy
| | - Alessandro Angrilli
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Italy; IN CNR Institute of Neuroscience, Padova Section, Italy; PNC - Padua Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Italy.
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45
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Eye activity tracks task-relevant structures during speech and auditory sequence perception. Nat Commun 2018; 9:5374. [PMID: 30560906 PMCID: PMC6299078 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07773-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2018] [Accepted: 11/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The sensory and motor systems jointly contribute to complex behaviors, but whether motor systems are involved in high-order perceptual tasks such as speech and auditory comprehension remain debated. Here, we show that ocular muscle activity is synchronized to mentally constructed sentences during speech listening, in the absence of any sentence-related visual or prosodic cue. Ocular tracking of sentences is observed in the vertical electrooculogram (EOG), whether the eyes are open or closed, and in eye blinks measured by eyetracking. Critically, the phase of sentence-tracking ocular activity is strongly modulated by temporal attention, i.e., which word in a sentence is attended. Ocular activity also tracks high-level structures in non-linguistic auditory and visual sequences, and captures rapid fluctuations in temporal attention. Ocular tracking of non-visual rhythms possibly reflects global neural entrainment to task-relevant temporal structures across sensory and motor areas, which could serve to implement temporal attention and coordinate cortical networks.
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46
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Brenner E, Smeets JBJ. Continuously updating one’s predictions underlies successful interception. J Neurophysiol 2018; 120:3257-3274. [DOI: 10.1152/jn.00517.2018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
This paper reviews our understanding of the interception of moving objects. Interception is a demanding task that requires both spatial and temporal precision. The required precision must be achieved on the basis of imprecise and sometimes biased sensory information. We argue that people make precise interceptive movements by continuously adjusting their movements. Initial estimates of how the movement should progress can be quite inaccurate. As the movement evolves, the estimate of how the rest of the movement should progress gradually becomes more reliable as prediction is replaced by sensory information about the progress of the movement. The improvement is particularly important when things do not progress as anticipated. Constantly adjusting one’s estimate of how the movement should progress combines the opportunity to move in a way that one anticipates will best meet the task demands with correcting for any errors in such anticipation. The fact that the ongoing movement might have to be adjusted can be considered when determining how to move, and any systematic anticipation errors can be corrected on the basis of the outcome of earlier actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eli Brenner
- Department of Human Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Jeroen B. J. Smeets
- Department of Human Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Andreu-Sánchez C, Martín-Pascual MÁ, Gruart A, Delgado-García JM. Chaotic and Fast Audiovisuals Increase Attentional Scope but Decrease Conscious Processing. Neuroscience 2018; 394:83-97. [PMID: 30367947 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2018.10.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2018] [Revised: 10/08/2018] [Accepted: 10/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Audiovisual cuts involve spatial, temporal, and action narrative leaps. They can even change the meaning of the narrative through film editing. Many cuts are not consciously perceived, others are, just as we perceive or not the changes in real events. In this paper, we analyze the effects of cuts and different editing styles on 36 subjects, using electroencephalographic (EEG) techniques and the projection of stimuli with different audiovisual style of edition but the same narrative. Eyeblinks, event-related potentials (ERPs), EEG spectral power and disturbances, and the functional and effective connectivity before and after the cuts were analyzed. Cuts decreased blink frequency in the first second following them. Cuts also caused an increase of the alpha rhythm, with a cortical evolution from visual toward rostral areas. There were marked differences between a video-clip editing style, with greater activities evoked in visual areas, and the classic continuous style of editing, which presented greater activities in the frontal zones. This was reflected by differences in the theta rhythm between 200 and 400 ms, in visual and frontal zones, and can be connected to the different demands that each style of edition makes on working memory and conscious processing after cutting. Also, at the time of cuts, the causality between visual, somatosensory, and frontal networks is altered in any editing style. Our findings suggest that cuts affect media perception and chaotic and fast audiovisuals increase attentional scope but decrease conscious processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Celia Andreu-Sánchez
- Neuro-Com Research Group, Audiovisual Communication and Advertising Department, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
| | - Miguel Ángel Martín-Pascual
- Neuro-Com Research Group, Audiovisual Communication and Advertising Department, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Instituto Radio Televisión Española, RTVE, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Agnès Gruart
- Division of Neurosciences, Pablo de Olavide University, Seville, Spain
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48
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Drew PJ, Winder AT, Zhang Q. Twitches, Blinks, and Fidgets: Important Generators of Ongoing Neural Activity. Neuroscientist 2018; 25:298-313. [PMID: 30311838 DOI: 10.1177/1073858418805427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Animals and humans continuously engage in small, spontaneous motor actions, such as blinking, whisking, and postural adjustments ("fidgeting"). These movements are accompanied by changes in neural activity in sensory and motor regions of the brain. The frequency of these motions varies in time, is affected by sensory stimuli, arousal levels, and pathology. These fidgeting behaviors can be entrained by sensory stimuli. Fidgeting behaviors will cause distributed, bilateral functional activation in the 0.01 to 0.1 Hz frequency range that will show up in functional magnetic resonance imaging and wide-field calcium neuroimaging studies, and will contribute to the observed functional connectivity among brain regions. However, despite the large potential of these behaviors to drive brain-wide activity, these fidget-like behaviors are rarely monitored. We argue that studies of spontaneous and evoked brain dynamics in awake animals and humans should closely monitor these fidgeting behaviors. Differences in these fidgeting behaviors due to arousal or pathology will "contaminate" ongoing neural activity, and lead to apparent differences in functional connectivity. Monitoring and accounting for the brain-wide activations by these behaviors is essential during experiments to differentiate fidget-driven activity from internally driven neural dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick J Drew
- Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA.,Department of Neurosurgery and Department of Biomedical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Aaron T Winder
- Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Qingguang Zhang
- Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
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49
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Disentangling reward anticipation with simultaneous pupillometry / fMRI. Neuroimage 2018; 178:11-22. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.04.078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2017] [Revised: 03/28/2018] [Accepted: 04/30/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
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50
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Martín-Pascual MÁ, Andreu-Sánchez C, Delgado-García JM, Gruart A. Using Electroencephalography Measurements and High-quality Video Recording for Analyzing Visual Perception of Media Content. J Vis Exp 2018. [PMID: 29889189 DOI: 10.3791/57321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
This article explores a method to detect differences in visual perception in humans. The method used is based on the psychological (or "cognitive") function of eyeblinks. Participants' eyeblinks are detected and acquired while watching videos specifically created for the investigation. The detection and acquisition of eyeblinks are carried out with the help of a 20-channel electroencephalographic (EEG) wireless device. The international 10-20 system for electrode placement is followed. A high-definition (HD) video camera is used to record participants' facial expressions, for contrast purposes. Instead of using pre-existing media content, purpose-made video content has been created following specific criteria of interest for this investigation, with stimuli enabling researchers to manage the precise parameters of interest. Otherwise, results could be contaminated with uncontrolled variables. The synchronization of the presentation of video stimuli with EEG recordings needs to be done in milliseconds. Analysis of collected data is performed with robust software for working with big matrices. Statistically significant differences in eyeblink rate related to media professionalization and editing style are found with the reported experimental procedures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Ángel Martín-Pascual
- Neuro-Com Research Group, Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona; Instituto RTVE, Corporación Radio Televisión Española;
| | | | | | - Agnès Gruart
- Division of Neuroscience, Pablo de Olavide University
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