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Ribeiro M, Andreis FR, Jabban L, Nielsen TGNDS, Smirnov SV, Lutteroth C, Proulx MJ, Rocha PRF, Metcalfe B. Ex-vivo systems for neuromodulation: A comparison of ex-vivo and in-vivo large animal nerve electrophysiology. J Neurosci Methods 2024; 406:110116. [PMID: 38548122 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2024.110116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Revised: 03/05/2024] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Little research exists on extending ex-vivo systems to large animal nerves, and to the best of our knowledge, there has yet to be a study comparing these against in-vivo data. This paper details the first ex-vivo system for large animal peripheral nerves to be compared with in-vivo results. NEW METHOD Detailed ex-vivo and in-vivo closed-loop neuromodulation experiments were conducted on pig ulnar nerves. Temperatures from 20 °C to 37 °C were evaluated for the ex-vivo system. The data were analysed in the time and velocity domains, and a regression analysis established how evoked compound action potential amplitude and modal conduction velocity (CV) varied with temperature and time after explantation. MAIN RESULTS Pig ulnar nerves were sustained ex-vivo up to 5 h post-explantation. CV distributions of ex-vivo and in-vivo data were compared, showing closer correspondence at 37 °C. Regression analysis results also demonstrated that modal CV and time since explantation were negatively correlated, whereas modal CV and temperature were positively correlated. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS Previous ex-vivo systems were primarily aimed at small animal nerves, and we are not aware of an ex-vivo system to be directly compared with in-vivo data. This new approach provides a route to understand how ex-vivo systems for large animal nerves can be developed and compared with in-vivo data. CONCLUSION The proposed ex-vivo system results were compared with those seen in-vivo, providing new insights into large animal nerve activity post-explantation. Such a system is crucial for complementing in-vivo experiments, maximising collected experimental data, and accelerating neural interface development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mafalda Ribeiro
- Centre for Accountable, Responsible, and Transparent AI (ART-AI), Department of Computer Science, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY, United Kingdom; Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY, United Kingdom.
| | - Felipe R Andreis
- Centre for Neuroplasticity and Pain (CNAP), Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Selma Lagerløfs Vej 249, 9260, Gistrup, Denmark
| | - Leen Jabban
- Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas G N dS Nielsen
- Centre for Neuroplasticity and Pain (CNAP), Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Selma Lagerløfs Vej 249, 9260, Gistrup, Denmark
| | - Sergey V Smirnov
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY, United Kingdom
| | - Christof Lutteroth
- Centre for Accountable, Responsible, and Transparent AI (ART-AI), Department of Computer Science, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY, United Kingdom; Department of Computer Science, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY, United Kingdom
| | - Michael J Proulx
- Centre for Accountable, Responsible, and Transparent AI (ART-AI), Department of Computer Science, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY, United Kingdom; Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY, United Kingdom
| | - Paulo R F Rocha
- Centre for Functional Ecology - Science for People & the Planet (CFE), TERRA Associate Laboratory, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Calçada Martim de Freitas, 3000-456, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Benjamin Metcalfe
- Centre for Accountable, Responsible, and Transparent AI (ART-AI), Department of Computer Science, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY, United Kingdom; The Bath Institute for the Augmented Human, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY, United Kingdom.
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Wilson E, Ibragimov A, Proulx MJ, Tetali SD, Butler K, Jain E. Privacy-Preserving Gaze Data Streaming in Immersive Interactive Virtual Reality: Robustness and User Experience. IEEE Trans Vis Comput Graph 2024; 30:2257-2268. [PMID: 38457326 DOI: 10.1109/tvcg.2024.3372032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/10/2024]
Abstract
Eye tracking is routinely being incorporated into virtual reality (VR) systems. Prior research has shown that eye tracking data, if exposed, can be used for re-identification attacks [14]. The state of our knowledge about currently existing privacy mechanisms is limited to privacy-utility trade-off curves based on data-centric metrics of utility, such as prediction error, and black-box threat models. We propose that for interactive VR applications, it is essential to consider user-centric notions of utility and a variety of threat models. We develop a methodology to evaluate real-time privacy mechanisms for interactive VR applications that incorporate subjective user experience and task performance metrics. We evaluate selected privacy mechanisms using this methodology and find that re-identification accuracy can be decreased to as low as 14% while maintaining a high usability score and reasonable task performance. Finally, we elucidate three threat scenarios (black-box, black-box with exemplars, and white-box) and assess how well the different privacy mechanisms hold up to these adversarial scenarios. This work advances the state of the art in VR privacy by providing a methodology for end-to-end assessment of the risk of re-identification attacks and potential mitigating solutions. f.
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Halicka M, Cousins OR, Ten Brink AF, Vittersø AD, Proulx MJ, Bultitude JH. Reduced Visuospatial Attention in Personal Space is Not Limited to the Affected Limb in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. J Pain Res 2024; 17:1519-1529. [PMID: 38686102 PMCID: PMC11056436 DOI: 10.2147/jpr.s437366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Purpose Alterations in spatial attention have been reported in people with chronic pain and may be relevant to understanding its cortical mechanisms and developing novel treatments. There is conflicting evidence as to whether people with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) have reduced visuospatial attention to their affected limb and/or its surrounding space, with some evidence that these deficits may be greater in personal (bodily) space. We aimed to test the competing hypotheses of whether the visuospatial attentional bias is specific to the personal space of the affected limb or generalizes to the personal space of other parts of the affected side of the body. Patients and Methods Using visual Temporal Order Judgement tasks, we measured spatial attention in the personal space of the hands and feet of patients with upper (n=14) or lower (n=14) limb CRPS and pain-free controls (n=17). Participants judged the order of two light flashes presented at different temporal offsets on each of their hands or feet. Slower processing of the flash on one side relative to the other reflects reduced attention to that side of space. Results Controls prioritized stimuli on the non-dominant (left) relative to dominant side, consistent with the well-documented normal leftward bias of attention (ie "pseudoneglect"). Regardless of the location (upper or lower limb) of the pain or visual stimuli, people with CRPS showed no such asymmetry, representing reduced attention to the affected side (compared to the greater attention of controls to their non-dominant side). More severe CRPS symptoms were associated with a greater tendency to deprioritize stimuli on the affected side. Conclusion Our findings suggest that relative visuospatial bias in CRPS is generalized to the personal space of the affected side of the body, rather than being specific to the personal space of the CRPS-affected limb.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monika Halicka
- Institute of Neuroscience, Universite catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
- Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, Bath, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | | | - Antonia F Ten Brink
- Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, Bath, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Helmholtz Institute, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Axel D Vittersø
- Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, Bath, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
- Division of Mental Health Services, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway
| | | | - Janet H Bultitude
- Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, Bath, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
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Burlingham CS, Sendhilnathan N, Komogortsev O, Murdison TS, Proulx MJ. Motor "laziness" constrains fixation selection in real-world tasks. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2302239121. [PMID: 38470927 PMCID: PMC10962974 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2302239121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2023] [Accepted: 02/02/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Humans coordinate their eye, head, and body movements to gather information from a dynamic environment while maximizing reward and minimizing biomechanical and energetic costs. However, such natural behavior is not possible in traditional experiments employing head/body restraints and artificial, static stimuli. Therefore, it is unclear to what extent mechanisms of fixation selection discovered in lab studies, such as inhibition-of-return (IOR), influence everyday behavior. To address this gap, participants performed nine real-world tasks, including driving, visually searching for an item, and building a Lego set, while wearing a mobile eye tracker (169 recordings; 26.6 h). Surprisingly, in all tasks, participants most often returned to what they just viewed and saccade latencies were shorter preceding return than forward saccades, i.e., consistent with facilitation, rather than inhibition, of return. We hypothesize that conservation of eye and head motor effort ("laziness") contributes. Correspondingly, we observed center biases in fixation position and duration relative to the head's orientation. A model that generates scanpaths by randomly sampling these distributions reproduced all return phenomena we observed, including distinct 3-fixation sequences for forward versus return saccades. After controlling for orbital eccentricity, one task (building a Lego set) showed evidence for IOR. This, along with small discrepancies between model and data, indicates that the brain balances minimization of motor costs with maximization of rewards (e.g., accomplished by IOR and other mechanisms) and that the optimal balance varies according to task demands. Supporting this account, the orbital range of motion used in each task traded off lawfully with fixation duration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlie S. Burlingham
- Reality Labs Research, Meta Platforms Inc., Redmond, WA98052
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY10003
| | | | - Oleg Komogortsev
- Reality Labs Research, Meta Platforms Inc., Redmond, WA98052
- Department of Computer Science, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX78666
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Sarkar J, Roehner RP, Proulx MJ, Schwarz RE. Surgeon-Dependent Variability in Cost of Gastrointestinal Operations in a Single Cancer Center. J Surg Res 2024; 295:666-672. [PMID: 38113610 DOI: 10.1016/j.jss.2023.11.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Revised: 10/02/2023] [Accepted: 11/12/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Cancer operations are increasingly utilizing specialized equipment and technology. Related costs are often not known to the responsible surgeon. We seek to evaluate cost aspects of care episodes attributable to the surgeon's management decisions. METHODS Financial cost data in a tertiary academic cancer center were queried over 3 y. Consecutive patients undergoing gastrointestinal operations followed by inpatient admission of two or more days were included, excluding patients with 40+ d admissions. Analysis of variance, Kruskal-Wallis, and multiple regression statistics were utilized. RESULTS The study population included 1540 patients: 54% men and 46% women, with a median age of 64 y (range 15-95). Eight surgeons conducted major (82%) and minor (18%) operations, with a minimally invasive surgical approach in 60.4%. Procedures included colorectal (37%), pancreatic (19%), esophagogastric (18%), hepatobiliary (18%), and small bowel resections (8%). Total direct costs differed between surgeons with an analysis of variance coefficient range between -$3265 and +$6163 (P < 0.001). Surgeons' cost differences were observed for central medical supply, operating room (OR) supply, total OR, inpatient room, laboratory, pharmacy, supportive care (P < 0.001), and radiology costs (P < 0.02). OR supply cost was the dominant consistent domain with significant differences between surgeons in all case subcategories. When controlled for case category and minimally invasive surgical approach, multiple regression showed the most significant variations between surgeons in ORs, medical supply, and nutrition costs (P < 0.001), followed by laboratory costs (P < 0.01). Top OR supply costs were staplers and energy devices. CONCLUSIONS Even in a highly subspecialized surgical environment, surgeons' variable utilization of ORs and medical supplies is strongly linked to variations in care-related costs. Specific queries into supply items should reduce costs and optimize value generated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joy Sarkar
- Department of Surgical Oncology, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York.
| | - Richard P Roehner
- Department of Fiscal Administration, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York
| | - Michael J Proulx
- Department of Fiscal Administration, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York
| | - Roderich E Schwarz
- Department of Surgical Oncology, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York
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Bannigan GM, de Sousa AA, Scheller M, Finnegan DJ, Proulx MJ. Potential factors contributing to observed sex differences in virtual-reality-induced sickness. Exp Brain Res 2024; 242:463-475. [PMID: 38170233 PMCID: PMC10805816 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-023-06760-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
Virtual reality (VR) technology has been widely adopted for several professional and recreational applications. Despite rapid innovation in hardware and software, one of the long prevailing issues for end users of VR is the experience of VR sickness. Females experience stronger VR sickness compared to males, and previous research has linked susceptibility to VR sickness to the menstrual cycle (Munafo et al., Exp Brain Res 235(3):889-901). Here we investigated the female versus male experience in VR sickness while playing an immersive VR game, comparing days of the menstrual cycle when hormones peak: day 15 (ovulation-peak estrogen) and day 22 (mid-luteal phase-peak progesterone). We found that immersion duration was greater in the second session than the first, and discomfort was lessened, suggesting a powerful adaptation with repeated exposure. Due to the estrogen levels changing along with the exposure, there was no clear independent impact of that; note, though, that there was a significant difference between self-report and physiological measures implying that GSR is potentially an unreliable measure of motion sickness. Although prior work found a delay over 2 days between session would not allow adaptation and habituation to reduce VR sickness susceptibility, we found that a week delay has potential success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grainne M Bannigan
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
- School of Public Health Physiotherapy and Sports Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Alexandra A de Sousa
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
- School of Sciences, Bath Spa University, Bath, UK
- Department of Computer Science, REVEAL Research Centre, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | | | - Daniel J Finnegan
- School of Computer Science and Informatics, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
| | - Michael J Proulx
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK.
- Department of Computer Science, REVEAL Research Centre, University of Bath, Bath, UK.
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Ribeiro M, Koh RGL, Donnelly T, Lutteroth C, Proulx MJ, Rocha PRF, Metcalfe B. Denoising and decoding spontaneous vagus nerve recordings with machine learning. Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc 2023; 2023:1-4. [PMID: 38083166 DOI: 10.1109/embc40787.2023.10340443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2023]
Abstract
Neural interfaces that electrically stimulate the peripheral nervous system have been shown to successfully improve symptom management for several conditions, such as epilepsy and depression. A crucial part for closing the loop and improving the efficacy of implantable neuromodulation devices is the efficient extraction of meaningful information from nerve recordings, which can have a low Signal-to-Noise ratio (SNR) and non-stationary noise. In recent years, machine learning (ML) models have shown outstanding performance in regression and classification problems, but it is often unclear how to translate and assess these for novel tasks in biomedical engineering. This paper aims to adapt existing ML algorithms to carry out unsupervised denoising of neural recordings instead. This is achieved by applying bandpass filtering and two novel ML algorithms to in-vivo spontaneous, low-SNR vagus nerve recordings. The performance of each approach is compared using the task of extracting respiratory afferent activity and validated using cross-correlation, MSE, and accuracy in terms of extracting the true respiratory rate. A variational autoencoder (VAE) model in particular produces results that show better correlation with respiratory activity compared to bandpass filtering, highlighting that these models have the potential to preserve relevant features in complex neural recordings.
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Wilson H, Golbabaee M, Proulx MJ, Charles S, O'Neill E. EEG-based BCI Dataset of Semantic Concepts for Imagination and Perception Tasks. Sci Data 2023; 10:386. [PMID: 37322034 PMCID: PMC10272218 DOI: 10.1038/s41597-023-02287-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2023] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Electroencephalography (EEG) is a widely-used neuroimaging technique in Brain Computer Interfaces (BCIs) due to its non-invasive nature, accessibility and high temporal resolution. A range of input representations has been explored for BCIs. The same semantic meaning can be conveyed in different representations, such as visual (orthographic and pictorial) and auditory (spoken words). These stimuli representations can be either imagined or perceived by the BCI user. In particular, there is a scarcity of existing open source EEG datasets for imagined visual content, and to our knowledge there are no open source EEG datasets for semantics captured through multiple sensory modalities for both perceived and imagined content. Here we present an open source multisensory imagination and perception dataset, with twelve participants, acquired with a 124 EEG channel system. The aim is for the dataset to be open for purposes such as BCI related decoding and for better understanding the neural mechanisms behind perception, imagination and across the sensory modalities when the semantic category is held constant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holly Wilson
- Department of Computer Science, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK.
| | - Mohammad Golbabaee
- Department of Engineering Mathematics, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TW, UK
| | | | - Stephen Charles
- Department of Computer Science, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK
| | - Eamonn O'Neill
- Department of Computer Science, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK.
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Fernandes AS, Murdison TS, Proulx MJ. Leveling the Playing Field: A Comparative Reevaluation of Unmodified Eye Tracking as an Input and Interaction Modality for VR. IEEE Trans Vis Comput Graph 2023; PP:2269-2279. [PMID: 37027619 DOI: 10.1109/tvcg.2023.3247058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
In this study, we establish a much-needed baseline for evaluating eye tracking interactions using an eye tracking enabled Meta Quest 2 VR headset with 30 participants. Each participant went through 1098 targets using multiple conditions representative of AR/VR targeting and selecting tasks, including both traditional standards and those more aligned with AR/VR interactions today. We use circular white world-locked targets, and an eye tracking system with sub-1-degree mean accuracy errors running at approximately 90Hz. In a targeting and button press selection task, we, by design, compare completely unadjusted, cursor-less, eye tracking with controller and head tracking, which both had cursors. Across all inputs, we presented targets in a configuration similar to the ISO 9241-9 reciprocal selection task and another format with targets more evenly distributed near the center. Targets were laid out either flat on a plane or tangent to a sphere and rotated toward the user. Even though we intended this to be a baseline study, we see unmodified eye tracking, without any form of a cursor, or feedback, outperformed the head by 27.9% and performed comparably to the controller (5.63% decrease) in throughput. Eye tracking had improved subjective ratings relative to head in Ease of Use, Adoption, and Fatigue (66.4%, 89.8%, and 116.1% improvements, respectively) and had similar ratings relative to the controller (reduction by 4.2%, 8.9%, and 5.2% respectively). Eye tracking had a higher miss percentage than controller and head (17.3% vs 4.7% vs 7.2% respectively). Collectively, the results of this baseline study serve as a strong indicator that eye tracking, with even minor sensible interaction design modifications, has tremendous potential in reshaping interactions in next-generation AR/VR head mounted displays.
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Jicol C, Taulo G, Goldie C, Lloyd-Esenkaya T, Hynes R, Paradise C, Proulx MJ, de Sousa AA. The effects of social density, spatial density, noise, and office views on perceived personal space in the virtual workplace. Front Comput Sci 2023. [DOI: 10.3389/fcomp.2023.1066881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Here we sought to understand how perceived personal space is influenced by a number of variables that could influence Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ); specifically, we tested how different levels of social density, spatial density, noise presence, and type of view impact the appreciation of personal space in a shared office environment. We employed virtual reality (VR) to simulate shared and single occupancy offices and devised a novel measure of personal space estimation. We also used a traditional personal space satisfaction score. Participants experienced greater perceived personal space when (1) in a sparsely populated rather than a dense office, (2) in a private office rather than an open plan office, and (3) having any view outside of the office. We did not find an effect of the presence of noise or increased social density (with spatial density held constant) on the perception of personal space.
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Hayes C, Proulx MJ. Turning a blind eye? Removing barriers to science and mathematics education for students with visual impairments. British Journal of Visual Impairment 2023. [DOI: 10.1177/02646196221149561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
With complex, visual concepts prevailing in science and mathematics curricula, these subjects are often inaccessible to students with visual impairments (VI), leading to their underrepresentation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers. While researchers have identified strategies that can facilitate students with VI’s learning within special schools, less is known about how students with VI access science and mathematics within a mainstream context, even though this is where the majority are educated. This seems important to address given the additional barrier students with VI face within mainstream schools, including negative attitudes from mainstream teachers. Consequently, the current study was conducted to explore how students with VI’s access to and learning of science and mathematics can be improved within the mainstream context. Two interviews were conducted with qualified teachers of children and young people with vision impairment (QTVIs), revealing the importance of classroom adaptations, such as hands-on experience and increased lesson time, to facilitate students with VI’s learning of science and mathematics. These findings are discussed in relation to policy and practice, suggesting mainstream teachers should be trained to make small but effective adaptations in their teaching, and that students with VI are given the opportunity to learn skills needed to become independent learners.
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Richardson M, Jicol C, Taulo G, Park J, Kim HK, Proulx MJ, de Sousa AA. Differences in office-based personal space perception between British and Korean populations. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1043088. [PMID: 37034962 PMCID: PMC10075201 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1043088] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2022] [Accepted: 02/27/2023] [Indexed: 04/11/2023] Open
Abstract
We sought to understand how the perception of personal space is influenced by different levels of social density, spatial density, and type of window-view in South Korean and United Kingdom workplaces. We employed virtual reality to simulate shared and single occupancy offices. We obtained personal space estimations using a virtual disc around the participant which could be extended and retracted, inside the simulation, to indicate perceived amount of personal space, and compared this measure to questionnaire-based estimations. We found that in both cultures participants experienced greater perceived personal space (1) when in a sparse rather than dense office and (2) having a view of the city outside the office. However, British, but not Korean, participants had significantly higher personal space estimations in single occupancy offices than in shared offices. These results suggest subtle cross-cultural differences in workplace experience, that could only be investigated using virtual reality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mike Richardson
- CREATE Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
| | - Crescent Jicol
- Department of Computer Science, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
| | - Gerald Taulo
- Centre for Health and Cognition, Bath Spa University, Bath, United Kingdom
| | - Jaehyun Park
- Department of Industrial and Management Engineering, Incheon National University, Incheon, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyun K. Kim
- School of Information Convergence, Kwangwoon University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | | | - Alexandra A. de Sousa
- Centre for Health and Cognition, Bath Spa University, Bath, United Kingdom
- *Correspondence: Alexandra A. de Sousa,
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Liang I, Spencer B, Scheller M, Proulx MJ, Petrini K. Assessing people with visual impairments’ access to information, awareness and satisfaction with high-tech assistive technology. British Journal of Visual Impairment 2022. [DOI: 10.1177/02646196221131746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Assistive technology (AT) devices are designed to help people with visual impairments (PVIs) perform activities that would otherwise be difficult or impossible. Devices specifically designed to assist PVIs by attempting to restore sight or substitute it for another sense have a very low uptake rate. This study, conducted in England, aimed to investigate why this is the case by assessing accessibility to knowledge, awareness, and satisfaction with AT in general and with sensory restoration and substitution devices in particular. From a sample of 25 PVIs, ranging from 21 to 68 years old, results showed that participants knew where to find AT information; however, health care providers were not the main source of this information. Participants reported good awareness of different ATs, and of technologies they would not use, but reported poor awareness of specific sensory substitution and restoration devices. Only three participants reported using AT, each with different devices and varying levels of satisfaction. The results from this study suggest a possible breakdown in communication between health care providers and PVIs, and dissociation between reported AT awareness and reported access to AT information. Moreover, awareness of sensory restoration and substitution devices is poor, which may explain the limited use of such technology.
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Karim AKMR, Proulx MJ, de Sousa AA, Likova LT. Do we enjoy what we sense and perceive? A dissociation between aesthetic appreciation and basic perception of environmental objects or events. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci 2022; 22:904-951. [PMID: 35589909 PMCID: PMC10159614 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-022-01004-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/27/2022] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
This integrative review rearticulates the notion of human aesthetics by critically appraising the conventional definitions, offerring a new, more comprehensive definition, and identifying the fundamental components associated with it. It intends to advance holistic understanding of the notion by differentiating aesthetic perception from basic perceptual recognition, and by characterizing these concepts from the perspective of information processing in both visual and nonvisual modalities. To this end, we analyze the dissociative nature of information processing in the brain, introducing a novel local-global integrative model that differentiates aesthetic processing from basic perceptual processing. This model builds on the current state of the art in visual aesthetics as well as newer propositions about nonvisual aesthetics. This model comprises two analytic channels: aesthetics-only channel and perception-to-aesthetics channel. The aesthetics-only channel primarily involves restricted local processing for quality or richness (e.g., attractiveness, beauty/prettiness, elegance, sublimeness, catchiness, hedonic value) analysis, whereas the perception-to-aesthetics channel involves global/extended local processing for basic feature analysis, followed by restricted local processing for quality or richness analysis. We contend that aesthetic processing operates independently of basic perceptual processing, but not independently of cognitive processing. We further conjecture that there might be a common faculty, labeled as aesthetic cognition faculty, in the human brain for all sensory aesthetics albeit other parts of the brain can also be activated because of basic sensory processing prior to aesthetic processing, particularly during the operation of the second channel. This generalized model can account not only for simple and pure aesthetic experiences but for partial and complex aesthetic experiences as well.
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Affiliation(s)
- A K M Rezaul Karim
- Department of Psychology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh.
- Envision Research Institute, 610 N. Main St., Wichita, KS, USA.
- The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, 2318 Fillmore St., San Francisco, CA, USA.
| | | | | | - Lora T Likova
- The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, 2318 Fillmore St., San Francisco, CA, USA
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15
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Richardson M, Petrini K, Proulx MJ. Orientation of tactile attention on the surface of the tongue. J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 2022; 48:926-942. [PMID: 35862072 DOI: 10.1037/xhp0001007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The tongue is an incredibly complex sensory organ, yet little is known about its tactile capacities compared to the hands. In particular, the tongue receives almost no visual input during development and so may be calibrated differently compared to other tactile senses for spatial tasks. Using a cueing task, via an electro-tactile display, we examined how a tactile cue (to the tongue) or an auditory cue can affect the orientation of attention to electro-tactile targets presented to one of four regions on the tongue. We observed that response accuracy was generally low for the same modality condition, especially at the back of the tongue. This implies that spatial localization ability is diminished either because the tongue is less calibrated by the visual modality or because of its position and orientation inside the body. However, when cues were provided cross-modally, target identification at the back of the tongue seemed to improve. Our findings suggest that, while the brain relies on a general mechanism for spatial (and tactile) attention, the surface of the tongue may not have clear access to these representations of space when solely provided via electro-tactile feedback but can be directed by other sensory modalities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
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16
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Vittersø AD, Halicka M, Buckingham G, Proulx MJ, Bultitude JH. The sensorimotor theory of pathological pain revisited. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 139:104735. [PMID: 35705110 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2022] [Revised: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Harris (1999) proposed that pain can arise in the absence of tissue damage because changes in the cortical representation of the painful body part lead to incongruences between motor intention and sensory feedback. This idea, subsequently termed the sensorimotor theory of pain, has formed the basis for novel treatments for pathological pain. Here we review the evidence that people with pathological pain have changes to processes contributing to sensorimotor function: motor function, sensory feedback, cognitive representations of the body and its surrounding space, multisensory processing, and sensorimotor integration. Changes to sensorimotor processing are most evident in the form of motor deficits, sensory changes, and body representations distortions, and for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), fibromyalgia, and low back pain. Many sensorimotor changes are related to cortical processing, pain, and other clinical characteristics. However, there is very limited evidence that changes in sensorimotor processing actually lead to pain. We therefore propose that the theory is more appropriate for understanding why pain persists rather than how it arises.
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Affiliation(s)
- Axel D Vittersø
- Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom; Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom; Department of Sport & Health Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom; Department of Psychology, Oslo New University College, Oslo, Norway.
| | - Monika Halicka
- Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom; Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom
| | - Gavin Buckingham
- Department of Sport & Health Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom
| | - Michael J Proulx
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom; Centre for Real and Virtual Environments Augmentation Labs, Department of Computer Science, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom
| | - Janet H Bultitude
- Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom; Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom
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17
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Abstract
Our understanding of human visual attention has greatly benefited from a wealth of visual search studies conducted over the past few decades. Task observers with searching for a specific target embedded among a set of distractors, and the time taken for them to find the target can reveal much about the sensory and cognitive processes involved. These experiments have typically been conducted on 2D displays under tightly controlled viewing conditions. Recently however, there have been calls within the visual attention community to explore more ecologically valid means of data collection. Virtual reality (VR) is a promising methodological tool for such research as it offers improved visual realism and the possibility of participant interaction, while retaining a significant amount of the control afforded by a computerized and monitor presented experiment. Here we present the Visual Search in Virtual Reality (VSVR) ToolBox. VSVR is a set of functions, scripts and assets that can be combined within a visual scripting environment in the Unity game engine to design, replicate and extend visual search experiments in VR. We further demonstrate the utility of such a toolbox with three experiments: a replication of feature search behavior, a demonstration of wide field-of-view visual search and eccentricity effects, and replication of depth plane as a feature for search.
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18
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de Sousa AA, Todorov OS, Proulx MJ. A natural history of vertebrate vision loss: Insight from mammalian vision for human visual function. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 134:104550. [PMID: 35074313 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2020] [Revised: 10/08/2021] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Research on the origin of vision and vision loss in naturally "blind" animal species can reveal the tasks that vision fulfills and the brain's role in visual experience. Models that incorporate evolutionary history, natural variation in visual ability, and experimental manipulations can help disentangle visual ability at a superficial level from behaviors linked to vision but not solely reliant upon it, and could assist the translation of ophthalmological research in animal models to human treatments. To unravel the similarities between blind individuals and blind species, we review concepts of 'blindness' and its behavioral correlates across a range of species. We explore the ancestral emergence of vision in vertebrates, and the loss of vision in blind species with reference to an evolution-based classification scheme. We applied phylogenetic comparative methods to a mammalian tree to explore the evolution of visual acuity using ancestral state estimations. Future research into the natural history of vision loss could help elucidate the function of vision and inspire innovations in how to address vision loss in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra A de Sousa
- Centre for Health and Cognition, Bath Spa University, Bath, United Kingdom; UKRI Centre for Accessible, Responsible & Transparent Artificial Intelligence (ART:AI), University of Bath, United Kingdom.
| | - Orlin S Todorov
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Michael J Proulx
- UKRI Centre for Accessible, Responsible & Transparent Artificial Intelligence (ART:AI), University of Bath, United Kingdom; Department of Psychology, REVEAL Research Centre, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
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19
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Pakėnaitė K, Nedelev P, Kamperou E, Proulx MJ, Hall PM. Communicating Photograph Content Through Tactile Images to People With Visual Impairments. Front Comput Sci 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fcomp.2021.787735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Millions of people with a visual impairment across the world are denied access to visual images. They are unable to enjoy the simple pleasures of viewing family photographs, those in textbooks or tourist brochures and the pictorial embellishment of news stories etc. We propose a simple, inexpensive but effective approach, to make content accessible via touch. We use state-of-the-art algorithms to automatically process an input photograph into a collage of icons, that depict the most important semantic aspects of a scene. This collage is then printed onto swell paper. Our experiments show that people can recognise content with an accuracy exceeding 70% and create plausible narratives to explain it. This means that people can understand image content via touch. Communicating scene foreground is a step forward, but there are many other steps needed to provide the visually impaired with the fullest possible access to visual content.
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20
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Richardson M, Petrini K, Proulx MJ. Access to exercise for people with visual impairments during the Coronavirus-19 pandemic. British Journal of Visual Impairment 2022. [DOI: 10.1177/02646196211067356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
People with blindness and visual impairments have reduced access to exercise compared to the general population during typical societal functioning. The Coronavirus-19 pandemic completely disrupted daily life for most individuals worldwide, and in the United Kingdom, a stay-at-home order was enforced. One of the sole reasons an individual could leave their home was for the purpose of daily exercise. Here, we examined how the UK national lockdown impacted access to exercise for people with blindness and visual impairment. We used a mixed methods design, collecting quantitative data from two established measures (the Exercise Barriers and Benefits Scale and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire), and qualitative data from open-ended questions. We found that, during the initial stages of the lockdown, perceived barriers to exercise increased compared to pre-pandemic levels, driven by factors, such as the closure of exercise facilities and additional difficulties posed by social distancing. Interestingly, during the later stages of the UK Coronavirus-19 response, perceived barriers decreased to lower than pre-pandemic levels. Thematic analysis indicated that this may have been due to participants finding new online methods to exercise at home, in combination with the tentative reopening of facilities.
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21
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Vittersø AD, Buckingham G, Ten Brink AF, Halicka M, Proulx MJ, Bultitude JH. Normal manual straight ahead pointing in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0261614. [PMID: 34929004 PMCID: PMC8687552 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 12/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
There is evidence to suggest that people with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) can have altered body representations and spatial cognition. One way of studying these cognitive functions is through manual straight ahead (MSA) pointing, in which participants are required to point straight ahead of their perceived body midline without visual feedback of the hand. We therefore compared endpoint errors from MSA pointing between people with CRPS (n = 17) and matched controls (n = 18), and examined the effect of the arm used (Side of Body; affected/non-dominant, non-affected/dominant). For all participants, pointing errors were biased towards the hand being used. We found moderate evidence of no difference between Groups on endpoint errors, and moderate evidence of no interaction with Side of Body. The differences in variability between Groups were non-significant/inconclusive. Correlational analyses showed no evidence of a relationship between MSA endpoint errors and clinical parameters (e.g. CRPS severity, duration, pain) or questionnaire measures (e.g. body representation, "neglect-like symptoms", upper limb disability). This study is consistent with earlier findings of no difference between people with CRPS and controls on MSA endpoint errors, and is the first to provide statistical evidence of similar performance of these two groups. Our results do not support a relationship between clinical or self-reported measures (e.g. "neglect-like symptoms") and any directional biases in MSA. Our findings may have implications for understanding neurocognitive changes in CRPS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Axel D. Vittersø
- Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom
- Department of Sport & Health Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychology, Oslo New University College, Oslo, Norway
- * E-mail:
| | - Gavin Buckingham
- Department of Sport & Health Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom
| | - Antonia F. Ten Brink
- Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom
| | - Monika Halicka
- Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom
| | - Michael J. Proulx
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom
- Centre for Real and Virtual Environments Augmentation Labs, Department of Computer Science, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom
| | - Janet H. Bultitude
- Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom
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22
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Halicka M, Vittersø AD, Proulx MJ, Bultitude JH. Attention upturned: Bias toward and away from the affected side of the body and near space in a case of complex regional pain syndrome. Neuropsychologia 2021; 163:108079. [PMID: 34740614 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.108079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2021] [Revised: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
People with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) following limb injury can show neuropsychological symptoms in the absence of observable brain pathologies. These can include sensory changes, distorted body representation, and inattention to their affected limb and its surrounding space, resembling post-stroke hemispatial neglect. The precise nature and mechanisms of these neuropsychological symptoms are unclear, however insights could be gained by testing for dissociations and associations that have been observed in stroke patients. Drawing from clinical and experimental methods for investigating spatial attention bias and related symptoms in stroke patients, we conducted a detailed investigation of neuropsychological symptoms in a woman with CRPS of her left arm who initially presented to us with pronounced inattention to her affected side. The patient showed visual and tactile neglect and extinction on her affected side on confrontation tests, but no attention deficits on "bedside" tests of neglect. On sensitive computer-based measures, attention biases were found in the patient's body and near space (in Temporal Order Judgements), but not far or imagined space (on the Greyscales task and Mental Number Line Bisection). Unique to the current literature, the patient showed a reversal in her Temporal Order Judgement bias across time, from inattention (first and second session) to hyperattention (third session) to her affected side. In contrast, pain and self-reported body representation distortion were similar across the three sessions. The patient had reduced central and peripheral visual acuity, however these deficits were near symmetrical and therefore could not explain her performance on the visual attention tasks. Given that spatial attention bias has been linked to imbalance in relative activation of the two cerebral hemispheres, we administered a Global-Local processing task to test for hemispheric asymmetry. This revealed no difference in global compared to local interference refuting any hemispheric imbalance. Instead, the patient showed impaired performance (compared to controls) on incongruent trials regardless of trial type, consistent with executive impairment. We conclude that spatial attention bias in CRPS can generalize across different sensory modalities and extend beyond the affected limb to the external space around it, independent of any low-level sensory disturbances. This bias is not necessarily directed away from the affected side or stable over time. People with CRPS can also demonstrate more generalized neuropsychological changes in sensory and executive functions. Our observations refute several existing theories about the mechanisms of attention bias in CRPS, and their relationship to pain, and have potential implications for treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monika Halicka
- Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom; Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom.
| | - Axel D Vittersø
- Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom; Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom; Department of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
| | - Michael J Proulx
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom; Centre for Reality & Virtual Environments Augmentation Labs, Department of Computer Science, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
| | - Janet H Bultitude
- Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom; Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom; Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain (FMRIB), University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
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23
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Rezaul Karim AKM, Proulx MJ, de Sousa AA, Likova LT. Neuroplasticity and Crossmodal Connectivity in the Normal, Healthy Brain. Psychol Neurosci 2021; 14:298-334. [PMID: 36937077 PMCID: PMC10019101 DOI: 10.1037/pne0000258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Objective Neuroplasticity enables the brain to establish new crossmodal connections or reorganize old connections which are essential to perceiving a multisensorial world. The intent of this review is to identify and summarize the current developments in neuroplasticity and crossmodal connectivity, and deepen understanding of how crossmodal connectivity develops in the normal, healthy brain, highlighting novel perspectives about the principles that guide this connectivity. Methods To the above end, a narrative review is carried out. The data documented in prior relevant studies in neuroscience, psychology and other related fields available in a wide range of prominent electronic databases are critically assessed, synthesized, interpreted with qualitative rather than quantitative elements, and linked together to form new propositions and hypotheses about neuroplasticity and crossmodal connectivity. Results Three major themes are identified. First, it appears that neuroplasticity operates by following eight fundamental principles and crossmodal integration operates by following three principles. Second, two different forms of crossmodal connectivity, namely direct crossmodal connectivity and indirect crossmodal connectivity, are suggested to operate in both unisensory and multisensory perception. Third, three principles possibly guide the development of crossmodal connectivity into adulthood. These are labeled as the principle of innate crossmodality, the principle of evolution-driven 'neuromodular' reorganization and the principle of multimodal experience. These principles are combined to develop a three-factor interaction model of crossmodal connectivity. Conclusions The hypothesized principles and the proposed model together advance understanding of neuroplasticity, the nature of crossmodal connectivity, and how such connectivity develops in the normal, healthy brain.
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24
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Vittersø AD, Buckingham G, Ten Brink AF, Halicka M, Proulx MJ, Bultitude JH. Characterising sensorimotor adaptation in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. Cortex 2021; 140:157-178. [PMID: 33989901 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.03.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2020] [Revised: 01/19/2021] [Accepted: 03/26/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
It has been suggested that sensorimotor conflict contributes to the maintenance of some pathological pain conditions, implying that there are problems with the adaptation processes that normally resolve such conflict. We tested whether sensorimotor adaptation is impaired in people with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) by characterising their adaption to lateral prismatic shifts in vision. People with unilateral upper-limb CRPS Type I (n = 17), and pain-free individuals (n = 18; matched for age, sex, and handedness) completed prism adaptation with their affected/non-dominant and non-affected/dominant arms. We examined 1) the rate at which participants compensated for the optical shift during prism exposure (i.e., strategic recalibration), 2) endpoint errors made directly after prism adaptation (sensorimotor realignment) and the retention of these errors, and 3) kinematic markers associated with strategic control. Direct comparisons between people with CRPS and controls revealed no evidence of any differences in strategic recalibration, including no evidence for differences in a kinematic marker associated with trial-by-trial changes in movement plans during prism exposure. All participants made significant endpoint errors after prism adaptation exposure, indicative of sensorimotor realignment. Overall, the magnitude of this realignment did not differ between people with CRPS and pain-free controls. However, when endpoint errors were considered separately for each hand, people with CRPS made greater errors (indicating more rather than less realignment) when using their affected hand than their non-affected hand. No such difference was seen in controls. Taken together, these findings provide no evidence of impaired strategic control or sensorimotor realignment in people with CRPS. In contrast, they provide some indication that there could be a greater propensity for sensorimotor realignment in the CRPS-affected arm, consistent with more flexible representations of the body and peripersonal space. Our study challenges an implicit assumption of the theory that sensorimotor conflict might underlie some pathological pain conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Axel D Vittersø
- Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom; Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom; Department of Sport & Health Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom.
| | - Gavin Buckingham
- Department of Sport & Health Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom
| | - Antonia F Ten Brink
- Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom; Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom
| | - Monika Halicka
- Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom; Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom
| | - Michael J Proulx
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom; Centre for Real and Virtual Environments Augmentation Labs, Department of Computer Science, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom
| | - Janet H Bultitude
- Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom; Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom
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25
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Abstract
Discomfort provoked by normally innocuous visual stimuli has been reported by people with chronic pain. Visual discomfort may be higher in pain conditions in which central sensitization is implicated, such as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) and fibromyalgia. In an online study, we validated the Leiden Visual Sensitivity Scale (L-VISS) and Visual Discomfort Scale (VDS) in people with CRPS (n = 57), fibromyalgia (n = 75), and general chronic pain (n = 53); investigated whether these groups and pain-free controls (n = 125) differed in visual discomfort; and evaluated the effect of age. The L-VISS and VDS had good internal consistency. Both scales were positively related with experimentally induced visual distortions for mid-spatial frequency striped patterns, suggesting good construct validity. The scales were positively related with each other, and dissociated between the pain and pain-free groups in similar ways, suggesting good construct validity. There was no relationship between age and L-VISS scores and a small negative relationship between age and VDS scores. Visual discomfort was highest in the fibromyalgia group, followed by the CRPS group. This research confirms the utility of the L-VISS and VDS for measuring visual sensitivity in chronic pain and adds to evidence that central sensitization is an important mechanism of visual discomfort.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonia F Ten Brink
- Department of Psychology, 1555University of Bath, UK; Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, UK.,Department of Psychology, 1555University of Bath, UK; Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, UK
| | - Michael J Proulx
- Department of Psychology, 1555University of Bath, UK; Department of Computer Science, Centre for Real and Virtual Environments Augmentation Labs, University of Bath, UK.,Department of Psychology, 1555University of Bath, UK; Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, UK
| | - Janet H Bultitude
- Department of Psychology, 1555University of Bath, UK; Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, UK
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26
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Halicka M, Vittersø AD, McCullough H, Goebel A, Heelas L, Proulx MJ, Bultitude JH. Prism adaptation treatment for upper-limb complex regional pain syndrome: a double-blind randomized controlled trial. Pain 2021; 162:471-489. [PMID: 32833791 PMCID: PMC7808368 DOI: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2020] [Revised: 07/14/2020] [Accepted: 08/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Initial evidence suggested that people with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) have reduced attention to the affected side of their body and the surrounding space, which might be related to pain and other clinical symptoms. Three previous unblinded, uncontrolled studies showed pain relief after treatment with prism adaptation, an intervention that has been used to counter lateralised attention bias in brain-lesioned patients. To provide a robust test of its effectiveness for CRPS, we conducted a double-blind randomized controlled trial of prism adaptation for unilateral upper-limb CRPS-I. Forty-nine eligible adults with CRPS were randomized to undergo 2 weeks of twice-daily home-based prism adaptation treatment (n = 23) or sham treatment (n = 26). Outcomes were assessed in person 4 weeks before and immediately before treatment, and immediately after and 4 weeks after treatment. Long-term postal follow-ups were conducted 3 and 6 months after treatment. We examined the effects of prism adaptation vs sham treatment on current pain intensity and the CRPS symptom severity score (primary outcomes), as well as sensory, motor, and autonomic functions, self-reported psychological functioning, and experimentally tested neuropsychological functions (secondary outcomes). We found no evidence that primary or secondary outcomes differed between the prism adaptation and sham treatment groups when tested at either time point after treatment. Overall, CRPS severity significantly decreased over time for both groups, but we found no benefits of prism adaptation beyond sham treatment. Our findings do not support the efficacy of prism adaptation treatment for relieving upper-limb CRPS-I. This trial was prospectively registered (ISRCTN46828292).
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Affiliation(s)
- Monika Halicka
- Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
| | - Axel D. Vittersø
- Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
- Department of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom
| | - Hayley McCullough
- Department of Translational Medicine, Pain Research Institute, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Andreas Goebel
- Department of Translational Medicine, Pain Research Institute, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
- Department of Pain Medicine, Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Leila Heelas
- Optimise Pain Rehabilitation Unit, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Michael J. Proulx
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
- Department of Computer Science, Centre for Real & Virtual Environments Augmentation Labs, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
| | - Janet H. Bultitude
- Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
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27
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Fitton IS, Finnegan DJ, Proulx MJ. Immersive virtual environments and embodied agents for e-learning applications. PeerJ Comput Sci 2020; 6:e315. [PMID: 33816966 PMCID: PMC7924662 DOI: 10.7717/peerj-cs.315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2020] [Accepted: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Massive Open Online Courses are a dominant force in remote-learning yet suffer from persisting problems stemming from lack of commitment and low completion rates. In this initial study we investigate how the use of immersive virtual environments for Power-Point based informational learning may benefit learners and mimic traditional lectures successfully. We examine the role of embodied agent tutors which are frequently implemented within virtual learning environments. We find similar performance on a bespoke knowledge test and metrics for motivation, satisfaction, and engagement by learners in both real and virtual environments, regardless of embodied agent tutor presence. Our results raise questions regarding the viability of using virtual environments for remote-learning paradigms, and we emphasise the need for further investigation to inform the design of effective remote-learning applications.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Daniel J. Finnegan
- School of Computer Science & Informatics, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
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Brown H, Proulx MJ, Stanton Fraser D. Hunger Bias or Gut Instinct? Responses to Judgments of Harm Depending on Visceral State Versus Intuitive Decision-Making. Front Psychol 2020; 11:2261. [PMID: 33041900 PMCID: PMC7530233 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2020] [Accepted: 08/11/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Empirical investigation into the emotional and physiological processes that shape moral decision-making is vast and growing. Yet, relatively less attention has been paid to measures of interoception in morality research despite its centrality in both emotional and physiological processes. Hunger and thirst represent two everyday interoceptive states, and hunger, in particular, has been shown to be influential for moral decision-making in numerous studies. It is possible that a tendency to focus on internal sensations interoceptive sensibility (IS), as well as the emotional and physiological states associated with visceral states, could be important in the relationships between hunger, thirst, and moral judgments. This cross-sectional online research (n = 154) explored whether IS, hunger, thirst, and emotional state influenced appropriateness and acceptability judgments of harm. The moral dilemma stimuli used allowed the independent calculation of (1) people's tendency to avoid harmful action at all costs and (2) people's tendency to maximize outcomes that benefit the greater good. The Cognitive Reflection Task (CRT) was implemented to determine whether an ability to override intuitive responses to counterintuitive problems predicted harm-based moral judgments, as found previously. Hunger bias, independent of IS and emotional state, was influential for non-profitable acceptability judgments of harmful actions. Contrary to dual-process perspectives, a novel finding was that more intuitive responses on the CRT predicted a reduced aversion to harmful actions that was indirectly associated with IS. We suggest that IS may indicate people's vulnerability to cognitive miserliness on the CRT task and reduced deliberation of moral dilemma stimuli. The framing of moral dilemmatic questions to encourage allocentric (acceptability questions) versus egocentric perspectives (appropriateness questions) could explain the divergence between hunger bias and intuitive decision-making for predicting these judgments, respectively. The findings are discussed in relation to dual-process accounts of harm-based moral judgments and evidence linking visceral experiences to harm aversion and moral decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Helen Brown
- Crossmodal Cognition Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
| | | | - Danaë Stanton Fraser
- Crossmodal Cognition Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom.,CREATE Lab, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
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Lloyd-Esenkaya T, Lloyd-Esenkaya V, O'Neill E, Proulx MJ. Multisensory inclusive design with sensory substitution. Cogn Res Princ Implic 2020; 5:37. [PMID: 32770416 PMCID: PMC7415050 DOI: 10.1186/s41235-020-00240-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2019] [Accepted: 07/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Sensory substitution techniques are perceptual and cognitive phenomena used to represent one sensory form with an alternative. Current applications of sensory substitution techniques are typically focused on the development of assistive technologies whereby visually impaired users can acquire visual information via auditory and tactile cross-modal feedback. But despite their evident success in scientific research and furthering theory development in cognition, sensory substitution techniques have not yet gained widespread adoption within sensory-impaired populations. Here we argue that shifting the focus from assistive to mainstream applications may resolve some of the current issues regarding the use of sensory substitution devices to improve outcomes for those with disabilities. This article provides a tutorial guide on how to use research into multisensory processing and sensory substitution techniques from the cognitive sciences to design new inclusive cross-modal displays. A greater focus on developing inclusive mainstream applications could lead to innovative technologies that could be enjoyed by every person.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tayfun Lloyd-Esenkaya
- Crossmodal Cognition Lab, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK.,Department of Computer Science, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | | | - Eamonn O'Neill
- Department of Computer Science, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | - Michael J Proulx
- Crossmodal Cognition Lab, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK. .,Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK.
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Jicol C, Lloyd-Esenkaya T, Proulx MJ, Lange-Smith S, Scheller M, O'Neill E, Petrini K. Efficiency of Sensory Substitution Devices Alone and in Combination With Self-Motion for Spatial Navigation in Sighted and Visually Impaired. Front Psychol 2020; 11:1443. [PMID: 32754082 PMCID: PMC7381305 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2020] [Accepted: 05/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Human adults can optimally combine vision with self-motion to facilitate navigation. In the absence of visual input (e.g., dark environments and visual impairments), sensory substitution devices (SSDs), such as The vOICe or BrainPort, which translate visual information into auditory or tactile information, could be used to increase navigation precision when integrated together or with self-motion. In Experiment 1, we compared and assessed together The vOICe and BrainPort in aerial maps task performed by a group of sighted participants. In Experiment 2, we examined whether sighted individuals and a group of visually impaired (VI) individuals could benefit from using The vOICe, with and without self-motion, to accurately navigate a three-dimensional (3D) environment. In both studies, 3D motion tracking data were used to determine the level of precision with which participants performed two different tasks (an egocentric and an allocentric task) and three different conditions (two unisensory conditions and one multisensory condition). In Experiment 1, we found no benefit of using the devices together. In Experiment 2, the sighted performance during The vOICe was almost as good as that for self-motion despite a short training period, although we found no benefit (reduction in variability) of using The vOICe and self-motion in combination compared to the two in isolation. In contrast, the group of VI participants did benefit from combining The vOICe and self-motion despite the low number of trials. Finally, while both groups became more accurate in their use of The vOICe with increased trials, only the VI group showed an increased level of accuracy in the combined condition. Our findings highlight how exploiting non-visual multisensory integration to develop new assistive technologies could be key to help blind and VI persons, especially due to their difficulty in attaining allocentric information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Crescent Jicol
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
| | | | - Michael J Proulx
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
| | - Simon Lange-Smith
- School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Meike Scheller
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
| | - Eamonn O'Neill
- Department of Computer Science, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
| | - Karin Petrini
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
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Scheller M, Proulx MJ, Haan M, Dahlmann‐Noor A, Petrini K. Late‐ but not early‐onset blindness impairs the development of audio‐haptic multisensory integration. Dev Sci 2020; 24:e13001. [DOI: 10.1111/desc.13001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2019] [Revised: 04/04/2020] [Accepted: 05/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Michelle Haan
- Developmental Neurosciences Programme University College London London UK
| | - Annegret Dahlmann‐Noor
- NIHR Biomedical Research Centre Moorfields London UK
- Paediatric Service Moorfields Eye Hospital London UK
| | - Karin Petrini
- Department of Psychology University of Bath London UK
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Halicka M, Vittersø AD, McCullough H, Goebel A, Heelas L, Proulx MJ, Bultitude JH. Disputing space-based biases in unilateral complex regional pain syndrome. Cortex 2020; 127:248-268. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.02.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2019] [Revised: 02/19/2020] [Accepted: 02/27/2020] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
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Proulx MJ, Brown DJ, Lloyd-Esenkaya T, Leveson JB, Todorov OS, Watson SH, de Sousa AA. Visual-to-auditory sensory substitution alters language asymmetry in both sighted novices and experienced visually impaired users. Appl Ergon 2020; 85:103072. [PMID: 32174360 DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2020.103072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2019] [Revised: 12/05/2019] [Accepted: 02/01/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Visual-to-auditory sensory substitution devices (SSDs) provide improved access to the visual environment for the visually impaired by converting images into auditory information. Research is lacking on the mechanisms involved in processing data that is perceived through one sensory modality, but directly associated with a source in a different sensory modality. This is important because SSDs that use auditory displays could involve binaural presentation requiring both ear canals, or monaural presentation requiring only one - but which ear would be ideal? SSDs may be similar to reading, as an image (printed word) is converted into sound (when read aloud). Reading, and language more generally, are typically lateralised to the left cerebral hemisphere. Yet, unlike symbolic written language, SSDs convert images to sound based on visuospatial properties, with the right cerebral hemisphere potentially having a role in processing such visuospatial data. Here we investigated whether there is a hemispheric bias in the processing of visual-to-auditory sensory substitution information and whether that varies as a function of experience and visual ability. We assessed the lateralization of auditory processing with two tests: a standard dichotic listening test and a novel dichotic listening test created using the auditory information produced by an SSD, The vOICe. Participants were tested either in the lab or online with the same stimuli. We did not find a hemispheric bias in the processing of visual-to-auditory information in visually impaired, experienced vOICe users. Further, we did not find any difference between visually impaired, experienced vOICe users and sighted novices in the hemispheric lateralization of visual-to-auditory information processing. Although standard dichotic listening is lateralised to the left hemisphere, the auditory processing of images in SSDs is bilateral, possibly due to the increased influence of right hemisphere processing. Auditory SSDs might therefore be equally effective with presentation to either ear if a monaural, rather than binaural, presentation were necessary.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Proulx
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK; Crossmodal Cognition Laboratory, REVEAL Research Centre, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK
| | - David J Brown
- Crossmodal Cognition Laboratory, REVEAL Research Centre, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK; Centre for Health and Cognition, Bath Spa University, Bath, BA2 9BN, UK
| | - Tayfun Lloyd-Esenkaya
- Crossmodal Cognition Laboratory, REVEAL Research Centre, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK; Department of Computer Science, REVEAL Research Centre, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK
| | - Jack Barnett Leveson
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK; Crossmodal Cognition Laboratory, REVEAL Research Centre, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK
| | - Orlin S Todorov
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Samuel H Watson
- Centre for Health and Cognition, Bath Spa University, Bath, BA2 9BN, UK
| | - Alexandra A de Sousa
- Crossmodal Cognition Laboratory, REVEAL Research Centre, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK; Centre for Health and Cognition, Bath Spa University, Bath, BA2 9BN, UK.
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Halicka M, Vittersø AD, Proulx MJ, Bultitude JH. Pain reduction by inducing sensory-motor adaptation in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS PRISMA): protocol for a double-blind randomized controlled trial. BMC Neurol 2020; 20:62. [PMID: 32075590 PMCID: PMC7031894 DOI: 10.1186/s12883-020-1604-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2018] [Accepted: 01/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) presents as chronic, continuous pain and sensory, autonomic, and motor abnormalities affecting one or more extremities. People with CRPS can also show changes in their perception of and attention to the affected body part and sensory information in the affected side of space. Prism Adaptation (PA) is a behavioural intervention targeted at reducing attention deficits in post-stroke hemispatial neglect. PA also appears to reduce pain and other CRPS symptoms; however, these therapeutic effects have been demonstrated only in small unblinded studies. This paper describes the protocol for an ongoing double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled clinical trial that will evaluate the efficacy of PA treatment for CRPS. The secondary aims of the study are to examine the relationships between neuropsychological changes (such as spatial attention, space and body representation, and motor spatial performance) and clinical manifestations of CRPS, as well as symptom improvement. METHODS Forty-two participants with upper-limb CRPS type I will undergo 2 weeks of twice-daily PA treatment or sham treatment. The primary outcome measures are current pain intensity and CRPS severity score, measured immediately before and after the treatment period. Secondary outcome measures include the results of self-report questionnaires about pain, movement, symptoms interference, and body representation; clinical assessments of sensory, motor, and autonomic functions; and computer-based psychophysical tests of neuropsychological functions. Data are collected in four research visits: 4 weeks and 1 day before treatment, and 1 day and 4 weeks after the end of treatment. Additional follow-up through postal questionnaires is conducted 3 and 6 months post-treatment. DISCUSSION It is hypothesised that participants undergoing PA treatment, compared to those receiving sham treatment, will show greater reduction in pain and CRPS severity score, and improvements on other clinical and neuropsychological measures. Also, more pronounced neuropsychological symptoms are predicted to correlate with more severe clinical CRPS symptoms. This study will provide the first randomized double-blind evaluation of the therapeutic effects of PA that could be implemented as a rehabilitation method for CRPS, and will contribute to the understanding of how neuropsychological changes in body representation and attention pertain to the manifestation and treatment of CRPS. TRIAL REGISTRATION (27/03/2017): ISRCTN46828292 (ISRCTN - ISRCTN46828292: Treatment of complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) with sensory-motor adaptation).
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Affiliation(s)
- Monika Halicka
- Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, Claverton Down Road, Bath, BA2 7AY UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Claverton Down Road, Bath, BA2 7AY UK
| | - Axel D. Vittersø
- Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, Claverton Down Road, Bath, BA2 7AY UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Claverton Down Road, Bath, BA2 7AY UK
- Department of Sport & Health Sciences, University of Exeter, Prince of Wales Road, Exeter, EX4 4SB UK
| | - Michael J. Proulx
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Claverton Down Road, Bath, BA2 7AY UK
- Centre for Real and Virtual Environments Augmentation Labs, Department of Computer Science, University of Bath, Claverton Down Road, Bath, BA2 7AY UK
| | - Janet H. Bultitude
- Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, Claverton Down Road, Bath, BA2 7AY UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Claverton Down Road, Bath, BA2 7AY UK
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Wakamatsu K, Proulx MJ, Nakauchi S. Visual-auditory crossmodal priming affects visual texture recognition. J Vis 2019. [DOI: 10.1167/19.10.21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Kohta Wakamatsu
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology
| | | | - Shigeki Nakauchi
- Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology
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Vittersø AD, Halicka M, Buckingham G, Proulx MJ, Bultitude JH. Experimentally induced pain does not influence updating of peripersonal space and body representations following tool-use. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0210045. [PMID: 31095562 PMCID: PMC6522125 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0210045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2018] [Accepted: 05/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Representations of the body and peripersonal space can be distorted for people with some chronic pain conditions. Experimental pain induction can give rise to similar, but transient distortions in healthy individuals. However, spatial and bodily representations are dynamic, and constantly update as we interact with objects in our environment. It is unclear whether induced pain disrupts the mechanisms involved in updating these representations. In the present study, we sought to investigate the effect of induced pain on the updating of peripersonal space and body representations during and following tool-use. We compared performance under three conditions (pain, active placebo, neutral) on a visuotactile crossmodal congruency task and a tactile distance judgement task to measure updating of peripersonal space and body representations, respectively. Consistent with previous findings, the difference in crossmodal interference from visual distractors in the same compared to opposite visual field to the tactile target was less when tools were crossed than uncrossed. This suggests an extension of peripersonal space to incorporate the tips of the tools. Also consistent with previous findings, estimates of the felt tactile distance judgements decreased after active tool-use. In contrast to our predictions, however, we found no evidence that pain interfered with performance on either task when compared to the control conditions. Our findings suggest that the updating of peripersonal space and body representations is not disrupted by induced pain. That is, experiencing acute pain does not give rise to distorted representations of the body and peripersonal space that can be present in people with chronic pain conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Axel D Vittersø
- Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom.,Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom.,Department of Sport & Health Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom
| | - Monika Halicka
- Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom.,Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom
| | - Gavin Buckingham
- Department of Sport & Health Sciences, University of Exeter, Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom
| | - Michael J Proulx
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom.,Centre for Real and Virtual Environments Augmentation Labs, Department of Computer Science, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom
| | - Janet H Bultitude
- Centre for Pain Research, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom.,Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom
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Pasqualotto A, Furlan M, Proulx MJ, Sereno MI. Visual loss alters multisensory face maps in humans. Brain Struct Funct 2018; 223:3731-3738. [PMID: 30043118 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-018-1713-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2015] [Accepted: 07/04/2018] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Topographically organised responses to visual and tactile stimulation are aligned in the ventral intraparietal cortex. The critical biological importance of this region, which is thought to mediate visually guided defensive movements of the head and upper body, suggests that these maps might be hardwired from birth. Here, we investigated whether visual experience is necessary for the creation and positioning of these maps by assessing the representation of tactile stimulation in congenitally and totally blind participants, who had no visual experience, and late and totally blind participants. We used a single-subject approach to the analysis to focus on the potential individual differences in the functional neuroanatomy that might arise from different causes, durations and sensory experiences of visual impairment among participants. The overall results did not show any significant difference between congenitally and late blind participants; however, single-subject trends suggested that visual experience is not necessary to develop topographically organised maps in the intraparietal cortex, whilst losing vision disrupted topographic maps' integrity and organisation. These results discussed in terms of brain plasticity and sensitive periods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Achille Pasqualotto
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK. .,Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK. .,Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Sabanci University, 34956, Tuzla, Istanbul, Turkey.
| | - Michele Furlan
- SISSA (Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati), Trieste, Italy
| | - Michael J Proulx
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.,Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jie-Yu LV
- Central University of Finance and Economics
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40
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Jicol C, Proulx MJ, Pollick FE, Petrini K. Long-term music training modulates the recalibration of audiovisual simultaneity. Exp Brain Res 2018; 236:1869-1880. [PMID: 29687204 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-018-5269-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2018] [Accepted: 04/17/2018] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
To overcome differences in physical transmission time and neural processing, the brain adaptively recalibrates the point of simultaneity between auditory and visual signals by adapting to audiovisual asynchronies. Here, we examine whether the prolonged recalibration process of passively sensed visual and auditory signals is affected by naturally occurring multisensory training known to enhance audiovisual perceptual accuracy. Hence, we asked a group of drummers, of non-drummer musicians and of non-musicians to judge the audiovisual simultaneity of musical and non-musical audiovisual events, before and after adaptation with two fixed audiovisual asynchronies. We found that the recalibration for the musicians and drummers was in the opposite direction (sound leading vision) to that of non-musicians (vision leading sound), and change together with both increased music training and increased perceptual accuracy (i.e. ability to detect asynchrony). Our findings demonstrate that long-term musical training reshapes the way humans adaptively recalibrate simultaneity between auditory and visual signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Crescent Jicol
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK.
- Department of Computer Science, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK.
| | | | | | - Karin Petrini
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
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Dell'Erba S, Brown DJ, Proulx MJ. Synesthetic hallucinations induced by psychedelic drugs in a congenitally blind man. Conscious Cogn 2018; 60:127-132. [PMID: 29549713 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2018.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2017] [Revised: 02/22/2018] [Accepted: 02/23/2018] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
This case report offers rare insights into crossmodal responses to psychedelic drug use in a congenitally blind (CB) individual as a form of synthetic synesthesia. BP's personal experience provides us with a unique report on the psychological and sensory alterations induced by hallucinogenic drugs, including an account of the absence of visual hallucinations, and a compelling look at the relationship between LSD induced synesthesia and crossmodal correspondences. The hallucinatory experiences reported by BP are of particular interest in light of the observation that rates of psychosis within the CB population are extremely low. The phenomenology of the induced hallucinations suggests that experiences acquired through other means, might not give rise to "visual" experiences in the phenomenological sense, but instead gives rise to novel experiences in the other functioning senses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Dell'Erba
- Crossmodal Cognition Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK
| | - David J Brown
- Crossmodal Cognition Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK
| | - Michael J Proulx
- Crossmodal Cognition Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK.
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Proulx MJ, Gwinnutt J, Dell'Erba S, Levy-Tzedek S, de Sousa AA, Brown DJ. Other ways of seeing: From behavior to neural mechanisms in the online "visual" control of action with sensory substitution. Restor Neurol Neurosci 2016; 34:29-44. [PMID: 26599473 PMCID: PMC4927905 DOI: 10.3233/rnn-150541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Vision is the dominant sense for perception-for-action in humans and other higher primates. Advances in sight restoration now utilize the other intact senses to provide information that is normally sensed visually through sensory substitution to replace missing visual information. Sensory substitution devices translate visual information from a sensor, such as a camera or ultrasound device, into a format that the auditory or tactile systems can detect and process, so the visually impaired can see through hearing or touch. Online control of action is essential for many daily tasks such as pointing, grasping and navigating, and adapting to a sensory substitution device successfully requires extensive learning. Here we review the research on sensory substitution for vision restoration in the context of providing the means of online control for action in the blind or blindfolded. It appears that the use of sensory substitution devices utilizes the neural visual system; this suggests the hypothesis that sensory substitution draws on the same underlying mechanisms as unimpaired visual control of action. Here we review the current state of the art for sensory substitution approaches to object recognition, localization, and navigation, and the potential these approaches have for revealing a metamodal behavioral and neural basis for the online control of action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Proulx
- Crossmodal Cognition Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | - James Gwinnutt
- Crossmodal Cognition Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | - Sara Dell'Erba
- Crossmodal Cognition Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | - Shelly Levy-Tzedek
- Cognition, Aging and Rehabilitation Lab, Recanati School for Community Health Professions, Department of Physical Therapy & Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
| | - Alexandra A de Sousa
- Crossmodal Cognition Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK.,Department of Science, Bath Spa University, Bath, UK
| | - David J Brown
- Crossmodal Cognition Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
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Karim AKMR, Proulx MJ, Likova LT. Anticlockwise or clockwise? A dynamic Perception-Action-Laterality model for directionality bias in visuospatial functioning. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2016; 68:669-693. [PMID: 27350096 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.06.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2015] [Revised: 06/18/2016] [Accepted: 06/22/2016] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Orientation bias and directionality bias are two fundamental functional characteristics of the visual system. Reviewing the relevant literature in visual psychophysics and visual neuroscience we propose here a three-stage model of directionality bias in visuospatial functioning. We call this model the 'Perception-Action-Laterality' (PAL) hypothesis. We analyzed the research findings for a wide range of visuospatial tasks, showing that there are two major directionality trends in perceptual preference: clockwise versus anticlockwise. It appears these preferences are combinatorial, such that a majority of people fall in the first category demonstrating a preference for stimuli/objects arranged from left-to-right rather than from right-to-left, while people in the second category show an opposite trend. These perceptual biases can guide sensorimotor integration and action, creating two corresponding turner groups in the population. In support of PAL, we propose another model explaining the origins of the biases - how the neurogenetic factors and the cultural factors interact in a biased competition framework to determine the direction and extent of biases. This dynamic model can explain not only the two major categories of biases in terms of direction and strength, but also the unbiased, unreliably biased or mildly biased cases in visuosptial functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- A K M Rezaul Karim
- Envision Research Institute, 610 N. Main St, Wichita, KS 67203, USA; The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, 2318 Fillmore St, San Francisco, CA 94115, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh.
| | - Michael J Proulx
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK.
| | - Lora T Likova
- The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, 2318 Fillmore St, San Francisco, CA 94115, USA.
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Proulx MJ, Todorov OS, Taylor Aiken A, de Sousa AA. Corrigendum: Where am I? Who am I? The Relation Between Spatial Cognition, Social Cognition, and Individual Differences in the Built Environment. Front Psychol 2016; 7:554. [PMID: 27242561 PMCID: PMC4871882 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2016] [Accepted: 04/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Proulx
- Crossmodal Cognition Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Bath Bath, UK
| | - Orlin S Todorov
- European Network for Brain Evolution Research The Hague, Netherlands
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Proulx MJ, Todorov OS, Taylor Aiken A, de Sousa AA. Where am I? Who am I? The Relation Between Spatial Cognition, Social Cognition and Individual Differences in the Built Environment. Front Psychol 2016; 7:64. [PMID: 26903893 PMCID: PMC4749931 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2015] [Accepted: 01/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Knowing who we are, and where we are, are two fundamental aspects of our physical and mental experience. Although the domains of spatial and social cognition are often studied independently, a few recent areas of scholarship have explored the interactions of place and self. This fits in with increasing evidence for embodied theories of cognition, where mental processes are grounded in action and perception. Who we are might be integrated with where we are, and impact how we move through space. Individuals vary in personality, navigational strategies, and numerous cognitive and social competencies. Here we review the relation between social and spatial spheres of existence in the realms of philosophical considerations, neural and psychological representations, and evolutionary context, and how we might use the built environment to suit who we are, or how it creates who we are. In particular we investigate how two spatial reference frames, egocentric and allocentric, might transcend into the social realm. We then speculate on how environments may interact with spatial cognition. Finally, we suggest how a framework encompassing spatial and social cognition might be taken in consideration by architects and urban planners.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Proulx
- Crossmodal Cognition Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of Bath Bath, UK
| | - Orlin S Todorov
- European Network for Brain Evolution Research The Hague, Netherlands
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Brown DJ, Simpson AJR, Proulx MJ. Auditory scene analysis and sonified visual images. Does consonance negatively impact on object formation when using complex sonified stimuli? Front Psychol 2015; 6:1522. [PMID: 26528202 PMCID: PMC4602098 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2015] [Accepted: 09/22/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
A critical task for the brain is the sensory representation and identification of perceptual objects in the world. When the visual sense is impaired, hearing and touch must take primary roles and in recent times compensatory techniques have been developed that employ the tactile or auditory system as a substitute for the visual system. Visual-to-auditory sonifications provide a complex, feature-based auditory representation that must be decoded and integrated into an object-based representation by the listener. However, we don’t yet know what role the auditory system plays in the object integration stage and whether the principles of auditory scene analysis apply. Here we used coarse sonified images in a two-tone discrimination task to test whether auditory feature-based representations of visual objects would be confounded when their features conflicted with the principles of auditory consonance. We found that listeners (N = 36) performed worse in an object recognition task when the auditory feature-based representation was harmonically consonant. We also found that this conflict was not negated with the provision of congruent audio–visual information. The findings suggest that early auditory processes of harmonic grouping dominate the object formation process and that the complexity of the signal, and additional sensory information have limited effect on this.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J Brown
- Crossmodal Cognition Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Bath Bath, UK ; Biological and Experimental Psychology Group, School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London London, UK
| | - Andrew J R Simpson
- Centre for Vision, Speech and Signal Processing, University of Surrey Guildford, UK
| | - Michael J Proulx
- Crossmodal Cognition Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Bath Bath, UK
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Abstract
The rubber-hand illusion provides a window into body representation and consciousness. It has been found that body-ownership extended to numerous hand-like objects. Interestingly, the vast majority of these objects were three-dimensional. We adopted this paradigm by using hand drawings to investigate whether rubber-hand illusion could be extended to two-dimensional hand samples, and we measured skin conductance responses and behavioural variables. The fact that this illusion extended to two-dimensional stimuli reveals the dominant role of top-down information on visual perception for body representation and consciousness.
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Abstract
Sensory substitution devices such as The vOICe convert visual imagery into auditory soundscapes and can provide a basic 'visual' percept to those with visual impairment. However, it is not known whether technical or perceptual limits dominate the practical efficacy of such systems. By manipulating the resolution of sonified images and asking naïve sighted participants to identify visual objects through a six-alternative forced-choice procedure (6AFC) we demonstrate a 'ceiling effect' at 8 x 8 pixels, in both visual and tactile conditions, that is well below the theoretical limits of the technology. We discuss our results in the context of auditory neural limits on the representation of 'auditory' objects in a cortical hierarchy and how perceptual training may be used to circumvent these limitations.
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Abstract
Prior research on developmental dyslexia using Stroop tasks with young participants has found increased interference in participants with dyslexia relative to controls. Here we extend these findings to adult participants, and introduce a novel test of Stroop incongruity, whereby the color names appeared on an object colored in the incongruent color. The results imply that impaired inhibitory and executive attentional mechanisms are still deficient in adults with dyslexia and that other forms of attentional mechanisms, such as object-based attention, might also be impaired in dyslexia. Dyslexia arises not only from deficits in phonological processing, but from attentional mechanisms as well.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Proulx
- a Department of Psychology , University of Bath , Bath BA2 7AY , UK
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Abstract
Sensory substitution has advanced remarkably over the past 35 years since first introduced to the scientific literature by Paul Bach-y-Rita. In this issue dedicated to his memory, we describe a collection of reviews that assess the current state of neuroscience research on sensory substitution, visual rehabilitation, and multisensory processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Proulx
- Crossmodal Cognition Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom.
| | - Maurice Ptito
- BRAINlab, Department of Neuroscience & Pharmacology, Panum Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark; École d'Optométrie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Amir Amedi
- Department of Medical Neurobiology, The Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel; The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences (ELSC), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
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