bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
‘True Love’ and Rousseau’s Philosophy of History
Authors: Armenteros Carolina
Published: November 2012

Abstract

Rousseau, a philosopher of history? The suggestion may startle those who know him as an enemy of history, the founder of Counter-Enlightenment who rejected his century’s hope in progress and conjured quasi-utopias devoid of time. Alone, the political texts seem to justify this interpretation. Side by side with the Emile and Julie sagas, however, they disclose a new Rousseau, the weaver of a master plot that governs private and public history. This essay describes Jean-Jacques’ overarching narrative and the two main subnarratives that compose it by juxtaposing his political and fictional works. In doing so, it contests current conventions about his ideas on women, challenges assumptions about his educational ideals, retrieves new aspects of his debt to Fénelon, and foregrounds the pivotal role that the idea of ‘true love’ plays in his philosophy as the foundation of political community.
Hebrew Studies in Wittenberg (1502–1813): From Lingua Sacra to Semitic Studies
Authors: Miletto Gianfranco , Veltri Giuseppe
Published: November 2012

Abstract

The beginnings of the study of the Hebrew language in Wittenberg go back to the very first years of the university’s establishment and are associated with the initiatives of several scholars dealing with humanistic studies at the time. Through developing the study in three ancient languages, in keeping with the ideal of a complete humanistic erudition, Wittenberg perceived an opportunity to carve a niche of excellence for itself vis-à-vis the older universities. By introducing instruction in Hebrew along with Greek and Latin, the newly founded Leucorea sought to distinguish itself as a model for all other universities in Germany. The article traces the important steps of the history of the study of Hebrew language in Wittenberg among and outside of the theological faculty mentioning the curricula of its most famous teachers and professors.
Ashkenazi Pentateuchal Chant: A Sixteenth-Century German-Christian Interpretation
Authors: Knapp Alexander
Published: November 2012

Abstract

Much attention has been given to the pioneering achievements of the Christian Hebraists of the sixteenth century in transcribing the essential elements of traditional Torah chant into Western musical notation. One of these transcriptions, however, is unique. Johannes Reuchlin’s De Accentibus et Orthographia Linguae Hebraicae of 1518 contains not only the ‘accents of biblical recitation’ themselves, but also a complete four-part harmonization of these tropes by one of Reuchlin’s students, Christoph Schilling, in the German choral style of the period. Although Schilling’s arrangement of the individual accents has been mentioned in passing by numerous scholars, it has never been published in a modern edition, nor applied to the actual practice of chanting biblical texts. In this article, I discuss some of the general background to cantillation, accentuation, and the role of the German Humanists in preserving this oral tradition in written form. Comparisons between sixteenth-century and twentieth-century biblical chant are made in relation to the melodic and harmonic characteristics of Schilling’s notation, and this leads to an assessment of some of the problems concerning the realization of these raw materials for ‘live’ performance. Three short extracts from the Pentateuch are then presented as working examples based upon Schilling’s arrangement. In conclusion, the possible motives and intentions behind this intercultural phenomenon will be considered, as will its significance in the long history of Judeo-Christian syncretism in music.
The Christian Hebraist Christoph Helwig (1581–1617) and His Rendering of Jewish Stories in (His Work) Jüdische Historien
Authors: Riemer Nathanael
Published: November 2012

Abstract

The lecture deals with life and works of the theologian and philologist Christoph Helwig (Helvicus), who was professor for Hebrew language at the University of Gießen, Germany. His scientific career is strongly connected both with the political and religious conflicts in Hessen in the beginning of the sixteenth century and with the Didactic reformer Wolfgang Ratke (Ratichus). The focus is directed upon the work “Jüdische Historien” (Jewish stories) which appeared in 1611 and 1612 and was absorbed by the fairy tale and legends researchers Brothers Grimm.
The International Criminal Court and Consolidation of the Responsibility to Protect as an International Norm
Authors: Contarino Michael , Negrón-Gonzales Melinda , Mason Kevin T.
Published: November 2012

Consolidation of R2P as a robust global norm is not yet assured, because of continued disagreement among the powers as to the concept’s appropriate application, and even as to its meaning. The process of R2P norm consolidation likely will be linked to progress in the development of the International Criminal Court – another recent initiative of the international system focused on atrocity crimes, and itself also in a formative phase. Continued expansion of ICC membership, ICC effectiveness at bringing atrocity crime perpetrators to justice, and ICC contributions to developing greater international agreement on the definition and application of R2P could accelerate norm consolidation. But if key members of the UNSC remain outside the ICC, and if some major powers continue to seek to circumscribe both the meaning and the application of R2P in the UNSC, R2P norm consolidation will remain elusive.
A phylogenetic review of the North American band-winged grasshopper genus, Encoptolophus Scudder with description of Nebulatettix gen.n. (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Oedipodinae)
Authors: Gómez R. Antonio , Lightfoot David C. , Miller Kelly B.
Published: November 2012

A taxonomic review of the North American band-winged grasshopper genus Encoptolophus Scudder (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Oedipodinae) was conducted. This genus is hypothesized to be non-monophyletic following a cladistic analysis of the genera in the Chortophaga genus group. We examined all species currently classified in this genus group for morphological characters and one behavioral character. The phenotypic character data were combined with three mitochondrial genes: cytochrome c oxidase subunit II, 16S rRNA and 12S rRNA. A parsimony analysis was performed on the combined data resulting in two equally parsimonious trees. Encoptolophus, as historically defined, is resolved in three separate clades. The results support erection of a new genus, Nebulatettix Gómez, Lightfoot & Miller gen.n. to comprise one of the groups historically classified in Encoptolophus. In addition, we transfer the species Encoptolophus californicus Bruner to Chimarocephala Scudder, comb.n., a combination used historically. The evolution of certain characters in the Chortophaga group is discussed, and a key to the genera is provided.
“To Ensure that He Not Give Himself Over to the Indians”: Cleanliness, Frenchification, and Whiteness
Authors: White Sophie
Published: November 2012

In 1739, when the voyageur Jean Saguingouara entered into a contract for a trip from the Illinois Country to New Orleans and back, he negotiated for his laundry costs to be paid on arrival in New Orleans. This was an unusual contractual clause that was especially significant for the fact that Saguingouara was half-French and half-Indian, and had been brought up by an officer of noble origin legally married to an Indian woman convert. Saguingouara’s insistence on a laundry clause signaled his performance of European standards of cleanliness (premised on the act of changing into laundered linen rather than washing the body) rather than indigenous ones. This concept of cleanliness is also crucial for understanding how colonists apprehended indigenous bodies and how they rationalized differences in skin color. Bodily care practices helped construct identity and whiteness, revealing how racialization depended on material culture.
Private Credit in Eighteenth-Century New York City: The Mayor’s Court Papers, 1681-1776
Authors: Middleton Simon
Published: November 2012

This article considers eighteenth-century urban credit and its relationship to social context and commerce from the perspective offered by two thousand private credit agreements preserved in complaints filed to initiate suits in the New York City Mayor’s Court from the late seventeenth century to the eve of the American Revolution. The complaints cover the gamut of urban colonial commerce, from mundane local exchanges to ambitious and high-value ventures aimed at overseas markets. Some of the complaints run to as many as seventeen pages, but many are cast in formulaic terms over two or three manuscript sheets. The loss of most of the city’s eighteenth-century tax records make it difficult to produce a comprehensive assessment of the litigants’ social and economic status. But the patterns that do emerge from the aggregate glimpses of everyday practice give some sense of the city’s distinctive credit market. Previous studies of neighbouring colonies have noted the increasing use of paper instruments and a shift to restrictive common law pleading in debt which, it is argued, provided creditors with greater commercial certainty and confidence and thereby nurtured the expansion of trade. However, in New York the complaints indicate that city traders retained a preference for dealing on account and presented their suits in the more flexible common law form of assumpsit, casting the city’s economic and legal change in a different light. What we can glimpse of the practices and procedures associated with different forms of borrowing, indicate a local market that depended on inter-related household exchange and a commercial rationale that balanced considerations of profit with wider but cautiously-reckoned social obligations. For example, comparing the usual repayment terms available in the city with those offered wealthier borrowers, and the credit agreed between two upriver fur dealers and their Native American partners, reveals the city’s credit market as a relatively conservative provider of support for residents and the able-bodied, thereby ensuring minimal public out-relief, which offered limited opportunities for investment and social mobility, even for those from within local circles.
A Quantitative Analysis of Code-switching in the Arabic-Romance Kharjas
Authors: Thomas Juan Antonio , Sayahi Lotfi
Published: November 2012

This paper studies code-switching between Andalusian Arabic and Romance in the kharjas, the closing verses of the muwashshahaat poems. These poems, dating from the 11th to the 14th centuries, were composed in Classical Arabic, while the kharjas were written in two languages of Al-Andalus: Andalusian Arabic and Romance. The purpose is to investigate to what degree the structural aspect of code-switching in the kharjas conforms to descriptions in the current literature on code-switching in bilingual communities and what that tells us about the degree of bilingualism in Al-Andalus. The 43 kharjas (Corriente, 2008) present a total of 104 code-switches: 82 intra-sentential, 13 word-internal and 9 inter-sentential. The base language in the majority of cases is Romance: 73 % of the switches occurred from Romance to Arabic. Cross- tabulations of the direction of the switch, lexical category of the switched parts and what immediately precedes and follows them show statistically significant relationships, indicating that the code-switches found in this corpus are not the result of a random process of language mixing resulting in “an outlandish and deliberately unsophisticated patois” (Monroe, 1974:31). A study of the intra-sentential code-switches also contributes to an explanation of the behavior of the Arabic definite article, al- and its allomorphs, in Arabic loanwords.
Principles of multisensory behavior
Authors: Otto Thomas U. , Dassy Brice , Mamassian Pascal
Published: November 2012

The combined use of multisensory signals is often beneficial. Based on single cell recordings in the superior colliculius of cats, three basic rules were formulated to describe the effectiveness of multisensory integration: The enhancement of neuronal responses in multi- compared to uni-sensory conditions is largest when signals are presented at the same time (‘temporal rule’), occur at the same location (‘spatial rule’), and when signals are rather weak (‘principle of inverse effectiveness’). These rules are also considered to describe multisensory benefits as observed with behavioral measures, but do they capture these benefits best? To uncover the principles that rule multisensory behavior, we investigated the classical redundant signals effect, i.e., the speed-up of response times in multi- as compared to uni-sensory conditions. In a detection task, we presented both auditory and visual signals at three levels of signal strength and determined the speed-up for all nine combinations of signals. Based on a systematic analysis of empirical response time distributions as well as simulations using probability summation, we propose that two alternative rules apply. First, the ‘principle of equal effectiveness’ states that the benefit with multisensory signals (here the speed-up of reaction times) is largest when performance in the two uni-sensory conditions is similar. Second, the ‘variability rule’ states that the benefit is largest when performance in the uni-sensory conditions is variable. The generality of these rules is discussed with respect to experiments on accuracy and when maximum likelihood estimation instead of probability summation is considered as combination rule.
Spatio-temporal updating in the posterior parietal cortex
Authors: Kansaku Kenji
Published: November 2012

Adopting an unusual posture can sometimes give rise to paradoxical experiences. For example, the subjective ordering of successive unseen tactile stimuli delivered to the two arms can be affected when people cross them. A growing body of evidence highlights the role played by the parietal cortex in spatio-temporal information processing when sensory stimuli are delivered to the body or when actions are executed; however, little is known about the neural basis of such paradoxical feelings. We demonstrate increased fMRI activation in the left posterior parietal cortex when human participants adopted a crossed hands posture with their eyes closed. When participants performed tactile temporal order judgments (TOJs), we observed a positive association between activity in this area and the degree of reversal in TOJs resulting from crossing arms. The strongest positive association was observed in the left intraparietal sulcus (IPS) (Wada et al., 2011). We then examined connectivity of the IPS to determine the functional anatomy of the arm crossing effect, as well as connectivity using a seed region in the posterior cingulate cortex to evaluate default mode network (DMN) for comparison. The regions showing connectivity with the IPS overlapped with regions within the DMN but the IPS also showed connectivity with other brain areas within the frontoparietal control network (Ora et al., 2012). The IPS, which can be considered a gateway connecting the DMN to the frontoparietal control network, may therefore be critically involved in monitoring limb position and in spatio-temporal binding when serial events are delivered to the limbs.
Detection performance for short visual stimuli depends on the duration of co-occuring auditory stimuli
Authors: Cecere Roberto , De Haas Benjamin , Cullen Harriett , Driver Jon , Romei Vincenzo
Published: November 2012

There is converging evidence that the duration of an auditory event can affect the perceived duration of a co-occurring visual event. When a brief visual stimulus is accompanied by a longer auditory stimulus, the perceived visual duration stretches. If this reflects a genuine sustain of visual stimulus perception, it should result in enhanced perception of non-temporal visual stimulus qualities. To test this hypothesis, in a temporal two-alternative forced choice task, 28 participants were asked to indicate whether a short (∼24 ms), peri-threshold, visual stimulus was presented in the first or in the second of two consecutive displays. Each display was accompanied by a sound of equal or longer duration (36, 48, 60, 72, 84, 96, 190 ms) than the visual stimulus. As a control condition, visual stimuli of different durations (matching auditory stimulus durations) were presented alone. We predicted that visual detection can improve as a function of sound duration. Moreover, if the expected cross-modal effect reflects sustained visual perception it should positively correlate with the improvement observed for genuinely longer visual stimuli. Results showed that detection sensitivity (d′) for the 24 ms visual stimulus was significantly enhanced when paired with longer auditory stimuli ranging from 60 to 96 ms duration. The visual detection performance dropped to baseline levels with 190 ms sounds. Crucially, the enhancement for auditory durations 60–96 ms significantly correlates with the d′ enhancement for visual stimuli lasting 60–96 ms in the control condition. We conclude that the duration of co-occurring auditory stimuli not only influences the perceived duration of visual stimuli but reflects a genuine sustain in visual perception.
Complexity of sensorimotor transformations alters hand perception
Authors: Sutter Christine , Ladwig Stefan , Sülzenbrück Sandra
Published: November 2012

When using tools effects in body space and distant space often do not correspond or are even in conflict. The ideomotor principle holds that actors select, initiate and execute movements by activating the anticipatory codes of the movements’ sensory effects (Greenwald, 1970; James, 1890). These may be representations of body-related effects and/or representations of more distal effects. Previous studies have demonstrated that distant action effects dominate action control, while body-related effects are attenuated (e.g., Müsseler and Sutter, 2009). In two experiments, participants performed closed-loop controlled movements on a covered digitizer tablet to control a cursor on a monitor. Different gains perturbed the relation between hand and cursor amplitude, so that the hand amplitude varied and the cursor amplitude remained constant, and vice versa. Within a block the location of amplitude perturbation randomly varied (low predictability) or not (high predictability). In Experiment 1 both trajectories of hand and cursor followed the same linear path, in Experiment 2 a linear hand trajectory produced a curved cursor trajectory on the monitor. When participants were asked to evaluate their hand movement, they were extremely uncertain about their trajectories. Both, predictability of amplitude perturbation and shape of cursor trajectory modulated the awareness of one’s own hand movements. We will discuss whether the low awareness of proximal action effects originates from an insufficient quality of the humans’ tactile and proprioceptive system or from an insufficient spatial reconstruction of this information in memory.
Multisensory task action strategies affect arm placement
Authors: Martin Blake C. , Harris Laurence R.
Published: November 2012

Proprioceptive precision for elbow matching in the dark is typically within ±2°. Mechanical loading (exercise) or tendon vibration can alter this precision by impacting peripheral mechanisms. Are accuracy and precision also impacted by multisensory task action strategies giving us a clue as to which central resources are involved in arm placement? In three experiments, subjects had their forearms affixed to lightweight paddles hinged sagittally at the elbow joint. Subjects positioned their arms sequentially while trying to keep the first arm still. Subjects used three strategies to place their arms: (1) guided by an indirect visual signal (traffic lights), (2) bisecting two visually guided angles, and (3) unimodal proprioceptive matching to the first arm’s position. Subjects had more difficulty positioning the second arm when matching without light cues (>2.6° from the target) and were most precise when bisecting two light-guided angles (<2.2° from target). Surprisingly, the indirect light cue did not improve accuracy, but only improved the precision of arm placement. We conclude that interaction between visual and proprioceptive guidance strategies result in superior performance even when the visually presented information is indirect in nature.
Sounds prevent selective monitoring of high spatial frequency channels in vision
Authors: Pérez-Bellido Alexis , López-Moliner Joan , Soto-Faraco Salvador
Published: November 2012

Prior knowledge about the spatial frequency (SF) of upcoming visual targets (Gabor patches) speeds up average reaction times and decreases standard deviation. This has often been regarded as evidence for a multichannel processing of SF in vision. Multisensory research, on the other hand, has often reported the existence of sensory interactions between auditory and visual signals. These interactions result in enhancements in visual processing, leading to lower sensory thresholds and/or more precise visual estimates. However, little is known about how multisensory interactions may affect the uncertainty regarding visual SF. We conducted a reaction time study in which we manipulated the uncertanty about SF (SF was blocked or interleaved across trials) of visual targets, and compared visual only versus audio–visual presentations. Surprisingly, the analysis of the reaction times and their standard deviation revealed an impairment of the selective monitoring of the SF channel by the presence of a concurrent sound. Moreover, this impairment was especially pronounced when the relevant channels were high SFs at high visual contrasts. We propose that an accessory sound automatically favours visual processing of low SFs through the magnocellular channels, thereby detracting from the potential benefits from tuning into high SF psychophysical-channels.
4 year olds localize tactile stimuli using an external frame of reference
Authors: Begum Jannath , Bremner Andrew J. , Cowie Dorothy A.
Published: November 2012

Adults show a deficit in their ability to localize tactile stimuli to their hands when their arms are in the less familiar, crossed posture (e.g., Overvliet et al., 2011; Shore et al., 2002). It is thought that this ‘crossed-hands effect’ arises due to conflict (when the hands are crossed) between the anatomical and external frames of reference within which touches can be perceived. Pagel et al. (2009) studied this effect in young children and observed that the crossed-hands effect first emerges after 5.5-years. In their task, children were asked to judge the temporal order of stimuli presented across their hands in quick succession. Here, we present the findings of a simpler task in which children were asked to localize a single vibrotactile stimulus presented to either hand. We also compared the effect of posture under conditions in which children either did, or did not, have visual information about current hand posture. With this method, we observed a crossed-hands effect in the youngest age-group testable; 4-year-olds. We conclude that young children localize tactile stimuli with respect to an external frame of reference from early in childhood or before (cf. Bremner et al., 2008). Additionally, when visual information about posture was made available, 4- to 5-year-olds’ tactile localization accuracy in the uncrossed-hands posture deteriorated and the crossed-hands effect disappeared. We discuss these findings with respect to visual–tactile-proprioceptive integration abilities of young children and examine potential sources of the discrepancies between our findings and those of Pagel et al. (2009).
Is maintaining balance during standing associated with inefficient audio–visual integration in older adults?
Authors: Stapleton John , Doheny Emer P. , Setti Annalisa , Cunningham Clodagh , Crosby Lisa , Kenny Rose A. , Newell Fiona N.
Published: November 2012

It has previously been shown that older adults may be less efficient than younger adults at processing multisensory information, and that older adults with a history of falling may be less efficient than a healthy cohort when processing audio–visual stimuli (Setti et al., 2011). We investigated whether body stance has an effect on older adults’ ability to efficiently process multisensory information and also whether being presented with multisensory stimuli while standing may affect an individual’s balance. This experiment was performed by 44 participants, including both fall-prone older adults and a healthy control cohort. We tested their susceptibility to a sound-induced flash illusion (i.e., Shams et al., 2002), during both sitting and standing positions while measuring balance parameters using body-worn sensors. The results suggest that balance control in fall prone-adults was compromised relative to adults with no falls history, and this was particularly evident whilst they were presented with the auditory-flash illusion but not the non-illusory condition. Also, when the temporal window of the stimulus onset asynchrony was narrow (70 ms) fall-prone adults were more susceptible to the illusion during the standing position compared with their performance while seated, while the performance of older adults with no history of falling was unaffected by a change in position. These results suggest a link between efficient multisensory integration and balance control and have implications for interventions when fall-prone adults encounter complex multisensory information in their environment.
Spatial codes for movement coordination do not depend on developmental vision
Authors: Heed Tobias , Roeder Brigitte
Published: November 2012

When people make oscillating right–left movements with their two index fingers while holding their hands palms down, they find it easier to move the fingers symmetrically (i.e., both fingers towards the middle, then both fingers to the outside) than parallel (i.e., both fingers towards the left, then both fingers towards the right). It was originally proposed that this effect is due to concurrent activation of homologous muscles in the two hands. However, symmetric movements are also easier when one of the hands is turned palm up, thus requiring concurrent use of opposing rather than homologous muscles. This was interpreted to indicate that movement coordination relies on perceptual rather than muscle-based information (Mechsner et al., 2001). The current experiment tested whether the spatial code used in this task depends on vision. Participants made either symmetrical or parallel right–left movements with their two index fingers while their palms were either both facing down, both facing up, or one facing up and one down. Neither in sighted nor in congenitally blind participants did movement execution depend on hand posture. Rather, both groups were always more efficient when making symmetrical rather than parallel movements with respect to external space. We conclude that the spatial code used for movement coordination does not crucially depend on vision. Furthermore, whereas congenitally blind people predominately use body-based (somatotopic) spatial coding in perceptual tasks (Röder et al., 2007), they use external spatial codes in movement tasks, with performance indistinguishable from the sighted.
Forming of intelligence that is intermittently opened to the real world: How a newborn baby acquires primitive intelligence
Authors: Karasawa Shinji
Published: November 2012

The brain intermittently captures a representation of outer world through multiple sensors. It does not need a feedback circuit, because the renewed operation will be soon processed. The brain is able to run independently from the real world. But the operation is carried out by the memory that was implemented through its experiences. Activity of human is always biased by a motivational state. But it is a current activated state of the brain in which model of outer world is involved. A newborn baby makes behavior without motivation. The first stage of self-organizing intelligent system does not know the desired goal, because the neuron does not distinguish afferent pathway and efferent pathway. A neuron is considered as a representation of its inputs. The representation on intermittent concurrent stimuli is memorized at the activity. The stimuli captured from various monitors make sub-groups partially. The representation of a part is shared in the network of neurons. Although the result of reaction will change the situation, the implemented circuits are used for the next reaction. The brain works by partial activations of the hierarchical networks of the representations. An intelligent electronic impulse driven circuit was manufactured in order to demonstrate as a simple model of the open-loop controller. Each activated state of the model is transferred to the activated state specified by the impulse that comes from individual input.
Effects of a secondary task and working memory load on multisensory hand position
Authors: Quinn Katrina , Acosta-Saltos Francia , de Fockert Jan W. , Spence Charles , Bremner Andrew J.
Published: November 2012

Information about where our hands are arises from different sensory modalities; chiefly proprioception and vision. These inputs differ in variability from situation to situation (or task to task). According to the idea of ‘optimal integration’, the information provided by different sources is combined in proportion to their relative reliabilities, thus maximizing the reliability of the combined estimate. It is uncertain whether optimal multisensory integration of multisensory contributions to limb position requires executive resources. If so, then it should be possible to observe effects of secondary task performance and/or working memory load (WML) on the relative weighting of the senses under conditions of crossmodal sensory conflict. Alternatively, an integrated signal may be affected by upstream influences of WML or a secondary task on the reliabilities of the individual sensory inputs. We examine these possibilities in two experiments which examine effects of WML on reaching tasks in which bisensory visual-proprioceptive (Exp. 1), and unisensory proprioceptive (Exp. 2) cues to hand position are provided. WML increased visual capture under conditions of visual-proprioceptive conflict, regardless of the direction of visual-proprioceptive conflict, and the degree of load imposed. This indicates that task-switching (rather than WML load) leads to an increased reliance on visual information regardless of its task-specific reliability (Exp. 1). This could not be explained due to an increase in the variability of proprioception under secondary working memory task conditions (Exp. 2). We conclude that executive resources are involved in the relative weighting of visual and proprioceptive cues to hand position.
Cross-sensory cuing drives cross-frequency neural coupling, dramatically altering performance of a taxing visual-detection task
Authors: Foxe John J. , Snyder Adam C. , Mercier Manuel R. , Butler John S. , Molholm Sophie , Fiebelkorn Ian C.
Published: November 2012

Functional networks are comprised of neuronal ensembles bound through synchronization across multiple intrinsic oscillatory frequencies. Various coupled interactions between brain oscillators have been described (e.g., phase–amplitude coupling), but with little evidence that these interactions actually influence perceptual sensitivity. Here, electroencephalographic recordings were made during a sustained-attention task to demonstrate that cross-frequency coupling, driven by cross-sensory cuing, has significant consequences for perceptual outcomes (i.e., whether participants detect a near-threshold visual target). Our results reveal that phase-detection relationships at higher frequencies are entirely dependent on the phase of lower frequencies, such that higher frequencies alternate between periods when their phase is strongly predictive of visual-target detection and periods when their phase has no influence whatsoever. These data thus bridge the crucial gap between complex oscillatory phenomena and perceptual outcomes. Accounting for cross-frequency coupling between lower (i.e., delta and theta) and higher frequencies (e.g., beta and gamma), we show that visual-target detection fluctuates dramatically as a function of pre-stimulus phase, with performance swings of as much as 80%.
Crossmodal correspondences between chemosensory stimuli and musical notes
Authors: Crisinel Anne-Sylvie , Spence Charles
Published: November 2012

We report a series of experiments investigating crossmodal correspondences between various food-related stimuli (water-based solutions, milk-based flavoured solutions, crisps, chocolate and odours) and sounds varying in pitch and played by four different types of musical instruments. Participants tasted or smelled stimuli before matching them to a musical note. Our results demonstrate that participants preferentially match certain stimuli to specific pitches and instrument types. Through participants’ ratings of the stimuli along a number of dimensions (e.g., pleasantness, complexity, familiarity or sweetness), we explore the psychological dimensions involved in these crossmodal correspondences, using principal components analysis (PCA). While pleasantness seems to play an important role in the choice of instrument associated with chemosensory stimuli, the pitch seems to also depend on the quality of the taste (bitter, salty, sour or sweet). The level at which such crossmodal correspondences might occur, as well as the potential applications of such results, will be discussed.
Objective and subjective evaluations of flight simulator fidelity
Authors: Wong Li , Meyer Georg , Timson Emma , Perfect Philip , White Mark
Published: November 2012

There is interest in how pilots perceive simulator fidelity and rate self-performance in virtual reality flight training. Ten participants were trained to perform a target tracking task in a helicopter flight simulation. After training objective performance, the median tracking error, was compared to subjective self-evaluations in a number of flying conditions where the cues available to our pilots were manipulated in a factorial design: the simulator motion platform could be active or static, audio cues signalling the state of the turbine could be those used during training, non-informative, or an obviously different but informative ‘novel’ sound. We tested participants under hard and easy flying conditions. Upon completion of each test condition, participants completed a 12-statement Likert-scale with items concerning their performance and helicopter simulator fidelity. Objective performance measures show that flight performance improved during training and was affected by audio and motion cues. The subjective data shows that participants reliably self-evaluated their own performance and simulator fidelity. However, there were instances where subjective and objective measures of performance or fidelity did not correlate. For example, although participants rated the ‘novel’ turbine sound as having low fidelity, it behaviourally caused no difference with respect to the turbine sound used in training. They were also unable to self-evaluate outcome of learning. We conclude that whilst subjective measures are a good indicator of self-performance, objective data offers a valuable task-oriented perspective on simulator fidelity.
Crossmodal stimulation influences communication in visual-somatosensory cortical networks of the Brown Norway rat
Authors: Sieben Kay , Hanganu-Opatz Ileana
Published: November 2012

Processing of most action goals and complete perception of the environment, like spatial localization of events, require integration of information from different sensory systems. The classical idea of a hierarchical sensory organization is challenged by recent evidence from both human and primate work showing that multisensory processing is already taking place in primary sensory cortices. However, the mechanisms underlying this multisensory processing and the role of primary sensory cortices in crossmodal communication and oscillatory coupling remain largely unknown. Congruent and incongruent uni- and bimodal visual (light spot) and tactile (whisker deflection) stimulation was performed simultaneously with extracellular multielectrode recordings in the primary visual (V1) and somatosensory (S1, barrel field) neocortices of adolescent Brown Norway rats in vivo. Tactile stimulation led after 10–30 ms to a phase-locked, large amplitude response in the contralateral S1 that is accompanied by prominent, layer-specific sinks and sources. Additionally, non-phase-locked oscillations were induced in different frequency ranges. Visual stimulation alone did not change the amplitude of oscillations compared to baseline activity in the contralateral S1, but reset the phase of ongoing oscillatory activity. Because of the visual impact in the S1, bimodal congruent stimulation led to an increase of the evoked response and changed the timing of amplitude enhancement of oscillations. These data indicate that networks in the barrel cortex are modulated by crossmodal visual input.
Within and cross-sensory interactions in the perceived attractiveness of unfamiliar faces
Authors: Cullen Brendan , Newell Fiona N.
Published: November 2012

Major findings in attractiveness such as the role of averageness and symmetry have emerged primarily from neutral static visual stimuli. However it has increasingly been shown that ratings of attractiveness can be modulated within unisensory and multisensory modes by factors including emotional expression or by additional information about the person. For example, previous research has indicated that humorous individuals are rated as more desirable than their non-humorous equivalents (Bressler and Balshine, 2006). In two experiments we measured within and cross-sensory modulation of the attractiveness of unfamiliar faces. In Experiment 1 we examined if manipulating the number and type of expressions shown across a series of images of a person influences the attractiveness rating for that person. Results indicate that for happy expressions, ratings of attractiveness gradually increase as the proportional number of happy facial expressions increase, relative to the number of neutral expressions. In contrast, an increase in the proportion of angry expressions was not assocated with an increase in attractiveness ratings. In Experiment 2 we investigated if perceived attractiveness can be influenced by multisensory information provided during exposure to the face image. Ratings are compared across face images which were presented with or without voice information. In addition we provided either an auditory emotional cue (e.g., laughter) or neutral (e.g., coughing) cue to assess whether social information affects perceived attractiveness. Results shows that multisensory information about a person can increase attractiveness ratings, but that the emotional content of the cross-modal information can effect preference for some faces over others.
Two-point touch discrimination depends on the perceived length of the arm
Authors: Harris Laurence R. , D’Amour Sarah , Pritchett Lisa M.
Published: November 2012

Two-point discrimination threshold depends on the number and size of receptive fields between the touches. But what determines the size of the receptive fields? Are they anatomically fixed? Or are they related to perceived body size? To answer this question we manipulated perceived arm length using the Pinocchio illusion. The test arm was held at the wrist and the holding arm was made to feel perceptually more extended than it was by applying vibration to the tendon of the biceps (cf. de Vignemont et al., 2005). For control trials the holding arm was vibrated elsewhere. An array of tactors, separated by 3 cm, was placed on the upper surface of the arm and covered with a cloth. Vibro-tactile stimulation was applied to either one or two tactors in two periods. Subjects identified which period contained two stimuli. A psychometric function was drawn through the probability of correct response as a function of tactor separation to determine the threshold distance. In a separate experiment, subjects estimated the perceived location of each tactor against a scale laid on top of the cloth. The estimated locations of the tactors on the tested arm were displaced by tendon vibration of the holding arm compatible with a perceptual lengthening of the arm. The threshold for two-touch discrimination was significantly increased from 4.5 (±0.6) cm with no tendon stimulation to 5.7 (±0.5) cm when the arm was perceptually extended. We conclude that two-point touch discrimination depends on the size of central receptive fields that become larger when the arm is perceptually lengthened.
Can maladaptive cortical plasticity form new sensory experiences? Revisiting phantom pain
Authors: Makin Tamar R. , Scholz Jan , Filippini Nicola , Henderson Slater David , Tracey Irene , Johansen-Berg Heidi
Published: November 2012

Phantom pain has become an influential example of maladaptive cortical plasticity. According to this model, sensory deprivation following limb amputation allows for intra-regional invasion of neighbouring cortical representations into the former hand area of the primary sensorimotor cortex, which gives rise to pain sensations. Over the years, this model was extended to explain other disorders of pain, motor control and tinnitus, and has inspired rehabilitation strategies. Yet, other research, demonstrating that phantom hand representation is maintained in the sensorimotor system, and that phantom pain can be triggered by bottom-up aberrant inputs, may call this model to question. Using fMRI, we identified the cortical area representing the missing hand in a group of 18 arm amputees. This allowed us to directly study changes in the ‘phantom’ cortex associated with chronic phantom pain, using functional connectivity and voxel-based morphometry. We show that, while loss of sensory input is generally characterized by structural degeneration of the deprived sensorimotor cortex, the experience of persistent pain was associated with preserved intra-regional structure and functional organization. Furthermore, consistent with the dissociative nature of phantom sensations from other sensory experiences, phantom pain is also associated with reduced long-range inter-regional functional connectivity. We propose that this disrupted inter-regional connectivity may be consequential, rather than causal, of the retained yet isolated local representation of phantom pain. We therefore propose that, contrary to the maladaptive model, cortical plasticity occurs when powerful and long-lasting subjective sensory experience, most likely due to peripheral inputs, is decoupled from the external sensory environment.
Plasticity in multisensory body representations after amputation and prosthesis implantation
Authors: Canzoneri Elisa , Magosso Elisa , Amoresano Amedeo , Serino Andrea
Published: November 2012

Multisensory representations of the body and of the space around it (i.e., Peripersonal space, PPS) depend on the physical structure of the body, in that they are constructed from incoming multisensory signals from different body parts. After a sudden change in the physical structure of the body, such as limb amputation, little is known about how multimodal representations of the body and of the PPS adapt to loosing a part of the body, and how partially restoring the function of missing body part by means of prosthesis implantation affects these multimodal body representations. We assessed body representation in a group of upper limb amputees by means of a tactile distance perception task, measuring the implicitly perceived length of the arm, and PPS representation by means of an audio–tactile interaction task, assessing the extension of the multisensory space where environmental stimuli interact with somatosensory processing. When patients performed the task on the amputated limb, without the prosthesis, the perceived arm length shrank, with a concurrent shift of PPS boundaries towards the stump. Wearing the prosthesis increased the perceived length of the stump and extended the boundaries of the PPS so to include the prosthetic hand. The representations of the healthy limb were comparable to those of healthy controls. These results suggest that a modification in the physical body affects multisensory body and PPS representations for the amputated side; such representations are further shaped if prostheses are used to replace the lost body part.
Haptic object recognition is influenced by head position but not the position of an inactive hand nor by task-irrelevant visual information
Authors: Lawson Rebecca , Edwards Lauren , Boylan Amy
Published: November 2012

As we explore objects by touch we usually look towards our hands. Active touch (haptics) may therefore benefit from the simultaneous availability of visual information about the object that we are feeling and the alignment of spatial frames of reference centred on our head, eye and hand. If haptic processing usually uses visual and spatial inputs then even task-irrelevant visual and spatial manipulations may influence haptic shape identification. Scocchia et al. (2009) found that recognition of raised line pictures of familiar objects was better if people looked towards the pictures as they felt them although people were blindfolded so could not see their hand or the picture. We replicated their finding for 2D pictures and extended it to 3D, small-scale models of familiar objects. We also tested people’s speeded naming of real, familiar objects using their right hand. Performance was better when people looked towards the objects. In contrast, the position of the left hand did not influence haptic naming. Thus the spatial reference frame defined by the eyes/head influenced haptic shape processing but not that defined by an inactive hand. Furthermore, performance was the same whether people wore a mask and had their eyes closed, wore a mask but had their eyes open or looked through a narrow tube so could see a small area of their environment but not their hand or the object. Thus where people looked had a small but reliable effect on haptic object recognition but not what task-irrelevant information they could see.
ERP investigations into the effects of gaze and spatial attention on the processing of tactile events
Authors: Gherri Elena , Forster Bettina
Published: November 2012

Previous research demonstrated that directing one’s gaze at a body part reduces detection speed (e.g., Tipper et al., 1998) and enhances the processing (Forster and Eimer, 2005) of tactile stimuli presented at the gazed location. Interestingly, gaze-dependent modulation of somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs), are very similar to those observed in previous studies of tactile spatial attention. This might indicate that manipulating gaze direction activates the same mechanisms that are responsible for the covert orienting of spatial attention in touch. To investigate this possibility, gaze direction and sustained tactile attention were orthogonally manipulated in the present study. In different blocks of trials, participants focused their attention on the left or right hand while gazing to the attended or to the unattended hand while they had to respond to infrequent tactile targets presented to the attended hand. Analyses of the SEPs elicited by tactile non-target stimuli demonstrate that gaze and attention influence different stages of tactile processing. While gaze is able to modulate tactile processing already 50 ms after stimulus onset, attentional SEP modulations are only observed beyond 110 ms post-stimulus. This dissociation in the timing and therefore the associated locus of the effects of gaze and attention on somatosensory processing reveals that the effect of gaze on tactile processing is independent of tactile attention.