Synesthesia: Phenomenology and Neuropsychology a Review of Current Knowledge
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Differential Prosocial Behaviour Without Altered Physical Responses in Mirror Sensory Synesthesia
Differential Prosocial Behaviour Without Altered Physical Responses in Mirror Sensory Synesthesia Kalliopi Ioumpa1 Supervisors: Rob van Lier1, Tessa M. van Leeuwen1, Sarah Graham2 1Radboud University Nijmegen, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, The Netherlands 2 Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen, The Netherlands synesthetes mirror the pain or touch that they observe in other people on their own body. It has not been Previous studies have yielded contradictory evidence on whether mirror sensory synesthetes demonstrate sensory synesthesia. We hypothesised that synesthetes would show more empathic and altruistic behaviour and enhanced theory of mind, and that this would relate to the physiological and rating responses to arousing pictures. We diagnosed mirror-sensory synesthetes with an established touch-interference paradigm and heart rate, skin conductance, and pupil dilation were recorded. Cortisol levels were assessed. Altruism was tested with a one shot Dictator’s Game where participants divided money between themselves and a second player. Questionnaires on empathy, theory of mind, personality traits, and pain perception were completed. Eighteen mirror-sensory synesthetes and 18 controls participated. Our results show that mirror sensory synesthetes are more altruistic and more strongly impacted by positive and negative images. The stronger the but makes mirror-sensory-synesthetes develop personality characteristics similar to synesthetes of other the empathy measures, highlighting the need for further investigation on the hypothesis. Keywords: mirror sensory synesthesia, empathy, altruism, theory of mind, stress Corresponding author: Kalliopi Ioumpa; E-mail: [email protected] Nijmegen CNS | VOL 12 | ISSUE 2 25 Kalliopi Ioumpa (as if they were looking in a mirror, a specular sensory stimuli leading to unusual, additional experiences. -
RELIGIOUS BELIEFS COMPENSATE for PURPOSE When
RELIGIOUS BELIEFS COMPENSATE FOR PURPOSE 1 When God is your only friend: Religious beliefs compensate for purpose in life in the socially disconnected Todd Chan, Nicholas Michalak, & Oscar Ybarra Department of Psychology University of Michigan 530 Church St., Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-1043 Author notes Data and materials are available at osf.io/h6wuv. Corresponding Author: Todd Chan ([email protected]) RELIGIOUS BELIEFS COMPENSATE FOR PURPOSE 2 Abstract Objective: Social relationships supply purpose to life. How can socially disconnected people, who show lower levels of purpose, compensate for purpose in life? We propose that religious beliefs can compensate for the purpose in life that social relationships would otherwise provide, through (a) providing greater purpose to turn to, and (b) providing divine figures that can substitute for social relationships. Method: In three studies, we analyze three nationally representative and longitudinal datasets (N = 19775) using moderated regression and cross- lagged panel analyses. Results: Consistent with our hypotheses, religious beliefs were of minimal influence on purpose in life for socially connected individuals, who already held higher levels of purpose than socially disconnected individuals. However, for socially disconnected individuals, being highly religious predicted higher levels of purpose in life. Conclusions: Results suggest that although people primarily derive purpose from social relationships, socially disconnected individuals may leverage their religious beliefs for purpose and social comfort until they can reconnect. Keywords: religion; loneliness; social disconnection; interpersonal relationships; purpose RELIGIOUS BELIEFS COMPENSATE FOR PURPOSE 3 When God is your only friend: Religious beliefs compensate for purpose in life in the socially disconnected Purpose drives people forward. To have purpose means people feel that their life consists of plans, goals, and direction that make life worth living (Reker, Peacock, & Wong, 1987). -
Synesthetes: a Handbook
Synesthetes: a handbook by Sean A. Day i © 2016 Sean A. Day All pictures and diagrams used in this publication are either in public domain or are the property of Sean A. Day ii Dedications To the following: Susanne Michaela Wiesner Midori Ming-Mei Cameo Myrdene Anderson and subscribers to the Synesthesia List, past and present iii Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction – What is synesthesia? ................................................... 1 Definition......................................................................................................... 1 The Synesthesia ListSM .................................................................................... 3 What causes synesthesia? ................................................................................ 4 What are the characteristics of synesthesia? .................................................... 6 On synesthesia being “abnormal” and ineffable ............................................ 11 Chapter 2: What is the full range of possibilities of types of synesthesia? ........ 13 How many different types of synesthesia are there? ..................................... 13 Can synesthesia be two-way? ........................................................................ 22 What is the ratio of synesthetes to non-synesthetes? ..................................... 22 What is the age of onset for congenital synesthesia? ..................................... 23 Chapter 3: From graphemes ............................................................................... 25 -
Prosopagnosia with Topographical Difficulties 1
CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Bournemouth University Research Online Prosopagnosia with topographical difficulties 1 Running Head: PROSOPAGNOSIA WITH TOPOGRAPHICAL DIFFICULTIES Developmental Prosopagnosia with Concurrent Topographical Difficulties: A Case Report and Virtual Reality Training Programme Sarah Bate, Amanda Adams, Rachel Bennetts & Hannah Line Department of Psychology, Bournemouth University, UK Word count: 6858 Address for correspondence: Dr Sarah Bate Department of Psychology Faculty of Science and Technology Poole House Bournemouth University Fern Barrow Poole BH12 5BB United Kingdom Telephone: +44 (0) 1202 961918 Fax: +44 (0) 1202 965314 Email: [email protected] Prosopagnosia with topographical difficulties 2 Abstract Several neuropsychological case studies report brain-damaged individuals with concurrent impairments in face recognition (i.e. prosopagnosia) and topographical orientation. Recently, individuals with a developmental form of topographical disorientation have also been described, and several case reports of individuals with developmental prosopagnosia provide anecdotal evidence of concurrent navigational difficulties. Clearly, the co-occurrence of these difficulties can exacerbate the negative psychosocial consequences associated with each condition. This paper presents the first detailed case report of an individual (FN) with developmental prosopagnosia alongside difficulties in topographical orientation. FN’s performance on an extensive navigational battery indicated -
Does Binding of Synesthetic Color to the Evoking Grapheme Require Attention?
In press, Cortex DOES BINDING OF SYNESTHETIC COLOR TO THE EVOKING GRAPHEME REQUIRE ATTENTION? Noam Sagiv1,2, Jeffrey Heer3, Lynn Robertson1,4 1Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley 2Department of Psychology, University College London 3Computer Science Department, University of California, Berkeley 4Neurology Research Services, Veterans Administration, Martinez, CA Running page heading: The Role of Attention in Synesthesia Address correspondence to: Noam Sagiv Department of Psychology e-mail University College London 26 Bedford Way London WC1H 0AP Tel: +44-20-7679-5365 United Kingdom Fax: +44-20-7436-4276 ABSTRACT The neural mechanisms involved in binding features such as shape and color are a matter of some debate. Does accurate binding rely on spatial attention functions of the parietal lobe or can it occur without attentional input? One extraordinary phenomenon that may shed light on this question is that of chromatic-graphemic synesthesia, a rare condition in which letter shapes evoke color perceptions. A popular suggestion is that synesthesia results from cross-activation between different functional regions (e.g., between shape and color areas of the ventral pathway). Under such conditions binding may not require parietal involvement and could occur preattentively. We tested this hypothesis in two synesthetes who perceived grayscale letters and digits in color. We found no evidence for preattentive binding using a visual search paradigm in which the target was a synesthetic inducer. In another experiment involving color judgments, we show that the congruency of target color and the synesthetic color of irrelevant digits modulates performance more when the digits are included within the attended region of space. -
Dissociation Between Awareness and Spatial Coding: Evidence from Unilateral Neglect
Dissociation between Awareness and Spatial Coding: Evidence from Unilateral Neglect Barbara Treccani1, Roberto Cubelli1, Roberta Sellaro1, Carlo Umiltà2, and Sergio Della Sala3 Downloaded from http://mitprc.silverchair.com/jocn/article-pdf/24/4/854/1777452/jocn_a_00185.pdf by MIT Libraries user on 17 May 2021 Abstract ■ Prevalent theories about consciousness propose a causal re- dissociate. A patient with left neglect, who was not aware of lation between lack of spatial coding and absence of conscious contralesional stimuli, was able to process their color and po- experience: The failure to code the position of an object is sition. However, in contrast to (ipsilesional) consciously per- assumed to prevent this object from entering consciousness. ceived stimuli, color and position of neglected stimuli were This is consistent with influential theories of unilateral neglect processed separately. We propose that individual object fea- following brain damage, according to which spatial coding of tures, including position, can be processed without attention neglected stimuli is defective, and this would keep their process- and consciousness and that conscious perception of an ob- ing at the nonconscious level. Contrary to this view, we report ject depends on the binding of its features into an integrated evidence showing that spatial coding and consciousness can percept. ■ INTRODUCTION the effects of processing of neglected stimuli on responses Awareness of a stimulus can be defined as the explicit to stimuli presented in the intact hemispace. Properties knowledge of its physical and semantic properties or sim- that can be processed implicitly include color and shape, ply of its existence. This knowledge can be demonstrated identity of alphanumerical symbols, and even the mean- by direct reports of the perception of the stimulus; for ing of words and pictures (Della Sala, van der Meulen, example, by naming it, categorizing it, or just by signaling Bestelmeyer, & Logie, 2010; Làdavas, Paladini, & Cubelli, its presence. -
Spatial Stroop with Directional Cues
Manuscript accepted for publication in “Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology” Increased attentional load moves the left to the right Mario Bonato1,2 * and Simone Cutini3,4 1 Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University 2 Department of General Psychology, University of Padova 3 Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Padova 4 Center for Cognitive Neurosciences, University of Padova Running head: Load-dependent contralesional mislocalizations * Corresponding author: Dr. Mario Bonato, Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium e-mail: [email protected] Abstract Introduction Unilateral brain damage can heterogeneously alter spatial processing. Very often brain-lesioned patients fail to report (neglect) items appearing within the contralesional space. Much less often patients mislocalize items’ spatial position. We investigated whether a top-down attentional load manipulation (dual-tasking), known to result in contralesional omissions even in apparently unimpaired cases, might also induce spatial mislocalizations. Method Nine right-hemisphere damaged patients performed three computer-based tasks encompassing different levels of attentional load. The side of appearance of visual targets had to be reported either in isolation or while processing additional information (visual or auditory dual-task). Spatial mislocalizations (from the contralesional hemispace towards the ipsilesional -unaffected- one) were then contrasted with omissions both within and across tasks, at individual as well as at group level. Results The representation of ipsilesional targets was accurate and not affected by dual-tasking requirements. Contralesional targets were instead often omitted and, under dual-task conditions, also mislocalized by four patients. Three cases reported a significant number of left targets as appearing on the right (alloesthesia). -
The Brain Compass: a Perspective on How Self-Motion Updates the Head Direction Cell Attractor
bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/189464; this version posted September 17, 2017. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under aCC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license. The brain compass: a perspective on how self-motion updates the head direction cell attractor Jean Laurens, Dora E. Angelaki Dept. of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030, USA This study was supported by National Institutes of Health grants R21 NS098146 and R01- DC004260. Address for correspondence: Angelaki, Dora Department of Neuroscience Baylor College of Medicine One Baylor Plaza Houston, TX 77030 Office: (713) 798-1469 E-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT Head Direction cells form an internal compass that signals head azimuth orientation even in the absence of visual landmarks. It is well accepted that head direction properties are generated through a ring attractor that is updated using rotation self-motion cues. The properties and origin of this self-motion velocity drive remain, however, unknown. We propose a unified, quantitative framework whereby the attractor velocity input represents a multisensory self-motion estimate computed through an internal model that uses sensory prediction error based on vestibular, visual, and somatosensory cues to improve on-line motor drive. We show how context- dependent strength of recurrent connections within the attractor itself, rather than the self- motion input, explain differences in head direction cell firing between free foraging and restrained movements. We also summarize recent findings on how head tilt relative to gravity influences the azimuth coding of head direction cells, and explain why and how these effects reflect an updating self-motion velocity drive that is not purely egocentric. -
The Three Meanings of Meaning in Life: Distinguishing Coherence, Purpose, and Significance
The Journal of Positive Psychology Dedicated to furthering research and promoting good practice ISSN: 1743-9760 (Print) 1743-9779 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rpos20 The three meanings of meaning in life: Distinguishing coherence, purpose, and significance Frank Martela & Michael F. Steger To cite this article: Frank Martela & Michael F. Steger (2016) The three meanings of meaning in life: Distinguishing coherence, purpose, and significance, The Journal of Positive Psychology, 11:5, 531-545, DOI: 10.1080/17439760.2015.1137623 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2015.1137623 Published online: 27 Jan 2016. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 425 View related articles View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rpos20 Download by: [Colorado State University] Date: 06 July 2016, At: 11:55 The Journal of Positive Psychology, 2016 Vol. 11, No. 5, 531–545, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2015.1137623 The three meanings of meaning in life: Distinguishing coherence, purpose, and significance Frank Martelaa* and Michael F. Stegerb,c aFaculty of Theology, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 4, Helsinki 00014, Finland; bDepartment of Psychology, Colorado State University, 1876 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1876, USA; cSchool of Behavioural Sciences, North-West University, Vanderbijlpark, South Africa (Received 25 June 2015; accepted 3 December 2015) Despite growing interest in meaning in life, many have voiced their concern over the conceptual refinement of the con- struct itself. Researchers seem to have two main ways to understand what meaning in life means: coherence and pur- pose, with a third way, significance, gaining increasing attention. -
Direction Giving and Following 1 Running Head
Direction giving and following 1 Running head: DIRECTION GIVING AND FOLLOWING Direction Giving and Following in the Service of Wayfinding in a Complex Indoor Environment Alycia M. Hund and Amanda J. Padgitt Illinois State University Direction giving and following 2 Abstract We examined how sense of direction, descriptive feature content, and gender relate to direction giving and following during wayfinding in a complex indoor environment. In Experiment 1, participants provided directions to destinations. Participants with a good sense of direction provided more distances, marginally more correct descriptions, and marginally fewer straight references than those with a poor sense of direction. In Experiment 2, participants rated the effectiveness of these directions. Directions that were rated highly contained more descriptive features than did directions that were rated less highly. In open-ended responses, positive mentions of landmarks and negative mentions of cardinal descriptors were frequent. In Experiment 3, participants navigated faster when following the worst-rated directions than when following the best-rated directions. Keywords: wayfinding, sense of direction, direction giving, direction following Direction giving and following 3 Direction Giving and Following in the Service of Wayfinding in a Complex Indoor Environment Finding our way through the environment is essential to human functioning. Often, people give and follow directions to facilitate wayfinding. For example, a college freshman may ask another student or a university staff member how to get to a classroom or office in a campus building. It is no surprise that spatial skills and strategies differ across individuals (e.g., Hegarty, Montello, Richardson, Ishikawa, & Lovelace, 2006; Kato & Takeuchi, 2003; Lawton, 1996; Prestopnik & Roskos-Ewoldsen, 2000). -
Models of Human Motivation in Sociology
Models of human motivation in sociology “…social scientists as a whole have paid little attention to the foundations of human nature, and they have had almost no interest in its deep ori- gins.” Edward O. Wilson, Consilience p. 184 Paper (work in progress) for the 5th annual konference of IACR Debating Realism(s) August 2001 Jacob Alsted Poula Helth Rådgivning E-mail: [email protected] & Department of Social Sciences Roskilde University, Denmark E-mail: [email protected] Contents 1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 How does human nature look? ...................................................................... 2 1.2 Refining the agent-structure analysis ............................................................ 4 1.3 The divisions of micro, meso and macro....................................................... 7 2 A model of motivation - towards a better grounding of macro and meso level theory ............................................................................................................................ 9 2.1 The structural model of the self..................................................................... 9 2.2 Is it still relevant? ........................................................................................ 10 2.3 Dynamics: compromise formation .............................................................. 12 2.4 Defence: Individuals’ ability to relate ......................................................... 14 2.5 Psychological -
An Event-Related Potential Study of Auditory–Visual Synesthesia
Seeing Sounds and Hearing Colors: An Event-related Potential Study of Auditory–Visual Synesthesia Aviva I. Goller1, Leun J. Otten2, and Jamie Ward1 Downloaded from http://mitprc.silverchair.com/jocn/article-pdf/21/10/1869/1759787/jocn.2009.21134.pdf by guest on 18 May 2021 Abstract & In auditory–visual synesthesia, sounds automatically elicit the controls attended to the auditory dimension alone. There conscious and reliable visual experiences. It is presently un- were clear differences between synesthetes and controls that known whether this reflects early or late processes in the emerged early (100 msec after tone onset). These differences brain. It is also unknown whether adult audiovisual synesthe- tended to lie in deflections of the auditory-evoked potential sia resembles auditory-induced visual illusions that can some- (e.g., the auditory N1, P2, and N2) rather than the presence times occur in the general population or whether it resembles of an additional posterior deflection. The differences occurred the electrophysiological deflection over occipital sites that has irrespective of what the synesthetes attended to (although been noted in infancy and has been likened to synesthesia. attention had a late effect). The results suggest that differences Electrical brain activity was recorded from adult synesthetes between synesthetes and others occur early in time, and that and control participants who were played brief tones and re- synesthesia is qualitatively different from similar effects found quired to monitor for an infrequent auditory target. The syn- in infants and certain auditory-induced visual illusions in adults. esthetes were instructed to attend either to the auditory or to In addition, we report two novel cases of synesthesia in which the visual (i.e., synesthetic) dimension of the tone, whereas colors elicit sounds, and vice versa.