Demonstrating perception without visual awareness: Double dissociations between priming and masking

A double dissociation impressively demonstrates that visual perception and visual awareness can be independent of each other and do not have to rely on the same source of information (T. Schmidt & Vorberg, 2006). Traditionally, an indirect measure of stimulus processing and a direct measure of visual awareness are compared (dissociation paradigm or classic dissociation paradigm, Erdelyi, 1986; formally described by Reingold & Merikle, 1988; Merikle & Reingold, 1990; Reingold, 2004). If both measures exhibit opposite time courses, a double dissociation is demonstrated. One tool that is well suited to measure stimulus processing as fast visuomotor response activation is the response priming method (Klotz & Neumann, 1999; Klotz & Wolff, 1995; see also F. Schmidt et al., 2011; Vorberg et al., 2003). Typically, observers perform speeded responses to a target stimulus preceded by a prime stimulus, which can trigger the same motor response by sharing consistent features (e.g., shape) or different responses due to inconsistent features. While consistent features cause speeded motor responses, inconsistent trials can induce response conflicts and result in slowed responses. These response time differences describe the response priming effect (Klotz & Neumann, 1999; Klotz & Wolff, 1995; see also F. Schmidt et al., 2011; Vorberg et al., 2003). The theoretical background of this method forms the Rapid-Chase Theory (T. Schmidt et al., 2006, 2011; see also T. Schmidt, 2014), which assumes that priming is based on neuronal feedforward processing within the visuomotor system. Lamme and Roelfsema (2000; see also Lamme, 2010) claim that this feedforward processing does not generate visual awareness because neuronal feedback and recurrent processes are needed. Fascinatingly, while prime visibility can be manipulated by visual masking techniques (Breitmeyer & Öğmen, 2006), priming effects can still increase over time. Masking effects are used as a direct measure of prime awareness. Based on their time course, type-A and type-B masking functions are distinguished (Breitmeyer & Öğmen, 2006; see also Albrecht & Mattler, 2010, 2012, 2016). Type-A masking is most commonly shown with a typically increasing function over time. In contrast, type-B masking functions are rarely observed, which demonstrate a decreasing or u-shaped time course. This masking type is usually only found under metacontrast backward masking (Breitmeyer & Öğmen, 2006; see also Albrecht & Mattler, 2010, 2012, 2016). While priming effects are expected to increase over time by Rapid-Chase Theory (T. Schmidt et al., 2006, 2011; see also T. Schmidt, 2014), the masking effect can show an opposite trend with a decreasing or u-shaped type-B masking curve, forming a double dissociation. In empirical practice, double dissociations are a rarity, while historically simple dissociations have been the favored data pattern to demonstrate perception without awareness, despite suffering from statistical measurement problems (T. Schmidt & Vorberg, 2006). Motivated by this shortcoming, I aim to demonstrate that a double dissociation is the most powerful and convincing data pattern, which provides evidence that visual perception does not necessarily generate visual awareness, since both processes are based on different neuronal mechanisms. I investigated which experimental conditions allow for a double dissociation between priming and prime awareness. The first set of experiments demonstrated that a double-dissociated pattern between priming and masking can be induced artificially, and that the technique of induced dissociations is of general utility. The second set of experiments used two awareness measures (objective vs. subjective) and a response priming task in various combinations, resulting in different task settings (single-, dual-, triple tasks). The experiments revealed that some task types constitute an unfavorable experimental environment that can prevent a double dissociation from occurring naturally, especially when a pure feedforward processing of the stimuli seems to be disturbed. The present work provides further important findings. First, stimulus perception and stimulus awareness show a general dissociability in most of the participants, supporting the idea that different neuronal processes are responsible for this kind of data pattern. Second, any direct awareness measure (no matter whether objective or subjective) is highly observer-dependent, requiring the individual analysis at the level of single participants. Third, a deep analysis of priming effects at the micro level (e.g., checking for fast errors) can provide further insights regarding information processing of different visual stimuli (e.g., shape vs. color) and under changing experimental conditions (e.g. single- vs. triple tasks)

A Theory of Visibility Measures in the Dissociation Paradigm

Research on perception without awareness primarily relies on the dissociation paradigm, which compares a measure of awareness of a critical stimulus (direct measures) with a measure indicating that the stimulus has been processed at all (indirect measure). We argue that dissociations between direct and indirect measures can only be demonstrated with respect to the critical stimulus feature that generates the indirect effect, and the observer's awareness of that feature, the critical cue. We expand Kahneman's (1968) concept of criterion content to comprise the set of all cues than an observer actually uses to perform the direct task. Different direct measures can then be compared by studying the overlap of their criterion contents and their containment of the critical cue. Because objective and subjective measures may integrate different sets of cues, one measure generally cannot replace the other without sacrificing important information. Using a simple mathematical formalization, we redefine and clarify the concepts of validity, exclusiveness, and exhaustiveness in the dissociation paradigm, show how dissociations among different awareness measures falsify simple theories of consciousness, and formulate the demand that theories of visual awareness should be sufficiently specific to explain dissociations among different facets of awareness.Comment: v1: initial upload. v2: added arXiv identifier. v3: corrected an error in mathematical notation in the "definition (iii)" section. v5: adds reference to the published article. Note that the manuscript responding to this preprint has now been published in Psychonomic Bulletin & Review and should be cited preferentiall

A proposal of quantum-inspired machine learning for medical purposes: An application case

Learning tasks are implemented via mappings of the sampled data set, including both the classical and the quantum framework. Biomedical data characterizing complex diseases such as cancer typically require an algorithmic support for clinical decisions, especially for early stage tumors that typify breast cancer patients, which are still controllable in a therapeutic and surgical way. Our case study consists of the prediction during the pre-operative stage of lymph node metastasis in breast cancer patients resulting in a negative diagnosis after clinical and radiological exams. The classifier adopted to establish a baseline is characterized by the result invariance for the order permutation of the input features, and it exploits stratifications in the training procedure. The quantum one mimics support vector machine mapping in a high-dimensional feature space, yielded by encoding into qubits, while being characterized by complexity. Feature selection is exploited to study the performances associated with a low number of features, thus implemented in a feasible time. Wide variations in sensitivity and specificity are observed in the selected optimal classifiers during cross-validations for both classification system types, with an easier detection of negative or positive cases depending on the choice between the two training schemes. Clinical practice is still far from being reached, even if the flexible structure of quantum-inspired classifier circuits guarantees further developments to rule interactions among features: this preliminary study is solely intended to provide an overview of the particular tree tensor network scheme in a simplified version adopting just product states, as well as to introduce typical machine learning procedures consisting of feature selection and classifier performance evaluation

Encantamento do rosto: poses e retratos de cinema

The purpose of this article is to describe a set of photographs of Eliane Lage (1928-), a movie actress featured in Caiçara, Ângela, Sinhá Moça and Ravina - the first three produced by Companhia Cinematográfica Vera Cruz (1950-1954), and the fourth by Cinematográfica Brasil Filmes. Companhia Cinematográfica Vera Cruz aspired to be one of the largest film producers in Brazil and, accordingly, its Advertising Department set out to establish Eliane Lage as a great movie star, like those in the world's dominant movie industries. This paper brings to light some photographs which, coupled with information published in the press, were intended to tell the public at large who Eliane Lage was by exploring extensively certain aspects of her "biography", such as her privileged background, her denial of stardom, her detachment, her passion for her husband, and her love of nature. The picture selection includes: a photo essay by the architect Gregori Warcharchik; studio marketing photographs; snapshots taken by photographers at the time; and pictures that are part of the actress's personal collection

Differences in depressive symptoms and related dysfunctions between Blacks and Whites: An empirical examination of current issues

The purpose of this research was to determine the relationships among race, socioeconomic status (SES), life crisis events (LCE), and depressive symptoms. Three specific aims guided this research. The first addressed a general epidemiologic question which asks whether there are significant differences in the prevalence of depressive symptoms and related dysfunctions between Blacks and Whites. The second examined whether these relationships are altered after SES factors are controlled, and analyzed with SES as in interaction term with race. The final objective was to explore the nature of racial differences in exposure and vulnerability to life crisis events as they relate to depression. An epidemiologic field survey (Whites = 1,648; Blacks = 450) was utilized to address the proposed research aims. Depression was measured by two scales: the Florida Health Study depression measure (FHS), and the Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS).Research findings indicated that while Blacks had significantly higher levels of FHS depressive symptoms on the FHS, these differences were eliminated once SES was controlled. No racial differences were found on the DIS depression scale.Blacks were found to be both significantly more exposed to and more vulnerable to the impact of life crisis events than Whites. Again, however, no statistically significant differences in exposure and vulnerability were found between these two racial groups when the data were controlled for SES. The role of socioeconomic factors in contributing to mental health is discussed. The author concludes that poverty is hazardous to one's psychological well-being. In addition, methodological issues associated with the conceptualization and operationalization of mental health constructs such as depression are explored.</p

Spectral solution of Reynolds film lubrication equation

This thesis presents a spectral solution of Reynolds film lubrication equation. A problem with eigenvalues and eigenvectors has been solved, leading to the resolution of a series, suitably truncated at mmax and nmax, which represents, for any value of n until nmax, a linear system of mmax equations for the coefficients Am,n obtained by assigning to the index k the values kmax. Subsequently, in order to implement the model on MATLAB, typical dimensions for the operation of a journal bearing with cryogenic lubricant were taken as a reference. Subsequently, the resulting with varying relative eccentricity was compared with those resulting from the analytical models for a long and short journal bearing

Demonstrating perception without visual awareness: Double dissociations between priming and masking

A double dissociation impressively demonstrates that visual perception and visual awareness can be independent of each other and do not have to rely on the same source of information (T. Schmidt & Vorberg, 2006). Traditionally, an indirect measure of stimulus processing and a direct measure of visual awareness are compared (dissociation paradigm or classic dissociation paradigm, Erdelyi, 1986; formally described by Reingold & Merikle, 1988; Merikle & Reingold, 1990; Reingold, 2004). If both measures exhibit opposite time courses, a double dissociation is demonstrated. One tool that is well suited to measure stimulus processing as fast visuomotor response activation is the response priming method (Klotz & Neumann, 1999; Klotz & Wolff, 1995; see also F. Schmidt et al., 2011; Vorberg et al., 2003). Typically, observers perform speeded responses to a target stimulus preceded by a prime stimulus, which can trigger the same motor response by sharing consistent features (e.g., shape) or different responses due to inconsistent features. While consistent features cause speeded motor responses, inconsistent trials can induce response conflicts and result in slowed responses. These response time differences describe the response priming effect (Klotz & Neumann, 1999; Klotz & Wolff, 1995; see also F. Schmidt et al., 2011; Vorberg et al., 2003). The theoretical background of this method forms the Rapid-Chase Theory (T. Schmidt et al., 2006, 2011; see also T. Schmidt, 2014), which assumes that priming is based on neuronal feedforward processing within the visuomotor system. Lamme and Roelfsema (2000; see also Lamme, 2010) claim that this feedforward processing does not generate visual awareness because neuronal feedback and recurrent processes are needed. Fascinatingly, while prime visibility can be manipulated by visual masking techniques (Breitmeyer & Öğmen, 2006), priming effects can still increase over time. Masking effects are used as a direct measure of prime awareness. Based on their time course, type-A and type-B masking functions are distinguished (Breitmeyer & Öğmen, 2006; see also Albrecht & Mattler, 2010, 2012, 2016). Type-A masking is most commonly shown with a typically increasing function over time. In contrast, type-B masking functions are rarely observed, which demonstrate a decreasing or u-shaped time course. This masking type is usually only found under metacontrast backward masking (Breitmeyer & Öğmen, 2006; see also Albrecht & Mattler, 2010, 2012, 2016). While priming effects are expected to increase over time by Rapid-Chase Theory (T. Schmidt et al., 2006, 2011; see also T. Schmidt, 2014), the masking effect can show an opposite trend with a decreasing or u-shaped type-B masking curve, forming a double dissociation. In empirical practice, double dissociations are a rarity, while historically simple dissociations have been the favored data pattern to demonstrate perception without awareness, despite suffering from statistical measurement problems (T. Schmidt & Vorberg, 2006). Motivated by this shortcoming, I aim to demonstrate that a double dissociation is the most powerful and convincing data pattern, which provides evidence that visual perception does not necessarily generate visual awareness, since both processes are based on different neuronal mechanisms. I investigated which experimental conditions allow for a double dissociation between priming and prime awareness. The first set of experiments demonstrated that a double-dissociated pattern between priming and masking can be induced artificially, and that the technique of induced dissociations is of general utility. The second set of experiments used two awareness measures (objective vs. subjective) and a response priming task in various combinations, resulting in different task settings (single-, dual-, triple tasks). The experiments revealed that some task types constitute an unfavorable experimental environment that can prevent a double dissociation from occurring naturally, especially when a pure feedforward processing of the stimuli seems to be disturbed. The present work provides further important findings. First, stimulus perception and stimulus awareness show a general dissociability in most of the participants, supporting the idea that different neuronal processes are responsible for this kind of data pattern. Second, any direct awareness measure (no matter whether objective or subjective) is highly observer-dependent, requiring the individual analysis at the level of single participants. Third, a deep analysis of priming effects at the micro level (e.g., checking for fast errors) can provide further insights regarding information processing of different visual stimuli (e.g., shape vs. color) and under changing experimental conditions (e.g. single- vs. triple tasks)