Constraints on letter-in-string identification in peripheral vision: effects of number of flankers and deployment of attention

International audienceEffects of non-adjacent flanking elements on crowding of letter stimuli were examined in experiments manipulating the number of flanking elements and the deployment of spatial attention.To this end, identification accuracy of single letters was compared with identification of letter targets surrounded by two, four, or six flanking elements placed symmetrically left and right of the target. Target stimuli were presented left or right of a central fixation, and appeared either unilaterally or with an equivalent number of characters in the contralat-eral visual field (bilateral presentation). Experiment 1A tested letter targets with random letter flankers, and Experiments 1B and 2 tested letter targets with Xs as flanking stimuli. The results revealed a number of flankers effect that extended beyond standard two-flanker crowding. Flanker interference was stronger with random letter flankers compared with homogeneous Xs, and performance was systematically better under unilateral presentation conditions compared with bilateral presentation. Furthermore, the difference between the zero-flanker and two-flanker conditions was significantly greater under bilateral presentation , whereas the difference between two-flankers and four-flankers did not differ across unilateral and bilateral presentation. The complete pattern of results can be captured by the independent contributions of excessive feature integration and deployment of spatial attention to letter-in-string visibility

Deciphering CAPTCHAs: What a Turing Test Reveals about Human Cognition

Turning Turing's logic on its head, we used widespread letter-based Turing Tests found on the internet (CAPTCHAs) to shed light on human cognition. We examined the basis of the human ability to solve CAPTCHAs, where machines fail. We asked whether this is due to our use of slow-acting inferential processes that would not be available to machines, or whether fast-acting automatic orthographic processing in humans has superior robustness to shape variations. A masked priming lexical decision experiment revealed efficient processing of CAPTCHA words in conditions that rule out the use of slow inferential processing. This shows that the human superiority in solving CAPTCHAs builds on a high degree of invariance to location and continuous transforms, which is achieved during the very early stages of visual word recognition in skilled readers

Writer recognition in cursive eye writing: a Bayesian model

International audienceUsing a novel apparatus coupling a visual illusion with an eye tracker device, trained participants are able to generate smooth pursuit eye movements, even without a target to follow. This allows them to perform arbitrary continuous shapes, and, for instance, write letters with their eyes. In a previous study, based on data from a single writer (author JL), we developed and tested a Bayesian computational model -- the BAP-EOL model -- able to simulate character recognition. In the present study, data from different writers provide the opportunity to study the signal characteristics of eye-written letters. More precisely, we extend the model to perform writer recognition. Experimental results, and high performance we obtained, show that eye writing is as writer specific as handwriting is, and that motor idiosyncrasies are present in eye-written letters

The World (of Warcraft) through the eyes of an expert

Negative correlations between pupil size and the tendency to look at salient locations were found in recent studies (e.g., Mathôt et al., 2015). It is hypothesized that this negative correlation might be explained by the mental effort put by participants in the task that leads in return to pupil dilation. Here we present an exploratory study on the effect of expertise on eye-movement behavior. Because there is no available standard tool to evaluate WoW players’ expertise, we built an off-game questionnaire testing players’ knowledge about WoW and acquired skills through completed raids, highest rated battlegrounds, Skill Points, etc. Experts (N = 4) and novices (N = 4) in the massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft (WoW) viewed 24 designed video segments from the game that differ in regards with their content (i.e, informative locations) and visual complexity (i.e, salient locations). Consistent with previous studies, we found a negative correlation between pupil size and the tendency to look at salient locations (experts, r =  − .17, p < .0001, and novices, r =  − .09, p < .0001). This correlation has been interpreted in terms of mental effort: People are inherently biased to look at salient locations (sharp corners, bright lights, etc.), but are able (i.e., experts) to overcome this bias if they invest sufficient mental effort. Crucially, we observed that this correlation was stronger for expert WoW players than novice players (Z =  − 3.3, p = .0011). This suggests that experts learned to improve control over eye-movement behavior by guiding their eyes towards informative, but potentially low-salient areas of the screen. These findings may contribute to our understanding of what makes an expert an expert

The influence of clutter on real-world scene search: Evidence from search efficiency and eye movements

We investigated the relationship between visual clutter and visual search in real-world scenes. Specifically, we investigated whether visual clutter, indexed by feature congestion, sub-band entropy, and edge density, correlates with search performance as assessed both by traditional behavioral measures (response time and error rate) and by eye movements. Our results demonstrate that clutter is related to search performance. These results hold for both traditional search measures and for eye movements. The results suggest that clutter may serve as an image-based proxy for search set size in real-world scenes

Deep crustal melt plumbing of Bárðarbunga volcano, Iceland

Understanding magmatic plumbing within the Earth’s crust is important for understanding volcanic systems and improving eruption forecasting. We discuss magma plumbing under Bárðarbunga volcano, Iceland, over a four-year period encompassing the largest Icelandic eruption in 230 years. Microseismicity extends through the usually ductile region of the Earth’s crust, from 7-22 km depth in a sub-vertical column. Moment tensor solutions for an example earthquake exhibits opening tensile crack behavior. This is consistent with the deep (> 7 km) seismicity being caused by the movement of melt in the normally aseismic crust. The seismically inferred melt path from the mantle source is offset laterally from the center of the Bárðarbunga caldera by ~12 km, rather than lying directly beneath it. It is likely that an aseismic melt feed also exists directly beneath the caldera and is aseismic due to elevated temperatures and pervasive partial melt under the caldera.Funding was by research grants from the NERC and the European Community’s Seventh Framework Program grant 308377 (Project FUTUREVOLC), and a number of graduate studentships from the NERC

Unmasking saccadic uncrowding

Stimuli that are briefly presented around the time of saccades are often perceived with spatiotemporal distortions. These distortions do not always have deleterious effects on the visibility and identification of a stimulus. Recent studies reported that when a stimulus is the target of an intended saccade, it is released from both masking (De Pisapia, Kaunitz, & Melcher, 2010) and crowding (Harrison, Mattingley, & Remington, 2013). Here, we investigated pre-saccadic changes in single and crowded letter recognition performance in the absence (Experiment 1) and the presence (Experiment 2) of backward masks to determine the extent to which saccadic “uncrowding” and “unmasking” mechanisms are similar. Our results show that pre-saccadic improvements in letter recognition performance are mostly due to the presence of masks and/or stimulus transients which occur after the target is presented. More importantly, we did not find any decrease in crowding strength before impending saccades. A simplified version of a dual-channel neural model, originally proposed to explain masking phenomena, with several saccadic add-on mechanisms, could account for our results in Experiment 1. However, this model falls short in explaining how saccades drastically reduced the effect of backward masking (Experiment 2). The addition of a remapping mechanism that alters the relative spatial positions of stimuli was needed to fully account for the improvements observed when backward masks followed the letter stimuli. Taken together, our results (i) are inconsistent with saccadic uncrowding, (ii) strongly support saccadic unmasking, and (iii) suggest that pre-saccadic letter recognition is modulated by multiple perisaccadic mechanisms with different time courses

Etude des effets de la solidification sur les intrusions de type sill : application à la croissance plutonique

It is now accepted that the majority of large magma bodies is constructed by amalgamation of smaller magmatic intrusions. These increments are mostly sills and are thought as building blocks for larger magma bodies. Despite numerous studies, some aspects of their emplacement are still misunderstood: no model exists to constrain the size of plutons and we still do not know how the host rock is deformed during their incremental emplacement.The size of magma reservoirs, constructed by repeating magma pulses, depends on the size of the sills that built them, especially the lateral extend of these sills. This lateral extend could be controlled by solidification during sill emplacement. Analogue experiments have thus been carried out to quantify the effects of magma solidification on 1) sill formation and 2) sill propagation dynamics, geometry and size. Hot liquid vegetable oil, the magma analogue that solidifies during its propagation, is injected in a layered colder gelatine solid, the host rock analogue. A first set of experiments shows that as solidification effects increase, several types of intrusions are observed (dykes passing through the interface, sills, and dykes stopping at the interface). Contrary to isothermal experiments, where cooling cannot affect sill formation, the presence of an interface that would be a priori mechanically favorable is not a sufficient condition for sill formation; solidification effects restrict sill formation. A second set of experiments shows two extreme behaviours for sill propagation dynamics and geometry. When solidification effects are small, the propagation is continuous and sills have a regular and smooth surface. Conversely, when solidification effects are important, sill propagation is discontinuous and their geometry is complex (e.g. lobes and ropy structures). Moreover, higher solidification effects induce smaller sill surfaces; in restricting the lateral extent of sills, magma cooling and solidification are likely to impact directly the size of plutons constructed by amalgamated sills.The large deformations induced by incremental pluton emplacement are still misundurstood. Current models usually neglect brittle and plastic rheology, which are observed in the field. Firstly, a field study has been realized in the Henry Mountains (Utah, USA), in order to better understand the deformations around three intrusions of increasing size: the Maiden Creek Sill, the Trachyte Mesa Laccolith and the Black Mesa Bysmalith. The intensity of the deformation, the porosity reduction and the augmentation of microstructures related to large deformation are positively correlated. The intensity of these parameters increases as one gets closer to the host rock / intrusion contact, and is more important for lateral contacts than upper ones. Larger intrusions induce lateral deformation of the host rock over larger distances. However, the deformation at the top of the bysmalith is localized because of a fault allowing the translation of the host rock instead of an intense deformation. Secondarily, analogue laboratory experiments involving multiple injections have been carried out in order to better understand these deformations. The creation of a main body, made of multiple stacked sills emplaced by under or over-acretion can be observed. The lateral extent of this main body is highly dependant on the size of the first sill emplaced. However, the experimental dificulties and the mechanical properties of the gelatine as a crustal analogue limit the usefulness of these experiments.Il est maintenant avéré que la plupart des grands corps magmatiques sont construits par amalgamation d’intrusions plus petites. Ces incréments sont pour la plupart des sills, qui sont considérés comme les briques élémentaires des corps magmatiques plus grands. Malgré de nombreuses études, certains aspects de la mise en place des plutons sont encore mal compris : aucun modèle ne contraint leur taille et on ne sait toujours pas comment l’encaissant se déforme lors de leur mise en place incrémentale.La taille des réservoirs magmatiques, construits par injections répétées de magma, dépend de la taille des sills qui le constituent, et notamment de l’extension latérale de ces sills. Cette extension latérale pourrait être contrôlée par la solidification du magma lors de la mise en place du sill. Des expériences analogiques de laboratoire ont donc été réalisées afin de quantifier les effets de la solidification sur 1) la formation des sills et 2) la dynamique de propagation, la géométrie et la taille des sills. De l’huile végétale chaude, analogue du magma se solidifiant lors de sa propagation, est injectée dans un solide de gélatine plus froid, analogue des roches encaissantes. Le premier set d’expérience montre qu’avec l’augmentation des effets de la solidification, différents types d’intrusions sont observés (dykes traversant l’interface, sills et dykes stoppés à l’interface). Contrairement à des expériences où le refroidissement ne peut pas affecter la formation des sills, la présence d’une interface a priori mécaniquement favorable n’est donc pas suffisante pour former un sill ; les effets de la solidification restreignent la formation des sills. Le second set d’expérience montre deux comportements extrêmes pour la dynamique de propagation et la géométrie des sills. Quand les effets de la solidification sont faibles, la propagation du sill est continue et leur surface est lisse et régulière. A l’inverse, quand les effets sont forts, la propagation est discontinue et la géométrie des sills est complexe (e.g. lobes et surfaces cordées). De plus, des effets de la solidification plus importants entraînent des surfaces de sills plus faibles : en restreignant l’extension latérale des sills, le refroidissement du magma et la solidification sont susceptibles d’impacter directement la taille des plutons construits par amalgamation de sills.Les grandes déformations induites par la mise en place incrémentale des plutons sont encore mal comprises. Les modèles actuels négligent généralement les rhéologies cassantes et plastiques observées sur le terrain. Dans un premier temps, une mission de terrain dans les Henry Mountains (Utah, USA) a été réalisée afin de mieux comprendre les déformations entourant trois intrusions de tailles différentes : le Maiden Creek Sill, le Trachyte Mesa Laccolith et le Black Mesa Bysmalith. L’intensité de la déformation, la réduction de porosité et l’augmentation de microstructures liées à une forte déformation sont positivement corrélées. L’intensité de ces paramètres augmente à l’approche du contact encaissant / intrusion, et est plus marquée pour les contacts latéraux que pour les contacts supérieurs et inférieurs. Plus la taille de l’intrusion est importante, plus l’encaissant situé sur les côtés est déformé sur une grande distance. En revanche, la déformation observée au sommet du bysmalite est peu étendue, ce qui est dû à la présence d’une faille ayant permis une translation de l’encaissant plutôt que sa déformation importante. Dans un deuxième temps, des expériences analogiques de laboratoire multi-injections ont été effectuées pour essayer de mieux caractériser ces déformations. Ces expériences permettent d’observer la création d’un corps principal constitué de plusieurs sills empilés les uns sur les autres, par sur ou sous-accrétion. L’extension latérale de ce corps principal est fortement contrainte par la taille du premier sill mis en place. (...

Modélisation cognitive computationnelle de trajets oculomoteurs lors d'une tâche de recherche d'information

This thesis examines the combination of visual and semantic processes in information seeking task on textual interfaces such as web pages. The methodology used is the simulation of cognitive models. This approach aims to design a program based on theoretical cognitive models replicating human behaviour. Our model simulates the oculomotor scan path of an average user searching for information. The processes involved in this kind of tasks are modelled to replicate human eye movements recorded during different experiments. Models of visual and semantics processes are added to a model of memory processes inherent in information retrieval task. For the visual part, we go by saliency maps which predict areas in the display attracting attention, according to low level information (color, orientation and contrast), and the physiological properties of human vision. For the semantic part, the method used to measure semantic similarities between the search goal of the user and the different parts of the page is LSA (Latent Semantic Analysis) (Landauer, 1998). For the memory part the mechanism of inhibition of return (Klein, 1999) and the Variable Memory Model (Horowitz, 2006) are used. The thesis includes three parts: designing a theoretical model of interaction, designing a simulation tool, and developing psychophysical experiments with eye-tracking techniques to validate and refine the proposed model.Ce travail de thèse étudie la combinaison des processus visuels et sémantiques dans le traitement d'interfaces textuelles, comme des pages web. La méthodologie employée est la simulation de modèles cognitifs, une approche visant à concevoir un programme informatique s'inspirant de modèles cognitifs théoriques et reproduisant au mieux le comportement humain. Notre modèle simule les trajets oculomoteurs d'un utilisateur moyen lors d'une recherche d'information. Les processus mis en jeu dans ce type de tâche sont modélisés afin de reproduire les mouvements oculaires humains enregistrés lors de différentes expérimentations. Aux modèles des processus visuels et sémantiques est ajouté un modèle des processus mnésiques sous-jacents à la recherche d'information. Pour la partie visuelle, le modèle s'inspire des cartes de saillance qui prédisent les zones de l'écran susceptibles d'attirer l'attention, en fonction des informations à bas niveau (couleur, orientation et contraste), ainsi que des propriétés physiologiques de l'œil humain. Pour la partie sémantique, la technique de mesure de similarités sémantiques entre le but de l'utilisateur et les différentes parties de la page employée est LSA (Latent Semantic Analysis) (Landauer, 1998). Pour la partie mnésique, le mécanisme d'Inhibition of Return (Klein, 1999) et le Variable Memory Model (Horowitz, 2006) sont utilisés. Le travail de thèse intègre trois parties: conception d'un modèle théorique d'interaction, conception de l'outil de simulation, et mise en place d'expérimentations psychophysiques de relevés oculométriques permettant de valider et d'affiner le modèle proposé