Perceptual Grouping and Visual Enumeration

We used lateralized Event-Related Potential (ERP) measures – the N2pc and CDA/SPCN components – to assess the role of grouping by target similarity during enumeration. Participants saw a variable number (0, 1, 2 or 3) of same- or differently-colored targets presented among homogeneous distracters, and performed an enumeration task. Results showed that the N2pc, but not the CDA, was larger for multiple targets of identical color relative to targets of different colors. The findings are interpreted in terms of the effects of grouping on early versus late stages of multiple object processing. Within this framework, they reveal that grouping has an effect on early individuation mechanisms, while later processing mechanisms are less prone to such an influence.Psycholog

Electrophysiological Advances on Multiple Object Processing in Aging

EEG research conducted in the past five years on multiple object processing has begun to define how the aging brain tracks the numerosity of the objects presented in the visual field for different goals. We review the recent EEG findings in healthy older individuals (age range: 65-75 years approximately) on perceptual, attentional and memory mechanisms- reflected in the N1, N2pc and Contralateral Delayed Activity components of the EEG, respectively- during the execution of a variety of cognitive tasks requiring simultaneous processing of multiple elements. The findings point to multiple loci of neural changes in multi-object analysis, and suggest the involvement of early perceptual mechanisms, attentive individuation and WM operations in the neural and cognitive modification due to aging. However, the findings do not simply reflect early impairments with a cascade effect over subsequent stages of stimulus processing, but in fact highlight interesting dissociations between the effects occurring at the various stages of stimulus processing. Finally, the results on older adults indicate the occurrence of neural overactivation in association to good levels of performance in easy perceptual contexts, thus providing some hints on the existence of compensatory phenomena that are associated with the functioning of early perceptual mechanisms

Temporal Brain Dynamics of Multiple Object Processing: The Flexibility of Individuation

The ability to process concurrently multiple visual objects is fundamental for a coherent perception of the world. A core component of this ability is the simultaneous individuation of multiple objects. Many studies have addressed the mechanism of object individuation but it remains unknown whether the visual system mandatorily individuates all relevant elements in the visual field, or whether object indexing depends on task demands. We used a neural measure of visual selection, the N2pc component, to evaluate the flexibility of multiple object individuation. In three ERP experiments, participants saw a variable number of target elements among homogenous distracters and performed either an enumeration task (Experiment 1) or a detection task, reporting whether at least one (Experiment 2) or a specified number of target elements (Experiment 3) was present. While in the enumeration task the N2pc response increased as a function of the number of targets, no such modulation was found in Experiment 2, indicating that individuation of multiple targets is not mandatory. However, a modulation of the N2pc similar to the enumeration task was visible in Experiment 3, further highlighting that object individuation is a flexible mechanism that binds indexes to object properties and locations as needed for further object processing.Psycholog

Learning by task repetition enhances object individuation and memorization in the elderly

A decline in visuospatial Working Memory (vWM) is a hallmark of cognitive aging across various tasks, and facing this decline has become the target of several studies. In the current study we tested whether older adults can benefit from task repetition in order to improve their performance in a vWM task. While learning by task repetition has been shown to improve vWM performance in young adulthood, little is known on whether a similar enhancement can be achieved also by the aging population. By combining different behavioral and electrophysiological measures, we investigated whether practicing a specific task (delayed match-to-sample judgement) over four consecutive sessions could improve vWM in healthy aging, and which are the neurophysiological and cognitive mechanisms modulated by learning. Behavioral data revealed that task repetition boosted performance in older participants, both in terms of sensitivity to change (as revealed by d' measures) as well as capacity estimate (as measured by k values). At the electrophysiological level, results indicated that only after task repetition both target individuation (as evidenced by the N2pc) and vWM maintenance (as reflected by the CDA) were modulated by target numerosity. Our results suggest that repetition learning is effective in enhancing vWM in aging and acts through modifications at different stages of stimulus processing

Connectivity alterations underlying the breakdown of pseudoneglect: New insights from healthy and pathological aging

A right-hemisphere dominance for visuospatial attention has been invoked as the most prominent neural feature of pseudoneglect (i.e., the leftward visuospatial bias exhibited in neurologically healthy individuals) but the neurophysiological underpinnings of such advantage are still controversial. Previous studies investigating visuospatial bias in multiple-objects visual enumeration reported that pseudoneglect is maintained in healthy elderly and amnesic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI), but not in Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we aimed at investigating the neurophysiological correlates sustaining the rearrangements of the visuospatial bias along the progression from normal to pathological aging. To this aim, we recorded EEG activity during an enumeration task and analyzed intra-hemispheric fronto-parietal and inter-hemispheric effective connectivity adopting indexes from graph theory in patients with mild AD, patients with aMCI, and healthy elderly controls (HC). Results revealed that HC showed the leftward bias and stronger fronto-parietal effective connectivity in the right as compared to the left hemisphere. A breakdown of pseudoneglect in patients with AD was associated with both the loss of the fronto-parietal asymmetry and the reduction of inter-hemispheric parietal interactions. In aMCI, initial alterations of the attentional bias were associated with a reduction of parietal inter-hemispheric communication, but not with modulations of the right fronto-parietal connectivity advantage, which remained intact. These data provide support to the involvement of fronto-parietal and inter-parietal pathways in the leftward spatial bias, extending these notions to the complex neurophysiological alterations characterizing pathological aging

Assessing neural responses towards objectified human targets and objects to identify processes of sexual objectification that go beyond the metaphor

Objectification - reducing a someone to a something - represents a powerful and potentially damaging way in which we can see and treat others. Women are often victims of processes of objectification that occur whenever a woman is reduced to her body or certain body parts. What remains unclear is the extent to which a woman becomes an object when objectified. Using the oddball paradigm in three experiments, participants' neural activity was measured while they analyzed frequently presented male and female human stimuli and infrequently presented gender-matched doll-like objects. The infrequent doll-like objects were expected to trigger a late event-related neurophysiological response (P300) the more they were perceived different from the repeated, human stimuli (i.e., the oddball effect). In Experiment 1, the oddball effect was significantly smaller for objectified women compared to objectified men. Results of Experiment 2 confirmed that this effect was confined to objectified depictions of women. In Experiment 3, no semantic references to the human-object divide were provided, but objectified women were still perceived more similar to real objects. Taken together, these results are the first to demonstrate that the perception of women, when objectified, changes in essence beyond the metaphor

Crossmodal object-based attention: auditory objects affect visual processing

Abstract According to the object-based view, visual attention can be deployed to "objects" or perceptual units, regardless of spatial locations. Recently, however, the notion of object has also been extended to the auditory domain, with some authors suggesting possible interactions between visual and auditory objects. Here we show that task-irrelevant auditory objects may affect the deployment of visual attention, providing evidence that crossmodal links can also occur at an object-based level. Hence, in addition to the well documented control of visual objects over what we hear, our findings demonstrate that, in some cases, auditory objects can affect visual processing. q 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Crossmodal attention; Object-based attention; Auditory objects; Sensory modalities Attention is an important cognitive function by means of which the human cognitive system is able to select the information relevant for the current behaviour. According to the "space-based" vie

VULNERABILIDADE NO DESENVOLVIMENTO DA CRIANÇA: INFLUÊNCIA DA JUVENTUDE E CONDIÇÕES DE SAÚDE MATERNAS

This exploratory qualitative research aimed to investigate nurses’ understanding regarding vulnerability in child development. It was undertaken with 39 nurses working in Municipal Health Centers with the Family Health Strategy in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil. A semi-structured interview was used for data collection, and dialectical hermeneutics for analysis, ethical principles being respected. The results indicated that nurses understand the mother’s youth and health conditions as situations which are adverse to child development, and indicate the need for nurses to improve their care technologies which promote the health of teenage mothers, appropriately encourage breastfeeding and articulate an adequate network of social support for those mothers who are ill. The understanding of vulnerability in the care for the child allows the reorientation of the care model which, based in the principles of comprehensiveness and equity, may be directed at the needs of the child and her family.Investigación exploratoria cualitativa cuyo objetivo fue conocer la comprensión del enfermero acerca de la vulnerabilidad en el desarrollo del niño. Fue realizada con 39 enfermeros actuantes en Unidades Municipales de Salud con Estrategia Salud de la Familia en Curitiba, Paraná, Brasil. Los datos fueron obtenidos por entrevista semiestructurada, y para el análisis fue utilizada la hermenéutica dialética, siendo respetados los princípios éticos. Los resultados apuntan que el enfermero comprende la juventude y las condiciones de la salud materna como situaciones adversas al desarrollo infantil e indican la necesidad de perfeccionarse tecnologías de cuidado para promover salud de las gestantes adolescentes, incentivar adecuadamente la alimentación infantil y articular una apropiada red social de apoyo a las madres que están en situación de enfermedad. La comprensión de la vulnerabilidad en el cuidado del niño posibilita la reorientación del modelo asistencial, lo cual sea direccionado a las necesidades del niño y de su familia fundamentándose en los principios de integralidad y equidad.Pesquisa exploratória qualitativa que objetivou conhecer a compreensão do enfermeiro sobre a vulnerabilidade no desenvolvimento da criança. Foi realizada com 39 enfermeiros atuantes em Unidades Municipais de Saúde com Estratégia Saúde da Família em Curitiba, Paraná, Brasil. Para a coleta de dados utilizou-se a entrevista semiestruturada, e para análise a hermenêutica dialética, sendo respeitados os princípios éticos. Os resultados apontaram que o enfermeiro compreende a juventude e as condições da saúde materna como situações adversas ao desenvolvimento infantil e assinalam a necessidade deste aperfeiçoar suas tecnologias de cuidado que promovam a saúde das gestantes adolescentes, incentivem apropriadamente a alimentação infantil e articulem uma adequada rede social de apoio às mães que se encontram em situação de adoecimento. A compreensão da vulnerabilidade no cuidado à criança permite a reorientação do modelo assistencial, que fundamentado nos princípios de integralidade e equidade, seja direcionado às necessidades da criança e sua família

FAMÍLIA E RECÉM-NASCIDO: DIRETRIZES PARA UMA NOVA PRÁTICA DE ENFERMAGEM

The purpose of this research is to identify the nursing team’s contributions to the construction of family bonding with the newborn for the development of a new care guideline. It is a descriptive qualitative study, based in the Problem-based Methodology with the participation of 20 nursing professionals who belonged to the Woman and Newborn Health-care Unit. Data collection, by means of Education Practice Workshops, was carried out between October and November 2012. Three thematic categories emerged from the analysis and interpretation of the qualitative data obtained in the workshops: a) Nursing care contributions to the construction of the family bonding with the neonate; b) Nursing care limitations for the construction of the family bonding with the neonate; c) Nursing care guidelines for the construction of the family bonding with the neonate. It was evidenced that the reflection held in the practice workshops enabled the team participation in the development of guidelines in order to build the family bonding with the neonate. However, nursing care needs to integrate with the other sectors to strengthen the network building of institutional humanized care.El objetivo de la investigación fue identificar las contribuciones del equipo de Enfermería en la construcción del vínculo familiar con el recién nacido para el desarrollo de una nueva directriz de cuidado. Es un estudio cualitativo descriptivo, cuya base fue la Metodología de la Problematización, en que participaron 20 profesionales del equipo de Enfermería de la Unidad de la Mujer y del Recién nacido. Los datos fueron obtenidos por medio de Prácticas Educativas realizadas en los meses de octubre y noviembre de 2012. Del análisis e interpretación del substrato cualitativo obtenido en las prácticas, resultaron tres categorías temáticas: a) Contribuciones del cuidado de enfermería para construcción del vínculo familiar con el recién nacido; b) Limitaciones del cuidado de Enfermería para la construcción del vínculo familiar con el recién nacido;  c) Directrices para el cuidado de enfermería en la construcción del vínculo familiar con el recién nacido. Se evidenció que la reflexión realizada en las prácticas ha posibilitado la participación colectiva en el desarrollo de directrices para el cuidado de enfermería en la construcción del vínculo familiar con el recién nacido. Sin embargo, el cuidado de enfermería necesita integrarse a los demás sectores para potencializar la construcción en red de un cuidado institucional humanizado.O objetivo desta pesquisa foi identificar as contribuições da equipe de enfermagem na construção do vínculo familiar com o recém-nascido para o desenvolvimento de uma nova diretriz de cuidado. Estudo qualitativo descrito, ancorado na Metodologia da Problematização, do qual participaram 20 profissionais da equipe de enfermagem pertencentes à Unidade da Mulher e do Recém-nascido. A coleta de dados ocorreu por meio de Oficinas de Práticas Educativas realizadas nos meses de outubro e novembro de 2012. Da análise e interpretação do substrato qualitativo obtido nas oficinas, emergiram três categorias temáticas: a) Contribuições do cuidado de enfermagem para construção do vínculo familiar com o recém-nascido; b) Limitações do cuidado de Enfermagem para a construção do vínculo familiar com o recém-nascido e c) Diretrizes para o cuidado de enfermagem na construção do vínculo familiar com o recém-nascido. Evidenciou-se que a reflexão realizada nas oficinas práticas, possibilitou a participação coletiva no desenvolvimento de diretrizes para o cuidado de enfermagem na construção do vínculo familiar com o recém-nascido. Entretanto, o cuidado de enfermagem necessita integrar-se aos demais setores para potencializar a construção em rede de um cuidado institucional humanizado