Color afterimages in autistic adults

It has been suggested that attenuated adaptation to visual stimuli in autism is the result of atypical perceptual priors (e.g., Pellicano and Burr in Trends Cogn Sci 16(10):504–510, 2012. doi:10.​1016/​j.​tics.​2012.​08.​009). This study investigated adaptation to color in autistic adults, measuring both strength of afterimage and the influence of top-down knowledge. We found no difference in color afterimage strength between autistic and typical adults. Effects of top-down knowledge on afterimage intensity shown by Lupyan (Acta Psychol 161:117–130, 2015. doi:10.​1016/​j.​actpsy.​2015.​08.​006) were not replicated for either group. This study finds intact color adaptation in autistic adults. This is in contrast to findings of attenuated adaptation to faces and numerosity in autistic children. Future research should investigate the possibility of developmental differences in adaptation and further examine top-down effects on adaptation

A framework for the first‑person internal sensation of visual perception in mammals and a comparable circuitry for olfactory perception in Drosophila

Perception is a first-person internal sensation induced within the nervous system at the time of arrival of sensory stimuli from objects in the environment. Lack of access to the first-person properties has limited viewing perception as an emergent property and it is currently being studied using third-person observed findings from various levels. One feasible approach to understand its mechanism is to build a hypothesis for the specific conditions and required circuit features of the nodal points where the mechanistic operation of perception take place for one type of sensation in one species and to verify it for the presence of comparable circuit properties for perceiving a different sensation in a different species. The present work explains visual perception in mammalian nervous system from a first-person frame of reference and provides explanations for the homogeneity of perception of visual stimuli above flicker fusion frequency, the perception of objects at locations different from their actual position, the smooth pursuit and saccadic eye movements, the perception of object borders, and perception of pressure phosphenes. Using results from temporal resolution studies and the known details of visual cortical circuitry, explanations are provided for (a) the perception of rapidly changing visual stimuli, (b) how the perception of objects occurs in the correct orientation even though, according to the third-person view, activity from the visual stimulus reaches the cortices in an inverted manner and (c) the functional significance of well-conserved columnar organization of the visual cortex. A comparable circuitry detected in a different nervous system in a remote species-the olfactory circuitry of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster-provides an opportunity to explore circuit functions using genetic manipulations, which, along with high-resolution microscopic techniques and lipid membrane interaction studies, will be able to verify the structure-function details of the presented mechanism of perception

Economic evaluation of Pusa Rice Hybrid 10 cultivation: a micro-economic evidence of Uttarakhand, India

472-477Policies for quality hybrid rice research, large-scale adoption and their impact on households’ rice economy are discussed in this study. Farm level data was used to analyze the impact of Pusa Rice Hybrid 10 (PRH 10) on input demand and income of households in irrigated rice growing environment. The quality traits of this hybrid seem to be positive as high HRR, aroma, cooking and eating quality. Consumers demand in the market for PRH 10 is very strong which led to premium prices. Based on analysis, it is found that, compared with conventional modern varieties; PRH 10 uses about 5% less input due to lesser use of fertilizer and labour. The lesser requirements for fertilizer and labour probably arise from shorter maturity duration (115 days) and lower seeding rate. Analysis revealed that, given the same level of inputs, the grain yield of PRH 10 has slightly lower than HYVs, whereas, net return is higher about 80%. Analysis indicates that PRH 10 was planted about 11 % area but the share of income was 16% to total rice income. Adoption of PRH 10 also facilitates farmers to increase crop diversification and intensification that could maintain soil health and environment

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