Music-reading training alleviates crowding with musical notation

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Perceptual expertise improves category detection in natural scenes

There is much debate about how detection, categorization, and within-category identification relate to one another during object recognition. Whether these tasks rely on partially shared perceptual mechanisms may be determined by testing whether training on one of these tasks facilitates performance on another. In the present study we asked whether expertise in discriminating objects improves the detection of these objects in naturalistic scenes. Self-proclaimed car experts (N = 34) performed a car discrimination task to establish their level of expertise, followed by a visual search task where they were asked to detect cars and people in hundreds of photographs of natural scenes. Results revealed that expertise in discriminating cars was strongly correlated with car detection accuracy. This effect was specific to objects of expertise, as there was no influence of car expertise on person detection. These results indicate a close link between object discrimination and object detection performance, which we interpret as reflecting partially shared perceptual mechanisms and neural representations underlying these tasks: the increased sensitivity of the visual system for objects of expertise – as a result of extensive discrimination training – may benefit both the discrimination and the detection of these objects. Alternative interpretations are also discussed

Systematic review of the effects of the intestinal microbiota on selected nutrients and non-nutrients

The systematic review demonstrates that the IM plays a major role in the breakdown and transformation of the dietary substrates examined. However, recent human data are limited with the exception of data from studies examining fibres and polyphenols. Results observed in relation with dietary substrates were not always consistent or coherent across studies and methodological limitations and differences in IM analyses made comparisons difficult. Moreover, non-digestible components likely to reach the colon are often not well defined or characterised in studies making comparisons between studies difficult if not impossible. Going forward, further rigorously controlled randomised human trials with well-defined dietary substrates and utilizing omic-based technologies to characterise and measure the IM and their functional activities will advance the field. Current evidence suggests that more detailed knowledge of the metabolic activities and interactions of the IM hold considerable promise in relation with host health

Constraints on view combination: Effects of self-occlusion and differences among familiar and novel views

The use of multiple familiar views of objects to facilitate recognition of novel views has been addressed in a number of behavioral studies, but the results have not been conclusive. The present study was a comprehensive examination of view combination for different types of novel views (internal or external to the studied views) and different objects (amoeboid objects and objects composed of geons; objects with and without self-occlusion across rotation). The authors found that the advantage gained from the study of 2 views was more than the generalization from each of the studied views presented alone. This facilitation occurred only for internal views but not external views. In addition, the benefits from the study of 2 views diminished when (a) the studied views did not share the same visible features and when (b) the studied views were separated by a small angular difference. Copyright 2005 by the American Psychological Association.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

When are viewpoint costs greater for silhouettes than for shaded images?

Previous studies of object recognition have shown efficient recognition of silhouettes, suggesting that much of the information used to recognize objects resides in the outline. These studies, however, have used objects that contain many components, which provide redundant information. In this study, we examined recognition of silhouettes of less-complex objects, so that redundant information was reduced. We found that viewpoint generalization costs (the decrement of performance when recognizing nonstudied views) were greater for silhouettes than for shaded images, even when the same qualitative components were visible in the outline of both studied and nonstudied views. Thus, silhouettes do not always allow for view generalization as efficiently as do shaded images. Copyright 2005 Psychonomic Society, Inc.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Font tuning associated with expertise in letter perception

Font tuning (FT) occurs when observers recognize a sequence of letters presented in the same font faster than in different fonts (Sanocki 1987, 1988 Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance 13 267-278; 14 472-480). Here, we test the hypothesis that FT is associated with expertise with a specific writing system. We developed a systematic search task allowing the measurement of FT over a large number of letters and generalized the finding of FT from English readers viewing Roman letters to Chinese readers viewing Chinese characters. Non-Chinese readers did not show evidence of FT for Chinese characters in this search task. We also used a simpler 3-letter identification task to directly compare novice and expert readers, and to explore FT for different aspects of font such as fill, slant, and aspect ratio. We found that experts tune to aspect ratio but not to the other font changes. These findings reveal that letters are not processed visually in the same manner as shapes, and suggest an explanation for the cortical specialization obtained in the visual system for letters.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Holistic processing as a hallmark of perceptual expertise for non-face categories including Chinese characters.

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Differential onset of apoptosis in avian influenza H5N1 and seasonal H1N1 virus infected human bronchial and alveolar epithelial cells: an in vitro and ex vivo study

INTRODUCTION: Human disease caused by highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 virus is associated with fulminant viral pneumonia and mortality rates in excess of 60%.1 Cytokine dysregulation is thought to contribute to its pathogenesis.2,3 We previously found delayed onset of apoptosis in H5N1 infected human macrophages and, therefore, a longer survival time of the target cells for prolonged virus replication and cytokine and chemokine secretion, which may contribute to the pathogenesis of H5N1 disease in humans.4 As bronchial and alveolar epithelial cells are target cells of influenza virus because of their proximal physiological location and interaction with macrophages, we further investigated if the differential onset of apoptosis could be found in influenza H5N1 and seasonal influenza H1N1 infected human respiratory epithelia. We dissected the apoptotic pathways triggered by influenza virus infection …link_to_OA_fulltex