Difference in Visual Processing Assessed by Eye Vergence Movements

Abstract

Orienting visual attention is closely linked to the oculomotor system. For example, a shift of attention is usually followed by a saccadic eye movement and can be revealed by micro saccades. Recently we reported a novel role of another type of eye movement, namely eye vergence, in orienting visual attention. Shifts in visuospatial attention are characterized by the response modulation to a selected target. However, unlike (micro-) saccades, eye vergence movements do not carry spatial information (except for depth) and are thus not specific to a particular visual location. To further understand the role of eye vergence in visual attention, we tested subjects with different perceptual styles. Perceptual style refers to the characteristic way individuals perceive environmental stimuli, and is characterized by a spatial difference (local vs. global) in perceptual processing. We tested field independent (local; FI) and field dependent (global; FD) observers in a cue/no-cue task and a matching task. We found that FI observers responded faster and had stronger modulation in eye vergence in both tasks than FD subjects. The results may suggest that eye vergence modulation may relate to the trade-off between the size of spatial region covered by attention and the processing efficiency of sensory information. Alternatively, vergence modulation may have a role in the switch in cortical state to prepare the visual system for new incoming sensory information. In conclusion, vergence eye movements may be added to the growing list of functions of fixational eye movements in visual perception. However, further studies are needed to elucidate its role.

Why do you like Arcimboldo’s portraits? Effect of perceptual style on aesthetic appreciation of ambiguous artworks

“…In the present study, we aimed to investigate whether individual perceptual styles selectively affect the aesthetic experience of ambiguous artworks with part-whole perceptual ambiguity (i.e., Arcimboldo's paintings) by biasing the orientation of visual attention (Solé Puig et al, 2013). Cupchik and colleagues (2009) showed that aesthetic experience arises from the interaction between top-down orienting of attention and bottom-up perceptual facilitation.…”

“…In the present study, we hypothesized that individual perceptual style, which biases the orientation of visual attention (Solé Puig et al, 2013), leads to a preference for a particular level of a percept (i.e., global or local), and thus selectively affects the aesthetic pleasure of ambiguous artworks that show part-whole perceptual ambiguity (i.e., Arcimboldo's portraits). It has been suggested that perceiving ambiguity results in distributed microconsciousnesses for perceptual attributes (Zeki, 2004), in both time and space (Kleinschmidt et al, 1998).…”

“…Indeed, the following findings have recently been reported: First, gender affects the aesthetic experience of faces (Little, Jones, & DeBruine, 2011;Zhang & Deng, 2012) and of bodies (Cazzato, Mele, & Urgesi, 2014). Second, individual perceptual style, which affects the orientation of visual attention (Solé Puig, Puigcerver, Aznar-Casanova, & Supèr, 2013), might lead to the facilitation of a specific level of perception (i.e., global or local), and thus might affect the aesthetic appreciation of complex artworks. Indeed, perceptual style refers to the ways that individuals process perceptual features and is characterized by differentiation according to local and global processing (Milne & Szczerbinski, 2009;Solé Puig et al, 2013;Witkin & Goodenough, 1981).…”

“…Second, individual perceptual style, which affects the orientation of visual attention (Solé Puig, Puigcerver, Aznar-Casanova, & Supèr, 2013), might lead to the facilitation of a specific level of perception (i.e., global or local), and thus might affect the aesthetic appreciation of complex artworks. Indeed, perceptual style refers to the ways that individuals process perceptual features and is characterized by differentiation according to local and global processing (Milne & Szczerbinski, 2009;Solé Puig et al, 2013;Witkin & Goodenough, 1981). Individuals with a global perceptual style are highly influenced by the context of the visual scene when processing features, and individuals with a local perceptual style are more able to perceive an element independently from its context (Milne & Szczerbinski, 2009).…”

Usability Evaluation of Electronic Health Record System (EHRs) using Subjective and Objective Measures

“…Eye fixations were computed using Eyeworks (Eye Tracking Inc®, Sweden) and total number of fixations were calculated for each task. The criteria for counting a fixation was set to 250msec (5x5 pixel; [12,13]). …”