Investigated the assumption that different aspects of visual selectivity depend on common processing resources by engaging observers aged 5, 7, 9, and 24 years in a task designed to examine the relations between covert shifts of attention and filtering. Covert orienting and filtering shared processing resources; filtering ability improved with…

Discusses changes that are needed in the perceptual, cognitive, and aesthetic principles governing the medium of television to compensate for the high-quality, filmlike picture produced by high definition television (HDTV), or improved definition television (IDTV). Topics discussed include changes in visual perception, cognitive processes and…

Summarizes a theoretical framework and set of hypotheses aimed at accounting for consciousness in neurobiological terms. Discusses the functional neuroanatomy of nuclei in the brainstem reticular formation. Notes that the views presented are compatible with the idea that the reticular formation modulates the electrophysiological activity of the…

Functionalists about consciousness identify consciousness with a role; physicalists identify consciousness with an implementer of that role. The global workspace theory of consciousness fits the functionalist perspective, but the physicalist sees consciousness as a biological phenomenon that implements global accessibility. (Author)

Maintains that theorists are converging on a version of the global neuronal workspace model of consciousness, but that there are residual confusions to be dissolved. Asserts that global accessibility is not the "cause" of consciousness, it "is" consciousness. Argues that like fame, consciousness is not a momentary condition or…

A pattern-masked arrow negatively biased the "free choice" between 2 manual responses or between 2 vocal responses. This apparently nonconscious influence occurred only when the free-choice trials were intermixed randomly with other trials that terminated in fully visible arrows, which directed a response of the same modality (manual vs. vocal) as…

This paper advocates the main ideas of the interactive model of representation of Mark Bickhard and the assimilation/accommodation framework of Jean Piaget, through a rhythm recognition demonstration program. Although completely unsupervised, the program progressively learns to recognize more and more complex rhythms struck on the user's keyboard.…

We present a technique called Random Image Structure Evolution (RISE) for use in experimental investigations of high-level visual perception. Potential applications of RISE include the quantitative measurement of perceptual hysteresis and priming, the study of the neural substrates of object perception, and the assessment and detection of subtle…

The fundamental relations that underlie cognitive comparisons--''same'' and ''different''--can be defined at multiple levels of abstraction, which vary in relational complexity. We compared response times to decide whether or not two sequentially-presented patterns, each composed of two pairs of colored squares, were the same at three levels of…

A perceived action can be understood only when information about the action carried out and the objects used are taken into account. It was investigated how spatial and functional information contributes to establishing these relations. Participants observed static frames showing a hand wielding an instrument and a potential target object of the…

Do the viewpoint costs incurred when naming rotated familiar objects arise during initial identification or during consolidation? To answer this question we employed an attentional blink (AB) task where two target objects appeared amongst a rapid stream of distractor objects. Our assumption was that while both targets and distractors undergo…

Poor readers perform worse than their normal reading peers on a variety of speech perception tasks, which may be linked to their phonological processing abilities. The purpose of the study was to compare the brain activation patterns of normal and impaired readers on speech perception to better understand the phonological basis in reading…

A brief account is given of the evolution of the concept of working memory from a unitary store into a multicomponent system. Four components are distinguished, the phonological loop which is responsible for maintaining speech-based information, the visuospatial sketchpad performing a similar function for visual information, the central executive…

Three experiments were carried out to investigate hemispheric asymmetry in color processing among normal participants. In Experiment 1, it was shown that the reaction times (RTs) of the dominant and non-dominant hands assessed using a visual target presented at the central visual field, were not significantly different. In Experiment 2, RTs of…

On the basis of a review of the literature and the results of three experiments with dog experts, Robbins and McKone [Robbins, R. A., & McKone, E. (2006). No face-like processing for objects-of-expertise in three behavioural tasks, "Cognition"] argue that there is little or no evidence supporting an expertise account of the differences in…