Tag: Perception

When you think of ways to treat opioid use disorder, you might think methadone clinics and Narcotics Anonymous meetings. You probably don’t imagine stretches and strengthening exercises. But Anne Swisher—professor at the West Virginia University School of Medicine—is working to address opioid misuse in an unconventional way: through physical therapy. She and her colleagues have

Rhythm is a fundamental aspect of music, dance and language. However, we do not know to what extent our rhythmic skills depend on ancient evolutionary mechanisms that may be present in other animals. “In our study, we explored whether other animals can detect an isochronous beat (in which all signals are separated by the same

Seven years ago, Jason Esterhuizen was in a horrific car crash that destroyed his eyes, plunging him into total darkness. Today, he’s regained visual perception and more independence, thanks to an experimental device implanted in his brain by researchers at UCLA Health. “Now I can do things that I couldn’t do before,” said Esterhuizen, 30,

Perception is utterly baffling. We can precisely describe the biological structure of eyes and brains. We can measure the electrochemical impulses and electrical fields generated by neurons. But reason fails us when we attempt to explain how these physical processes cause all the vivid colours, textures and objects that appear in visual perception. In fact,

Stringing together meaningless sounds to create meaningful signals is a core feature of human language. Investigating whether animals share this basic combinatorial ability has been complicated by difficulties in identifying whether animal vocalizations are made from smaller, meaningless sounds, or building blocks. New research by scientists at the Universities of Zurich, Exeter, Warwick, Macquarie and

Humans can visually perceive the motion of a small object better than that of a large one. By contrast, according to a study reported in the journal Current Biology on September 5, babies under six months of age are better at seeing the movement of large objects than small objects. In adults, the motion of

People with maltreatment experiences in their childhood have a changed perception of social stimuli later as adults. This is what scientists from the Division of Medical Psychology at the University of Bonn have discovered. Traumatized people found touch stimuli less comforting than people without trauma. They also maintained a greater social distance toward strangers. In

Out of the five physical senses, impairment in vision and hearing, especially simultaneously, may have the greatest impact on the health of older adults. These impairments are associated with poor health outcomes, such as limitations in physical function and activities of daily living (ADLs), social isolation, cognitive decline, depression, poor self-rated health (SRH), communication difficulties,

Real and fake smiles can be tricky to tell apart, but researchers at the University of Bradford have now developed computer software that can spot false facial expressions. By analysing the movement of the smile across a person’s face, the software can determine whether or not the expression is genuine. The most significant movements detected

Could a computer, at a glance, tell the difference between a joyful image and a depressing one? Could it distinguish, in a few milliseconds, a romantic comedy from a horror film? Yes, and so can your brain, according to research published this week by University of Colorado Boulder neuroscientists. “Machine learning technology is getting really

Boredom is a common human experience. But how people cope with or handle being bored is important for mental health. “Everybody experiences boredom,” said Sammy Perone, Washington State University assistant professor in the Department of Human Development. “But some people experience it a lot, which is unhealthy. So, we wanted to look at how to

Organisms on this planet, including human beings, exhibit a biological rhythm that repeats about every 24 h to adapt to the daily environmental alteration caused by the rotation of the earth. This circadian rhythm is regulated by a set of biomolecules working as a biological clock. In cyanobacteria (or blue-green algae), the circadian rhythm is

Children can keep full visual perception—the ability to process and understand visual information—after brain surgery for severe epilepsy, according to a study funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of the National Institutes of Health. While brain surgery can halt seizures, it carries significant risks, including an impairment in visual perception. However, a new

Can your liver sense when you’re staring at a television screen or cellphone late at night? Apparently so, and when such activity is detected, the organ can throw your circadian rhythms out of whack, leaving you more susceptible to health problems. That’s one of the takeaways from two new studies by University of California, Irvine

While it has long been thought that the “union premium” extends to a labor union’s ability to provide higher wages, better benefits and increased job security to workers, new research from a University of Illinois expert who studies identity and meaning in occupations and organizations suggests that being a member of a labor union that’s

Humans use imagination a lot, whether it be thinking about what’s for dinner later tonight or trying to imagine what someone else on the other side of the world may be experiencing after reading the news. As situations become farther away from reality and more distal, imagining a situation becomes more difficult. The limits to

A new UC Riverside study asserts that women don’t engage in “tear-down” gossip any more than men, and lower income people don’t gossip more than their more well-to-do counterparts. It also holds younger people are more likely to gossip negatively than their older counterparts. It’s the first-ever study to dig deep into who gossips the

It takes King Curtis less than half a minute into “Memphis Soul Stew,” his best-remembered song, to really get a groove going. When it does, it doesn’t let go. According to the lyrics of the 1967 hit, the ingredients that make up a good groove are simple: “half a teacup of bass” and “a pound

Here is a good news for those of who have difficulty with morning alertness. A KAIST research team proposed that a blue-enriched LED light can effectively help people overcome morning drowsiness. This study will provide the basis for major changes in future lighting strategies and thereby help create better indoor environments. Considerable research has been

Timing is everything, goes a popular phrase, and this is also true for relationships. As Valentine’s Day approaches, social psychologists from Purdue University offer new research showing that a person’s commitment readiness is a good predictor of relationship success. The results are published in Social Psychological and Personality Science. “Feeling ready leads to better relational