ScienceDaily: Sensory Perception News

Eyes on the prey: Researchers analyse the hunting behaviour of fish larvae in virtual reality

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:20:20 EDT

Moving objects attract greater attention -- a fact exploited by video screens in public spaces and animated advertising banners on the Internet. For most animal species, moving objects also play a major role in the processing of sensory impressions in the brain, as they often signal the presence of a welcome prey or an imminent threat. Scientists have now investigated how the brain uses the information from the visual system for the execution of quicker movements.

Neuroscientists explain how the sensation of brain freeze works

Wed, 22 May 2013 09:53:53 EDT

Brain freeze is practically a rite of summer. It happens when you eat ice cream or gulp something ice cold too quickly. The scientific term is sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia, but that's a mouthful. Brain freeze is your body's way of putting on the brakes, telling you to slow down and take it easy.

Visual search function: Where scene context happens in our brain

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:57:57 EDT

Though a seemingly simple and intuitive strategy, visual search function -- a process that takes mere seconds for the human brain -- is still something that a computer can't do as accurately. Over the millennia of human evolution, our brains developed a pattern of search based largely on environmental cues and scene context. It's an ability that has not only helped us find food and avoid danger in humankind's earliest days, but continues to aid us today. Where this -- the search for objects using scene and other objects -- occurs in the brain is little understood, and is for the first time discussed in a new paper.

Clouds in the head: New model of brain's thought processes

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:54:54 EDT

A new model of the brain's thought processes explains the apparently chaotic activity patterns of individual neurons. They do not correspond to a simple stimulus/response linkage, but arise from the networking of different neural circuits.

How bilinguals switch between languages

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:38:38 EDT

Individuals who learn two languages at an early age seem to switch back and forth between separate "sound systems" for each language, according to new research. The research addresses enduring questions in bilingual studies about how bilingual speakers hear and process sound in two different languages.

Echolocation: Blind people have the potential to use their 'inner bat' to locate objects, study finds

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:48:48 EDT

New research shows that blind and visually impaired people have the potential to use echolocation, similar to that used by bats and dolphins, to determine the location of an object. The study examined how hearing, and particularly the hearing of echoes, could help blind people with spatial awareness and navigation.

Autism: Sensory-motor or environmental enrichment may be promising approach

Sat, 18 May 2013 15:33:33 EDT

In the first successful experiment with humans using a treatment known as sensory-motor or environmental enrichment, researchers documented marked improvement in young autistic boys when compared to boys treated with traditional behavioral therapies, according to new research

Brain makes call on which ear is used for cell phone

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:16:16 EDT

If you're a left-brain thinker, chances are you use your right hand to hold your cell phone up to your right ear, according to a newly published study. The study shows a strong correlation between brain dominance and the ear used to listen to a cell phone.

Bach to the blues, our emotions match music to colors

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:12:12 EDT

Whether we're listening to Bach or the blues, our brains are wired to make music-color connections depending on how the melodies make us feel, according to new research. For instance, Mozart's jaunty Flute Concerto No. 1 in G major is most often associated with bright yellow and orange, whereas his dour Requiem in D minor is more likely to be linked to dark, bluish gray.

Fast and painless way to better mental arithmetic? Yes, there might actually be a way

Thu, 16 May 2013 12:39:39 EDT

In the future, if you want to improve your ability to manipulate numbers in your head, you might just plug yourself in. So say researchers who report on studies of a harmless form of brain stimulation applied to an area known to be important for math ability.

'Good vibrations:' Brain ultrasound improves mood

Wed, 15 May 2013 09:48:48 EDT

Non-invasive brain stimulation techniques aimed at mental and neurological conditions include transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for depression, and transcranial direct current (electrical) stimulation (tDCS), have been shown to improve memory. Transcranial ultrasound stimulation (TUS) has also shown promise.

Grammar errors? The brain detects them even when you are unaware

Mon, 13 May 2013 13:15:15 EDT

Your brain often works on autopilot when it comes to grammar. That theory has been around for years, but neuroscientists have now captured elusive hard evidence that people indeed detect and process grammatical errors with no awareness of doing so.

Sense of touch reproduced through prosthetic hand

Thu, 09 May 2013 16:38:38 EDT

Neurobiologists have shown how an organism can sense a tactile stimulus, in real time, through an artificial sensor for the first time.

Social connections drive the 'upward spiral' of positive emotions and health

Thu, 09 May 2013 12:35:35 EDT

People who experience warmer, more upbeat emotions may have better physical health because they make more social connections, according to a new study.

Brain system for emotional self-control discovered

Thu, 09 May 2013 10:43:43 EDT

Different brain areas are activated when we choose to suppress an emotion, compared to when we are instructed to inhibit an emotion, according a new study.

Benefit vs. risk of facial recognition technology

Wed, 08 May 2013 21:32:32 EDT

Law enforcement agencies are using facial recognition software as a crime-fighting tool. Now businesses are looking to use the technology to reach customers. But a professor questions whether customers are ready for it.

Brain, not eye mechanisms keep color vision constant across lifespan

Wed, 08 May 2013 17:21:21 EDT

Cone receptors in the human eye lose their color sensitivity with age, but our subjective experience of color remains largely unchanged over the years. This ability to compensate for age-related changes in color perception rests in higher levels of the visual system, according to new research.

Laughter perception networks in brain different for mocking, joyful or ticklish laughter

Wed, 08 May 2013 17:21:21 EDT

A laugh may signal mockery, humor, joy or simply be a response to tickling, but each kind of laughter conveys a wealth of auditory and social information. These different kinds of laughter also spark different connections within the "laughter perception network" in the human brain depending on their context, according to new research.

Brain anatomy of dyslexia is not the same in men and women, boys and girls

Wed, 08 May 2013 13:18:18 EDT

Using MRI, neuroscientists have found significant differences in brain anatomy when comparing men and women with dyslexia to their non-dyslexic control groups. Their study is the first to directly compare brain anatomy of females with and without dyslexia.

Enhanced motion perception in autism may point to an underlying cause of the disorder

Wed, 08 May 2013 13:18:18 EDT

Children with autism see simple movement twice as quickly as other children their age, and this hypersensitivity to motion may provide clues to a fundamental cause of the developmental disorder, according to a new study.

Hit a 90 mph baseball? Scientists pinpoint how we see it coming

Wed, 08 May 2013 12:30:30 EDT

How does San Francisco Giants slugger Pablo Sandoval swat a 95 mph fastball, or tennis icon Venus Williams see the oncoming ball, let alone return her sister Serena's 120 mph serves? For the first time, vision scientists have pinpointed how the brain tracks fast-moving objects.

Weeks after stroke, some patients develop chronic, debilitating pain

Wed, 08 May 2013 12:28:28 EDT

Nearly 1 in 10 stroke patients suffer chronic and debilitating pain, typically described as sharp, stabbing or burning. It is treatable with medications and magnetic or electrical stimulation of the brain. But physicians often fail to correctly diagnose the condition.

Ice Age ancestors might have used words in common with us

Tue, 07 May 2013 07:46:46 EDT

New research shows that Ice Age people living in Europe 15,000 years ago might have used forms of some common words including I, you, we, man and bark, that in some cases could still be recognized today.

Bonding with your virtual self may alter your actual perceptions

Thu, 02 May 2013 08:22:22 EDT

When people create and modify their virtual reality avatars, the hardships faced by their alter egos can influence how they perceive virtual environments, according to researchers.

How brain's auditory center transmits information for decisions, actions

Wed, 01 May 2013 14:51:51 EDT

When a pedestrian hears the screech of a car's brakes, she has to decide whether, and if so, how, to move in response. Is the action taking place blocks away, or 20 feet to the left? One of the primal mechanisms we depend on -- acting on the basis of information gathered by our sense of hearing -- is yielding its secrets. Surprising results fill in a key piece of the puzzle about how mammals act on the basis of sound cues.

Wide-eyed fear expressions may help us -- and others -- to locate threats

Wed, 01 May 2013 13:16:16 EDT

Wide-eyed expressions that typically signal fear seem to enlarge our visual field making it easier to spot threats at the same time they enhance the ability of others to locate the source of danger, according to new research.

Musical memory deficits start in auditory cortex

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:13:13 EDT

Congenital amusia is a disorder characterized by impaired musical skills, which can extend to an inability to recognize very familiar tunes. The neural bases of this deficit are now being deciphered. According to a new study amusics exhibit altered processing of musical information in two regions of the brain: the auditory cortex and the frontal cortex, particularly in the right cerebral hemisphere. These alterations seem to be linked to anatomical anomalies in these same cortices.

Bone marrow stromal cell treatment improves functional outcome, helps repair biostructural damage from traumatic brain injury

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:11:11 EDT

Results show positive impact that bone marrow stromal cell therapy can have for those suffering from certain types of traumatic brain injuries.

Connection between inflammatory stimulus and Parkinson's disease examined

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 17:59:59 EDT

The precise cause(s) of Parkinson’s Disease is unknown, but there is consensus that an inflammatory event or episode is involved in the initiation of neurodegeneration. A new study has brought the understanding of inflammation’s role a step further.

How we decode 'noisy' language in daily life: How people rationally interpret linguistic input

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:49:49 EDT

Suppose you hear someone say, "The man gave the ice cream the child." Does that sentence seem plausible? Or do you assume it is missing a word? Such as: "The man gave the ice cream to the child." People use an array of strategies to make sense of confusing statements.

Body size conveyed by voice determines vocal attractiveness

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 18:51:51 EDT

Deep male voices and high-pitched female voices are perceived as more attractive because listeners gauge the speaker's body size from the frequency of their voice, according to new research.

Psychopaths are not neurally equipped to have concern for others

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 16:11:11 EDT

Prisoners who are psychopaths lack the basic neurophysiological "hardwiring" that enables them to care for others, according to a new study.

Decoding touch: Rats detect textures with their whiskers

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 09:09:09 EDT

With their whiskers rats can detect the texture of objects in the same way as humans do using their fingertips. A new study shows that it is possible to understand what specific object has been touched by a rat by observing the activation of brain neurons. A further step towards understanding how the brain, also in humans, represents the outside world.

Lost your keys? Your cat? The brain can rapidly mobilize a search party

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 15:38:38 EDT

A contact lens on the bathroom floor, an escaped hamster in the backyard, a car key in a bed of gravel: How are we able to focus so sharply to find that proverbial needle in a haystack? Scientists have discovered that when we embark on a targeted search, various visual and non-visual regions of the brain mobilize to track down a person, animal or thing.

Neural activity in bats measured in-flight

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:23:23 EDT

Scientists have, for the first time, measured the activity of place cells in the brains of bats as they navigated in three-dimensional space.

Brain's 'slow waves': Scientists probe source of pulsing signal in sleeping brain

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 10:01:01 EDT

New findings clarify where and how the brain's "slow waves" originate. These rhythmic signal pulses, which sweep through the brain during deep sleep, are assumed to play a role in important processes such as consolidation of memory. For the first time, researchers have shown conclusively that slow waves start in the cerebral cortex. They also found that such a wave can be set in motion by a local cluster of just 50 to 100 neurons.

From mice to humans, comfort is being carried by mom

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 09:59:59 EDT

There is a very good reason mothers often carry their crying babies, pacing the floor, to help them calm down. New research shows that infants experience an automatic calming reaction upon being carried, whether they are mouse or human babies.

Helpful for robotics: Brain uses old information for new movements

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 09:46:46 EDT

Information from the senses has an important influence on how we move. For instance, you can see and feel when a mug is filled with hot coffee, and you lift it in a different way than if the mug were empty. Neuroscientists have discovered that the brain uses two forms of old information in order to execute new movements well. This discovery can be useful for the field of robotics.

Concert cacophony: Short-term hearing loss can be protective, not damaging, researchers find

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 17:23:23 EDT

Contrary to conventional wisdom, short-term hearing loss after sustained exposure to loud noise does not reflect damage to our hearing: Instead, it is the body's way to cope. The landmark finding could lead to improved protection against noise-induced hearing loss in future.

Medical researchers implant telescope for macular degeneration

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:14:14 EDT

Physicians have successfully implanted a telescope in a patient's eye to treat macular degeneration.

Bad behavior in kids with hearing implants doesn't predict slowed language development

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 08:42:42 EDT

A new study is challenging a long held belief among speech therapists and audiologists that bad behavior in young children with hearing implants is an indicator of device failure and a predictor of poor language development.

'Seeing' the flavor of foods before tasting them

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 19:40:40 EDT

The eyes sometimes have it, beating out the tongue, nose and brain in the emotional and biochemical balloting that determines the taste and allure of food, a scientist said at a recent meeting. He described how people sometimes "see" flavors in foods and beverages before actually tasting them.

What happens in the brain to make music rewarding?

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 14:30:30 EDT

A new study reveals what happens in our brain when we decide to purchase a piece of music when we hear it for the first time. The study pinpoints the specific brain activity that makes new music rewarding and predicts the decision to purchase music.

Sound stimulation during sleep can enhance memory

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 12:38:38 EDT

Slow oscillations in brain activity, which occur during so-called slow-wave sleep, are critical for retaining memories. Researchers have found that playing sounds synchronized to the rhythm of the slow brain oscillations of people who are sleeping enhances these oscillations and boosts their memory.

Different brains have similar responses to music

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 07:57:57 EDT

Do the brains of different people listening to the same piece of music actually respond in the same way? An imaging study says the answer is yes, which may in part explain why music plays such a big role in our social existence.

Despite what you may think, your brain is a mathematical genius: How visual system automatically adapts to new environments

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 07:53:53 EDT

The irony of getting away to a remote place is you usually have to fight traffic to get there. After hours of dodging dangerous drivers, you finally arrive at that quiet mountain retreat, stare at the gentle waters of a pristine lake, and congratulate your tired self on having "turned off your brain."

People who normally practice sport have a better attention span than those with bad physical health

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 08:21:21 EDT

Good physical health is related to a better functioning of both the central nervous system (CNS) and the autonomic nervous system (ANS), according to new research.

Rare primate's vocal lip-smacks share features of human speech

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 12:31:31 EDT

The vocal lip-smacks that geladas use in friendly encounters have surprising similarities to human speech, according to a new study. The geladas, which live only in the mountains of Ethiopia, are the only nonhuman primate known to communicate with such a speech-like, undulating rhythm. Calls of other monkeys and apes are typically one or two syllables and lack those rapid fluctuations in pitch and volume.

Non-invasive mapping helps to localize language centers before brain surgery

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 12:23:23 EDT

A new functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technique may provide neurosurgeons with a non-invasive tool to help in mapping critical areas of the brain before surgery, reports a new study.

How our bodies interact with our minds in response to fear and other emotions

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 21:15:15 EDT

New research has shown that the way our minds react to and process emotions such as fear can vary according to what is happening in other parts of our bodies.

New vision of how we explore our world

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 09:45:45 EDT

Brain researchers have discovered that we explore the world with our eyes in a different way than previously thought. Their results advance our understanding of how healthy observers and neurological patients interact and glean critical information from the world around them.

Body representation differs in children and adults

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:24:24 EDT

Children's sense of having and owning a body differs from that of adults, indicating that our sense of physical self develops over time, according to a new study.

Hallucinations of musical notation

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 07:30:30 EDT

A physician and neurologist has outlined case studies of hallucinations of musical notation, and commented on the neural basis of such hallucinations.

Language by mouth and by hand

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 20:02:02 EDT

Humans favor speech as the primary means of linguistic communication. Spoken languages are so common many think language and speech are one and the same. But the prevalence of sign languages suggests otherwise. Not only can Deaf communities generate language using manual gestures, but their languages share some of their design and neural mechanisms with spoken languages.

Speaking a tonal language (such as Cantonese) primes the brain for musical training

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 18:26:26 EDT

Non-musicians who speak tonal languages may have a better ear for learning musical notes, according to researchers.

Putting a human face on a product: When brand humanization goes wrong

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 10:12:12 EDT

When companies put a human face on their brand, the public usually responds positively. This advertising approach has brought us alarm clocks with sleepy faces and color-coated chocolate candies with legs and arms. But a new study finds there is a greater backlash by the public when a product branded with human characteristics fails.

Regaining proper hearing at last

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 09:12:12 EDT

Around 17 million people in Germany suffer from impaired hearing. For many of them, their hearing is so damaged that a standard hearing aid is no longer enough. A new device will improve patients’ hearing and can be implanted during outpatient surgery.

Sensory helmet could mean firefighters are not left in the dark

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 12:51:51 EDT

A specially-adapted "tactile helmet," could provide firefighters operating in challenging conditions with vital clues about their surroundings.

Seeing happiness in ambiguous facial expressions reduces aggressive behavior

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 08:05:05 EDT

Encouraging young people at high-risk of criminal offending and delinquency to see happiness rather than anger in facial expressions results in a decrease in their levels of anger and aggression, according to a new study.

Protecting ears from hearing loss: Primary role of olivocochlear efferent system discovered

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 13:35:35 EDT

New research may have discovered a key piece in the puzzle of how hearing works by identifying the role of the olivocochlear efferent system in protecting ears from hearing loss.