Sensorimotor strategies for recognizing geometrical shapes: a comparative study with different sensory substitution devices

Bermejo, Fernando; Paolo, Ezequiel A. Di; Hüg, Mercedes Ximena; Arias, Claudia

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00679

Cited by 24 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 74 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…This lead to a training duration of seven weeks for which a former study [28] had shown significant perceptual and behavioral changes. Previous studies examining sensory substitution [21–23] showed that some perceptual aspects of the substituted stimulus were learned in a very short time whereas a prolonged training with the device developed a more detailed perception. Ward and Meijer [22] investigated late blind subjects with an auditory to vision substitution device and even after several years of daily use still observed perceptual changes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Learning how to use a sensory substitution device needs time. While subjects learn some perceptual aspects of the substituted stimulus in a very short time, prolonged training with the device develops a more detailed perception [21–23]. However, it has been argued that no true substitution is achieved, and that acquired skills are better described by the analogy to reading [24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Learning New Sensorimotor Contingencies: Effects of Long-Term Use of Sensory Augmentation on the Brain and Conscious Perception

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Theories of embodied cognition propose that perception is shaped by sensory stimuli and by the actions of the organism. Following sensorimotor contingency theory, the mastery of lawful relations between own behavior and resulting changes in sensory signals, called sensorimotor contingencies, is constitutive of conscious perception. Sensorimotor contingency theory predicts that, after training, knowledge relating to new sensorimotor contingencies develops, leading to changes in the activation of sensorimotor systems, and concomitant changes in perception. In the present study, we spell out this hypothesis in detail and investigate whether it is possible to learn new sensorimotor contingencies by sensory augmentation. Specifically, we designed an fMRI compatible sensory augmentation device, the feelSpace belt, which gives orientation information about the direction of magnetic north via vibrotactile stimulation on the waist of participants. In a longitudinal study, participants trained with this belt for seven weeks in natural environment. Our EEG results indicate that training with the belt leads to changes in sleep architecture early in the training phase, compatible with the consolidation of procedural learning as well as increased sensorimotor processing and motor programming. The fMRI results suggest that training entails activity in sensory as well as higher motor centers and brain areas known to be involved in navigation. These neural changes are accompanied with changes in how space and the belt signal are perceived, as well as with increased trust in navigational ability. Thus, our data on physiological processes and subjective experiences are compatible with the hypothesis that new sensorimotor contingencies can be acquired using sensory augmentation.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Learning New Sensorimotor Contingencies: Effects of Long-Term Use of Sensory Augmentation on the Brain and Conscious Perception

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For practical purposes the comparison is appropriate, since it allows us to analyze in detail a complex sequence of sensorimotor patterns. Other studies have described the same analogy in sound localization tasks in humans 20 , in owls 38 , studying echolocation abilities in humans 54 and bats 55,56 , and with the use of sensory substitution devices in humans 57 . It would be interesting to study if there are common mechanisms in different sensory modalities that account for the emergence of saccade-like patterns.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

Learning to find spatially reversed sounds

Bermejo

Paolo

Gilberto

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Adaptation to systematic visual distortions is well-documented but there is little evidence of similar adaptation to radical changes in audition. We use a pseudophone to transpose the sound streams arriving at the left and right ears, evaluating the perceptual effects it provokes and the possibility of learning to locate sounds in the reversed condition. Blindfolded participants remain seated at the center of a semicircular arrangement of 7 speakers and are asked to orient their head towards a sound source. We postulate that a key factor underlying adaptation is the self-generated activity that allows participants to learn new sensorimotor schemes. We investigate passive listening conditions (very short duration stimulus not permitting active exploration) and dynamic conditions (continuous stimulus allowing participants time to freely move their heads or remain still). We analyze head movement kinematics, localization errors, and qualitative reports. Results show movement-induced perceptual disruptions in the dynamic condition with static sound sources displaying apparent movement. This effect is reduced after a short training period and participants learn to find sounds in a left-right reversed field for all but the extreme lateral positions where motor patterns are more restricted. Strategies become less exploratory and more direct with training. Results support the hypothesis that selfgenerated movements underlie adaptation to radical sensorimotor distortions.

show abstract

“…In the same way that the physiology of the brain shapes vision, the engineering of each different SSD sets limitations on the type and quality of visual information available. The angle of the camera-sensor (field of view) for example or nature of the sensor information (distance information vs. contrast information or edges of objects) and the way this information is conveyed, influence how the SSD user explores the environment (Bermejo et al, 2015). Regardless of the type of visual information transferred, or the modality used by the device (tactile or auditory), the distal attribution process is a crucial step in developing strategies when using SSDs (Siegle and Warren, 2010).…”

Section: Spatial Perception Strategies and Sensory Substitution Devicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial Competence and Brain Plasticity in Congenital Blindness via Sensory Substitution Devices

2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In congenital blindness (CB), tactile, and auditory information can be reinterpreted by the brain to compensate for visual information through mechanisms of brain plasticity triggered by training. Visual deprivation does not cause a cognitive spatial deficit since blind people are able to acquire spatial knowledge about the environment. However, this spatial competence takes longer to achieve but is eventually reached through training-induced plasticity. Congenitally blind individuals can further improve their spatial skills with the extensive use of sensory substitution devices (SSDs), either visual-to-tactile or visual-to-auditory. Using a combination of functional and anatomical neuroimaging techniques, our recent work has demonstrated the impact of spatial training with both visual to tactile and visual to auditory SSDs on brain plasticity, cortical processing, and the achievement of certain forms of spatial competence. The comparison of performances between CB and sighted people using several different sensory substitution devices in perceptual and sensory-motor tasks uncovered the striking ability of the brain to rewire itself during perceptual learning and to interpret novel sensory information even during adulthood. We discuss here the implications of these findings for helping blind people in navigation tasks and to increase their accessibility to both real and virtual environments.

show abstract

Sensorimotor strategies for recognizing geometrical shapes: a comparative study with different sensory substitution devices

Cited by 24 publications

References 74 publications

Learning New Sensorimotor Contingencies: Effects of Long-Term Use of Sensory Augmentation on the Brain and Conscious Perception

Learning New Sensorimotor Contingencies: Effects of Long-Term Use of Sensory Augmentation on the Brain and Conscious Perception

Learning to find spatially reversed sounds

Spatial Competence and Brain Plasticity in Congenital Blindness via Sensory Substitution Devices

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About