Spatial Behavior

We present a detailed computational model of working memory as subserved by the basal ganglia and prefrontal cortex. The model expands on our previous work by incorporating a learning mechanism based on discrepancies in predicted rewards, the implementation of which is informed via a detailed consideration of the basal ganglia anatomy and physiology. This mechanism enables the system to learn to selectively store and maintain relevant stimuli. The model can learn a demanding working memory task ...

Broca's area, sex, handedness and other behavioural lateralities 5.1 Methods 5.2 Results 5.3 Preliminary discussion CHAPTER 6: Handedness and white matter anisotropy 6.1 Methods 6.2 Results and complications, but like any epic saga this was one journey not travelled alone. It is to that end that I would like to express my gratitude and thanks to those that have hoisted the sails, scrubbed the decks, read the compass and brought us to dock. First and foremost I would like to thank my supervisors Dr. Marta García-Fiñana and Dr. Graham Kemp for their inexorable support, without which this thesis would not have been possible. Dr. Marta García-Fiñana has provided guidance, incredible patience and commitment, and most importantly has taught me the virtues of clarity and simplicity in scientific research. Your time and help has been invaluable. Professor Neil Roberts I would like to thank for giving me the initial opportunity to begin this thesis. Indisputably a great deal of thanks and gratitude is given to Dr. Graham Kemp for seeing this thesis through its most turbulent waters, only with Graham's commitment, feedback and assistance was I able to continue the voyage. Thank you Marta and Graham for your enthusiasm, encouragement and continued support. This research has benefitted from the advice and knowledge of several collaborators, the efforts of which have helped shape and consolidate this thesis. I would like to thank Dr. Vanessa Sluming from the University of Liverpool and Dr. Laura Parkes from the University of Manchester for their expert advice. Thanks are given to Professor Robin Dunbar from the University of Oxford and Dr. Penny Lewis from the University of Manchester for involving me in their fascinating study and for their encouraging and valuable discussions during our collaboration. I also give thanks to my wonderful participants who have been committed to this study, seeing through the many sessions at MARIARC. My time at MARIARC has been an enjoyable experience, and it has been the few kindhearted souls there that have made this possible. I thank Valerie Adams for her help in collecting the wealth of data presented in this thesis, your commitment, kindness, advice and II time is a credit to MARIARC. On that note I would also like to thank Bill Bimson and Sue Monaghan not only for their technical and administrative support but for their friendly and positive influence at the centre. Rishma Vidyasagar I would like to thank for her uplifting advice and support during my times of doubt. In continuing the list of people who have made MARIARC (both past and present) I would like to thank Simon, Satomi, Jonathan, Roozbeh, Lisan and Anna. It has been a pleasure knowing all of you. In particular I would like to thank Christopher Cheyne for his statistical assistance and supportive lunch time chats. I wish to thank my friends, Guss, Jon and Chris for the times they have dragged me away from the PhD giving me their unconditional support, listening ears, encouragement and for saving my sanity. Thank you to all my family and friends for being so much fun, making me smile and having such high faith in me and expectations of me. Lastly, but certainly by no means the least, I would like to express my biggest thanks to my mum Brenda, who has been with me every step of the way, pushing me to succeed. Her unshakeable faith in me has taught me that during times of crisis I am stronger than I realise, that I need help more often than I would like to admit, and that there is nothing in life that I can't achieve if I put my mind to it. Thanks mum for getting me through it. The work presented in this thesis was funded by and carried out at the Magnetic Resonance and Image Analysis Research Centre (MARIARC) of the University of Liverpool under the supervision of Dr. Marta García-Fiñana and Dr. Graham Kemp. All MRI datasets and behavioural data of left-and right-handed individuals were acquired by me at MARIARC. The studies of rater reproducibility and reliability were undertaken by myself (JP), Christopher Cheyne (CC) Valerie Adams (VA) and Simon Lyon (SL) and for that I say thank you.

The authors investigated how and to what extent visual information and associated task constraints are negotiated in the coordinative structure of playground swinging. Participants (N= 20) were invited to pump a swing from rest to a prescribed maximal amplitude under 4 conditions: normal vision, no vision, and 2 visual conditions involving explicit phasing constraints. In the latter conditions, participants were presented with a flow pattern consisting of a periodically cxpanding and contracting optical structure. They were instructed to phase the swing motion so that the forward turning point coincided with either the maximal size (enhanced optical flow) or the minimal size (reduced optical flow) of the presented flow pattern. Removal of visual information clearly influenced the swinging behavior, in that intersegmental coordination became more stereotyped, reflecting a general stiffening of the swinger. The conditions involving explicit phasing requirements also affected the coordination, but in an opposite way: The coordination became less stereotyped. The two phasing instructions had differential effects: The intersegmental coordination deviated more from normal swinging (i.e., without phasing constraints) when optical flow was enhanced than when it was reduced. Collectively, those findings show that visual information plays a formative role in the coordinative structure of swinging, in that variations of visual information and task constraints were accompanied by subtle yet noticeable changes in intersegmental Coordination.

Visibility in architectural layouts affects human navigation, so a suitable representation of visibility context is useful in understanding human activity. Motivated by studies of spatial behavior, we use a set of features from visibility analysis to represent spatial context in the interpretation of human activity. An agent's goal, belief about the world, trajectory and visible layout are considered to be random variables that evolve with time during the agent's movement, and are modeled in a Bayesian framework. We design a search-based task in a sprite-world, and compare the results of our framework to those of human subject experiments. Our findings confirm that knowledge of spatial layout improves human interpretations of the trajectories (implying that visibility context is useful in this task). Since our framework demonstrates performance close to that of human subjects with knowledge of spatial layout, our findings confirm that our model makes adequate use of visibility context. In addition, the representation we use for visibility context allows our model to generalize well when presented with new scenes.

We assessed space use by 2 pairs of captive female rhesus monkeys recently transferred into 2 enclosures moderately larger than their former traditional research cages and providing elevated perches at or above human eye level for all monkeys. This new space did not affect the ongoing biomedical research in which these captive monkeys were involved, and we sought to determine whether they used the elevated positions preferentially, as do wild animals. The frequency and duration of visits at each of the 9 distinct regions within these enclosures was calculated during 30-min morning and evening sessions over 20 d. We found that the monkeys frequented all regions of their enclosures in a similar manner during both morning and evening sessions. However, the duration spent at each region varied significantly between morning and evening sessions, with high perches being chosen preferentially in the evenings. Overall, the monkeys spent the majority of their time at elevated positions. These results support the view that access to functional vertical space provides a preferred environment for species- specific behavior and is an option that should be considered by other research facilities.

We assessed space use by 2 pairs of captive female rhesus monkeys recently transferred into 2 enclosures moderately larger than their former traditional research cages and providing elevated perches at or above human eye level for all monkeys. This new space did not affect the ongoing biomedical research in which these captive monkeys were involved, and we sought to determine whether they used the elevated positions preferentially, as do wild animals. The frequency and duration of visits at each of the 9 distinct regions within these enclosures was calculated during 30-min morning and evening sessions over 20 d. We found that the monkeys frequented all regions of their enclosures in a similar manner during both morning and evening sessions. However, the duration spent at each region varied significantly between morning and evening sessions, with high perches being chosen preferentially in the evenings. Overall, the monkeys spent the majority of their time at elevated positions. Thes...

Background: Perception of the cardinal directions of the body, right-left, up-down, ahead-behind, which appears so absolute and fundamental to the organisation of behaviour can in fact, be modified. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it has been shown that prolonged distorted perception of the orientation of body axes can be a consequence of disordered sensorimotor signals, including long-term prismatic adaptation and lesions of the central nervous system. We report the novel and surprising finding that a long-lasting distortion of perception of personal space can also be induced by an ecological pointing task without the artifice of distorting normal sensori-motor relationships. Methodology/Principal Findings: Twelve right-handed healthy adults performed the task of pointing with their arms, without vision, to indicate their subjective 'straight ahead', a task often used to assess the Egocentric Reference. This was performed before, immediately, and one day after a second task intended to 'modulate' perception of spatial direction. The 'modulating' task lasted 5 minutes and consisted of asking participants to point with the right finger to targets that appeared only in one (right or left) half of a computer screen. Estimates of the 'straight-ahead' during pre-test were accurate (inferior to 0.3 degrees deviation). Significantly, up to one day after performing the modulating task, the subjective 'straightahead' was deviated (by approximately 3.2 degrees) to the same side to which subjects had pointed to targets. These results reveal that the perception of directional axes for behaviour is readily influenced by interactions with the environment that involve no artificial distortion of normal sensori-motor-spatial relationships and does not necessarily conform to the cardinal directions as defined by the anatomy of orthostatic posture. We thus suggest that perceived space is a dynamic construction directly dependent upon our past experience about the direction and/or the localisation of our sensori-motor spatial interaction with environment.

Over the past several decades a growing amount of research has focused on the possibility of transiently reducing left neglect signs in right brain-damaged patients by using vestibular and/or visuo-proprioceptive stimulations. Here we review seminal papers dealing with these visuovestibulo-proprioceptive stimulations in normal controls, right brain-damaged (RBD) patients, and animals. We discuss these data in terms of clinical implications but also with regards to theoretical frameworks commonly used to explain the unilateral neglect syndrome. We undermine the effect of these stimulations on the position of the egocentric reference and extend the notion that the positive effects of these stimulation techniques may stem from a reorientation of attention towards the neglected side of space or from a recalibration of sensori-motor correlations. We conclude this review with discussing the possible interaction between experimental rehabilitation, models of neglect and basic spatial cognition research.

This study investigated the relationship between spatial variations in predation risk and abundance of northern redbelly dace Phoxinus eos at both macroscale (littoral v. pelagic zones) and microscale (structured v. open water habitats in the littoral zone) of Canadian Shield lakes. Minnow traps were placed in both structured and open water habitats in the littoral zone of 13 Canadian Shield lakes, and estimates of the relative predation risk of P. eos in both the pelagic and the littoral zones were obtained from tethering experiments. Results showed that (1) the mean abundance of P. eos in the littoral zone was positively correlated with the relative predation risk in the pelagic zone, (2) P. eos preferentially used structured over open water habitats in the littoral zone and (3) this preference was not related to the relative predation risk in the littoral zone but decreased as the relative predation risk increased in the pelagic zone. At the lake level, these results support the hypothesis that P. eos enter the littoral zone to avoid pelagic piscivores. At the littoral zone level, the results do not necessarily contradict the widely accepted view that P. eos preferentially use structured over open habitats to reduce their predation risk, but suggest that flexibility in antipredator tactics (e.g. shelter use v. shoaling) could explain the spatial distribution of P. eos between structured and open water habitats.

In many sensory modalities, afferent processing is dynamically modulated by attention and this modulation produces altered sensory experiences. Attention is able to alter perceived pain, but the mechanisms involved in this modulation have not been elucidated. To determine whether attention alters spatial integration of nociceptive information, subjects were recruited to evaluate pain from pairs of noxious/innocuous thermal stimuli during different spatial attentional tasks. Divided attention was able to abolish spatial summation and produce inhibition of pain. In contrast, directed attention enhanced pain intensity by partially integrating both stimuli. This dynamic modulation of spatial integration indicates that attention alters spatial dimensions of afferent nociceptive processing to optimize the perceptual response to input from a particular body region or stimulus feature. This dynamic spatial tuning of nociceptive processing provides a new conceptual insight into the functiona...

Neural Plasticity of milliseconds or less. A single neuron can be part of different processes at different times. It remains unclear how fast a neuron can switch its functional properties. If such switching can be made on a ms time scale, fast and efficient computations can be made. We show that the temporal precision of cortical neurons can be better than 1 ms.

Neural Plasticity of milliseconds or less. A single neuron can be part of different processes at different times. It remains unclear how fast a neuron can switch its functional properties. If such switching can be made on a ms time scale, fast and efficient computations can be made. We show that the temporal precision of cortical neurons can be better than 1 ms.

Numerous (84) acoustic detections of singing humpback whales were made during a spring (08 March–09 June 1997) research cruise to study sperm whales in the central and eastern North Pacific. Over 15 000 km of track-line was surveyed acoustically using a towed hydrophone array. Additionally, 83 sonobuoys were deployed throughout the study area. Detection rates were greatest in late March, near the Hawaiian Islands, and in early April, northeast of the islands. Only one detection was made after April. Detection rates for sonobuoys were unequal in three equally divided longitudinal regions of the study area. Two high density clusters of detections occurred approximately 1200–2000 km northeast of the Hawaiian Islands and were attributed to a large aggregation of migrating animals. The distribution of these detections corroborates findings of previous studies. It is possible that these animals were maintaining acoustic contact during migration. Two unexpected clusters of singing whales w...

Haptic perception of space is known to show characteristics that are different to actual space. The current study extends on this line of research, investigating whether systematic deviations are also observed in the formation of haptic spatial representations of object-toobject relations. We conducted a haptic spatial reproduction task analogous to the parallelity task with spatial layouts. Three magnets were positioned to form corners of an isosceles triangle and the task of the participant was to reproduce the right angle corner. Weobserved systematic deviations in the reproduction of the right angle triangle. The systematic deviations were not observed when the task was conducted on the mid-sagittal plane. Furthermore, the magnitude of the deviation was decreased when non-informative vision was introduced. These results suggest that there is a deformation in spatial representation of object-to-object relations formed using haptics. However, as no systematic deviation was observed when the task was conducted on the mid-saggital plane, we suggest that the perception of object-to-object relations use a different egocentric reference frame to the perception of orientation.

To aid recovery efforts of smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) populations in US waters a research project was developed to assess how changes in environmental conditions within estuarine areas affected the presence, movements, and activity space of this endangered species. Forty juvenile P. pectinata were fitted with acoustic tags and monitored within the lower 27 km of the Caloosahatchee River estuary, Florida, between 2005 and 2007. Sawfish were monitored within the study site from 1 to 473 days, and the number of consecutive ...

We have measured the apparent contrast of spatially and temporally sampled gratings having the spatial frequency of 2, 4 and 8 c/deg. A contrast matching task was used in two different sampling conditions which allowed us to stimulate selectively the sustained and transient mechanisms in spatial and temporal vision. The results demonstrate the visual interpolation characteristics in the two domains and suggest a better response linearity for spatial than for temporal interpolation. The strongest nonlinear responses were obtained for temporally sampled medium spatial frequency gratings, suggesting separate temporal processing mechanisms for medium and high spatial frequencies

Vertigo, a symptom of illusory movement, is caused by asymmetry of the vestibular system. The vestibular system consists of the vestibular labyrinth, cranial nerve VIII, brainstem vestibular nuclei, cerebellum, ocular motor nuclei, spinal cord, and less well-defined cerebral projections. In this day and age of artificial intelligence, machine learning, advanced imaging, and cutting-edge research in the field of neurology, the exact cortical control of vestibular function is still uncharted. A 45-year-old woman with a past medical history of labyrinthitis about 4.5 years ago (resolved) presented to hospital due to severe dizziness, emesis, and mild vertical diplopia for the past few days. Her symptom of dizziness i.e. room spinning was continuous without any postural component. MRI of the brain revealed a small stroke in the left hippocampal area, more specifically alveus of hippocampus. The patient was started on dual antiplatelet therapy and atorvastatin for secondary stroke prevention. Follow-up visit as an outpatient at one-month post hospital discharge was unremarkable without any recurrence of vertigo symptoms. We believe this may indicate that the limbic lobe has a much larger role in vestibular functioning than previously thought, and may control more vestibular operations than any other central nervous system area.

Experimental studies and clinical trials revealed the complex interconnections between imidazoline system and various other mediators such as epinephrine, norepinephrine; thus, explain their involvement in the pathophysiological mechanisms of different motor, behavioral and cognitive disturbances. In this study, we tested the influence induced by idazoxan and efaroxan on the cognitive performances in rats. Groups of 6 adult male Wistar rats were treated intraperitoneally according to the following protocol: group I (Control): distilled water 0.3 ml/100g; group II (IDZ): 3 mg/kg idazoxan and group III (EFR): 1 mg/kg efaroxan. The effects of the imidazoline receptor antagonists on the rats cognitive functions were assessed using the radial-arm maze, in order to count the time spent into the arms, the number of baited arms visited, but previously explored (working memory errors); the time taken to consume all baits and the number of entering in non-baited arms (reference memory errors)...

To compare the impact of intraocular pressure (IOP) elevation on scotopic and photopic contrast sensitivity in mice. We chronically elevated the IOP of wild-type mice via injection of polystyrene beads or acutely via injection of highly cohesive sodium hyaluronate. Some eyes with chronically elevated IOP were treated with either topical brimonidine tartrate 0.1% or brinzolamide 1%. Scotopic and photopic contrast sensitivity was assessed at peak spatiotemporal frequencies at multiple time points, with an established optokinetic technique. Retinal ganglion cell (RGC) counts were determined with an antibody to class III beta-tubulin. Correlations among IOP level, RGC count, and scotopic or photopic contrast sensitivity were performed. Six weeks of IOP elevation caused a generalized reduction of photopic contrast sensitivity and a preferential reduction of scotopic contrast sensitivity at peak spatiotemporal frequencies. The administration of brinzolamide but not brimonidine caused a si...

Infant rats (Rattus norvegicus) placed on a shallow incline (2°, 4°, or 8°) oriented and moved downhill within 1 min; that is, they displayed positive geotaxis. Their downhill translocation increased with angle of inclination. A variety of possible behavioral elements (e.g., initial orientation, rotational movements, ambulatory velocities) were eliminated as explanations of the geotaxis. Wall contact was recognized as a determinative event: Pups on the inclines showed no orientation with respect to the geogravitational stimulus before contacting a wall. The event of wall contact, however, evoked reliable downhill orientation and more linear movements. Positive geotaxis was created by pups' orientation against walls and an associated increase in movement velocity. This is a distinct perspective on a behavioral response that replaces a traditionally misinterpreted phenomenon. The authors discuss the ecological validity and historical context of these findings.

The use of 3D video games in memory rehabilitation has been explored very little. A virtual navigation task allows participants to encode the spatial layout of the virtual environment and activate areas involved in memory processing. We describe the rehabilitation of a 24-year-old man with traumatic brain injury presenting memory deficits, and evaluate the efficacy of a navigational training program measuring neuropsychological changes and fMRI modification cerebral activations. Memory improvement appears to be present both after navigational training and in follow-up testing. Furthermore, fMRI data suggest that this training may increase activation of the hippocampal and parahippocampal brain regions. The results suggest that intensive training in virtual navigational tasks may result in an enhancement of memory function in brain-damaged adults.

Overconsumption of dietary fat is increasingly linked with motivational and emotional impairments. Human and animal studies demonstrate associations between obesity and blunted reward function at the behavioral and neural level, but it is unclear to what degree such changes are a consequence of an obese state and whether they are contingent on dietary lipid class. We sought to determine the impact of prolonged ad libitum intake of diets rich in saturated or monounsaturated fat, separate from metabolic signals associated with increased adiposity, on dopamine (DA)-dependent behaviors and to identify pertinent signaling changes in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). Male rats fed a saturated (palm oil), but not an isocaloric monounsaturated (olive oil), high-fat diet exhibited decreased sensitivity to the rewarding (place preference) and locomotor-sensitizing effects of amphetamine as compared with low-fat diet controls. Blunted amphetamine action by saturated high-fat feeding was entirely independent of caloric intake, weight gain, and plasma levels of leptin, insulin, and glucose and was accompanied by biochemical and behavioral evidence of reduced D1R signaling in the NAc. Saturated high-fat feeding was also tied to protein markers of increased AMPA receptor-mediated plasticity and decreased DA transporter expression in the NAc but not to alterations in DA turnover and biosynthesis. Collectively, the results suggest that intake of saturated lipids can suppress DA signaling apart from increases in body weight and adiposity-related signals known to affect mesolimbic DA function, in part by diminishing D1 receptor signaling, and that equivalent intake of monounsaturated dietary fat protects against such changes.

Smokers may use nicotine to self-medicate for situation-specific or person-specific cognitive or affective deficits. Although evidence suggests that nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), relative to placebo, enhances spatial working memory (SWM) in smoking-abstinent smokers with schizophrenia, the extent to which NRT may be helpful in attenuating abstinence-related SWM in other groups with deficits in SWM is unknown. Depressive symptoms are associated with both tobacco smoking and deficits in SWM. Previous studies have found that smoking abstinence increases depressive affect and depression-related hemispheric asymmetries in brain activation. Although the serotonin neurotransmitter system is closely associated with depression and the effects of nicotine, the authors are not aware of any studies that have evaluated the possible role of individual differences in serotonin transporter (5-HTT) genotype and depressive symptoms as moderators of the effects of NRT on SWM. Thus, the current study assessed the effects of NRT (nicotine patch) on SWM in relation to: (1) depressive traits and (2) 5-HTT genotype. Smoking-deprived habitual smokers (N ϭ 64) completed the dot recall test of SWM during counterbalanced and double-blind nicotine and placebo testing sessions. There was a marginal overall effect of NRT on SWM. More importantly, NRT enhanced SWM in 5-HTT short allele carriers, relative to those with two long alleles, and this enhancement in short-allele carriers was greater for individuals with higher levels of depressive symptoms.

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Freezing of gait (FoG), a transient halt in walking, is a major mobility problem for patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). This study examined the factors that induce FoG, and identified the cues and strategies that help overcome it through a postal survey of 130 PD patients. 72% reported FoG. The factors that commonly induced FoG were turning, fatigue, confined spaces and stressful situations, in addition to emotional factors. FoG was also ameliorated by various attentional and external cueing strategies. The concept of paradoxical kinesis, the potential neural substrates of such external cueing effects, and their importance for rehabilitation in PD are discussed.

The authors report a novel approach to testing episodic-like memory for single events. Pigeons were trained in separate sessions to match the identity of a sample on a touch screen, to match its location, and to report on the length of the retention interval. When these 3 tasks were mixed randomly within sessions, birds were more than 80% correct on each task. However, performance on 2 different tests in succession after each sample was not consistent with an integrated memory for sample location, time, and identity. Experiment 2 tested binding of location and identity memories in 2 different ways. The results were again consistent with independent feature memories. Implications for tests of episodic-like memory are discussed.

Cerebral Rho GTPases are crucially involved in cognitive abilities. This activity is thought to be related to the regulation of actin polymerization and, thereby, of the shape of the dendritic tree. Here we report that Cytotoxic Necrotizing Factor 1 (CNF1, 1 fmol/kg icv), a bacterial protein endowed with Rho GTPase activating properties, enhances working memory for object location/discrimination in C57BL/6 mice. CNF1 selectively increased the exploration of a specific familiar object moved to a position that had been previously occupied by another familiar object. Conversely, the treatment left unaffected (i) exploration of a familiar object moved to a location that was previously unoccupied and (ii) exploration of a novel object. The effects were associated with changes in Rho GTPase status, since CNF1 C866S, a recombinant CNF1 in which the enzymatic activity was abolished through substitution of serine to cysteine at position 866, was ineffective in all the experiments. The study suggests that working memory for specific objectlocation associations critically depends on neural connectivity. It also confirms the therapeutic potential of the manipulation of Rho GTPase signaling in the modulation of memory processes.

Cerebral Rho GTPases are crucially involved in cognitive abilities. This activity is thought to be related to the regulation of actin polymerization and, thereby, of the shape of the dendritic tree. Here we report that Cytotoxic Necrotizing Factor 1 (CNF1, 1 fmol/kg icv), a bacterial protein endowed with Rho GTPase activating properties, enhances working memory for object location/discrimination in C57BL/6 mice. CNF1 selectively increased the exploration of a specific familiar object moved to a position that had been previously occupied by another familiar object. Conversely, the treatment left unaffected (i) exploration of a familiar object moved to a location that was previously unoccupied and (ii) exploration of a novel object. The effects were associated with changes in Rho GTPase status, since CNF1 C866S, a recombinant CNF1 in which the enzymatic activity was abolished through substitution of serine to cysteine at position 866, was ineffective in all the experiments. The study suggests that working memory for specific objectlocation associations critically depends on neural connectivity. It also confirms the therapeutic potential of the manipulation of Rho GTPase signaling in the modulation of memory processes.

Ss, under prismatic viewing, aligned a spot of light to the apparent straightahead first in the dark and then under illumination. Ss made these judgments either by controlling the spot theinselves or by directing E in moving it. For both types of alignment procedures, judgments were signiftcantly more veridical in the illuminated room (correction effect). Aftereffects, measured after both the spot alignment in the dark and in the light, were found to be signiftcant only when S moved the stimulus. These results contradict the argument that the egocentric localization processes involved in the production of the correction effect itself are the basis of the aftereffects obtained.

While wearing laterally displacing prisms, Ss were required to align a spot of light to the phenomenal straightahead, These measurements were obtained at the beginning and at the end of an exposure to prismatic displacement. In addition, Ss either actively controlled movement of the spot of light. or movement was manipulated by E under the direction of the 5. Aftereffects were determined by having 5 position the spot of light with normal vision at the beginning of the experiment and after each measurement obtained under prism viewing. Ss in the darkened room condition who were required to align the spot of light actively showed a significant aftereffect in the direction of prismatic displacement both at the beginning and at the end of the exposure period. No difference in the degree of adaptation was found between those measurements at the beginning and at the end of the exposure period. No significant aftereffects were found when the room was illuminated during prism exposure or when E controlled movement of the light source.

Ss, under prismatic viewing, aligned a spot of light to the apparent straightahead first in the dark and then under illumination. Ss made these judgments either by controlling the spot theinselves or by directing E in moving it. For both types of alignment procedures, judgments were signiftcantly more veridical in the illuminated room (correction effect). Aftereffects, measured after both the spot alignment in the dark and in the light, were found to be signiftcant only when S moved the stimulus. These results contradict the argument that the egocentric localization processes involved in the production of the correction effect itself are the basis of the aftereffects obtained.

The idea that an NMDA receptor (NMDAR)-dependent long-term potentiationlike process in the hippocampus is the neural substrate for associative spatial learning and memory has proved to be extremely popular and influential. However, we recently reported that mice lacking NMDARs in dentate gyrus and CA1 hippocampal subfields (GluN1 DDGCA1 mice) acquired the open field, spatial reference memory watermaze task as well as controls, a result that directly challenges this view. Here, we show that GluN1 DDGCA1 mice were not impaired during acquisition of a spatial discrimination watermaze task, during which mice had to choose between two visually identical beacons, based on extramaze spatial cues, when all trials started at locations equidistant between the two beacons. They were subsequently impaired on test trials starting from close to the decoy beacon, conducted post-acquisition. GluN1 DDGCA1 mice were also impaired during reversal of this spatial discrimination. Thus, contrary to the widely held belief, hippocampal NMDARs are not required for encoding associative, long-term spatial memories. Instead, hippocampal NMDARs, particularly in CA1, act as part of a comparator system to detect and resolve conflicts arising when two competing, behavioural response options are evoked concurrently, through activation of a behavioural inhibition system. These results have important implications for current theories of hippocampal function.

This paper aims to explore the strength of environmental variables (i.e., corridor width and brightness), in directing people to indoor locations during emergency situations. The existence of contradictory information was manipulated by inserting posted signs pointing to the opposite direction to the one suggested by the environmental variables. A Virtual Reality-based methodology was used to collect participants' directional choices. Sixty-four participants had to find a specific room as quickly as possible in a virtual hotel in which they navigated through 12 corridor intersections (two-forced-choices). Two experimental conditions were considered (i.e., Signs and No-signs conditions) according to the exit signs availability. Results indicated that for the first decision point in an emergency situation with signs, 65.6% of the participants preferred to follow the wider corridor instead of the exit sign direction. Percentages of choices favoring the path opposite to that posted by the sign decreased along the escape route suggesting that with the repeated exposure to an exit sign people increased their compliance with it.

Calcium independent phospholipase A2 (iPLA2) is an 85 kDa protein that catalyzes the hydrolysis of the sn-2 acyl ester bond of glycerophospholipids to liberate free fatty acids and lysophospholipids. In this study, we determined the role of constitutive iPLA2β in long term potentiation (LTP) of the hippocampo-prefrontal cortical pathway in vivo. We also examined the effect of iPLA2β knockdown using the rewarded alternation in T-maze task, a test of spatial working memory which is dependent on this pathway. Intracortical injection of an inhibitor to iPLA2, bromoenol lactone (BEL) or antisense oligonucleotide to iPLA2β in the prefrontal cortex abolished induction of hippocampo-prefrontal cortical LTP. Moreover, iPLA2 inhibition and antisense knockdown resulted in increased errors in the rewarded alternation in T-maze task, indicating negative effects on spatial working memory. BEL or antisense injection did not produce DNA fragmentation in the cortex as demonstrated by TUNEL assay. Re...

When the concept of space is considered at the social level, it appears as a set of relationships rather than any product or object. It is possible to define public service buildings, which can be divided into education, art, and health, which are essential parts of the social order, as areas where a service-based relationship takes place and where buildings mediate communication between society and the state. The space can increase or restrict social interaction with its arrangements in public buildings, which are intended to respond to the users' needs and society's general expectations. In addition, public administrative service buildings, which exist to serve the public and consist of institutions affiliated with the state, are an architectural design problem that includes several factors such as environmental sensitivity, sustainability, aesthetic concerns, and purpose, function, budget, and identity concepts. This study examines the conceptual and systematic approach to the architectural project design of a public building, Bolu Regional Directorate of Forestry Building. The study focuses on how a public building design problem is addressed and the design principles of the developed architectural preliminary design and implementation projects.

Educational buildings, which appear as a design problem when viewed through the historical process, appear as a whole of structures consisting of educational units of different functions and sizes, shaped through a main corridor space and attached to this main space. On the other hand, when educational buildings are considered through their plan schemes or spatial layouts, it is possible to say that they positively or negatively affect different but interrelated parameters such as students' potential to come together, their motivation in crowds, and their involvement with each other in social relations. In the space syntax theory, buildings are separated from each other in terms of programming; that behavior is shaped and determined by the configuration (strong programming) or possible new forms of behavioral patterns occurring against the layout (weak programming). This study uses a comparative methodology to investigate the effect of the spatial layout of educational buildings on how social interaction is generated and motivated in the relations of 'syntactic programs' in school settings. The study focuses on recess time behavior in relation to the spatial layout and uses behavior maps and space syntax methods to examine the effects of the spatial setups programming parameters in educational buildings. Results show that if an educational building has a flexible structure (weak programming) with its spatial organization, socialization is oriented naturally by the layout with enriched behavioral patterns. However, when the design starts to behave strongly programmed, social behavior becomes monotonous and prevented. As a result, this study shows the importance of understanding social logic in the architectural design of educational buildings in structuring social relationships. Revealing the relationships between these concepts is thought to guide the evaluation of the design criteria of educational buildings and the contents presented for new designs.

Hyperschematia (HS) for extra-personal space is a rare neuropsychological disorder characterized by leftward overexpansion in drawing, with the addition of more left-sided details, and line extension. It has been described following right cortico-subcortical lesions, and most frequently regards the left side of space but see;. Here, we report on the case of a patient affected by ipsilesional HS after a left hemispheric cerebellar lesion. GG, a 75-year-old graduated right-handed man, was hospitalized for sudden onset of headache, vomiting, and dizziness, following left cerebellar hemorrhagic lesion, mainly involving the middle cerebellar peduncle (Fig. ), with perifocal edema, faint left ponto-mesencephalic hypodensity, and traces of bilateral intraventricular and subarachnoid bleeding. At admission to our rehabilitation hospital, 39 days after the event, the neurological examination revealed slight hyposthenia of the right limbs, without somatosensory deficits, disequilibrium with left-latero and retropulsion and diplopia. A comprehensive neuropsychological assessment detected multi-domain deficits, including long-term

Unilateral spatial neglect (USN) syndrome has been rarely diagnosed in association with a concurrent status epilepticus. Some reports described patients affected by seizure-related USN together with additional clinical signs, motor or cognitive (Bussi ere,

The bisection of lines positioned radially (with the two ends of the line close and far, with respect to the participant's body) has been less investigated than that of lines placed horizontally (with their two ends left and right, with respect to the body's midsagittal plane). In horizontal bisection, patients with left neglect typically show a rightward bias for both lines and words, greater with longer stimuli. As for radial bisection, available data indicate that neurologically unimpaired participants make a distal error, while results from right-brain-damaged patients with left spatial neglect are contradictory. We investigated the bisection of radially oriented words, with the prediction that, during bisection, linguistic material would be recoded to its canonical left-to-right format in reading, with the performance of neglect patients being similar to that for horizontal words. Thirteen right-brain-damaged patients (seven with left spatial neglect) and fourteen healt...

The interior design process often follows a traditional linear approach based on assumptions and prior analysis of potential users. However, the creation of adaptive solutions that respond to the actual needs and behaviors of occupants is essential for complex and dynamic interior environments, especially in terms of public interiors. While other design disciplines such as product and UX design have embraced circular design through design thinking principles with iterative feedback, interior design remains grounded in linear processes due to the long-lasting nature of interiors, a lack of data-driven approaches, and traditional paradigms. This results in a slower adaptation to user-responsive practices observed in other disciplines. To address this gap, this paper proposes a methodology that employs behavioral data as a tool for a circular interior design process, integrating evidence-based design (EBD) principles and feedback loops. The study presents a data-driven approach to the analysis of spatial behavior and employs a mixed-methods strategy in combination with Indoor Positioning Systems (IPS) for the tracking of movement patterns and questionnaires for capturing sensory and perceptual evaluations. The discussion illustrates the potential of behavioral data to facilitate a continuous design process, with a particular focus on the interplay between the user, the interior space, and the designer. It provides insights into how the proposed methodology can be utilized by designers and evaluates possible pros and cons of applying this methodology. By focusing on data as a dynamic and experiential element, the research expands the discourse on "making with data" and underscores its transformative role in shaping responsive and sustainable interior environments, promoting long-term spatial adaptability. The findings serve as a call for greater integration of evidence-based approaches in interior design practices.

SUMMARY Studies concerning the echolocation behaviour of odontocetes focus mainly on target detection and discrimination, either in stationary animals or in animals approaching a specific target. We present the first data on the use of echolocation for spatial orientation or navigation. Synchronised video and high-frequency recordings were made of two harbour porpoises trained to swim from one position to another across an outdoor pool in order to correlate swimming and echolocation behaviour. Both porpoises showed a clear range-locking behaviour on specific positions near the end of the pool, as indicated by a decrease in click interval with decreasing distance. The decrease in click interval followed the two-way-transit time, which is the time interval between the outgoing click and the received echo from the focal object. This suggests that the porpoises used focal objects as landmarks. The lag time, defined as the time between the arrival of an echo from a landmark and the emiss...

Four experiments demonstrated that certain fundamental principles of map use can be accessed without any specific training. Results showed that a 4-year-old congenitally blind child with no previous map-use experience could use a 2symbol map to directionally guide her locomotion in space, with successful location of objects in front of her, behind her, to her left, or to her right. She could do so under conditions where the map and space were aligned in front of her (canonical condition), and under various transformation conditions: sideways translation, front-behind translation, and vertical rotation. In these conditions, there was no straightforward spatial relationship between her position in space, and her represented position on the map; therefore, mental alignments of the map with external space were necessary. Control data from sighted children showed that, by 4 years, they too could interpret and use these maps. Analysis of the requirements of this simple map task suggests that a core of the knowledge required to use maps is a readily accessible product of a spatial knowledge system common to both the blind and sighted. This paper reports the performance of a 4 year-old congenitally blind child using simple tactile maps for the first time. Her performance suggests that certain fundamental components of map use are accessible without specific prior experience in map reading, and without previous visual experience.

Four experiments demonstrated that certain fundamental principles of map use can be accessed without any specific training. Results showed that a 4-year-old congenitally blind child with no previous map-use experience could use a 2symbol map to directionally guide her locomotion in space, with successful location of objects in front of her, behind her, to her left, or to her right. She could do so under conditions where the map and space were aligned in front of her (canonical condition), and under various transformation conditions: sideways translation, front-behind translation, and vertical rotation. In these conditions, there was no straightforward spatial relationship between her position in space, and her represented position on the map; therefore, mental alignments of the map with external space were necessary. Control data from sighted children showed that, by 4 years, they too could interpret and use these maps. Analysis of the requirements of this simple map task suggests that a core of the knowledge required to use maps is a readily accessible product of a spatial knowledge system common to both the blind and sighted. This paper reports the performance of a 4 year-old congenitally blind child using simple tactile maps for the first time. Her performance suggests that certain fundamental components of map use are accessible without specific prior experience in map reading, and without previous visual experience.

We develop an approach to using microsaccade dynamics for the measurement of task difficulty/cognitive load imposed by a visual search task of a layered surface. Previous studies provide converging evidence that task difficulty/cognitive load can influence microsaccade activity. We corroborate this notion. Specifically, we explore this relationship during visual search for features embedded in a terrain-like surface, with the eyes allowed to move freely during the task. We make two relevant contributions. First, we validate an approach to distinguishing between the ambient and focal phases of visual search. We show that this spectrum of visual behavior can be quantified by a single previously reported estimator, known as Krejtz's K coefficient. Second, we use ambient/focal segments based on K as a moderating factor for microsaccade analysis in response to task difficulty. We find that during the focal phase of visual search (a) microsaccade magnitude increases significantly, and (b) microsaccade rate decreases significantly, with increased task difficulty. We conclude that the combined use of K and microsaccade analysis may be helpful in building effective tools that provide an indication of the level of cognitive activity within a task while the task is being performed.