PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

The brain treats real and imaginary objects in the same way

Perception and memory are based on the same principles

2015-03-06
(Press-News.org) The human brain can select relevant objects from a flood of information and edit out what is irrelevant. It also knows which parts belong to a whole. If, for example, we direct our attention to the doors of a house, the brain will preferentially process its windows, but not the neighboring houses. Psychologists from Goethe University Frankfurt have now discovered that this also happens when parts of the objects are merely maintained in our memory.

"Perception and memory have mainly been investigated separately until now", explains Benjamin Peters, doctoral researcher at the Institute for Medical Psychology in the working group of Prof. Jochen Kaiser. There are close parallels, for in the same way as we can preferentially process external stimuli, we are also able to concentrate on the memory content that is currently the most important. These are essential skills of our brain, which are closely connected to intelligence and which are impaired in various psychiatric illnesses.

In their study, Peters and colleagues examined "object-based attention", a well-known phenomenon in perception research. This refers to the fact that we automatically extend our attention to the whole object when we attend only part of an object - like the front door and the windows. In the experiment the subjects were asked to direct their attention alternately to one of four screen positions, which formed the ends of each of two artificial objects. In accordance with the principle of object-based attention the subjects were able to shift their attention more quickly between two positions that belonged to the same object than between those that were part of different objects. It was discovered that this effect also occurred when the subjects envisaged these positions only in short-term memory.

The researchers were able to describe the effect physiologically by examining the neuronal activity using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). As expected, they initially found increased activity at those positions in the cerebral cortex where the currently focused position was represented (visual and parietal cortex). However, this increased activity also extended to the areas in the brain that represent the relevant associated position of the same object, despite the fact that the subject was not concentrating on it. Peters explains the results of the experiment by saying: "It is remarkable that this effect was observed in regions of the brain that are normally involved in perception, despite the fact that here, objects and positions were only maintained in memory". On the other hand, the regions in which the equidistant positions of the other object are represented remained unchanged.

This concordance of an underlying principle of attention in perception and in memory suggests that it may be possible to attribute many functions of human cognition to a few basic mechanisms.

INFORMATION:



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

New findings on 'key players' in brain inflammation

2015-03-06
Inflammatory processes occur in the brain in conjunction with stroke and neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Researchers from Lund University and Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, in close cooperation with a group led by Professor José L. Venero at the University of Seville, have presented new findings about some of the 'key players' in inflammation. In the long term, these findings could lead to new treatments. One of these key players is a receptor called TLR4. The receptor plays such an important role in the body's innate immune system ...

Parasite infection poses a greater risk for African under-fives

2015-03-06
Children under five living in sub-Saharan Africa are at greater risk than older children of developing a long-term parasitic disease, research suggests. Infants experience significantly greater exposure to the parasitic worms that cause the chronic disease schistosomiasis, a study shows. Under-fives are vulnerable because they spend time near rivers and lakes in which parasites that cause the disease live. Previous studies missed pre-schoolers significant exposure to infected water in rivers close to family homes. Researchers found that preschool-age children ...

UK must invest in science for a successful nation

2015-03-06
The UK needs to increase its investment in science and engineering research if it is to continue to be a successful nation. This is the overriding message coming from a major conference hosted this week by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The conference, 'Science for a Successful Nation', drew high profile academics, industry and business representatives, and researchers together to examine how science and engineering can make the UK a healthy, prosperous, resilient and connected nation. Professor Philip Nelson FREng, EPSRC's Chief Executive ...

The green lungs of our planet are changing

2015-03-06
This news release is available in German. Are leaves and buds developing earlier in the spring? And do leaves stay on the trees longer in autumn? Do steppe ecosystems remaining green longer and are the savannas becoming drier and drier? In fact, over recent decades, the growing seasons have changed everywhere around the world. This was determined by a doctoral candidate at the Goethe University as part of an international collaboration based on satellite data. The results are expected to have consequences for agriculture, interactions between species, the functioning ...

A new tool for detecting and destroying norovirus

2015-03-06
Infection with highly contagious noroviruses, while not usually fatal, can lead to a slew of unpleasant symptoms such as excessive vomiting and diarrhea. Current treatment options are limited to rehydration of the patient. "Additionally, noroviruses come in a variety of constantly evolving strains. This makes the development of an effective vaccine to protect against infection, as well as antiviral therapy to combat already-existing infections, particularly challenging", says Dr. Grant Hansman, a virologist who leads the CHS Research Group on Noroviruses at the German Cancer ...

Graphene meets heat waves

Graphene meets heat waves
2015-03-06
In the race to miniaturize electronic components, researchers are challenged with a major problem: the smaller or the faster your device, the more challenging it is to cool it down. One solution to improve the cooling is to use materials with very high thermal conductivity, such as graphene, to quickly dissipate heat and thereby cool down the circuits. At the moment, however, potential applications are facing a fundamental problem: how does heat propagate inside these sheets of materials that are no more than a few atoms thick? In a study published in Nature Communications, ...

Researchers develop first validated method of detecting drugs of abuse in exhaled breath

2015-03-06
Amsterdam, March 9, 2015 -Drug testing is most commonly performed using urine samples. The methodology and regulations for reliable urine testing are well developed and can be considered the current gold standard for drug testing. However, one problem with urine testing is related to the methodology of sample collection, often perceived as inconvenient and privacy-overriding by those undergoing the test. As such, a group of researchers from the Department of Laboratory Medicine at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden have worked on developing a more donor-friendly alternative ...

Achieving gender equality in science, engineering and medicine

2015-03-06
(March 5, 2015) - Gender equality has not yet been achieved in science, medicine, and engineering, but The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF), through its Initiative on Women in Science and Engineering, is committed to making sure progress is made. NYSCF convened the Inaugural Meeting of its Initiative on Women in Science and Engineering (IWISE) Working Group in February 2014, where the group put forward seven actionable strategies for advancing women in science, medicine, and engineering, and reconvened in February 2015 to further develop the strategies. NYSCF began ...

Protecting crops from radiation-contaminated soil

Protecting crops from radiation-contaminated soil
2015-03-06
Almost four years after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, farmland remains contaminated with higher-than-natural levels of radiocesium in some regions of Japan, with cesium-134 and cesium-137 being the most troublesome because of the slow rate at which they decay. In a study published in Scientific Reports, a group at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science in Japan led by Ryoung Shin has identified a chemical compound that prevents plants from taking up cesium, thus protecting them--and us--from its harmful effects. Although ...

Surviving the 'most explosive era of infrastructure expansion' in 9 steps

Surviving the most explosive era of infrastructure expansion in 9 steps
2015-03-06
One of the world's most acclaimed environmental researchers has warned of an 'explosive era' of infrastructure expansion across the globe, calling for a new approach to protect vulnerable ecosystems. James Cook University Distinguished Research Professor, William Laurance is the lead author of the study, which has been published in the journal Current Biology. He said the world is being developed at an unprecedented pace, which comes at a great cost to critical habitats and wildlife. "We are living in the most explosive era of infrastructure expansion in human history," ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

International collaboration enabled participatory stock assessment on glass eel fisheries in West Java, Indonesia

Enhanced melanoma vaccine offers improved survival for men

Nearly one-third of patients with TBI have marginal or inadequate health literacy

Genetic causes of cerebral palsy uncovered through whole-genome sequencing

Modesty and boastfulness – perception depends on usual performance

Do sweeteners increase your appetite? New evidence from randomised controlled trial says no 

Women with obesity do not need to gain weight during pregnancy, new study suggests

Individuals with multiple sclerosis face substantially greater risk of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19, despite high rates of vaccination

Study shows obesity in childhood associated with a more than doubling of risk of developing multiple sclerosis in early adulthood

Rice Emerging Scholars Program receives $2.5M NSF grant to boost STEM education

Virtual rehabilitation provides benefits for stroke recovery

Generative AI develops potential new drugs for antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Biofuels could help island nations survive a global catastrophe, study suggests

NJIT research team discovering how fluids behave in nanopores with NSF grant

New study shows association of historical housing discrimination and shortfalls in colon cancer treatment

Social media use may help to empower plastic surgery patients

Q&A: How to train AI when you don't have enough data

Wayne State University researchers uncover potential treatment targets for Zika virus-related eye abnormalities

Discovering Van Gogh in the wild: scientists unveil a new gecko species

Small birds spice up the already diverse diet of spotted hyenas in Namibia

Imaging detects transient “hypoxic pockets” in the mouse brain

Dissolved organic matter could be used to track and improve the health of freshwaters

Indoor air quality standards in public buildings would boost health and economy, say international experts

Positive associations between premenstrual disorders and perinatal depression

New imaging method illuminates oxygen's journey in the brain

Researchers discover key gene for toxic alkaloid in barley

New approach to monitoring freshwater quality can identify sources of pollution, and predict their effects

Bidirectional link between premenstrual disorders and perinatal depression

Cell division quality control ‘stopwatch’ uncovered

Vaccine protects cattle from bovine tuberculosis, may eliminate disease

[Press-News.org] The brain treats real and imaginary objects in the same way
Perception and memory are based on the same principles