https://www.pisavisionlab.org Research centre dedicated to frontier, interdisciplinary research of human perception Fri, 06 Sep 2024 11:23:06 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.13 https://www.pisavisionlab.org/2022/06/21/mathematics-and-numerosity-but-not-visuo-spatial-working-memory-correlate-with-math-anxiety-in-young-adults/ Tue, 21 Jun 2022 09:14:53 +0000 https://www.pisavisionlab.org/?p=4216 Brain Sci. 2022 Apr; 12(4): 422 Many individuals, when faced with mathematical tasks or situations requiring arithmetic skills, experience exaggerated levels of anxiety. Mathematical anxiety (MA), in addition to causing discomfort, can lead to avoidance behaviors and then to underachievement. However, the factors inducing MA and how MA deploys its detrimental effects are still largely debated. There is evidence suggesting that MA affects working memory capacity by further diminishing its limited processing resources. An alternative account postulates that MA originates from a coarse early numerical cognition capacity, the perception of numerosity. In the current study, we measured MA, math abilities, numerosity perception and visuo-spatial working memory (VSWM) in a sample of neurotypical adults. Correlational analyses confirmed previous studies showing that high MA was associated with lower math scores and worse numerosity estimation precision. Conversely, MA turned out to be unrelated to VSWM capacities. Finally, partial correlations revealed that MA fully accounted for the relationship between numerosity estimation precision and math abilities, suggesting a key role for MA as a mediating factor between these two domains. Paula A. Maldonado Moscoso, Elisa Castaldi, Roberto Arrighi, Caterina Primi, Camilla Caponi, Salvatore Buonincontro, Francesca Bolognini, Giovanni Anobile https://www.pisavisionlab.org/2022/06/21/mathematics-and-numerosity-but-not-visuo-spatial-working-memory-correlate-with-math-anxiety-in-young-adults/brainsci-12-00422/https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12040422 https://www.pisavisionlab.org/2022/06/24/does-more-imply-better-vision%ef%bf%bc/ Fri, 24 Jun 2022 09:25:36 +0000 https://www.pisavisionlab.org/?p=4225 Cognitive Neuropsychology, 2022; 1-3 Elisa Castaldi, Guido Marco Cicchini, Francesca Tinelli,Maria Concetta Morrone https://www.pisavisionlab.org/2022/06/24/does-more-imply-better-vision%ef%bf%bc/02643294-2022-2052715/https://doi.org/10.1080/02643294.2022.2052715 https://www.pisavisionlab.org/2024/04/08/adaptation-to-numerosity-affects-the-pupillary-light-response/ Mon, 08 Apr 2024 15:19:01 +0000 https://www.pisavisionlab.org/?p=4878 Sci Rep 14, 6097 (2024) We recently showed that the gain of the pupillary light response depends on numerosity, with weaker responses to fewer items. Here we show that this effect holds when the stimuli are physically identical but are perceived as less numerous due to numerosity adaptation. Twenty-eight participants adapted to low (10 dots) or high (160 dots) numerosities and subsequently watched arrays of 10–40 dots, with variable or homogeneous dot size. Luminance was constant across all stimuli. Pupil size was measured with passive viewing, and the effects of adaptation were checked in a separate psychophysical session. We found that perceived numerosity was systematically lower, and pupillary light responses correspondingly smaller, following adaptation to high rather than low numerosities. This is consistent with numerosity being a primary visual feature, spontaneously encoded even when task irrelevant, and affecting automatic and unconscious behaviours like the pupillary light response. C.Caponi, E. Castaldi, D.C. Burr, P. Binda https://www.pisavisionlab.org/2024/04/08/adaptation-to-numerosity-affects-the-pupillary-light-response/s41598-024-55646-w/https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-55646-w