Accurate information about body structure and posture is fundamental for effective control of our actions. It is often assumed that healthy adults have accurate representations of their body. Although people's abilities to visually recognize their own body size and shape are relatively good, the implicit spatial representation of their body is extremely distorted when measured in proprioceptive localization tasks. The aim of this thesis is to understand the nature of spatial distortions of the body model measured in those localization tasks. We especially investigate the perceptual-cognitive components contributing to distortions of implicit representation of the human hand and compare those distortions with the one found on objects in similar tasks.
Humans always wanted to go faster and higher than their own legs could carry them. This led them to invent numerous types of vehicles to move fast over land, water and air. As training how to handle such vehicles and testing new developments can be dangerous and costly, vehicle motion simulators were invented. Motion-based simulators in particular, combine visual and physical motion cues to provide occupants with a feeling of being in the real vehicle. While visual cues are generally not limited in amplitude, physical cues certainly are, due to the limited simulator motion space. A motion cueing algorithm (MCA) is used to map the vehicle motions onto the simulator motion space. This mapping inherently creates mismatches between the visual and physical motion cues. Due to imperfections in the human perceptual system, not all visual/physical cueing mismatches are perceived. However, if a mismatch is perceived, it can impair the simulation realism and even cause simulator sickness. For MCA design, a good understanding of when mismatches are perceived, and ways to prevent these from occurring, are therefore essential. In this thesis a data-driven approach, using continuous subjective measures of the time-varying Perceived Motion Incongruence (PMI), is adopted. PMI in this case refers to the effect that perceived mismatches between visual and physical motion cues have on the resulting simulator realism. The main goal of this thesis was to develop an MCA-independent off-line prediction method for time-varying PMI during vehicle motion simulation, with the aim of improving motion cueing quality. To this end, a complete roadmap, describing how to measure and model PMI and how to apply such models to predict and minimize PMI in motion simulations is presented. Results from several human-in-the-loop experiments are used to demonstrate the potential of this novel approach.
Many advances have been made in the last decade in the understanding of the computational principles underlying olfactory system functioning. Neuromorphic Olfaction is a collaboration among European researchers who, through NEUROCHEM (Fp7-Grant Agreement Number 216916)-a challenging and innovative European-funded project-introduce novel computing p
At the age of 19, Ian Waterman was suddenly struck down at work by a rare neurological illness that deprived him of all sensation below the neck. He fell on the floor in a heap, unable to stand or control his limbs, having lost the sense of joint position and proprioception, of that "sixth sense" of his body in space, which we all take for granted. After months in a neurological ward he was judged incurable and condemned to a life of wheelchair dependence. This is the first U.S. publication of a remarkable book by his physician, Jonathan Cole. It tells the compelling story, including a clear clinical description of a rare condition, of how Waterman reclaimed a life of full mobility against all expectations, by mental effort and sheer courage. Cole describes how Waterman gradually adapted to his strange condition. As the doctors had predicted, there was no neurological recovery. He had to monitor every movement by sight to work out where his limbs were, since he had no feedback from his peripheral nerves. But with astonishing persistence Waterman developed elaborate tricks and strategies to control his movements, enabling him to cope not only with the day-to-day problems of living, but even with the challenges of work, love, and marriage.
In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.
This 5000-page masterwork is literally the last word on the topic and will be an essential resource for many. Unique in its breadth and detail, this encyclopedia offers a comprehensive and highly readable guide to a complex and fast-expanding field. The five-volume reference work gathers more than 10,000 entries, including in-depth essays by internationally known experts, and short keynotes explaining essential terms and phrases. In addition, expert editors contribute detailed introductory chapters to each of 43 topic fields ranging from the fundamentals of neuroscience to fascinating developments in the new, inter-disciplinary fields of Computational Neuroscience and Neurophilosophy. Some 1,000 multi-color illustrations enhance and expand the writings.
Neuroscience has made phenomenal advances over the past 50 years and the pace of discovery continues to accelerate. On June 25, 2008, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders hosted more than 70 of the leading neuroscientists in the world, for a workshop titled "From Molecules to Minds: Challenges for the 21st Century." The objective of the workshop was to explore a set of common goals or "Grand Challenges" posed by participants that could inspire and rally both the scientific community and the public to consider the possibilities for neuroscience in the 21st century. The progress of the past in combination with new tools and techniques, such as neuroimaging and molecular biology, has positioned neuroscience on the cusp of even greater transformational progress in our understanding of the brain and how its inner workings result in mental activity. This workshop summary highlights the important issues and challenges facing the field of neuroscience as presented to those in attendance at the workshop, as well as the subsequent discussion that resulted. As a result, three overarching Grand Challenges emerged: How does the brain work and produce mental activity? How does physical activity in the brain give rise to thought, emotion, and behavior? How does the interplay of biology and experience shape our brains and make us who we are today? How do we keep our brains healthy? How do we protect, restore, or enhance the functioning of our brains as we age?
This book is designed to introduce doctoral and graduate students to the process of conducting scientific research in the social sciences, business, education, public health, and related disciplines. It is a one-stop, comprehensive, and compact source for foundational concepts in behavioral research, and can serve as a stand-alone text or as a supplement to research readings in any doctoral seminar or research methods class. This book is currently used as a research text at universities on six continents and will shortly be available in nine different languages.
The Senses: A Comprehensive Reference, Second Edition, Seven Volume Set is a comprehensive reference work covering the range of topics that constitute current knowledge of the neural mechanisms underlying the different senses. This important work provides the most up-to-date, cutting-edge, comprehensive reference combining volumes on all major sensory modalities in one set. Offering 264 chapters from a distinguished team of international experts, The Senses lays out current knowledge on the anatomy, physiology, and molecular biology of sensory organs, in a collection of comprehensive chapters spanning 4 volumes. Topics covered include the perception, psychophysics, and higher order processing of sensory information, as well as disorders and new diagnostic and treatment methods. Written for a wide audience, this reference work provides students, scholars, medical doctors, as well as anyone interested in neuroscience, a comprehensive overview of the knowledge accumulated on the function of sense organs, sensory systems, and how the brain processes sensory input. As with the first edition, contributions from leading scholars from around the world will ensure The Senses offers a truly international portrait of sensory physiology. The set is the definitive reference on sensory neuroscience and provides the ultimate entry point into the review and original literature in Sensory Neuroscience enabling students and scientists to delve into the subject and deepen their knowledge. All-inclusive coverage of topics: updated edition offers readers the only current reference available covering neurobiology, physiology, anatomy, and molecular biology of sense organs and the processing of sensory information in the brain Authoritative content: world-leading contributors provide readers with a reputable, dynamic and authoritative account of the topics under discussion Comprehensive-style content: in-depth, complex coverage of topics offers students at upper undergraduate level and above full insight into topics under discussion
This book offers new perspectives and paradigms in science, specifically to point out novel characteristics in natural processes. The issues are discussed by outstanding scientists from among the most advanced fields of science, who bring with them various points of the scientific horizon and widely different new experimental evidence.
