Article
Clinical Neurology
Vincenzo Di Stefano, Salvatore Iacono, Andrea Gagliardo, Bruna Maggio, Giuliana Guggino, Massimo Gangitano, Roberto Monastero, Vito Renato Maggio, Nadia Bolognini, Filippo Brighina
Summary: This study found that patients with fibromyalgia have reduced and almost abolished fission illusion, while there were no differences between groups in fusion trials. Migraine did not affect the fission and the fusion illusions. These findings suggest that patients with fibromyalgia have visual cortical hyperexcitability, which may play an important role in the pathophysiology of fibromyalgia.
PAIN RESEARCH & MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Psychology
Lucas Battich, Isabelle Garzorz, Basil Wahn, Ophelia Deroy
Summary: This study tested the impact of joint attention on visual processing and found that joint attention does not reduce individuals' sensitivity to the "sound-induced flash illusions", as illusions still occurred frequently even during joint attention.
ATTENTION PERCEPTION & PSYCHOPHYSICS
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Wendy A. Torrens, Jenna N. Pablo, Jorja Shires, Sarah M. Haigh, Marian E. Berryhill
Summary: Individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD) show both hyporeactivity and subjective experiences of sensory hyperexcitability. This study tested a non-clinical population for schizotypy traits and a measure of sensory hyperexcitability, finding that higher schizotypy traits were associated with more illusions reported in the Pattern Glare Test. The disorganized factor of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire predicted the number of illusions reported. These findings highlight the potential for studying non-clinical samples to inform clinically relevant research.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Simona Maccora, Nadia Bolognini, Carlo Mannina, Angelo Torrente, Luisa Agnello, Bruna Lo Sasso, Marcello Ciaccio, Guido Sireci, Filippo Brighina
Summary: This study aimed to investigate the influence of estradiol on the sound-induced flash illusion (SIFI) and found that high estradiol levels during ovulation led to reduced perception of SIFI in women, indicating an enhanced excitability of the visual cortex. Additionally, migraine women perceived fewer flashes in the illusion compared to controls, independent of the menstrual cycle phase.
NEUROLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Psychology
Heng Zhou, Shuqi Li, Jie Huang, Jiajia Yang, Aijun Wang, Ming Zhang
Summary: The sound-induced flash illusion (SiFI) is an auditory-dominated effect where observers misperceive the number of flashes due to simultaneous beeps, including fission and fusion illusions. This study investigated the effect of personality traits on SiFI performance and found that all five traits had varying effects on the illusion. Different traits played different roles in the fission and fusion illusions, with agreeableness affecting the former and neuroticism affecting the latter. The study highlights the importance of personality traits as overlooked factors in multisensory illusions.
ATTENTION PERCEPTION & PSYCHOPHYSICS
(2023)
Article
Biology
Randolph Maynes, Ryan Faulkner, Grace Callahan, Callie E. Mims, Saurabh Ranjan, Justine Stalzer, Brian Odegaard
Summary: Hundreds (if not thousands) of multisensory studies suggest that the human brain can integrate discrepant stimuli from different modalities into a singular event. However, it is unclear how confidence judgements compare between multisensory information from multiple sources and congruent information from a single source. Using the sound-induced flash illusion, this study found that congruent audiovisual stimuli produce higher confidence than incongruent stimuli, even when perceptual report is matched. The role of prefrontal cortex in metacognition, multisensory causal inference, and sensory source monitoring is discussed.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ioanna Alicia Amaya, Nele Behrens, David John Schwartzman, Trevor Hewitt, Timo Torsten Schmidt
Summary: Flicker light stimulation induces transient visual hallucinatory phenomena, and this study found that the frequency and rhythmicity of the flickering significantly influenced the subjective experiences, especially the perception of Kluver forms and dynamics. Additionally, arrhythmic flicker stimulation reduced these effects compared to rhythmic stimulation. Therefore, flicker rhythmicity plays a critical role in driving the induced phenomenal experience.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Paolo Di Luzio, Sara Borgomaneri, Stefano Sanchioni, Alessia Tessari, Vincenzo Romei
Summary: Long-term audio-visual experiences, such as first-person shooter video games, can enhance individual's ability to accurately integrate multisensory information, leading to more veridical perception. Expert gamers have significantly narrower windows of illusion and higher veridical reports compared to non-players.
Article
Audiology & Speech-Language Pathology
Iliza M. Butera, Ryan A. Stevenson, Rene H. Gifford, Mark T. Wallace
Summary: The reduction in spectral resolution by cochlear implants requires visual speech cues to help with understanding. This study tested audiovisual integration abilities in cochlear implant users and normal-hearing controls using the McGurk effect and sound-induced flash illusion. The results showed that cochlear implant users experienced lower fusion than controls in both tasks, but there was no correlation between the two illusions. Further research is needed to understand how these findings relate to speech understanding in cochlear implant users.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Ozan E. Eren, Ruth Ruscheweyh, Veronika Rauschel, Thomas Eggert, Christoph J. Schankin, Andreas Straube
Summary: This study compared the inhibition of the primary visual cortex in patients with VSS and age- and migraine-matched controls. The results showed suppression of visual accuracy at the 100-ms interval, but no significant differences were found between VSS patients and controls.
FRONTIERS IN NEUROLOGY
(2021)
Review
Clinical Neurology
Clare L. Fraser
Summary: Until recently, there has been limited research on visual snow syndrome, but current studies suggest that it is caused by cortical dysfunction. Although visual snow syndrome is often associated with migraines, they are distinct clinical entities.
CURRENT NEUROLOGY AND NEUROSCIENCE REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Ciro De Luca, Sara Gori, Sonia Mazzucchi, Elisa Dini, Martina Cafalli, Gabriele Siciliano, Michele Papa, Filippo Baldacci
Summary: Migraine patients exhibit differences in processing visual stimuli and visual cortex activity compared to controls. The S index may serve as a potential biomarker for the migraine cycle and cortical sensitization, but further data are needed for confirmation.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Noemi Meylakh, Luke A. Henderson
Summary: The study found that during the interictal phase of migraine, there were alterations in the functional connectivity between visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, and somatosensory cortices, indicating a dysfunctional sensory network in pain-free migraine patients which may underlie altered sensory processing between migraine attacks.
JOURNAL OF HEADACHE AND PAIN
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Laura Biagi, Michela Tosetti, Sofia Allegra Crespi, Maria Concetta Morrone
Summary: Behavioral studies suggest that motion perception is rudimentary at birth and matures steadily over the first few years. Previous research shows that certain cortical areas involved in motion processing exhibit selective responses to coherent flow in 8-week-old infants. In this study, researchers found that 5-week-old infants also show similar motion responses in some areas, but not all, indicating a differential developmental trajectory for different occipital regions and possibly the central and peripheral visual field.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Review
Psychiatry
Ana Luisa Lamounier Costa, Dorcas Lamounier Costa, Valdir Filgueiras Pessoa, Fabio Viegas Caixeta, Rafael S. Maior
Summary: This study presents a systematic review of the current evidence regarding visual illusion perception abnormalities in patients with schizophrenia. The findings suggest that there is concordant evidence of abnormal processing of illusions in patients, especially in facial Depth Inversion and Muller-Lyer illusions. However, there were significant methodological disparities and shortcomings, indicating a need for methodological refinements in using visual illusions as tools in clinical settings and basic research.
SCHIZOPHRENIA RESEARCH
(2023)
