Background:The environment that individuals are surrounded by have been linked to have an effect on affect,like anxiety,and well-being.On a whole,rural and natural environment scenes have been showed through previous ...Background:The environment that individuals are surrounded by have been linked to have an effect on affect,like anxiety,and well-being.On a whole,rural and natural environment scenes have been showed through previous research to increase positive affect and well-being.Until now,the methods of assessing affect in relation to environmental scene perception have been studied in a healthy sample,and mostly via self-report questionnaires and heart rate.Here,we present a novel quantitative research study that uses frontal electroencephalography(EEG)asymmetry to investigate the impact of viewing images of environmental scenes on affect in a sample of self-reported sub-clinically anxious adults.Frontal EEG asymmetry has previously been used in research related to motivation and assessing emotional affect,with most researchers showing greater left-frontal hemisphere activity compared to the right being associated with positive affect and approach behaviours.Consequently,frontal asymmetry EEG can be used to explore the impact of scene perception on affect.Methods:Forty-six participants(18-52 years)took part in the study.To determine the psychophysiological predictors of affect,specifically anxiety,we monitored brain activity using EEG,while participants viewed a series of natural and man-made images on a computer screen.Natural images consisted of beaches,forests,meadows,mountains,waterfalls.Man-made images consisted of cityscapes,construction sites,highways,skyscrapers and street views.EEG was Fourier transformed,and the alpha-band frequencies(8-12 Hz)isolated and averaged across each image type.Results:Preliminary analysis of frontal-asymmetry shows that individuals with sub-clinical levels of anxiety experience significantly more negative affect(i.e.,increased right asymmetry in alpha bands,(M=−3.15,SD=0.63)when viewing man-made images compared to control participants(M=−1.02,SD=0.67).These preliminary results contrast to when viewing natural images,whereby both controls and the anxious individuals experience high levels of positive affect(i.e.,increased left asymmetry in alpha bands:(Manxiety=3.31,SDanxiety=2.26;Mcontrol=3.33,SDcontrol=1.12).Lastly,frontal-asymmetry indices were significantly different(t=17.48,P<0.001,d=2.58,BF10=3.81e+18)when viewing natural and man-made images.This result was consistent across both groups.Conclusions:This research presents a novel approach to investigating the neuro-cognitive correlates of affect and scene perception.Additionally,these initial observations would indicate that man-made scenes induce negative affect,and that this effect is amplified in individuals with sub-clinical levels of anxiety.Future work should expand this research to investigate environmental scene perception in individuals with clinical levels of anxiety,and use other physiological measures,such as heart-rate variability and eye-tracking to objectively assess affect.展开更多
Background:Proficient literacy skills and reading comprehension are crucial skills for participation and success in everyday life.One group that regularly falls short in demonstrating good reading skills are people wi...Background:Proficient literacy skills and reading comprehension are crucial skills for participation and success in everyday life.One group that regularly falls short in demonstrating good reading skills are people with dyslexia.This group suffers from a range of visual deficits including the pattern of ocular movements,and distorted,blurred and reversed(or mirrored)vision of letters during reading.However,only recently designers started to develop affordable and easily implementable remedies that are supposed to reduce the visual symptoms of dyslexia such as specific dyslexia fonts.These fonts incorporate properties aimed at improving the visual and behavioural reading performance of people with dyslexia by using larger intra-and inter-word whitespace,unique letter shapes and no serifs.To date,empirical evidence about the efficacy of these fonts is contradictory,and their effects on adult dyslexics’eye movements and cognitive processing during longer reading tasks remains elusive.Methods:To bridge this gap,we measured the eye movements of adults with and without dyslexia during the reading of a set of standardised texts from the international reading speed texts(IReST;Trauzettel-Klosinski&Dietz,2012)reading battery coupled with validated comprehension questions.These texts and questions were presented either in the traditional font Times New Roman or the specific dyslexia font OpenDyslexic.Results:Here,we found that OpenDyslexic led to improvements in reading comprehension in dyslexics and non-dyslexics.These improvements were larger for dyslexics.Contrarily,participants’reading speed was unaffected by OpenDyslexic.Our eye-tracking data showed that OpenDyslexic resulted in a higher number of eye movements,reduced visual search intensity,and longer median fixation duration across participants.Particularly,median fixation duration,as a measure of cognitive load,was predictive of reading comprehension across groups.Among dyslexics,OpenDyslexic yielded increases in visual search intensity and visual ease in the form of decreases in median fixation duration and fixation to saccade ratio as well as a smaller number of falsely programmed forward saccades.Conclusions:Our findings illustrate that OpenDyslexic results in a different visual reading strategy.These findings provide empirical evidence for the efficacy of OpenDyslexic in longer standardised texts and suggest its use in everyday documents,education materials,and online sources.展开更多
Background:The aim of the current study is to investigate how consumer behaviour in a financial cost scenario,assessed by using a cost-discounting paradigm,can be influenced by an emotional state.To our knowledge,this...Background:The aim of the current study is to investigate how consumer behaviour in a financial cost scenario,assessed by using a cost-discounting paradigm,can be influenced by an emotional state.To our knowledge,this is the first study to analyze the effect of emotional priming on cost discounting behavior.Cost discounting,is a phenomenon whereby a decline of subjective value is observed given a time delay before receiving,or losing,something of value.This raises the question:what traits and skills do these young individuals possess that allow them to inhibit acting to obtain an immediate reward?A common explanation by delayed discounting researchers is that individuals who have a higher subjective value as a function of time(i.e.,discount less),are able to control their emotional response to the reward(Gómez-Miñambres et al.,2017).By delving further into both emotion and discounting research,it becomes more apparent that the two factors interact,and deserve more attention in behavioural science and consumer behaviour research.Methods:Participants(N=144)were recruited from the John Molson School of Business Participant Pool.To induce emotion,images from the international affective picture system were used.Participants were randomly assigned to one of the five emotional priming conditions(neutral valence×neutral arousal,low valence×low arousal,low valence×high arousal,high valence×low arousal,high valence×high arousal).After viewing a series of 20 pictures that were presented sequentially for 5 seconds per image,participants were then tested in either cost scenario($1,000 or$25,000),with a succession of choices between incurring a fixed cost now,or a increased cost over a given time delay(e.g.,PAY$1,000 today,or PAY$1,250 in 1 month).Results:In both the$1,000 and$25,000 cost conditions,it was shown that the null hypothesis was approximately 16 times more likely to explain the variance accounted for(BF01=16.05,error=1.37%)in this experiment.However,it is noteworthy to address that between high arousal×positive valence and high arousal×negative valence conditions,the two conditions at opposing ends of the emotional priming spectrum,a significant difference was observed,t(64)=−2.27,P=0.03,d=0.56,BF10=2.00,error=0.01%,in their respective discounting rates.Conclusions:A significant result between the two previously mentioned subgroups is the comparison between the respective cost discounting behaviour of two most extreme ends of the pictorial emotional priming spectrum.These findings are to be taken anecdotally for a variety reason.The overall effect of difference between the five subgroups’discounting rates was observed to be vastly more probabilistic of the null hypothesis.The data collected for the current study demonstrates an association between visually induce emotional affect and cost-oriented decision making.However,there is in need of further investigation in order to establish any definitive linkages.展开更多
Background:Cognitive assessments,such as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment(MoCA),use components that assume intact sensory abilities,however,adults show concomitant decreases in visual acuity with increasing age.Score...Background:Cognitive assessments,such as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment(MoCA),use components that assume intact sensory abilities,however,adults show concomitant decreases in visual acuity with increasing age.Scores on cognitive assessments are typically lower for individuals with visual impairments compared to individuals with normal/corrected to normal vision.But it is not clear if lowers scores on cognitive assessments are due to the assessments relying on visual stimuli,or if individuals with visual impairments are actually more likely to have cognitive impairments.Therefore we simulated visual impairments,i.e.,reduced visual acuity and contrast sensitivity,in young healthy adults to determine how this impacts their scores on a measure of cognitive ability,i.e.,the MoCA.Methods:Participants(n=19)completed one of the three version of the MoCA under three conditions(20/20,simulated 20/80,simulated 20/200).The MoCA was administered following the clinical protocols.Only participants that scored>26(i.e.,normal cognitive function)at 20/20 were included in the analysis.For comparison,we included MoCA data from a sample of older adults with normal vision(n=19,Mage=74,Acuity M=0.04 logMAR,SD=0.16)or visual impairment(n=19,Mage=79,Acuity M=0.35 logMAR,SD=0.3).Results:Acuity of participants at 20/20(M=0.06 LogMAR,SD=0.1),simulated 20/80(M=0.63,SD=0.18)and simulated 20/200(M=0.88,SD=0.19)showed that the participants experienced simulated acuity loss with the goggles.For the MoCA scores,we found a main effect of acuity(F=16.22,P<0.001,η2=0.375,BF10=5,618).Planned post hoc comparisons showed a significant difference between scores with a 20/20 acuity(M=27.26,SD=0.93)and 20/80(M=24.74,SD=1.66,t=5.62,ptukey<0.001,d=1.88),and between 20/20 and 20/200(M=25.63,SD=1.46,t=3.63,ptukey=0.002,Cohen’s d=1.33).However,no difference was observed between 20/80 and 20/200(t=−1.99,ptukey=0.125,d=0.572).The MoCA scores in older adults with normal vision(M=27.32,SD=2.41)and with visual impairment(M=26.68,SD=2.52),did not differ significantly(t36=−0.787,P=0.436,d=0.26,BF10=0.4).Conclusions:Our findings show that simulated reductions in visual acuity and contrast sensitivity lead to lower scores on measures of cognitive ability,specifically the MoCA.However,it appears that older adults with actual visual impairments may have developed compensatory strategies to adapt to this loss in visual acuity as there were no significant differences in scores of older adults with and without visual impairments.Therefore,we would recommend that when assessing an individual with visual impairments to conduct the cognitive test by re-scoring it without the visual components,e.g.,the MoCA Blind,to magnify the visual components,or to substitue the visual component when possible using auditory alternatives,e.g.,the oral trail making task.展开更多
Background:Difficulty in hearing can occur for numerous reasons across a variety of ages in humans.To overcome this,humans can employ a number of techniques to help improve their understanding of sound in other ways.O...Background:Difficulty in hearing can occur for numerous reasons across a variety of ages in humans.To overcome this,humans can employ a number of techniques to help improve their understanding of sound in other ways.One is to use vision,and attempt to lip-read in order to understand someone else in a face-to-face conversation.Audio-visual integration has a long history in perception(e.g.,the McGurk Effect),and researchers have shown that older adults will look at the mouth region for additional information in noisy situations.However,this concept has not been explored in the context of social media.A common way to communicate virtually that simulates a live conversation is the concept of video chatting or conferencing.It is used for a variety of reasons including work,maintaining social interactions,and has started to be used in clinical settings.However,video chat session quality is often sub-optimal,and may contain degraded audio and/or decoupled audio and video.The goal of this study is to determine whether humans use the same visual compensation mechanism,lip reading,in a digital setting as they would in a face-to-face conversation.Methods:The participants(n=116,age 18 to 41)answered a demographics questionnaire including questions about their use of the video chatting software.Then,the participants viewed two videos of a video call:one with synchronized audio and video,and the other dyssynchronous(1 second delay).The order of video was randomized across participants.Binocular eye movements were monitored at 60 Hz using a Mirametrix S2 eye tracker connected to Ogama 5.0(http://www.ogama.net/).After each video,the participants answered questions about the call quality,and the content of the video.Results:There was no significant difference in the total dwell time at the eyes and the mouth of the speaker remained,t(116)=−1.574,P=0.059,d=−0.147,BF10=0.643.However,using the heat maps generated by Ogama,we observed when viewing the poor-quality video,the participants looked more towards the mouth than the eyes of the speaker.It was found that as call quality decreased,the number of fixations increased from n=79.87 in the synchronous condition to n=113.4 in the asynchronous condition,and the median duration of each fixation decreased from 218.3 ms in the synchronous condition to 205ms in the asynchronous condition.Conclusions:The above results may indicate that humans employ similar compensation mechanisms in response to a decrease in auditory comprehension,given the tendency of participants looking towards the mouth of the speaker more.However,more study is needed because of the inconsistency in the results.展开更多
Background:Age-related macular degeneration(AMD)is a common cause of severe vision impairment in populations over 50 years old.It is characterized by drusen;the accumulation of waste between the retinal pigment epithe...Background:Age-related macular degeneration(AMD)is a common cause of severe vision impairment in populations over 50 years old.It is characterized by drusen;the accumulation of waste between the retinal pigment epithelium and Bruch’s membrane.Drusen have been identified in the eyes of Alzheimer’s patients,post-mortem.Further,beta-amyloid,best known as a pathological component of the senile plaques in Alzheimer’s disease,has been identified as a component of drusen in AMD.Researchers have also demonstrated an increased prevalence of cognitive impairment in individuals with AMD.The current study uses optical coherence tomography(OCT)and a cognitive assessment to investigate the potential use of drusen as a biomarker of cognitive impairment.The overall number of drusen detectable on the OCT scans of individuals who exhibit mild cognitive impairment is compared to the number of drusen detectable on the OCT scans of individuals who do not exhibit mild cognitive impairment.Methods:To date,10 participants(nine women)aged 74 to 95 years with a diagnosis of AMD and/or drusen have been recruited.The Optos®OCT/SLO imaging system was used to take cross-sectional images of the retina.The images were then manually graded by two trained graders to determine the number of drusen present along the retina.The Montreal Cognitive Assessment(MoCA)was used to assess overall cognitive status.Results:Of the 10 participants,three passed the full MoCA(i.e.scored at or above 26 out of 30 possible points)and seven did not pass,scoring positive for mild cognitive impairment(Mpass=27.33,SDpass=0.58;Mfail=21.86,SDfail=2.55).Preliminary analyses have demonstrated that individuals who pass the MoCA seem to have fewer drusen present overall(Mdn=35)compared to those who score positive for cognitive impairment(Mdn=63).However,a Mann-Whitney U test revealed that these findings are not significant;U=5,P=0.27.Conclusions:The results agree with previous literature demonstrating an increased prevalence of mild cognitive impairment in individuals with AMD.The larger average number of drusen found in individuals who score positive for cognitive impairment points to a difference in retinal abnormalities based on cognitive status.Beyond sample size,the insignificance of the difference between groups at this stage can be explained by the number of individuals who failed the MoCA who have wet AMD(n=5).The wet AMD makes grading of drusen on OCT scans more difficult due to scarring and warping of the retina.This could result in an under-representation of the number of drusen.Data collection is still underway,and an accurate depiction is expected with a larger sample size.Researchers have also suggested the importance of peripherally located drusen and its link to cognitive impairment,therefore,future analysis will consider this as well.展开更多
Background:Individuals with dyslexia present with a variety of reading related deficits including text comprehension,reading speed and word encoding.While previous literature addresses individual components of group d...Background:Individuals with dyslexia present with a variety of reading related deficits including text comprehension,reading speed and word encoding.While previous literature addresses individual components of group differences,the present study compares individuals with dyslexia and normal readers on a variety of eye tracking components,as well as behavioural reading measures.The applied nature of this research allows for a comprehensive understanding of how individuals with dyslexia perceptually encode and process written texts.Using type font(i.e.,Times New Roman vs.OpenDyslexic;a font created to elevate visually specific characteristics of dyslexia)as a mediator,we investigated the group differences in eye movement patterns,text comprehension and reading speed between normal readers and individuals with dyslexia when reading standardized and validated texts designed for a grade six reading comprehension level.Methods:Our 73 participants included 38 normal reading controls and 35 individuals with dyslexia.Participants were administered the symbol search and coding subtests of The Wechsler Adult Scale of Intelligence.Participants then read ten texts from the International Reading Speed Texts:five texts in Times New Roman and five in OpenDyslexic,while binocular eye movements were recorded using a SR Research Eyelink 1000.Results:We found that irrespective of font type,when compared to controls,individuals with dyslexia demonstrated increased re-reading of texts[i.e.,regressions:CI(−0.99,−0.66),Hedges’s gs=−0.83]and number of saccades per trial[CI(−1.42,−1.08),gs=−1.25]as well as increased median fixation duration[CI(−1.15,−0.82),gs=−0.98].The control group had increased reading speed[words per minute:CI(1.48,1.84),gs=1.65],visited less interest areas[CI(−1.48,−1.13),gs=−1.31],and had fewer directional deviations from the horizontal-axis[CI(−0.49,−0.18),gs=−0.33].We found an interaction between text comprehension and font type,with both groups having improved performance with OpenDyslexic.However,results did not show a main effect of group with respect to text comprehension.Conclusions:The lack of group differences in text comprehension illustrates that high-functioning individuals with dyslexia are able to comprehend these elementary level texts,irrespective of font type.However,the erratic nature of their eye movements combined with a slow reading speed suggest that individuals with dyslexia read texts in a different manner;achieving the same understanding as normal readers.Our results suggest that reading speed differences act as compensatory methods in our sample of individuals with dyslexia.展开更多
Background:By 2026,projections indicate that 1/5 Canadians will be over the age of 65.This shift in demographics will be accompanied by an increase in age-related eye disease.Survey studies have reported vision loss a...Background:By 2026,projections indicate that 1/5 Canadians will be over the age of 65.This shift in demographics will be accompanied by an increase in age-related eye disease.Survey studies have reported vision loss as a major medical concern among older adults,but there is little information on older adults’awareness and knowledge of age-related eye diseases.A lack of knowledge can lead to missed or delayed treatment and/or lifestyle modification.This study aims to assess the knowledge and understanding older adults have of their own eye disease and its prognosis.Methods:Participants over the age of 50 with a visual impairment were recruited from the MAB-Mackay Rehabilitation Centre,the Low Vision Self-Help Association(LVSHA)of the West Island and through word of mouth.Visual acuity and contrast sensitivity were measured using the ETDRS charts and Mars Charts,respectively.Optical coherence tomography(OCT)/scanning laser ophthalmoscopy was used to take cross-sectional images of participant retinas.Participants were asked to name their visual diagnoses and describe them in their own words.Participant diagnoses were compared to diagnoses determined by an optometrist or ophthalmologist.Results:To date,this study has recruited 26 participants(7M,19F)over the age of 50 years(range,51-95 years).Many participants(73%)were able to name their visual diagnoses,articulate their symptoms,and discuss their treatment and prognosis.The majority of these individuals(67%)were clients of the MAB-Mackay or participants in the LVSHA.Of the 27%(4M,4F)who were unclear or had misunderstood their diagnoses,half were participants in a low vision support group,but they had multiple visual diagnoses and it was the congenital or trauma-related visual impairments acquired before joining the MAB-Mackay or LVSHA that remained unclear.The other 4 individuals who misunderstood their diagnoses were not involved with any low vision or rehabilitation organizations.Conclusions:Visual impairment is sometimes dismissed as part of aging.A lack of awareness and knowledge can lead to missed or delayed treatment and/or lifestyle modifications.The preliminary results of this study demonstrate the important role organizations like the MAB-Mackay and LVSHA play in education and adaptation to low vision for older adults.Individuals with a better understanding of their own diagnoses are more likely to follow through with doctor-recommendations and have successful treatment or slowed progression.展开更多
Background:The International Reading Speed Texts(IReST)were developed in Europe as a standardized measure to assess continuous reading in normally sighted and visually impaired individuals.The IReST is used throughout...Background:The International Reading Speed Texts(IReST)were developed in Europe as a standardized measure to assess continuous reading in normally sighted and visually impaired individuals.The IReST is used throughout the United States and Canada to assess reading speed;however,the normative values may not be valid in North America(NA).Additionally there are no normative values for individuals with visual impairments.The aim of this study was to validate the IReSTs in a normally sighted English-speaking NA sample with and without a simulated reduction in visual acuity.Methods:Fifty undergraduate students from Concordia University participated in this study.Participants were systematically assigned to a counterbalanced order of testing conditions and were asked to read all 10 IReSTs aloud.The normal and impaired vision conditions were counterbalanced such that the first set of five IReSTs were read with either the participants normal/corrected-to-normal vision or with a simulated 20/80 visual impairment.Results:Multiple two-sample dependent t-tests using a Holm-Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons were used to compare the IReST values(means and standard deviations)to the current sample;the results showed statistically significant differences between the current samples mean reading speed and the values provided by the IReSTs.In all cases,P were equal to or less than 0.005.Mean difference scores ranged from 14.87 to 30.05 wpm,with 95%confidence intervals ranging from 4.82 to 43.32.Measures of effect size using bias corrected Hedge’s g*ranged from 0.83 to 1.32,with 95%confidence intervals ranging from 0.25 to 1.93.Multiple two-sample dependent t-tests using a Holm-Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons were used to compare the mean reading speed in wpm of the normal and impaired vision conditions;the results showed statistically significant differences between the mean reading speeds of the normal vision condition and the simulated impairment condition on the IReSTs.In all cases,the P were less than 0.001.Mean difference scores ranged from 25.44 to 41.8 wpm,with 95%confidence intervals ranging from 21.66 to 46.Measures of effect size using bias corrected Hedge’s g*ranged from 2.74 to 3.81,with 95%confidence intervals ranging from 1.97 to 4.74.Further Bayesian analyses revealed BF10 factors ranging from 1.277×107 to 7.334×1011,indicating decisive evidence for the research.Conclusions:There are statistically significant differences in reading speed between the NA English sample and the normative values established by the IReST;such that reading speeds of the NA English sample are slower than the normative values of the IReST.Additionally,participants in the simulated impairment condition read the IReSTs significantly slower than the normal vision condition.展开更多
Background:With a large portion of older adults living longer,the number of individuals diagnosed with low vision is increasing.The use of optical coherence tomography/scanning laser ophthalmoscope(OCT/SLO)to diagnose...Background:With a large portion of older adults living longer,the number of individuals diagnosed with low vision is increasing.The use of optical coherence tomography/scanning laser ophthalmoscope(OCT/SLO)to diagnose retinal disease has become common place in the last 10 years,yet currently there are no OCT/SLO databases for pathological vision.Our aim is to develop a clinical database of individuals who have drusen(i.e.,lipid deposits found under the retina),or have been diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration(AMD),with information as to how the structure of the diseased retina changes over time,as well as measures of visual and cognitive functional performance.Methods:Fundus photographs and retinal scans will be taken using the same model of optos OCT/SLO located in three test sites(MAB-Mackay Rehabilitation Centre,School of Optometry Clinic at the University of Montreal,and the Lighthouse Institute,New York,USA).For each individual entry in the database,demographic and diagnosis information will be available.All OCT/SLO images will be graded according to the Age-related Eye Disease Study standard,in addition to number and size of drusen,severity of geographic atrophy,severity of pigment mottling and presence of choroidal neovascularization.Retinal topography and Raster scans from the OCT/SLO will provide a cross-sectional look at affected retinas.Fixation stability will be recorded using the SLO function,and present four different tasks that are designed to reproduce typical tasks of daily vision,with each task lasting for 10 seconds.The tasks are cross fixation,face recognition,visual search,and reading.These tasks in addition to the retinal scans will be used to determine the eccentricity of a preferred retinal locus from the anatomical fovea,and can be used as an outcome measure for clinical interventions in visually impaired patients.Results:The database will be available to professors training eye-care practitioners and rehabilitation specialists as a teaching tool.Students will be able to familiarize themselves with the retina and a variety of AMD-related pathologies before they start working with patients.The database will also be accessible by researchers interested in studying AMD from basic science to epidemiology,to investigate how drusen and AMD impact visual and cognitive functional performance.Conclusions:The common infrastructure is easily accessible to all VHRN members on request.The database will also be accessible online in 2018(see http://cvl.concordia.ca for more information).展开更多
Background:Visual salience computed using algorithmic procedures have been shown to predict eye-movements in a number of contexts.However,despite calls to incorporate computationally-defined visual salience metrics as...Background:Visual salience computed using algorithmic procedures have been shown to predict eye-movements in a number of contexts.However,despite calls to incorporate computationally-defined visual salience metrics as a means of assessing the effectiveness of advertisements,few studies have incorporated these techniques in a marketing context.The present study sought to determine the impact of visual salience and knowledge of a brand on eye-movement patterns and buying preferences.Methods:Participants(N=38)were presented with 54 pairs of products presented on the left and right sides of a blank white screen.For each pair,one product was a known North American product,such as Fresca®,and one was an unknown British product of the same category,such as Irn Bru®.Participants were asked to select which product they would prefer to buy while their eye movements were recorded.Salience was computed using Itti&Koch’s[2001]computational model of bottom-up salience.Products were defined as highly salient if the majority of the first five predicted fixations were in the region of the product.Results:Results showed that participants were much more likely to prefer to buy known products,and tentative evidence suggests that participants had longer total dwell times when looking at unknown products.Salience appears to have had little or no effect on preference for a product,nor did it predict total dwell time or time to first fixation.There also appears to be no interaction between knowledge of a product and visual salience on any of the measures analyzed.Conclusions:The results indicate that product salience may not be a useful predictor of attention under the constraints of the present experiment.Future studies could use a different operational definition of visual salience which might be more predictive of visual attention.Furthermore,a more fine-grained analysis of product familiarity based on survey data may reveal patterns obscured by the definitional constraints of the present study.展开更多
Background:Reading enables us to obtain information,to engage in leisure,educational,business and other activities,and fosters cognitive stimulation.Acquired vision loss can have a negative effect on an individual’s ...Background:Reading enables us to obtain information,to engage in leisure,educational,business and other activities,and fosters cognitive stimulation.Acquired vision loss can have a negative effect on an individual’s ability to read,and,by extension,reduce overall quality of life.In addition,a growing body of research on the association between reading and cognition has linked a decrease in reading ability with negative changes in cognitive function.Therefore,the purpose of the current study is to test the feasibility of a research protocol that will be used to study the association between reduced reading ability and cognitive impairment,specifically in older adults with acquired vision loss.Methods:Seven participants(age range,27-60 years,Mage=44,4 males)completed a series of questionnaires and assessments that measured their cognitive,hearing,and reading abilities.All participants had normal hearing,vision and cognition,with the exception of one(two pre-existing hearing conditions).Cognition was tested using the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test(RAVLT),the RAVLT 50-word Recognition test,the Verbal Fluency Test,an auditory Trail-Making task,and an auditory 1-N-back memory task.Otoscopy was used to assess ear health,and hearing was measured with self-administered computerized audiometry(Home Hearing Test)and a speech-in-noise test(Canadian Digit Triplet Test).Questionnaires included the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly,and a multiple-choice questionnaire on subjective reading ability and reading habits.Finally,reading acuity,speed and comprehension were assessed using the International Reading Speed Texts and the MNRead.Results:In testing the feasibility of this protocol,the uninterrupted length of testing time,including obtaining consent,was determined to be between 60-90 min.Several of the assessments and tests(RAVLT,MNRead,audiogram)were reported to be mentally taxing.However,all pilot participants were able to complete all tasks.With the exception of standardized tests,some of the instructions required refinement and clarification,in order to better explain the tasks for each test.Conclusions:Anticipating that the protocol will be more demanding for the ultimate target population,who will be older adults with sensory impairment,these pilot results were used to guide a strategy for collecting the dependent measures.It was decided to administer the most important measure in each of the domains(e.g.,MNRead,audiogram,RAVLT)to ensure that data on vision,hearing,reading and cognition are collected.Depending on the level of fatigue and motivation of the participants,secondary measures in each domain(the International Reading Speed Texts,CDTT,the 1-N-back task)will be administered afterward.Multiple sessions and breaks will be offered as needed.Data collection with novice vision rehabilitation clients will begin at the end of January 2019.展开更多
Background:Spot reading,the ability to obtain short pieces of visual information,can easily be rehabilitated with magnification devices,such as loupes or portable closed-circuit TVs(CCTVs).However,they have limitation...Background:Spot reading,the ability to obtain short pieces of visual information,can easily be rehabilitated with magnification devices,such as loupes or portable closed-circuit TVs(CCTVs).However,they have limitations such as screen size and price and have previously been shown to be stigmatizing when used in public.The arrival of tablet computers provides an alternative with greater magnification at a reduced price.We present preliminary results on the objective and subjective comparison of the iPad and a portable CCTV for spot-reading tasks.Methods:Twenty-three men and 30 women aged 19-93 years,with impaired visual acuity(<20/60)due to central visual impairment,were asked to complete spot-reading tasks involving three common objects(TV cable bill,nutrition info on food package,box of eye drops)using the iPad and a portable CCTV in randomized order.We measured their ability to complete each task and the time it took,in addition to their subjective device assessment and preference.Results:A Bayes Factor and effect size analysis showed no statistically significant differences between the device conditions in the time to complete each task[BF01>4.05,median=−0.043,95%credible interval(−0.21,0.234)].Choosing one device over the other may simply depend on preference which,in our cohort,was divided(39.6%iPad,56.6%CCTV,3.8%neither)and which could be influenced by factors such as device size,usability or stigmatization.Conclusions:The data indicate that,for certain spot reading tasks and levels of difficulty,the use of a tablet computer may be as efficient and effective as a traditional device such as a portable CCTV.Future investigations will further examine device preference as we predict that it may influence device success and continuation of use.展开更多
Background:The perceptions surrounding assistive technology have been shown to be increasingly stigmatizing in older adult populations.This stigmatization can lead individuals to the abandonment of the assistive devic...Background:The perceptions surrounding assistive technology have been shown to be increasingly stigmatizing in older adult populations.This stigmatization can lead individuals to the abandonment of the assistive device.Until now,the methods of identifying or predicting the stigma surrounding assistive technology has mostly been qualitative in nature.Here we present a novel quantitate and qualitative research study that uses neuro-cognitive(psychophysics and EEG)and eye tracking technology,in addition to a new questionnaire to investigate the stigma associated with assistive devices.Therefore,this approach plays a major role in understanding and predicting the neural and physiological correlates associated to stigma.Methods:Thirty-four older adults(>50 years)took part in the study.To determine the psychophysiological predictors of stigma surrounding assistive technologies,we monitored brain activity using EEG,heart rate and eye movements using an eye-tracker while participants viewed a series of images containing either an older or younger individual in different social scenarios(e.g.,talking to doctor,at coffee shop).In each scenario,the individual uses either no assistive device,a low stigmatizing device(e.g.,iPad),or a high stigmatizing device(e.g.,electronic magnifier).Results:Here we present preliminary analysis of the eye movement data.Analysis shows that in comparison to images that contained a low stigmatizing device,in images that contain high stigmatizing devices,the latency to fixate the device is shorter,first fixation duration is longer,and the total number of fixations on the device are higher.The environment that the devices is used in has no effect on eye movement metrics.Conclusions:Although the sample size is small,and based on a healthy older-adult population,these initial observations would indicate that latency to fixate and first fixation duration are predictors of stigma associated with assistive devices.Future research should expand this prediction to those actively using assistive devices,and how the measures predict abandonment over time.展开更多
文摘Background:The environment that individuals are surrounded by have been linked to have an effect on affect,like anxiety,and well-being.On a whole,rural and natural environment scenes have been showed through previous research to increase positive affect and well-being.Until now,the methods of assessing affect in relation to environmental scene perception have been studied in a healthy sample,and mostly via self-report questionnaires and heart rate.Here,we present a novel quantitative research study that uses frontal electroencephalography(EEG)asymmetry to investigate the impact of viewing images of environmental scenes on affect in a sample of self-reported sub-clinically anxious adults.Frontal EEG asymmetry has previously been used in research related to motivation and assessing emotional affect,with most researchers showing greater left-frontal hemisphere activity compared to the right being associated with positive affect and approach behaviours.Consequently,frontal asymmetry EEG can be used to explore the impact of scene perception on affect.Methods:Forty-six participants(18-52 years)took part in the study.To determine the psychophysiological predictors of affect,specifically anxiety,we monitored brain activity using EEG,while participants viewed a series of natural and man-made images on a computer screen.Natural images consisted of beaches,forests,meadows,mountains,waterfalls.Man-made images consisted of cityscapes,construction sites,highways,skyscrapers and street views.EEG was Fourier transformed,and the alpha-band frequencies(8-12 Hz)isolated and averaged across each image type.Results:Preliminary analysis of frontal-asymmetry shows that individuals with sub-clinical levels of anxiety experience significantly more negative affect(i.e.,increased right asymmetry in alpha bands,(M=−3.15,SD=0.63)when viewing man-made images compared to control participants(M=−1.02,SD=0.67).These preliminary results contrast to when viewing natural images,whereby both controls and the anxious individuals experience high levels of positive affect(i.e.,increased left asymmetry in alpha bands:(Manxiety=3.31,SDanxiety=2.26;Mcontrol=3.33,SDcontrol=1.12).Lastly,frontal-asymmetry indices were significantly different(t=17.48,P<0.001,d=2.58,BF10=3.81e+18)when viewing natural and man-made images.This result was consistent across both groups.Conclusions:This research presents a novel approach to investigating the neuro-cognitive correlates of affect and scene perception.Additionally,these initial observations would indicate that man-made scenes induce negative affect,and that this effect is amplified in individuals with sub-clinical levels of anxiety.Future work should expand this research to investigate environmental scene perception in individuals with clinical levels of anxiety,and use other physiological measures,such as heart-rate variability and eye-tracking to objectively assess affect.
文摘Background:Proficient literacy skills and reading comprehension are crucial skills for participation and success in everyday life.One group that regularly falls short in demonstrating good reading skills are people with dyslexia.This group suffers from a range of visual deficits including the pattern of ocular movements,and distorted,blurred and reversed(or mirrored)vision of letters during reading.However,only recently designers started to develop affordable and easily implementable remedies that are supposed to reduce the visual symptoms of dyslexia such as specific dyslexia fonts.These fonts incorporate properties aimed at improving the visual and behavioural reading performance of people with dyslexia by using larger intra-and inter-word whitespace,unique letter shapes and no serifs.To date,empirical evidence about the efficacy of these fonts is contradictory,and their effects on adult dyslexics’eye movements and cognitive processing during longer reading tasks remains elusive.Methods:To bridge this gap,we measured the eye movements of adults with and without dyslexia during the reading of a set of standardised texts from the international reading speed texts(IReST;Trauzettel-Klosinski&Dietz,2012)reading battery coupled with validated comprehension questions.These texts and questions were presented either in the traditional font Times New Roman or the specific dyslexia font OpenDyslexic.Results:Here,we found that OpenDyslexic led to improvements in reading comprehension in dyslexics and non-dyslexics.These improvements were larger for dyslexics.Contrarily,participants’reading speed was unaffected by OpenDyslexic.Our eye-tracking data showed that OpenDyslexic resulted in a higher number of eye movements,reduced visual search intensity,and longer median fixation duration across participants.Particularly,median fixation duration,as a measure of cognitive load,was predictive of reading comprehension across groups.Among dyslexics,OpenDyslexic yielded increases in visual search intensity and visual ease in the form of decreases in median fixation duration and fixation to saccade ratio as well as a smaller number of falsely programmed forward saccades.Conclusions:Our findings illustrate that OpenDyslexic results in a different visual reading strategy.These findings provide empirical evidence for the efficacy of OpenDyslexic in longer standardised texts and suggest its use in everyday documents,education materials,and online sources.
文摘Background:The aim of the current study is to investigate how consumer behaviour in a financial cost scenario,assessed by using a cost-discounting paradigm,can be influenced by an emotional state.To our knowledge,this is the first study to analyze the effect of emotional priming on cost discounting behavior.Cost discounting,is a phenomenon whereby a decline of subjective value is observed given a time delay before receiving,or losing,something of value.This raises the question:what traits and skills do these young individuals possess that allow them to inhibit acting to obtain an immediate reward?A common explanation by delayed discounting researchers is that individuals who have a higher subjective value as a function of time(i.e.,discount less),are able to control their emotional response to the reward(Gómez-Miñambres et al.,2017).By delving further into both emotion and discounting research,it becomes more apparent that the two factors interact,and deserve more attention in behavioural science and consumer behaviour research.Methods:Participants(N=144)were recruited from the John Molson School of Business Participant Pool.To induce emotion,images from the international affective picture system were used.Participants were randomly assigned to one of the five emotional priming conditions(neutral valence×neutral arousal,low valence×low arousal,low valence×high arousal,high valence×low arousal,high valence×high arousal).After viewing a series of 20 pictures that were presented sequentially for 5 seconds per image,participants were then tested in either cost scenario($1,000 or$25,000),with a succession of choices between incurring a fixed cost now,or a increased cost over a given time delay(e.g.,PAY$1,000 today,or PAY$1,250 in 1 month).Results:In both the$1,000 and$25,000 cost conditions,it was shown that the null hypothesis was approximately 16 times more likely to explain the variance accounted for(BF01=16.05,error=1.37%)in this experiment.However,it is noteworthy to address that between high arousal×positive valence and high arousal×negative valence conditions,the two conditions at opposing ends of the emotional priming spectrum,a significant difference was observed,t(64)=−2.27,P=0.03,d=0.56,BF10=2.00,error=0.01%,in their respective discounting rates.Conclusions:A significant result between the two previously mentioned subgroups is the comparison between the respective cost discounting behaviour of two most extreme ends of the pictorial emotional priming spectrum.These findings are to be taken anecdotally for a variety reason.The overall effect of difference between the five subgroups’discounting rates was observed to be vastly more probabilistic of the null hypothesis.The data collected for the current study demonstrates an association between visually induce emotional affect and cost-oriented decision making.However,there is in need of further investigation in order to establish any definitive linkages.
文摘Background:Cognitive assessments,such as the Montreal Cognitive Assessment(MoCA),use components that assume intact sensory abilities,however,adults show concomitant decreases in visual acuity with increasing age.Scores on cognitive assessments are typically lower for individuals with visual impairments compared to individuals with normal/corrected to normal vision.But it is not clear if lowers scores on cognitive assessments are due to the assessments relying on visual stimuli,or if individuals with visual impairments are actually more likely to have cognitive impairments.Therefore we simulated visual impairments,i.e.,reduced visual acuity and contrast sensitivity,in young healthy adults to determine how this impacts their scores on a measure of cognitive ability,i.e.,the MoCA.Methods:Participants(n=19)completed one of the three version of the MoCA under three conditions(20/20,simulated 20/80,simulated 20/200).The MoCA was administered following the clinical protocols.Only participants that scored>26(i.e.,normal cognitive function)at 20/20 were included in the analysis.For comparison,we included MoCA data from a sample of older adults with normal vision(n=19,Mage=74,Acuity M=0.04 logMAR,SD=0.16)or visual impairment(n=19,Mage=79,Acuity M=0.35 logMAR,SD=0.3).Results:Acuity of participants at 20/20(M=0.06 LogMAR,SD=0.1),simulated 20/80(M=0.63,SD=0.18)and simulated 20/200(M=0.88,SD=0.19)showed that the participants experienced simulated acuity loss with the goggles.For the MoCA scores,we found a main effect of acuity(F=16.22,P<0.001,η2=0.375,BF10=5,618).Planned post hoc comparisons showed a significant difference between scores with a 20/20 acuity(M=27.26,SD=0.93)and 20/80(M=24.74,SD=1.66,t=5.62,ptukey<0.001,d=1.88),and between 20/20 and 20/200(M=25.63,SD=1.46,t=3.63,ptukey=0.002,Cohen’s d=1.33).However,no difference was observed between 20/80 and 20/200(t=−1.99,ptukey=0.125,d=0.572).The MoCA scores in older adults with normal vision(M=27.32,SD=2.41)and with visual impairment(M=26.68,SD=2.52),did not differ significantly(t36=−0.787,P=0.436,d=0.26,BF10=0.4).Conclusions:Our findings show that simulated reductions in visual acuity and contrast sensitivity lead to lower scores on measures of cognitive ability,specifically the MoCA.However,it appears that older adults with actual visual impairments may have developed compensatory strategies to adapt to this loss in visual acuity as there were no significant differences in scores of older adults with and without visual impairments.Therefore,we would recommend that when assessing an individual with visual impairments to conduct the cognitive test by re-scoring it without the visual components,e.g.,the MoCA Blind,to magnify the visual components,or to substitue the visual component when possible using auditory alternatives,e.g.,the oral trail making task.
文摘Background:Difficulty in hearing can occur for numerous reasons across a variety of ages in humans.To overcome this,humans can employ a number of techniques to help improve their understanding of sound in other ways.One is to use vision,and attempt to lip-read in order to understand someone else in a face-to-face conversation.Audio-visual integration has a long history in perception(e.g.,the McGurk Effect),and researchers have shown that older adults will look at the mouth region for additional information in noisy situations.However,this concept has not been explored in the context of social media.A common way to communicate virtually that simulates a live conversation is the concept of video chatting or conferencing.It is used for a variety of reasons including work,maintaining social interactions,and has started to be used in clinical settings.However,video chat session quality is often sub-optimal,and may contain degraded audio and/or decoupled audio and video.The goal of this study is to determine whether humans use the same visual compensation mechanism,lip reading,in a digital setting as they would in a face-to-face conversation.Methods:The participants(n=116,age 18 to 41)answered a demographics questionnaire including questions about their use of the video chatting software.Then,the participants viewed two videos of a video call:one with synchronized audio and video,and the other dyssynchronous(1 second delay).The order of video was randomized across participants.Binocular eye movements were monitored at 60 Hz using a Mirametrix S2 eye tracker connected to Ogama 5.0(http://www.ogama.net/).After each video,the participants answered questions about the call quality,and the content of the video.Results:There was no significant difference in the total dwell time at the eyes and the mouth of the speaker remained,t(116)=−1.574,P=0.059,d=−0.147,BF10=0.643.However,using the heat maps generated by Ogama,we observed when viewing the poor-quality video,the participants looked more towards the mouth than the eyes of the speaker.It was found that as call quality decreased,the number of fixations increased from n=79.87 in the synchronous condition to n=113.4 in the asynchronous condition,and the median duration of each fixation decreased from 218.3 ms in the synchronous condition to 205ms in the asynchronous condition.Conclusions:The above results may indicate that humans employ similar compensation mechanisms in response to a decrease in auditory comprehension,given the tendency of participants looking towards the mouth of the speaker more.However,more study is needed because of the inconsistency in the results.
文摘Background:Age-related macular degeneration(AMD)is a common cause of severe vision impairment in populations over 50 years old.It is characterized by drusen;the accumulation of waste between the retinal pigment epithelium and Bruch’s membrane.Drusen have been identified in the eyes of Alzheimer’s patients,post-mortem.Further,beta-amyloid,best known as a pathological component of the senile plaques in Alzheimer’s disease,has been identified as a component of drusen in AMD.Researchers have also demonstrated an increased prevalence of cognitive impairment in individuals with AMD.The current study uses optical coherence tomography(OCT)and a cognitive assessment to investigate the potential use of drusen as a biomarker of cognitive impairment.The overall number of drusen detectable on the OCT scans of individuals who exhibit mild cognitive impairment is compared to the number of drusen detectable on the OCT scans of individuals who do not exhibit mild cognitive impairment.Methods:To date,10 participants(nine women)aged 74 to 95 years with a diagnosis of AMD and/or drusen have been recruited.The Optos®OCT/SLO imaging system was used to take cross-sectional images of the retina.The images were then manually graded by two trained graders to determine the number of drusen present along the retina.The Montreal Cognitive Assessment(MoCA)was used to assess overall cognitive status.Results:Of the 10 participants,three passed the full MoCA(i.e.scored at or above 26 out of 30 possible points)and seven did not pass,scoring positive for mild cognitive impairment(Mpass=27.33,SDpass=0.58;Mfail=21.86,SDfail=2.55).Preliminary analyses have demonstrated that individuals who pass the MoCA seem to have fewer drusen present overall(Mdn=35)compared to those who score positive for cognitive impairment(Mdn=63).However,a Mann-Whitney U test revealed that these findings are not significant;U=5,P=0.27.Conclusions:The results agree with previous literature demonstrating an increased prevalence of mild cognitive impairment in individuals with AMD.The larger average number of drusen found in individuals who score positive for cognitive impairment points to a difference in retinal abnormalities based on cognitive status.Beyond sample size,the insignificance of the difference between groups at this stage can be explained by the number of individuals who failed the MoCA who have wet AMD(n=5).The wet AMD makes grading of drusen on OCT scans more difficult due to scarring and warping of the retina.This could result in an under-representation of the number of drusen.Data collection is still underway,and an accurate depiction is expected with a larger sample size.Researchers have also suggested the importance of peripherally located drusen and its link to cognitive impairment,therefore,future analysis will consider this as well.
文摘Background:Individuals with dyslexia present with a variety of reading related deficits including text comprehension,reading speed and word encoding.While previous literature addresses individual components of group differences,the present study compares individuals with dyslexia and normal readers on a variety of eye tracking components,as well as behavioural reading measures.The applied nature of this research allows for a comprehensive understanding of how individuals with dyslexia perceptually encode and process written texts.Using type font(i.e.,Times New Roman vs.OpenDyslexic;a font created to elevate visually specific characteristics of dyslexia)as a mediator,we investigated the group differences in eye movement patterns,text comprehension and reading speed between normal readers and individuals with dyslexia when reading standardized and validated texts designed for a grade six reading comprehension level.Methods:Our 73 participants included 38 normal reading controls and 35 individuals with dyslexia.Participants were administered the symbol search and coding subtests of The Wechsler Adult Scale of Intelligence.Participants then read ten texts from the International Reading Speed Texts:five texts in Times New Roman and five in OpenDyslexic,while binocular eye movements were recorded using a SR Research Eyelink 1000.Results:We found that irrespective of font type,when compared to controls,individuals with dyslexia demonstrated increased re-reading of texts[i.e.,regressions:CI(−0.99,−0.66),Hedges’s gs=−0.83]and number of saccades per trial[CI(−1.42,−1.08),gs=−1.25]as well as increased median fixation duration[CI(−1.15,−0.82),gs=−0.98].The control group had increased reading speed[words per minute:CI(1.48,1.84),gs=1.65],visited less interest areas[CI(−1.48,−1.13),gs=−1.31],and had fewer directional deviations from the horizontal-axis[CI(−0.49,−0.18),gs=−0.33].We found an interaction between text comprehension and font type,with both groups having improved performance with OpenDyslexic.However,results did not show a main effect of group with respect to text comprehension.Conclusions:The lack of group differences in text comprehension illustrates that high-functioning individuals with dyslexia are able to comprehend these elementary level texts,irrespective of font type.However,the erratic nature of their eye movements combined with a slow reading speed suggest that individuals with dyslexia read texts in a different manner;achieving the same understanding as normal readers.Our results suggest that reading speed differences act as compensatory methods in our sample of individuals with dyslexia.
文摘Background:By 2026,projections indicate that 1/5 Canadians will be over the age of 65.This shift in demographics will be accompanied by an increase in age-related eye disease.Survey studies have reported vision loss as a major medical concern among older adults,but there is little information on older adults’awareness and knowledge of age-related eye diseases.A lack of knowledge can lead to missed or delayed treatment and/or lifestyle modification.This study aims to assess the knowledge and understanding older adults have of their own eye disease and its prognosis.Methods:Participants over the age of 50 with a visual impairment were recruited from the MAB-Mackay Rehabilitation Centre,the Low Vision Self-Help Association(LVSHA)of the West Island and through word of mouth.Visual acuity and contrast sensitivity were measured using the ETDRS charts and Mars Charts,respectively.Optical coherence tomography(OCT)/scanning laser ophthalmoscopy was used to take cross-sectional images of participant retinas.Participants were asked to name their visual diagnoses and describe them in their own words.Participant diagnoses were compared to diagnoses determined by an optometrist or ophthalmologist.Results:To date,this study has recruited 26 participants(7M,19F)over the age of 50 years(range,51-95 years).Many participants(73%)were able to name their visual diagnoses,articulate their symptoms,and discuss their treatment and prognosis.The majority of these individuals(67%)were clients of the MAB-Mackay or participants in the LVSHA.Of the 27%(4M,4F)who were unclear or had misunderstood their diagnoses,half were participants in a low vision support group,but they had multiple visual diagnoses and it was the congenital or trauma-related visual impairments acquired before joining the MAB-Mackay or LVSHA that remained unclear.The other 4 individuals who misunderstood their diagnoses were not involved with any low vision or rehabilitation organizations.Conclusions:Visual impairment is sometimes dismissed as part of aging.A lack of awareness and knowledge can lead to missed or delayed treatment and/or lifestyle modifications.The preliminary results of this study demonstrate the important role organizations like the MAB-Mackay and LVSHA play in education and adaptation to low vision for older adults.Individuals with a better understanding of their own diagnoses are more likely to follow through with doctor-recommendations and have successful treatment or slowed progression.
文摘Background:The International Reading Speed Texts(IReST)were developed in Europe as a standardized measure to assess continuous reading in normally sighted and visually impaired individuals.The IReST is used throughout the United States and Canada to assess reading speed;however,the normative values may not be valid in North America(NA).Additionally there are no normative values for individuals with visual impairments.The aim of this study was to validate the IReSTs in a normally sighted English-speaking NA sample with and without a simulated reduction in visual acuity.Methods:Fifty undergraduate students from Concordia University participated in this study.Participants were systematically assigned to a counterbalanced order of testing conditions and were asked to read all 10 IReSTs aloud.The normal and impaired vision conditions were counterbalanced such that the first set of five IReSTs were read with either the participants normal/corrected-to-normal vision or with a simulated 20/80 visual impairment.Results:Multiple two-sample dependent t-tests using a Holm-Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons were used to compare the IReST values(means and standard deviations)to the current sample;the results showed statistically significant differences between the current samples mean reading speed and the values provided by the IReSTs.In all cases,P were equal to or less than 0.005.Mean difference scores ranged from 14.87 to 30.05 wpm,with 95%confidence intervals ranging from 4.82 to 43.32.Measures of effect size using bias corrected Hedge’s g*ranged from 0.83 to 1.32,with 95%confidence intervals ranging from 0.25 to 1.93.Multiple two-sample dependent t-tests using a Holm-Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons were used to compare the mean reading speed in wpm of the normal and impaired vision conditions;the results showed statistically significant differences between the mean reading speeds of the normal vision condition and the simulated impairment condition on the IReSTs.In all cases,the P were less than 0.001.Mean difference scores ranged from 25.44 to 41.8 wpm,with 95%confidence intervals ranging from 21.66 to 46.Measures of effect size using bias corrected Hedge’s g*ranged from 2.74 to 3.81,with 95%confidence intervals ranging from 1.97 to 4.74.Further Bayesian analyses revealed BF10 factors ranging from 1.277×107 to 7.334×1011,indicating decisive evidence for the research.Conclusions:There are statistically significant differences in reading speed between the NA English sample and the normative values established by the IReST;such that reading speeds of the NA English sample are slower than the normative values of the IReST.Additionally,participants in the simulated impairment condition read the IReSTs significantly slower than the normal vision condition.
文摘Background:With a large portion of older adults living longer,the number of individuals diagnosed with low vision is increasing.The use of optical coherence tomography/scanning laser ophthalmoscope(OCT/SLO)to diagnose retinal disease has become common place in the last 10 years,yet currently there are no OCT/SLO databases for pathological vision.Our aim is to develop a clinical database of individuals who have drusen(i.e.,lipid deposits found under the retina),or have been diagnosed with age-related macular degeneration(AMD),with information as to how the structure of the diseased retina changes over time,as well as measures of visual and cognitive functional performance.Methods:Fundus photographs and retinal scans will be taken using the same model of optos OCT/SLO located in three test sites(MAB-Mackay Rehabilitation Centre,School of Optometry Clinic at the University of Montreal,and the Lighthouse Institute,New York,USA).For each individual entry in the database,demographic and diagnosis information will be available.All OCT/SLO images will be graded according to the Age-related Eye Disease Study standard,in addition to number and size of drusen,severity of geographic atrophy,severity of pigment mottling and presence of choroidal neovascularization.Retinal topography and Raster scans from the OCT/SLO will provide a cross-sectional look at affected retinas.Fixation stability will be recorded using the SLO function,and present four different tasks that are designed to reproduce typical tasks of daily vision,with each task lasting for 10 seconds.The tasks are cross fixation,face recognition,visual search,and reading.These tasks in addition to the retinal scans will be used to determine the eccentricity of a preferred retinal locus from the anatomical fovea,and can be used as an outcome measure for clinical interventions in visually impaired patients.Results:The database will be available to professors training eye-care practitioners and rehabilitation specialists as a teaching tool.Students will be able to familiarize themselves with the retina and a variety of AMD-related pathologies before they start working with patients.The database will also be accessible by researchers interested in studying AMD from basic science to epidemiology,to investigate how drusen and AMD impact visual and cognitive functional performance.Conclusions:The common infrastructure is easily accessible to all VHRN members on request.The database will also be accessible online in 2018(see http://cvl.concordia.ca for more information).
文摘Background:Visual salience computed using algorithmic procedures have been shown to predict eye-movements in a number of contexts.However,despite calls to incorporate computationally-defined visual salience metrics as a means of assessing the effectiveness of advertisements,few studies have incorporated these techniques in a marketing context.The present study sought to determine the impact of visual salience and knowledge of a brand on eye-movement patterns and buying preferences.Methods:Participants(N=38)were presented with 54 pairs of products presented on the left and right sides of a blank white screen.For each pair,one product was a known North American product,such as Fresca®,and one was an unknown British product of the same category,such as Irn Bru®.Participants were asked to select which product they would prefer to buy while their eye movements were recorded.Salience was computed using Itti&Koch’s[2001]computational model of bottom-up salience.Products were defined as highly salient if the majority of the first five predicted fixations were in the region of the product.Results:Results showed that participants were much more likely to prefer to buy known products,and tentative evidence suggests that participants had longer total dwell times when looking at unknown products.Salience appears to have had little or no effect on preference for a product,nor did it predict total dwell time or time to first fixation.There also appears to be no interaction between knowledge of a product and visual salience on any of the measures analyzed.Conclusions:The results indicate that product salience may not be a useful predictor of attention under the constraints of the present experiment.Future studies could use a different operational definition of visual salience which might be more predictive of visual attention.Furthermore,a more fine-grained analysis of product familiarity based on survey data may reveal patterns obscured by the definitional constraints of the present study.
文摘Background:Reading enables us to obtain information,to engage in leisure,educational,business and other activities,and fosters cognitive stimulation.Acquired vision loss can have a negative effect on an individual’s ability to read,and,by extension,reduce overall quality of life.In addition,a growing body of research on the association between reading and cognition has linked a decrease in reading ability with negative changes in cognitive function.Therefore,the purpose of the current study is to test the feasibility of a research protocol that will be used to study the association between reduced reading ability and cognitive impairment,specifically in older adults with acquired vision loss.Methods:Seven participants(age range,27-60 years,Mage=44,4 males)completed a series of questionnaires and assessments that measured their cognitive,hearing,and reading abilities.All participants had normal hearing,vision and cognition,with the exception of one(two pre-existing hearing conditions).Cognition was tested using the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test(RAVLT),the RAVLT 50-word Recognition test,the Verbal Fluency Test,an auditory Trail-Making task,and an auditory 1-N-back memory task.Otoscopy was used to assess ear health,and hearing was measured with self-administered computerized audiometry(Home Hearing Test)and a speech-in-noise test(Canadian Digit Triplet Test).Questionnaires included the Hearing Handicap Inventory for the Elderly,and a multiple-choice questionnaire on subjective reading ability and reading habits.Finally,reading acuity,speed and comprehension were assessed using the International Reading Speed Texts and the MNRead.Results:In testing the feasibility of this protocol,the uninterrupted length of testing time,including obtaining consent,was determined to be between 60-90 min.Several of the assessments and tests(RAVLT,MNRead,audiogram)were reported to be mentally taxing.However,all pilot participants were able to complete all tasks.With the exception of standardized tests,some of the instructions required refinement and clarification,in order to better explain the tasks for each test.Conclusions:Anticipating that the protocol will be more demanding for the ultimate target population,who will be older adults with sensory impairment,these pilot results were used to guide a strategy for collecting the dependent measures.It was decided to administer the most important measure in each of the domains(e.g.,MNRead,audiogram,RAVLT)to ensure that data on vision,hearing,reading and cognition are collected.Depending on the level of fatigue and motivation of the participants,secondary measures in each domain(the International Reading Speed Texts,CDTT,the 1-N-back task)will be administered afterward.Multiple sessions and breaks will be offered as needed.Data collection with novice vision rehabilitation clients will begin at the end of January 2019.
文摘Background:Spot reading,the ability to obtain short pieces of visual information,can easily be rehabilitated with magnification devices,such as loupes or portable closed-circuit TVs(CCTVs).However,they have limitations such as screen size and price and have previously been shown to be stigmatizing when used in public.The arrival of tablet computers provides an alternative with greater magnification at a reduced price.We present preliminary results on the objective and subjective comparison of the iPad and a portable CCTV for spot-reading tasks.Methods:Twenty-three men and 30 women aged 19-93 years,with impaired visual acuity(<20/60)due to central visual impairment,were asked to complete spot-reading tasks involving three common objects(TV cable bill,nutrition info on food package,box of eye drops)using the iPad and a portable CCTV in randomized order.We measured their ability to complete each task and the time it took,in addition to their subjective device assessment and preference.Results:A Bayes Factor and effect size analysis showed no statistically significant differences between the device conditions in the time to complete each task[BF01>4.05,median=−0.043,95%credible interval(−0.21,0.234)].Choosing one device over the other may simply depend on preference which,in our cohort,was divided(39.6%iPad,56.6%CCTV,3.8%neither)and which could be influenced by factors such as device size,usability or stigmatization.Conclusions:The data indicate that,for certain spot reading tasks and levels of difficulty,the use of a tablet computer may be as efficient and effective as a traditional device such as a portable CCTV.Future investigations will further examine device preference as we predict that it may influence device success and continuation of use.
文摘Background:The perceptions surrounding assistive technology have been shown to be increasingly stigmatizing in older adult populations.This stigmatization can lead individuals to the abandonment of the assistive device.Until now,the methods of identifying or predicting the stigma surrounding assistive technology has mostly been qualitative in nature.Here we present a novel quantitate and qualitative research study that uses neuro-cognitive(psychophysics and EEG)and eye tracking technology,in addition to a new questionnaire to investigate the stigma associated with assistive devices.Therefore,this approach plays a major role in understanding and predicting the neural and physiological correlates associated to stigma.Methods:Thirty-four older adults(>50 years)took part in the study.To determine the psychophysiological predictors of stigma surrounding assistive technologies,we monitored brain activity using EEG,heart rate and eye movements using an eye-tracker while participants viewed a series of images containing either an older or younger individual in different social scenarios(e.g.,talking to doctor,at coffee shop).In each scenario,the individual uses either no assistive device,a low stigmatizing device(e.g.,iPad),or a high stigmatizing device(e.g.,electronic magnifier).Results:Here we present preliminary analysis of the eye movement data.Analysis shows that in comparison to images that contained a low stigmatizing device,in images that contain high stigmatizing devices,the latency to fixate the device is shorter,first fixation duration is longer,and the total number of fixations on the device are higher.The environment that the devices is used in has no effect on eye movement metrics.Conclusions:Although the sample size is small,and based on a healthy older-adult population,these initial observations would indicate that latency to fixate and first fixation duration are predictors of stigma associated with assistive devices.Future research should expand this prediction to those actively using assistive devices,and how the measures predict abandonment over time.
