Oscillations in the perception of ambiguous patterns a model based on synergetics

An algorithm which can be realized by synergetic systems and which was introduced by one of us (Haken 1987) for the recognition of patterns is extended so that the perception of ambiguous patterns can be modelled. In this approach so-called attention parameters are subjected to a damping mechanism mimicking the effect of saturation of attention. In this way oscillations of perception arise quite naturally. Our approach takes also ambiguous patterns with bias into account which leads to different periods of the attention paid to the one or the other interpretation of the pattern. Our results are in good agreement with previous psycho-physical studies by other authors. Finally we show how hysteresis of perception can be modelled.     

Sensing with electro-switchable biosurfaces

The conformation of charged molecules tethered to conducting substrates can be controlled efficiently through the application of external voltages. Biomolecules like DNA or oligopeptides can be forced to stretch away from??or fold onto??surfaces biased at moderate potentials of merely hundreds of millivolts. These externally controlled conformation changes can be used to switch the biological function of molecular monolayers on and off, by revealing or concealing molecular recognition sites at will. Moreover, the electrical actuation of biomolecular surface probes bears great potential as a novel, label-free, yet highly sensitive measurement modality for the analysis of molecular interactions. The binding of target molecules to an oscillating probe layer significantly alters the layer??s switching behavior in terms of the conformation switching amplitude and, most remarkably, with respect to the molecular switching dynamics. Analyzing the switching response of target?Cprobe complexes from the low- to the high-frequency regime reveals a wealth of previously inaccessible information. Besides ??classical?? interaction parameters like binding affinities and kinetic rate constants, information on the size, shape, bending flexibility, and elasticity of the target molecule may be obtained in a single assay. This review describes the advent of electrically switchable biosurfaces, focusing on DNA monolayers. The preparation of self-assembled switchable oligonucleotide monolayers and their electrical interactions with charged substrates are highlighted. Special attention is paid to the merits of evaluating the dynamic response of charged biolayers which are operated at high driving frequencies. Several applications of biosensors based on electrically manipulated molecules are exemplified. It is emphasized that the electrical actuation of biomolecules bears many advantages over passive sensor surfaces.     

Bifurcation study of a neural field competition model with an application to perceptual switching in motion integration

Perceptual multistability is a phenomenon in which alternate interpretations of a fixed stimulus are perceived intermittently. Although correlates between activity in specific cortical areas and perception have been found, the complex patterns of activity and the underlying mechanisms that gate multistable perception are little understood. Here, we present a neural field competition model in which competing states are represented in a continuous feature space. Bifurcation analysis is used to describe the different types of complex spatio-temporal dynamics produced by the model in terms of several parameters and for different inputs. The dynamics of the model was then compared to human perception investigated psychophysically during long presentations of an ambiguous, multistable motion pattern known as the barberpole illusion. In order to do this, the model is operated in a parameter range where known physiological response properties are reproduced whilst also working close to bifurcation. The model accounts for characteristic behaviour from the psychophysical experiments in terms of the type of switching observed and changes in the rate of switching with respect to contrast. In this way, the modelling study sheds light on the underlying mechanisms that drive perceptual switching in different contrast regimes. The general approach presented is applicable to a broad range of perceptual competition problems in which spatial interactions play a role.     

Timing of diapause in relation to temporally variable catastrophes

This paper analyses the response of the distribution of diapause switching times in an arthropod population with respect to variation in a catastrophe, which kills nondiapause individuals. For concreteness, the catastrophe will be taken to the onset of winter. The relationship between an individual's switching time and the decision whether to diapause is defined as follows: If she passes through the end of the sensitive period, during which the diapause decision is made, before her switching time, she will complete development and reproduce rather than diapause. If she passes through the sensitive period on or after her switching time, she will diapause. The model follows the evolution of the distribution of switching times for a population over a sequence of years. Random variation in the end of the season is created by sampling from a normal distribution of times at the end of the growing season. The model is for a haploid population in which the distribution of switching times that a female passes to her offspring is normally distributed having her switching time as its mean. This approximates a sexual population with strong positive assortative mating and heritability near 1. This mode of inheritance permits a rapid response to yearly changes in the end of the season as a contrast to earlier models, which incorporated a slow response. Patterns of temporal change in the median switching time are analyzed. The influences of three parameters are considered: the mean and standard deviation of the end of the season, and standard deviation of the offspring distribution. The main conclusion differs from the results of earlier models in that the end of the season must be extremely variable before the median of the distribution of switching times displays conservative behavior, i. e., before it becomes significantly earlier than the median expected when the end of the season is constant and equal to the mean of the normal distribution for the end of the season used in the simulation. Previous models predicted a conservative response even in moderately variable environments.     

Perceptual switch rates with ambiguous structure-from-motion figures in bipolar disorder

Slowing of the rate at which a rivalrous percept switches from one configuration to another has been suggested as a potential trait marker for bipolar disorder. We measured perceptual alternations for a bistable, rotating, structure-from-motion cylinder in bipolar and control participants. In a control task, binocular depth rendered the direction of cylinder rotation unambiguous to monitor participants' performance and attention during the experimental task. A particular direction of rotation was perceptually stable, on average, for 33.5s in participants without psychiatric diagnosis. Euthymic, bipolar participants showed a slightly slower rate of switching between the two percepts (percept duration 42.3s). Under a parametric analysis of the best-fitting model for individual participants, this difference was statistically significant. However, the variability within groups was high, so this difference in average switch rates was not big enough to serve as a trait marker for bipolar disorder. We also found that low-level visual capacities, such as stereo threshold, influence perceptual switch rates. We suggest that there is no single brain location responsible for perceptual switching in all different ambiguous figures and that perceptual switching is generated by the actions of local cortical circuitry.     

Overt visual attention as a causal factor of perceptual awareness

Our everyday conscious experience of the visual world is fundamentally shaped by the interaction of overt visual attention and object awareness. Although the principal impact of both components is undisputed, it is still unclear how they interact. Here we recorded eye-movements preceding and following conscious object recognition, collected during the free inspection of ambiguous and corresponding unambiguous stimuli. Using this paradigm, we demonstrate that fixations recorded prior to object awareness predict the later recognized object identity, and that subjects accumulate more evidence that is consistent with their later percept than for the alternative. The timing of reached awareness was verified by a reaction-time based correction method and also based on changes in pupil dilation. Control experiments, in which we manipulated the initial locus of visual attention, confirm a causal influence of overt attention on the subsequent result of object perception. The current study thus demonstrates that distinct patterns of overt attentional selection precede object awareness and thereby directly builds on recent electrophysiological findings suggesting two distinct neuronal mechanisms underlying the two phenomena. Our results emphasize the crucial importance of overt visual attention in the formation of our conscious experience of the visual world.     

Disambiguating ambiguous figures by a model of selective attention

Ambiguous figures are visual stimuli which are interpreted multiply by the human visual system. A model is proposed which disambiguates the ambiguous figures. The model was formulated based on the characteristics of visual information processing, accompanied with selective attention. In the ambiguous figure my husband and my father-in-law, it was necessary to simulate visual information processing so that attention was directed to the multiple features in the figure to disambiguate the ambiguous figure. Pictures, obtained from the model, were examined as to whether they were interpreted unambiguously or not. Results show that the model, simulated selective attention, can disambiguate the ambiguous figures. This suggests that the image per se, viewed through selective attention, becomes unambiguous before the figure is interpreted in the higher level. Results also show that the computer simulation of selective attention would make it possible to examine factors affecting the initial interpretation of the figure.     

Individual differences in perceptual switching rates; the role of occipital alpha and frontal theta band activity

Prolonged presentation of visually ambiguous figures leads to perceptual switching. Individual switching rates show great variability. The present study compares individuals with high versus low switching rates by investigating human scalp electroencephalogram and blink rates. Eight subjects viewed the Necker cube continuously and responded to perceptual switching by pressing a button. Frequent switchers showed characteristic occipital alpha and frontal theta band activity prior to a switch, whereas infrequent switchers did not. The alpha activity was specific to switching, the theta activity was generic to perceptual processing conditions. A negative correlation was observed between perceptual switching and blink rates. These results suggest that the ability to concentrate attentional effort on the task is responsible for the differences in perceptual switching rates     

Directed attention influence on the human brain potentials under conditions of probability visual stimulation

Saccadic latency and averaged EEG-potentials connected with switching on of the set and cue visual stimuli were examined in 12 right-handed healthy subjects in M. Posner's "cost-benefit" experimental paradigm. It was shown that attention was reflected in parameters of positive potential P100 evoked by switching on of set and cue stimuli and P300 and slow positive wave PMP1 evoked by switching on of the set stimulus in the relevant conditions. The spatiotemporal pattern of P100 probably reflects the involvement of the frontoparietal network of spacial attention in the perception of a relevant stimulus. Prevalence of the P300 and PMP1 potentials in the right parietal cortex suggests that these potentials reflect processes of space attention and visual fixation. Late positive potentials in a 600-900-ms interval after switching on of the set stimulus were found. Their amplitude was higher in backward averaging and they were predominantly localized in the left frontal cortex. These findings suggest that the late potentials reflect the anticipation and motor attention processes.     

Optimization of feeding profile for a fed-batch bioreactor by an evolutionary algorithm

The optimal feeding profile of a fed batch process was designed by means of an evolutionary algorithm. The algorithm chromosomes include the real-valued parameters of a profile function, defined by previous knowledge. Each chromosome is composed of the parameters that define the feeding profile: the feed rates, the singular arc parameters and the switching times between the profile states. The feed profile design was tested on a fed-batch process simulation. The accepted profiles were smooth and similar to those derived analytically in other studies. Two selection functions, roulette wheel and geometric ranking, were compared. In order to overcome the problem of model mismatches, a novel optimization scheme was carried out. During its operation the process was sampled, the model was updated and the optimization procedure was applied. The on-line optimization showed improvement in the objective function for relatively low sample times. Choosing the sampling frequencies depends on the process dynamics and the time required for the measurements and optimization. Further study on experiments of fed-batch process demonstrated the use of complex, non-differentiable model and produced improved process performances using the optimal feeding profile.     

Nematode small subunit phylogeny correlates with alignment parameters

The number of nuclear small subunit (SSU) ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequences for Nematoda has increased dramatically in recent years, and although their use in constructing phylogenies has also increased, relatively little attention has been given to their alignment. Here we examined the sensitivity of the nematode SSU data set to different alignment parameters and to the removal of alignment ambiguous regions. Ten alignments were created with CLUSTAL W using different sets of alignment parameters (10 full alignments), and each alignment was examined by eye and alignment ambiguous regions were removed (creating 10 reduced alignments). These alignment ambiguous regions were analyzed as a third type of data set, culled alignments. Maximum parsimony, neighbor-joining, and parsimony bootstrap analyses were performed. The resulting phylogenies were compared to each other by the symmetric difference distance tree comparison metric (SymD). The correlation of the phylogenies with the alignment parameters was tested by comparing matrices from SymD with corresponding matrices of Manhattan distances representing the alignment parameters. Differences among individual parsimony trees from the full alignments were frequently correlated with the differences among alignment parameters (580/1000 tests), as were trees from the culled alignments (403/1000 tests). Differences among individual parsimony trees from the reduced alignments were less frequently correlated with the differences among alignment parameters (230/1000 tests). Differences among majority-rule consensus trees (50%) from the parsimony analysis of the full alignments were significantly correlated with the differences among alignment parameters, whereas consensus trees from the reduced and culled analyses were not correlated with the alignment parameters. These patterns of correlation confirm that choice of alignment parameters has the potential to bias the resultant phylogenies for the nematode SSU data set, and suggest that the removal of alignment ambiguous regions reduces this effect. Finally, we discuss the implications of conservative phylogenetic hypotheses for Nematoda produced by exploring alignment space and removing alignment ambiguous regions for SSU rDNA.     

Application of learning techniques to splicing site recognition

Most genes of eukaryotic genomes are disrupted by introns. The application of a learning technique which uses both statistic and syntactic analysis lead to the establishment of logical rules enabling the recognition of intron/exon junctions between uncoding and coding sequences. The rules were tested on rat actin gene sequences containing some or all of the introns and 50 exon nucleotides on either side of the intron. The results show good recognition of the excision site. This recognition is more ambiguous when the sequence is short; for the acceptor sequence it presents a good selection. The learning achieved with both the donor and acceptor sequence does not lead to recognition. This result indicates that it is not the relationship between donor and acceptor sites in the same intron which determines sequence selection or the splicing mechanism.     

Oscillatory neural network model of attention focus formation and control

A new mechanism to control attention focus formation and switching in the model of selective attention is suggested and studied. The model is based on an oscillatory neural network (ONN) with the star-like architecture and phase shifts in connections between oscillators. Attention is modelled as a dynamical mode of partial synchronisation between a particular subgroup of oscillators and the central oscillator (CO). A new theoretical method to study full and partial synchronisation in the system is presented. Equations for the frequency of synchronisation are derived which allow the programming of the dynamical behaviour of the system depending on the parameters. In particular, we show that phase shifts in connections between oscillators provide an efficient mechanism of attention control.     

Temporal patterning in an auditory illusion: the verbal transformation effect

When the same syllable is presented repeatedly to a human subject, it undergoes perceptual changes known as verbal transformations. However, the dynamics of such perceptual changes is poorly understood. In the present work we show that the main organization of the perceptual transitions is into pairs. This pairwise coupling is pronounced in the frequency of switching to pair members, but not in their dwell times (the time spent perceiving a given phonemic form before switching to another form). We show that the paircoupled transforms of perception have a faster and more stable dynamic than the nonpaircoupled transforms. We also demonstrate that the pairwise coupling is stronger than would be expected from random arrangement of small numbers of transforms. These characteristic patterns of verbal transforms have been predicted by a mathematical model, first proposed as a model of perceptual alternations of ambiguous visual figures. Received: 19 February 1997 / Accepted in revised form: 27 May 1997     

The role of attention in ambiguous reversals of structure-from-motion

Multiple dots moving independently back and forth on a flat screen induce a compelling illusion of a sphere rotating in depth (structure-from-motion). If all dots simultaneously reverse their direction of motion, two perceptual outcomes are possible: either the illusory rotation reverses as well (and the illusory depth of each dot is maintained), or the illusory rotation is maintained (but the illusory depth of each dot reverses). We investigated the role of attention in these ambiguous reversals. Greater availability of attention--as manipulated with a concurrent task or inferred from eye movement statistics--shifted the balance in favor of reversing illusory rotation (rather than depth). On the other hand, volitional control over illusory reversals was limited and did not depend on tracking individual dots during the direction reversal. Finally, display properties strongly influenced ambiguous reversals. Any asymmetries between 'front' and 'back' surfaces--created either on purpose by coloring or accidentally by random dot placement--also shifted the balance in favor of reversing illusory rotation (rather than depth). We conclude that the outcome of ambiguous reversals depends on attention, specifically on attention to the illusory sphere and its surface irregularities, but not on attentive tracking of individual surface dots.     

Pulsed field electrophoresis

Pulsed field electrophoresis, or PFE, provides good separation between large molecules that under constant field electrophoresis are hard to isolate. This is due to the weak dependence of the constant field mobility on the molecular weight for these large molecules. If a spectrum of relaxation times exists that describes the recovery of the mobility to its constant field value after a reversal of the field, then we show that molecules with differing molecular weights are separated into two groups. Those with short relaxation times are unaffected by the cycling of the field and those with long relaxation times exhibit reduced mobilities. If the molecules adopt conformations that decrease their mobility initially, after a field reversal we demonstrate that a minimum develops in the mobility as a junction of the relaxation time. Using the model we demonstrate that effects of varying the switching times as a function of time. We predict that exponential rather than linear dependencies of the switching times on time increase the range of molecular weights over which enhanced separation can occur.     

Traveling EEG slow oscillation along the dorsal attention network initiates spontaneous perceptual switching

An ambiguous figure such as the Necker cube causes spontaneous perceptual switching (SPS). The mechanism of SPS in multistable perception has not yet been determined. Although early psychological studies suggested that SPS may be caused by fatigue or satiation of orientation, the neural mechanism of SPS is still unknown. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has shown that the dorsal attention network (DAN), which mainly controls voluntary attention, is involved in bistable perception of the Necker cube. To determine whether neural dynamics along the DAN cause SPS, we performed simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG) and fMRI during an SPS task with the Necker cube, with every SPS reported by pressing a button. This EEG–fMRI integrated analysis showed that (a) 3–4 Hz spectral EEG power modulation at fronto-central, parietal, and centro-parietal electrode sites sequentially appeared from 750 to 350 ms prior to the button press; and (b) activations correlating with the EEG modulation traveled along the DAN from the frontal to the parietal regions. These findings suggest that slow oscillation initiates SPS through global dynamics along the attentional system such as the DAN.