Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-12T22:58:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 arquivo3606_1.pdf: 567090 bytes, checksum: 441c81ec29aa08c47071194a57ff11c1 (MD5) license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / O fenômeno de Muitas-Faces, foi descoberto no LabVis-UFPE quando estavam sendo feitas pesquisas sobre a detecção do contraste de freqüências espaciais, radiais e angulares na região do ponto cego no sistema visual humano. O fenômeno ocorre quando se observa uma face na periferia do campo visual e é caracterizado pela percepção de movimento/mudança de expressão facial nos olhos, boca, face, sobrancelha e 3D; e pelo surgimento de características diferentes ou outras faces (cabeça para baixo, vê a si mesmo, vê mais jovem ou mais velho, surgimento de dentes, bigode/barba, mudança de cabelo, vê perfil de outras faces). No presente estudo, o fenômeno foi estudado em portadores de esquizofrenia (EZ). Esta última é uma desordem que ocorre em cerca de 1 % da população mundial e afeta a percepção e a cognição. Baseado no conhecimento já relatado na literatura em estudos com métodos psicofísicos e fisiológicos, e nos critérios diagnósticos da esquizofrenia, a presente investigação teve como objetivo verificar a ocorrência da observação do Muitas-Faces em indivíduos portadores desta patologia. O estudo foi feito com voluntários não ingênuos (que já observaram o fenômeno) com idade variada, divididos em 2 grupos de 20 voluntários: um grupo formado por portadores de EZ (experimental) e outro com pessoas sem o diagnóstico (controle). Foi utilizada uma face feminina como face-estímulo medindo 21 graus de ângulo visual, sempre apresentada na periferia. O resultado mostrou diferença significante entre os grupos e gênero dos voluntários. Mais mulheres do grupo experimental relataram a observação do Muitas-Faces com o olho esquerdo, o que sugere uma preferência pelo hemisfério cerebral direito no processamento do Muitas-Faces, quando o córtex está afetado por esta patologia

How context affects memory is the central focus of the six experiments making up this PhD thesis. In these experiments, pictures of faces were presented in an incidental encoding phase, paired with a variety of indoor and outdoor context scenes (e.g., park, supermarket, swimming pool), and a recognition memory test ensued in which faces were paired with either the same context (exact same context the face was paired with at encoding), switched context (a context that was presented at study, but not presented with that particular face), or new context (a context never before seen), relative to encoding. In Experiment 1, the importance of instructions at encoding was examined by manipulating instructions to either actively link or passively view the face and context at encoding. Maintaining the same context as at encoding reliably enhanced overall detection, and recollection, of studied faces relative to a new context, replicating the known context reinstatement (CR) effect. There was also a reliable memory benefit for faces paired at test with the same relative to a switched context, indicating a context specificity (CS) effect on memory. Encoding instructions to either actively link, or passively view, face-context pairs during encoding did not influence the presence or magnitude of the CR or CS effects, suggesting that linking of target + context may occur spontaneously. In Experiment 2, dividing attention did not influence CR, but did eliminate the CS effect on overall memory. Findings suggest that the general boost to memory from reinstating an old relative to a totally new context at test is robust, though linking specific contexts to targets is hampered when attention is limited during encoding. In Experiments 3 and 4, familiarity of the face to the observer interacted with context effects. In Experiment 3, face familiarity was manipulated by presenting famous versus non-famous faces during encoding and an attenuated CR effect was observed for famous relative to non-famous (unfamiliar) faces, though CS remained. In Experiment 4, degree of familiarity was controlled by pre-exposing the study faces 0, 1, 3, or 10 times prior to the study phase. After just one pre-exposure to an unfamiliar face, the CR effect was reduced. Experiment 5 examined whether distinctive faces were less susceptible to context effects relative to similarly familiar, but less distinctive, faces. CR and CS effects were predicted for out-group faces (Caucasian faces for Asian participants and Asian faces for Caucasian participants), and a reduction in both CR and CS for in-group faces (Caucasian faces for Caucasian participants and Asian faces for Asian participants). Results indicated no difference in CR or CS across the conditions, suggesting that distinctiveness may not be an important factor in mediating context effects. The final experiment examined how the expectancy of a face + context pairing influenced CR and CS effects, even when the target face was familiar. There were robust CR and CS effects for faces when these were repeatedly paired with a specific context during study, but a loss of both effects when faces were paired with varying contexts during study. Results extend our current knowledge regarding the role of context in memory and supports memory models that suggest context information presented at test acts as a cue that uniquely specifies a particular target.

No description available.

This research documents for the first time changes in the facial appearance that occur in female-to-male transsexuals (FTMs) with exogenous testosterone therapy and oophorectomy. Method: 25 FTM transsexual faces were assessed morphologically using comparative facial analysis, and morphometrically using 2D pre-transition photographs and 3D post-transition facial models (FASTSCAN Scorpion laser scanner & Geomagic Freeform - a 3D modeling software with Phantom haptic feedback device). Subjects: The average age of the post-transition subjects was 39 years; all subjects had been taking testosterone for a minimum of 3 years (range 3.3 � 21.1 years), with an average duration of 8.6 years. Objectives: To describe the qualitative and quantitative transformation from a female-appearing to a male-appearing face, and to identify predictable patterns of change due to testosterone treatment. Results: 24% of subjects were classified as male-appearing pre-transition, and 96% post-transition; 96% had beard shadow/facial hair and 52% demonstrated male pattern balding. The majority of subjects (44%) became wider in the face overall, and facial width increases were the most frequently recorded change. 18 subjects demonstrated a narrower nasal width; 55.6% of those by between 7 - 17% of their original dimensions. Conclusions: Testosterone virilises natal female adult faces. One new consistent pattern of change was shown to be predictable: the nose will narrow at the alae. It is hypothesised that this is a result of facial fat re-deposition.

The question of the size and configuration of urban blocks and building footprints are vital to making a livable and sustainable city, with a sense of scale but also a sense of dialogue between elements. This dissertation documents the interface of public and private realms at the edge of the block and proposes a typology of block-faces. The block-faces respond to buildings (the internal load of blocks) and street structure (the external load of blocks). It is argued that the block-face and not the block should be the basis for thinking of city form. The City of Atlanta is used as a case study because of the spectrum of conditions and possibilities that it illustrates. The quantitative approach of this work builds upon a research tradition of analytical and quantitative urban and building morphology. A method is proposed for assessing the potential of the existing city prior to design intervention and for evaluating alternative scenarios for future developments. The ultimate goal is to provide tools to design more sustainable communities by bridging differences of scales and by better understanding how urban design parameters influence the development of built form and architecture.

How context affects memory is the central focus of the six experiments making up this PhD thesis. In these experiments, pictures of faces were presented in an incidental encoding phase, paired with a variety of indoor and outdoor context scenes (e.g., park, supermarket, swimming pool), and a recognition memory test ensued in which faces were paired with either the same context (exact same context the face was paired with at encoding), switched context (a context that was presented at study, but not presented with that particular face), or new context (a context never before seen), relative to encoding. In Experiment 1, the importance of instructions at encoding was examined by manipulating instructions to either actively link or passively view the face and context at encoding. Maintaining the same context as at encoding reliably enhanced overall detection, and recollection, of studied faces relative to a new context, replicating the known context reinstatement (CR) effect. There was also a reliable memory benefit for faces paired at test with the same relative to a switched context, indicating a context specificity (CS) effect on memory. Encoding instructions to either actively link, or passively view, face-context pairs during encoding did not influence the presence or magnitude of the CR or CS effects, suggesting that linking of target + context may occur spontaneously. In Experiment 2, dividing attention did not influence CR, but did eliminate the CS effect on overall memory. Findings suggest that the general boost to memory from reinstating an old relative to a totally new context at test is robust, though linking specific contexts to targets is hampered when attention is limited during encoding. In Experiments 3 and 4, familiarity of the face to the observer interacted with context effects. In Experiment 3, face familiarity was manipulated by presenting famous versus non-famous faces during encoding and an attenuated CR effect was observed for famous relative to non-famous (unfamiliar) faces, though CS remained. In Experiment 4, degree of familiarity was controlled by pre-exposing the study faces 0, 1, 3, or 10 times prior to the study phase. After just one pre-exposure to an unfamiliar face, the CR effect was reduced. Experiment 5 examined whether distinctive faces were less susceptible to context effects relative to similarly familiar, but less distinctive, faces. CR and CS effects were predicted for out-group faces (Caucasian faces for Asian participants and Asian faces for Caucasian participants), and a reduction in both CR and CS for in-group faces (Caucasian faces for Caucasian participants and Asian faces for Asian participants). Results indicated no difference in CR or CS across the conditions, suggesting that distinctiveness may not be an important factor in mediating context effects. The final experiment examined how the expectancy of a face + context pairing influenced CR and CS effects, even when the target face was familiar. There were robust CR and CS effects for faces when these were repeatedly paired with a specific context during study, but a loss of both effects when faces were paired with varying contexts during study. Results extend our current knowledge regarding the role of context in memory and supports memory models that suggest context information presented at test acts as a cue that uniquely specifies a particular target.

Infants prefer familiar adults (e.g. parents) to unfamiliar adults (e.g. strangers), but they also vary in which strangers they prefer. By 6-months, infants look longer at attractive than unattractive faces (e.g., Langlois et al., 1987); and by 12-months, infants show approach behaviors toward attractive strangers and withdrawal behaviors toward unattractive strangers (Langlois, Roggman, & Rieser-Danner, 1990). These preferences may be due to a mechanism referred to as cognitive averaging (e.g., Rubenstein, Kalakanis, & Langlois, 1999). Infants cognitively average face exemplars to form a face prototype. Infants likely perceive attractive faces as familiar because these faces are similar to the face prototype; and they likely perceive unattractive faces as especially novel because these face are dissimilar from the face prototype. Even young infants may be more motivated to approach attractive than unattractive faces but do not fully express this motivation due to limitations in locomotion and communication. I applied EEG asymmetry to study neural correlates of approach and withdrawal motivation in response to attractive and unattractive faces with 6- and 10-month-olds. More specifically, I measured EEG alpha power at mid-frontal regions while 39 infants viewed a series of attractive and unattractive faces. Left EEG asymmetry relates to approach motivation whereas right EEG asymmetry relates to withdrawal motivation. I predicted infants would show greater left EEG asymmetry (i.e., approach motivation) when viewing attractive faces than when viewing unattractive faces, and that 6-montholds would show even greater left asymmetry than 10-month-olds due to developmental differences in stranger wariness. Results supported the main hypothesis but not hypotheses regarding age. Infant EEG asymmetry was greater in response to attractive faces than unattractive faces suggesting that infants are more motivated to approach attractive people than unattractive people as early as 6-months. These results link visual preferences evident at 6-months to overt behaviors evident by 12-months providing additional information regarding rudiments of attractiveness stereotypes. Furthermore, this investigation supports the use of EEG asymmetry methodology to measure infant approach/withdrawal motivation, providing infant researchers one more tool to better understand how infants evaluate novel individuals in their social environment as they decide whom to approach and whom to avoid. / text

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-12T22:58:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 arquivo2796_1.pdf: 2668973 bytes, checksum: 9f63abc8e5ae7aa934c1743171a76f52 (MD5) license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / Faculdade de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco / A adaptação visual a faces na periferia visual pode provocar alterações dinâmicas na percepção induzindo a um tipo de fenômeno inicialmente nomeado Fenômeno Muitas Faces e agora chamado Ilusão de Múltiplas Configurações . Ele consiste na percepção de movimentos, mudanças de expressão facial, surgimento de outras características ou diferentes identidades de faces. Nós investigamos a freqüência de observações de movimento (categoria 1) e surgimento de outras características ou outras faces (categoria 2) e comparamos tipo de imagem ( Faces/ Objetos) e Lateralidade (Fóvea, 15º à direita à e esquerda). Os experimentos testaram quatro grupos: 1) Adultos saudáveis universitários (81 voluntários, sendo 30 homens ); 2) Grupo Experimental 1- Pacientes portadores de esquizofrenia tratados com anti-psicóticos atípicos, (10 voluntários: 7 homens); 3) Grupo Experimental 2-Pacientes portadores de esquizofrenia tratados com anti-psicóticos típicos (7 voluntários: 3 homens); 4) Grupo Controle- Adultos saudáveis (10 voluntários: 5 homens ). Faces e de objetos foram usadas como estímulos. Cada imagem foi apresentada em um monitor 17 durante 1 minuto. Os sujeitos foram instruídos a fixar o olhar no ponto central. Os voluntários quantificaram a ocorrência da ilusão pressionando duas teclas do computador: (1) para movimento; (2) para o surgimento de novas características. Os resultados dos universitários saudáveis mostraram que a ilusão pode ocorrer com faces e objetos, nas periferias e no centro. No entanto, observações ocorreram mais frequentemente com faces em ambas as periferias. A categoria 2 ocorreu mais frequentemente quando faces foram apresentadas. O melhor desempenho para faces parece estar relacionado o envolvimento de áreas corticais especializadas no processamento de faces. Apresentações na periferia do campo visual podem aumentar a ocorrência da ilusão em decorrência da acuidade empobrecida e lacunas (ponto cego). Nós concluímos que a Ilusão de Múltiplas Configurações pode estar relacionada com um processo de preenchimento top-down da informação sensorial bottom-up empobrecida. Os resultados com pacientes Esquizofrênicos mostraram que GE1 não percebeu a ilusão. Ao contrário, GE2 mostrou maior freqüência do que GC. Concluímos que antipsicóticos atípicos deve exercer maior controle inibitório sobre mecanismos visuais top-down

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-12T23:00:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 arquivo8588_1.pdf: 1463271 bytes, checksum: 714c79d6726495fb1757b7278ffe7cb9 (MD5) license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007 / O Fenômeno Muitas Faces ocorre quando faces são apresentadas na periferia do campo visual. Caracteriza-se pela percepção de variações na imagem, tais como movimentos, mudanças de expressão facial, surgimento de outras características ou outras faces sobrepondo a face apresentada na foto-estímulo. Participaram do presente estudo, 60 voluntários (30 masculinos e 30 femininos), adultos (18 à 30 anos) e saudáveis. Todos foram testados com método psicofísico. Foram instruídos a observar, monocularmente, imagens acromáticas de face e de cadeira, centradas no ponto cego direito ou esquerdo, durante 3 minutos em cada uma das 4 situações experimentais. Foi solicitado aos voluntários que pressionassem a tecla 1 cada vez que percebessem movimento ou mudanças de expressão facial (categoria1) ou a tecla 2 para o surgimento de outra característica ou faces (categoria 2). Os resultados, analisados com a ANOVA e pós-teste Newman-Keuls, apontam para maior incidência do Fenômeno quando usado o estímulo de face com ambos os olhos direito (p=0,001) e esquerdo (p=0,005), principalmente com relação à categoria 2 (p= 0,0001 com olho direito e p= 0,0004 com olho esquerdo). Concluiu-se que embora o Fenômeno ocorra com maior freqüência, com estímulos de faces, ele não é restrito a faces, podendo ocorrer com outro objeto visual (cadeira). Ele parece estar relacionado à adaptação periférica indutora da ativação top-down das áreas de memória visual relacionadas ao estímulo observado. A maior freqüência observada da face pode ser pertinente à especialização na identificação e reconhecimento deste objeto visual. Em adição, um estudo piloto, usando Ressonância Magnética Funcional (fMRI), mapeou a atividade cortical de 1 (um) sujeito durante a apresentação de uma face posicionada no centro, direita ou esquerda do campo visual. Os resultados, tratados com o teste-t pareado, indicaram padrão de atividade no giro fusiforme. A ativação dessa área aumentou após a repetição dos módulos de apresentação, especialmente quando a face foi posicionada nas periferias direita e esquerda. Portanto, o Fenômeno Muitas Faces pode estar relacionado à ativação sustentada do giro fusiforme

Facial expressions are a useful source of information about the emotional state of others. However, facial expressions do not always correspond with an underlying emotional state. It is advantageous for perceivers to be able to differentiate between those expressions that are associated with a corresponding emotional state (genuine expressions) and those which are not associated with underlying emotions (posed expressions). The present study investigated the sensitivity of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and age and sex-matched control children to the different emotions underlying posed and genuine smiles. The first task required participants to listen to 12 emotion eliciting stories and select, from a grid of 4 facial expressions (a genuine smile, a posed smile, a neutral expression and a sad expression) that which matched how the target in the story would feel. Children with ASD correctly matched facial expressions and stories than did participants without ASD. The second task required children to look at a series of faces, each displaying either a posed smile, a genuine smile or a neutral expression and indicate whether each target was or was not happy. Participants with ASD were less sensitive both to the underlying emotional state of the targets and to the difference between posed and genuine smiles than were the control participants. Results are discussed in terms of the social deficits symptomatic of ASD.