A lexicon describing the sensory perception of carbonated water was developed. Temporal aspects and differing ingestion conditions were investigated for Bite and Burn sensation using time-intensity (T-I). Four CO₂ levels (0, 1.7, 2.8, and 4.6 volumes) at 3°C and 10°C were tested. Trained panelists used a 16-pt category scale for evaluation in the first study. One swallow (15 ml) and four continuous swallows were evaluated by trained subjects using T-I in the subsequent studies. Lexicon included: salty, sour, bitter, cooling, astringency, bubbly, bubble size, bubble sound, gas expansion feeling, bite, burn, and numbing. Descriptor ratings, except cooling, increased as CO₂ level increased. Bubble size and bubble sound were rated higher for 10°C. Cooling, bite, burn, and numbing were rated higher for 3°C . Descriptors were divided into cooling, taste (salty, sour, bitter, astringency), trigeminal (bite, burn, and numbing), and mechanoreception descriptors (bubbly, bubble size, bubble sound, gas expansion feeling) based on PCA. Average temporal curves for Bite and Burn demonstrated that Burn sensation (steep linear rise and long-lived exponential decay slope) was similar to previously investigated irritants while Bite (steep linear rise and decay slopes, and relatively short duration) was unlike other irritants. Sensations were qualitatively and quantitatively different. Intensity and duration of Bite and Burn were concentration dependent. Cold temperature enhanced perception. Possible psychological habituation or desensitization was observed. Most T-I parameters were correlated for both Bite and Burn. These included CO₂ level dependent and CO₂ level independent parameters. Considerable subject variability was found. Increased exposure to CO₂ solution and increased cooling with ingestion of four continuous swallows was compared to one swallow. T-I curves for Bite (four swallows) were of higher intensity, longer duration, and developed maximum intensity plateaus. Those for Burn exhibited higher maximum intensities. At four swallows, T-I parameter correlations were strengthened, subject variability reduced and replication reproducibility improved by ease of rating afforded subjects by higher intensity sensations. Increased oral CO₂ perception with higher CO₂ levels and enhancement by cold temperature was reconfirmed. Beginnings of maximum intensity, Duration, and reaction time perceptual terminal thresholds were seen for the highest 3°C, CO₂ level. High CO₂ concentration, cold temperature, and exposure time induced these effects. / Graduation date: 1993

The importance of touch-related sensations as a kinesthetic perceptual system through the observation of the subject/object phenomenon is explored through defining aspects of movement learning experiences associated with dance training.

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Warnings are intended to improve safety (decreasing injury, illness and loss) by communicating the presence and nature of a potential hazard and encouraging behaviour that will minimise or avoid a negative outcome. Warnings can be seen as representations of risk, therefore it is likely that an individual’s attitude towards risk, their risk-taking propensity, may affect the way they perceive warnings. Establishing this relationship has important practical implications. If high risk-taking propensity can predict non-compliance, then attempts may be made to increase compliance within high risk-takers by tailoring warnings to such individuals. This thesis aims to explore empirically the relationship between measures of risk-taking propensity and warnings, with potential application to the prevention of hazardous behaviours. Study One investigated the potential relationship between risk-taking propensity and warning perception using an exploratory approach. The results confirmed that various measures of risk-taking propensity predicted warning perceptions, in particular on intentions to comply with the warnings. Studies Two and Three revealed that the relationship between risk-taking and warning perception is domain specific to a certain extent and that it is stronger when contextual information about a hazard is provided. Study Four explored potential underlying mechanisms and revealed that while the mental simulation of positive outcomes of non-compliance was found to be influential, anticipated regret significantly mediated the relationship between risk-taking propensity and intended compliance. Study Five attempted to minimise the discrepancy between high and low risk-takers through warning design manipulation. Despite a strong effect of sensation seeking on intended compliance the warning manipulations implemented had no effect on warning perceptions. This thesis offers a significant contribution to the literature, by establishing empirically the effect of risk propensity on warnings perception and by providing insight into the theoretical underpinnings of this relationship.

The extent to which sensory impairments in the foot, ankle and lower limb persist into the chronic phase of stroke is unclear. Furthermore, the extent to which these impairments influence walking, balance and falls is not well understood. This thesis investigated the prevalence, functional importance and measurement of lower limb somatosensory impairments in ambulatory people with chronic stroke. Methods This thesis comprised three studies: the first, a qualitative investigation, explored the views and experiences of people with chronic stroke (n=13). This led to the second study: a cross sectional observational study in which the prevalence, distribution and functional relevance of lower limb sensory impairments were investigated in chronic stroke participants (n=180) and healthy controls (n=46). The final study, informed by the findings from the first two studies, a “synthesis” review of current sensory measures and patient and carer involvement, developed and evaluated three novel, functionally oriented measures of lower limb somatosensory discrimination in chronic stroke (n=32) and healthy controls (n=32). Results People with stroke felt problems with foot, ankle and lower limb sensation affected their walking, balance and contributed to falls. Furthermore, sensory impairments in the lower limb are prevalent with up to 59% of chronic stroke survivors having a deficit of one or more somatosensory modality. Despite this, weak associations between traditional measures of tactile and proprioceptive sensation and walking, balance and falls were demonstrated. Novel, functionally oriented measures of tactile and proprioceptive discrimination were developed and evaluated. These measures were reliable and valid, showing greater sensitivity to predicting the presence of sensory impairments and had stronger associations with functional measures than traditional sensory tests. Conclusions This thesis has provided a comprehensive picture of lower limb somatosensory dysfunction in chronic stroke survivors. Sensory impairments persist into the chronic phase of stroke in the majority of stroke survivors. The extent to which such impairments influence functional ability warrants further investigation. The use of functionally oriented measures that assess higher-level somatosensation is encouraged.

This dissertation examines the impact of electronic sound technology on theories and practices of listening in Paris since 1945. It focusses on experimental work, carried out by musicians and medical professionals and designed with the express purpose of transforming the minds, bodies, and experiences of listening subjects in order to produce “experimental listeners.” Why did the senses become a target of manipulation at this particular moment, and how was technology used and abused for these ends? What kinds of changes to human beings, permanent or otherwise, was sound technology imagined to produce? And on what grounds were such experimental activities legitimized? To answer these questions in high definition, the story follows two main protagonists: otolaryngologist Alfred Tomatis and composer Pierre Schaeffer. Chapter 1 provides a launch pad into the world of Tomatis’s unconventional listening therapy by focusing on the invention in 1953 of the Electronic Ear, a device that could be described as an experiment in sensory prosthetics. Chapter 2 looks at Schaeffer’s experimental research into listening—through his “sound objects”—where his ultimate goal was to establish an entirely new musical culture based upon a new sensibility of sound awoken by the novel sound technologies of his day. The third chapter dissects Tomatis’s unlikely “postmortem” analysis of Enrico Caruso’s ears. Under the microscope in Chapter 4 is Schaeffer’s practical relationship with his public and his theoretical understanding of the mass media. Combining musicology with the history of the senses, science studies, and sound studies, and drawing on archival research, I excavate the material and epistemological resources mobilized by these experimenters to make malleable the sense of sound: not only resources broadly understood as “scientific” (mainstream medicine, cybernetics, information theory, acoustics) but also those often considered less so (psychoanalysis, alternative medicine, mysticism, and a panoply of spiritual beliefs). The project scrutinizes attempts to transform lived experience using electronic sound production technology; more broadly, it explores the meaning of the technological itself and its capacity to contain strange hybrid machines caught between fact and fiction, science and magic, human and non-human, matter and spirit, and certainty and wonder.

Signals for each of the five tastes have previously been shown to be processed by distinct labeled lines from taste receptor cells (TRCs) on the tongue to the ganglion neurons that innervate them. Furthermore, different tastes have been shown to be represented by distinct neurons in the taste cortex. We recorded calcium activity using fiber photometry from genetically defined populations in the mouse rostral nucleus of the solitary tract (rNST), the first brain station receiving taste signals from the tongue. We found that Somatostatin- (Sst) expressing cells respond exclusively to bitter chemicals while Calretinin- (Calb2) expressing cells respond exclusively to sweet chemicals. Immunostaining and viral strategies demonstrated that Sst and Calb2 mark distinct neuronal populations in the rNST. We then showed that optogenetic activation of Sst and Calb2 cells elicits prototypical bitter and sweet behaviors, respectively and demonstrate that ablation of these cells strongly impairs aversion to bitter tastants and attraction to sweet tastants, respectively. These findings reveal how taste information is propagated into the brain.

Inactivity and its negative implications on health, well-being and quality of life are a global issue with around 40% of adults in the UK not meeting physical activity guidelines currently set out by the government. Modern sedentary lifestyle behaviours, such as excessive Internet and video game participation, are contributing factors to this issue. With the rise of households having accessibility to high speed connectivity and devices with the ability to access the Internet and play video games these behaviours are likely to increase. Motivation, Addiction and Sensation Seeking were measured in gamers and surfers using a self-report questionnaire survey. It was thought that both gamers and surfers would share facets of these psychological aspects although participation in their chosen activities usually require different energy expenditures and take place in contrasting environments. Gamers and surfers do share similarities in eight out of the ten aspects of Motivation, Addiction and Sensation Seeking that were measured and showed significantly higher results in measures of Sensation Seeking and Intrinsic Motivation when compared to wider population norms. These findings suggest that both gamers and surfers, in this study, have similar psychological make ups and both groups could be described as intrinsically motivated sensation seekers who have similar levels of risk of addiction to their chosen activities. Therefore the activity of surfing could potentially be used as an intervention or therapeutic lifestyle change that would fulfil important psychological requirements. This would assist in enhancing the health, through exercise, the well-being, through participation in the outdoors environment and therefore the overall quality of life of individuals participating in a sedentary lifestyle behaviour, such as excessive Internet or video gaming.

Sensory substitution devices (SSDs) systematically turn visual dimensions into patterns of tactile or auditory stimulation. After training, a user of these devices learns to translate these audio or tactile sensations back into a mental visual picture. Most previous SSDs translate greyscale images using intuitive cross-sensory mappings to help users learn the devices. However more recent SSDs have started to incorporate additional colour dimensions such as saturation and hue. Chapter two examines how previous SSDs have translated the complexities of colour into hearing or touch. The chapter explores if colour is useful for SSD users, how SSD and veridical colour perception differ and how optimal cross-sensory mappings might be considered. After long-term training, some blind users of SSDs report visual sensations from tactile or auditory stimulation. A related phenomena is that of synaesthesia, a condition where stimulation of one modality (i.e. touch) produces an automatic, consistent and vivid sensation in another modality (i.e. vision). Tactile-visual synaesthesia is an extremely rare variant that can shed light on how the tactile-visual system is altered when touch can elicit visual sensations. Chapter three reports a series of investigations on the tactile discrimination abilities and phenomenology of tactile-vision synaesthetes, alongside questionnaire data from synaesthetes unavailable for testing. Chapter four introduces a new SSD to test if the presentation of colour information in sensory substitution affects object and colour discrimination. Chapter five presents experiments on intuitive auditory-colour mappings across a wide variety of sounds. These findings are used to predict the reported colour hallucinations resulting from LSD use while listening to these sounds. Chapter six uses a new sensory substitution device designed to test the utility of these intuitive sound-colour links for visual processing. These findings are discussed with reference to how cross-sensory links, LSD and synaesthesia can inform optimal SSD design for visual processing.

University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. / It is the intention of this Doctor of Creative Arts to convey the complexity of viewing art in museums. Concentrating on both the physical and cultural contexts of art, I focus specifically on Italian museums that house artworks of the Renaissance. I argue that the viewing experience in these museums is formed at the intersection of cultures, histories, the past and the present, art and the subjectivity of the viewer's own gaze. In this project the personal, physical, cerebral, sensorial and temporal experiences of art are central to my concerns. The structure of this DCA combines my photographic art practice with this written reflection. I work with both the visual and the textual to most appropriately and effectively express my concerns with the Renaissance and Italian museums. In a peculiar act of doubling, I am making art about the experience of viewing it, and through image-making I am able both to explore and to comment more profoundly on the experience of these museums. While my research and writing at times responds to these images, it also inspires them. Here I integrate the past, history and art, with contemporary theories that are relevant in the study ofvision and today's art viewing, and rely on numerous writers across the broad .fields of visual arts, art history and theory, museology, historiography and cultural tourism. In surveying these extensive interwoven disciplines I engage with the magnitude of the social, historical and theoretical studies that converge in the museum viewer's field of vision. Beyond the glorious artworks themselves Italian Renaissance museums exhibit a dense visual and historic culture that provides an enriched viewing environment. They paradoxically intersect 'high' art with a phenomenal popularity that appears ever-expanding through endless reproductions and representations via modern technologies. Through examining these museums with their multiple histories and contexts I hope to argue for a slower, more considered engagement with art, that encourages the viewer to experience the sensual as well as the intellectual aspects that this opulent environment offers.