I Sverige äter vi ca 11 g salt per dag, vilket är dubbelt så mycket som rekommenderat. Eftersom ett för högt saltintag innebär risker för hälsan, har livsmedelsföretag i ett Vinnovafinansierat projekt, på uppdrag av Regeringskansliet, gått ihop för att ta fram metoder för saltreduktion, bland annat en så kallat multisensorisk verktygslåda. Syftet med studien var att i ett sensoriskt hemtest undersöka om gillandet och upplevelsen av sälta skiljde sig mellan saltreducerade tomatsoppor med tillsatta kryddor eller aromer och en referenssoppa med ursprunglig salthalt. Ett andra syfte var att undersöka konsumenters upplevelse av sälta i livsmedelsprodukter som är vanligt förekommande i svensk matkultur, genom en enkätundersökning. I det sensoriska hemtestet visade det sig att två av de saltreducerade sopporna, en med chili och en med kryddblandning av basilika, vitlök och chili, upplevdes som mer salta än referenssoppan. Det fanns ingen statistisk signifikant skillnad i gillandet mellan sopporna, vilket betydde att de saltreducerade sopporna gillades lika mycket som referensen. I enkätundersökningen visade resultatet att de livsmedel som upplevdes saltast var bordssalt, sojasås, örtsalt samt rostade och saltade jordnötter. Flertalet livsmedel som innehöll en låg mängd eller inget salt alls, upplevdes ändå som salta. Studien visade att saltreduktion genom multisensorisk påverkan av en tomatsoppa var möjlig. I framtiden kan aromer eller toppings från livsmedel som associeras med salt användas i saltreducerade produkter. / In Sweden we eat about 11 g of salt per day, which is twice as much as recommended. Since too high salt intake poses risks to health, food companies in a project funded by Vinnova, on behalf of the Government Offices, have joined forces to develop methods for salt reduction, including a so-called multisensory toolbox. The aim of the study was to investigate in a sensory home use test, whether the acceptance and perception of salt differed between a salt reduced tomato soup compared to a reference soup. A second aim was to investigate consumers' perception of saltiness in food products that are commonly found in Swedish food culture, through a survey. In the sensory home use test, it turned out that two of the salt reduced soups, one with chili and one with spice blend, were perceived as most salty even though the reference soup had a higher salinity. There was no significant difference in the liking between the soups, which meant that the salt reduced soups were liked as much as the reference soup. In the survey, the results showed that the foods that were most salty were table salt, soy sauce, herb salt and roasted and salted peanuts. Most foods that contain a low or no salinity at all, were still perceived as salty. The study showed that salt reduction of a tomato soup, by multisensory influence, was possible. In the future, aromas or toppings from foods that are associated with salt can be used in salt reduced products.

The interest in designing interactive systems is going beyond their functionality and more towards their aesthetics. Often, research fails to address how qualities of the interaction as a medium can actually create pleasurable experiences. However, it points out the importance of understanding temporal aspects of interactions to understand their aesthetics. The aim for this thesis is to address this by the creation and evaluation of an interactive artwork working as a platform to explore relations between Interaction attributes and Pleasures, as well as how temporal aspects in interactions can affect these Pleasures. This to help interaction designers think more clearly around and make better design choices regarding interactions within interactive systems. The results of this showed that there can be many such relations, but also that they are complex. Additionally, it is discussed that Pleasures might also partly be experienced before or after the interaction with the artwork.

Le claustrum est une structure télencéphalique sous-corticale présente chez tous les mammifères. Il est réciproquement interconnecté avec tout le cortex cérébral. Le claustrum serait impliqué dans la synchronisation d’oscillations corticales et le maintien de l’attention. Les projections corticales sensorielles au claustrum de la souris forment des bandes longitudinales dédiées à chaque modalité sensorielle, qui peuvent également se chevaucher. Actuellement, il n'y a aucune étude de la morphologie des axones des projections corticales au claustrum. Les paramètres quantitatifs morphométriques des axones uniques permettent de comprendre comment l’information est distribuée à l’intérieur d’une structure. Pour visualiser les axones de la projection visuelle au claustrum, des injections iontophorétiques du traceur neuronal antérograde, la leucoagglutinine Phaseolus vulgaris (PHA-L) ont été réalisées dans le cortex visuel de souris adultes C57BL/6J. La révélation immunohistochimique du PHA-L a été réalisée pour reconstruire les axones individuels des projections des cortex visuels au claustrum en utilisant Neurolucida 360 (MBF Biosciences). Ces projections ont été montrées dans la région centrale le long de l’axe dorso-ventral du claustrum ipsi- et controlatéral. Il y a trois types de morphologie des axones : certains parcourent toute la longueur du claustrum sans ramification, d’autres sont longs et branchés, et d’autres sont courts. Les arborisations locales pourraient suggérer des modules plus petits au sein de l'organisation longitudinale du claustrum. Certaines collatérales de l'axone sortent du domaine visuel central pour se ramifier dans des domaines des autres modalités sensorielles. La projection du cortex visuel au claustrum est ainsi constituée d’axones dont la morphologie est peu diversifiée. Des axones individuels acheminent l’information sur toute l’étendue rostro-caudale du claustrum. La bifurcation des axones suggère que l’information visuelle peut être acheminée vers des territoires de d’autres modalités sensorielles dans le claustrum. La distribution des varicosités suggère que les contacts synaptiques s’établissent aléatoirement tout au long du trajet des axones. / The claustrum is a subcortical telencephalic structure present in all mammals. It is widely and reciprocally interconnected with the entire cerebral cortex. It has been suggested to be involved in the synchronization of cortical oscillations and in attention. The claustrum in mice exhibits a clear dorsoventral organization of longitudinal bands dedicated to different sensory cortical projections, that can also overlap. Presently, there are no studies of the cortical projections to the claustrum at the single axon level. Single axon quantitative morphometric parameters help understanding how information is distributed within a structure and how it interacts with the entire brain. To reveal axons of the visual cortex projection to the claustrum, iontophoretic injections of the anterograde neuronal tracer Phaseolus vulgaris leucoagglutinin (PHA-L) were performed in the visual cortex of adult C57BL/6J mice. Individual axons of the projections from the visual cortices to the claustrum were reconstructed using Neurolucida 360 (MBF Biosciences). These projections were shown in central region of the dorsoventral axis in the ipsi- and contralateral claustra. There were three morphological types of axon: some traveled all the length of the claustrum without significant branching, some were long and branched, and others were short. Local arborizations might suggest smaller modules within the longitudinal organization of the claustrum. Some collaterals of the main axon exit the central visual domain to branch into other sensory modalities. The visual projection to the claustrum is formed by poorly diversified axon regarding to their morphology. Individual axons route the information through all the rostro-caudal length of the claustrum. Axonal bifurcations suggest that visual information can be directed to other territories associated to other sensory modalities. The varicosity distribution suggest that synapses are established randomly.

No description available.

En ökning av forskningsbelägg kring naturens hälsoeffekter har bland annat medfört nya riktlinjer av vardagsnära natur från både WHO och Folkhälsomyndigheten. Samtidigt har Green prescriptions börjat införas i allt fler länder. Grundteorierna bakom ämnet belyser vikten av människans biologiska behov av naturen för att främja hälsoeffekter som reducering av stress, återhämtning, förbättrad psykisk hälsa och kognition. Till följd av exempelvis urbanisering har dock majoriteten av världsbefolkningen inte tillgång till vardagsnära natur. Detta tillgänglighetsproblem skapar i sin tur behov av alternativa lösningar som tar naturens hälsoeffekter till befolkningsgrupper som inte kan ta sig till naturen. Tidigare forskning har undersökt huruvida det går att uppnå liknande hälsoeffekter som verklig natur i en artificiell naturmiljö, vilket indikerat på synergieffekter när två sinnen inkluderas. Ett antal studier har sedan tagit den ökade inkluderingen av sinnen vidare genom att undersöka hälsoeffekterna av minst tre artificiella naturintryck och därmed skapat en multisensorisk upplevelse. Baserat på det ökade forskningsunderlaget kring artificiella multisensoriska naturmiljöer (AMN) finns det anledning att undersöka nuvarande forskningsläge. Syftet med litteraturstudien var att undersöka och beskriva den hälsomässiga upplevelsen av artificiella multisensoriska naturmiljöer hos friska individer. Studien har utformats likt en litteraturstudie, där data samlats in från primärkällor i form av vetenskapliga artiklar. Åtta artiklar valdes ut genom systematisk sökstrategi som sedan kvalitétgranskades och analyserades med hjälp av kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultatet visade att en ökad inkludering av sinnen, i form av multisensation, med mindre uppmärksamhetskrävande naturintryck främjade hälsa mest gynnsamt. En behaglig naturdoft och trivsam upplevelse av miljön hade även en stor betydelse för att åstadkomma god hälsopåverkan. Sammanfattningsvis indikerade resultatet på god potential för en framtida implementering av AMN inom exempelvis vård- och omsorg, på arbetsplatser, i storstäder och som alternativ behandlingsmetod vid Green prescriptions där naturen inte finns tillgänglig. / An increase in research evidence regarding the health effects of nature has, among otherthings, led to new guidelines of a nature exposure in everyday life from both the WHO and The public health authority in Sweden. At the same time, Green prescriptions have started to be introduced in more countries. The basic theories behind the subject illustrate the importance of humans' biological need for nature to promote health effects such as stress reduction, recovery, improved mental health and cognition. As a result of, for example urbanization, the majority of the world's population does not have access to nature exposure in everyday life. This accessibility problem, in turn, creates a need for alternative solutions that bring nature's health effects to population groups that cannot get to nature. Previous research has investigated whether it is possible to achieve similar health effects as real nature in an artificial natural environment, which indicates synergistic effects when two senses are included. A number of studies have taken the search of senses further by investigating the health effects of at least three artificial natural stimuli and thus created a multisensory experience. Based on the increased research base around artificial multisensory natural environments (AMN), there is a reason to examine the current state of research. The aim of the literature study was to investigate and describe the health-related experience of artificial multisensory natural environments in healthy individuals. The study has been designed like a literature study, where data has been collected from primary sources in the form of scientific articles. Eight articles were selected through a systematic search strategy, which were quality audited and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The result showed that an increased inclusion of the senses, in the form of multi-sensation, with less attention-demanding natural stimuli, promoted health most favorably. A pleasant natural scent and experience of the environment were also of great importance in achieving a good health impact. In summary, the results indicated good potential for a future implementation of AMN in, for example, healthcare, workplaces, big cities and as an alternative treatment method for Green Prescriptions where nature is not available.

No description available.

Within the discipline of urban planning and design, this thesis introduces urban atmos-pheres as a theoretical concept, interlinking the urban dweller’s perception of the urban environment with the disposition of social interaction. The aim is to research how urban environments, such as main streets, are being perceived through different senses and which urban atmospheres are disposing social interaction. Framed by the literature within the discipline, the conducted case study within this thesis is revealing the multisensory perception of streets as well as a vision-dominance. Observations and interviews in Barer Strasse in Munich suggest that the interplay of multiple sensory stimuli as well as small businesses on ground floors are creating a lively atmosphere, thereby enhancing social interaction. Despite the vision dominating the perception, this thesis argues for a multi-sensorial approach, including smelling, feeling and hearing within the urban planning and design discipline to create lively cities by strengthening the social function of streets through creating atmospheres that enhance social interaction.

No description available.

The experiments reported within this thesis use psychophysical techniques to examine the factors which determine perceived multisensory timing in humans. Chapters 1 and 2 describe anatomical and psychophysical features of temporal processing, respectively, whilst Chapter 3 introduces the reader to psychophysical methods. Chapter 4 examines the relationship between two measures of sensory latency, reaction time (RT) and crossmodal temporal order judgment (TOJ). Despite task and attentional manipulations the two measures do not correlate, suggesting that they measure some fundamentally different aspect(s) of temporal perception. Chapter 5 examines the effects of adaptation to asynchronous stimulus pairs on perceived audiovisual (AV), audiotactile (AT) and visuotactile (VT) temporal order. Significant temporal shifts are recorded in all three conditions. Evidence is also presented showing that crossmodal TOJs are intransitive. Chapter 6 shows that concurrent adaptation to two sets of asynchronous AV stimulus pairs causes perceived AV temporal order to recalibrate at two locations simultaneously, and that AV asynchrony adaptation effects are significantly affected by observers¿ attention during adaptation. Finally, Chapter 7 shows that when observers are accustomed to a physical delay between motor actions and sensory events, an event presented at a reduced delay appears to precede the causative motor action. The data are well-described by a simple model based on a strong prior assumption of physical synchrony between motor actions and their sensory consequences.

Body ownership is a complicated and multifaceted percept. Although we subjectively perceive body ownership to be a stable component of our identity, recent work has illustrated that body ownership is a dynamic construct that is constantly updated by the integration of current endogenous and exogenous body-related information. The goal of this study was to explore the relation between these endogenous (interoceptive) and exogenous (exteroceptive) channels of information. We investigated this by using a heartbeat perception (HBP) task to measure interoceptive accuracy, and the Rubber Hand Illusion (RHI) to measure malleability of body ownership. Based on prior findings, we hypothesized that the less accurate you are at counting your heartbeats, the more susceptible you will be to the RHI (i.e. the more malleable your sense of body ownership will be). In addition, we were also interested in exploring the relationship between interoception and emotion recognition ability (ERA). In this experiment, we failed to induce the RHI, and thus could not investigate the relationship between endogenous and exogenous body-related information. However, we successfully demonstrated the reliability of the interoceptive accuracy HBP task, as well as demonstrated that interoceptive accuracy is not related to ERA. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)