Brightness perception changes related to pupil size.

Dilating the pupils allow more quanta of light to impact the retina. Consequently, if one pupil is dilated with a pharmacological agent (Tropicamide), the brightness of a surface under observation should increase proportionally to the pupil dilation. Little is known about causal effects of changes in pupil size on perception of an object's brightness.

Gaze and the Eye Pupil Adjust to Imagined Size and Distance.

Pupillary responses and associated vergence eye movements were monitored during imagery of objects of differing sizes ("large" or "small") from varying distances ("near" or "far"). Objects' imagined size and distance affected oculomotor behavior. Objects visualized as "far" resulted in the larger pupil dilations and smaller visual angle, while small objects imagined "near" were associated with smaller pupils in contrast to relatively larger pupils when imagined as "far" away.

Maltreatment and trauma symptoms: Does type of maltreatment matter?

Objective: Children frequently report a heightened experience of psychological problems such as depression, anxiety, aggression, and posttraumatic stress disorder in response to maltreatment. However, in recent years, scholars have suggested that different types of maltreatment may be associated with different symptomatology in children.

Method: In the present study, we employ the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Young Children (TSCYC) to investigate whether children who have experienced different types of maltreatment reveal different profiles of symptomatology.

Music chills: The eye pupil as a mirror to music's soul.

This study evaluated whether music-induced aesthetic "chill" responses, which typically correspond to peak emotional experiences, can be objectively monitored by degree of pupillary dilation. Participants listened to self-chosen songs versus control songs chosen by other participants. The experiment included an active condition where participants made key presses to indicate when experiencing chills and a passive condition (without key presses).

Simulating newborn face perception.

A frequently asked question concerns what a newborn infant can actually see. The contrast sensitivity function of newborn infants is well known, but its implications for the ability of newborns to perceive faces of adults remain unclear. We filtered gray scale animations of facial expressions in terms of both spatial frequency and contrast to correspond to the properties of newborn infants' acuity and showed them to adult participants.

The self prefers itself? Self-referential versus parental standards in face attractiveness.

Preference for phenotypic similarity in assortative mating may be influenced by either a preference for self-similarity or parent-similarity. The aim of the current study was to assess whether people's preference in face attractiveness is influenced by resemblance to the opposite sex parent's face (parental phenotype) or their own face (self-based phenotype or "self-imprinting"). We used computerized image manipulations of facial photographs of participants, their mothers and fathers.

Development of hippocampal subfield volumes from 4 to 22 years.

The hippocampus supports several important cognitive functions known to undergo substantial development during childhood and adolescence, for example, encoding and consolidation of vivid personal memories. However, diverging developmental effects on hippocampal volume have been observed across studies. It is possible that the inconsistent findings may attribute to varying developmental processes and functions related to different hippocampal subregions.

The eye pupil adjusts to imaginary light.

If a mental image is a rerepresentation of a perception, then properties such as luminance or brightness should also be conjured up in the image. We monitored pupil diameters with an infrared eye tracker while participants first saw and then generated mental images of shapes that varied in luminance or complexity, while looking at an empty gray background. Participants also imagined familiar scenarios (e.

Is beauty in the face of the beholder?

Opposing forces influence assortative mating so that one seeks a similar mate while at the same time avoiding inbreeding with close relatives. Thus, mate choice may be a balancing of phenotypic similarity and dissimilarity between partners. In the present study, we assessed the role of resemblance to Self's facial traits in judgments of physical attractiveness.