Neural basis of individual differences in visual localization

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20K20151
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 90030:Cognitive science-related
• Research Institution: National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (2022); Osaka University (2020-2021)
• Principal Investigator: Murai Yuki 国立研究開発法人情報通信研究機構, 未来ICT研究所脳情報通信融合研究センター, 研究員 (60847309)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 視覚 / 知覚 / 心理物理学 / 脳波 / MEG / 神経振動 / 個人差

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Localizing objects is crucially important in daily life. You have to track where thins are from moment to moment in order to, for example, pick up a pen that has tumbled down, or to walk through a crowd of people without bumping into them. There are marked individual differences in visual localization, with each individual exhibiting idiosyncratic bias patterns. Using psychophysical methods, the present study showed that individual differences in localization are related to multiple levels of visual information processing, from visual acuity to size perception, and that there are optimal perceptual and behavioral strategies based on the spatial representation across the visual field possessed by each individual. These studies were published as five peer-reviewed international journal articles.

Free Research Field

実験心理学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

視覚的定位能力は様々な生活場面で不可欠だが、その個人差の源泉となる視覚情報処理過程を、心理物理学的手法を用いて様々な側面から明らかにした点に学術的意義がある。定位能力は、目の前のコップをつかむといった日常動作は言うに及ばず、例えばスポーツ選手などエキスパート（野球選手がボールの位置を把握するような例）や加齢による衰え（視覚的に捉えた位置と体の位置の不一致で躓くような例）など様々な実社会場面に関与する機能である。定位の個人差を定量的に計測し、長期的に改善していく手法の開発など様々な応用場面が想定され、社会的意義も高いと考えられる。