Early Visual Information Processing and Hemispheric Function Asymmetries : Perspective from Cognitive Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience

本研究旨在从早期视觉信息加工的角度探讨大脑左右半球的功能。整个项目被细分为四个部分。首先，研究了抑制巨细胞途径的作用。这包括一项关于处理分层组织的视觉模式的功能磁共振研究(研究1，在一次国际会议上提出)，一项关于时间频率处理的行为实验(研究2，发表在大学公报上)，以及一项关于上视野和下视野特征的行为实验(研究3，提交给一份国际期刊)。其次，对空间关系加工的半球差异进行了研究。这包括操纵刺激的空间频率内容的行为实验(研究4和研究5，分别发表在国内和国际期刊上)，关于粗编码机制的行为实验(研究6，在一次国际会议上公布)，以及用于处理不同空间关系的功能磁共振研究(研究7，在国内会议上公布)。第三，以索罗班专家为研究对象，采用功能磁共振成像技术研究体验对脑功能的动态变化。最后，这些研究主题现在扩展到关注问题(研究9，在国内会议上介绍)和物体识别问题(研究10，在国内会议上介绍)。

The present study aimed at exploring functions of the left and right cerebral hemispheres from the viewpoint of early visual information processing. The entire project was subdivided into four parts. First, effects of attenuating the magnocellular pathway were investigated. This included an fMRI investigation for processing of hierarchically organized visual patterns (Study1, presented at an international conference), a behavioral experiment about temporal frequency processing (Study 2, published at University Bulletin), and a behavioral experiment about characteristics of upper- and lower-visual fields (Study 3, submitted to an international journal). Second, hemispheric difference for processing of spatial relation was investigated. This included behavioral experiments manipulating spatial frequency content of the stimulus (Studies 4 and 5, published in domestic and international journals respectively), a behavioral experiment about coarse coding mechanism (Study 6, presented at an international conference), and an fMRI investigation for processing of different spatial relations (Study 7, presented in a domestic conference). Third, dynamic changes of cerebral functions through experience were investigated by fMRI, using Soroban experts as subjects. Finally, these research topics are now extended to issues of attention (Study 9, presented in a domestic conference) and object recognition (Study 10, presented in a domestic conference).