Search results for "imagery"

Remembering what but not where: independence of spatial and visual working memory in the human brain

2001

We report the neuropsychological and MRI investigation of a patient (MV) who developed a selective impairment of visual-spatial working memory (WM) with preservation not only of verbal, but also of visual shape WM, following an ischemic lesion in the cerebral territory supplied by one of the terminal branches of the right anterior cerebral artery. MV was defective in visual-spatial WM whether the experimental procedure involved arm movement for target pointing or not. Also, in agreement with the role generally assigned to visual-spatial WM in visual imagery. MV was extremely slow in the mental rotation of visually and verbally presented objects. In striking contrast with the WM deficit, MV'…

Mentally Simulated Motor Actions in Children

2009

The present study investigated the effects of age and arm preference on motor imagery ability. Children (groups: 6.5, 8.3, and 10.1 years) and young adults (22.4 years) physically or mentally performed a drawing motor task with the right or the left arm. Imagery ability, accessed by the timing correspondence between executed and imagined movements, was poor at 6 and 8 years but improved at age 10, and was robust in adults. The arm condition had no influence on imagery ability. We suggest that maturation of parietal and prefrontal cortices during development may contribute to improvement of action representation.

Corticospinal Modulations during Motor Imagery of Concentric, Eccentric, and Isometric Actions

2019

PURPOSE It is not known yet whether the neurophysiological specificity of eccentric, concentric, and isometric contractions can also be observed when these are mentally simulated. Therefore, our aim was to assess corticospinal excitability during motor imagery (MI) of different contraction types and to test whether a passive movement during MI could have additional effects. METHODS Twelve young participants imagined contractions of the wrist flexors, firstly with the arm motionless (static mode) and second, with a congruent passive movement (wrist extension during eccentric MI and wrist flexion during concentric MI). Motor-evoked potentials (MEP) and H-reflexes were elicited in flexor carpi…

The unnecessary image

2014

Mapping wild pear trees (Pyrus bourgaeana) in Mediterranean forest using high-resolution QuickBird satellite imagery

2012

Recent advances in spatial and spectral resolution of satellite imagery as well as in processing techniques are opening new possibilities of fine-scale vegetation analysis with interesting applications in natural resource management. Here we present the main results of a study carried out in Sierra Morena, Cordoba southern Spain, aimed at assessing the potential of remote-sensing techniques to discriminate and map individual wild pear trees Pyrus bourgaeana in Mediterranean open woodland dominated by Quercus ilex . We used high spatial resolution 2.4 m multispectral/0.6 m panchromatic QuickBird satellite imagery obtained during the summer of 2008. Given the size and features of wild pear tr…

Tra metaforizzazione e simbolizzazione: la metafora come dispositivo linguistico di visualizzazione?

2023

In this paper we will consider metaphor as a phenomenon that lies at the interface between language and imagination. By focusing on how this phenomenon works, we will attempt to shed light on how symbols work. After analyzing the relationship between metaphor and sym bol to highlight the main similarities and differences, we will examine the functions of metaphor with particular reference to the thought of Paul Ricœur. In particular, we will highlight the role that the French thinker attributes to the imagination in constructing the meaning of a metaphor. Finally, after highlighting the relationship between images and words, between the linguistic dimension and the dimension of aisthesis in…

Il triangolo non l'avevo considerato. Metafora, immagini mentali proposizioni tra Relevance Theory e Perceptual Symbol Theory.

2020

In this paper we will show the need for a multimodal approach to the study of metaphorical utterances. We will discuss this hypothesis showing potentials and limits of the metaphor studies conducted within Relevance Theory, which has represented the most authoritative and radical theoretical framework based on the propositional character of metaphorical utterances. In particular, we will focus on the last papers by Carston (2010, 2018), in which it is recognized that the comprehension of complex and poetic metaphors could involve the activation of mental images. We will discuss the problem that the notion of mental imagery poses to Relevance Theory and we will try to overcome these problems…

Spectrodirectional Minnaert-kretrieval using CHRIS-PROBA data

2010

We report on a detailed analysis of hyperspectral and multidirectional remote sensing data acquired using the Compact High Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (CHRIS) mounted onboard the Project for On-Board Autonomy (PROBA) spacecraft. This instrument is capable of sampling reflected radiation over the visible and near-infrared (NIR) region of the solar spectrum at a spatial resolution (approx. 17 m) intermediary between sensors traditionally used in land applications (such as Landsat and Satellite Pour l’Observation de la Terre (SPOT), 30 m–50 m) and the latest instruments delivering a nominal resolution of 1 m or less. The spectral anisotropic signature of an Alpine coniferous forest during …

Motor cortical plasticity induced by motor learning through mental practice

2015

Several investigations suggest that actual and mental actions trigger similar neural substrates. Motor learning via physical practice results in long-term potentiation (LTP)-like plasticity processes, namely potentiation of M1 and a temporary occlusion of additional LTP-like plasticity. However, whether this neuroplasticity process contributes to improve motor performance through mental practice remains to be determined. Here, we tested skill learning-dependent changes in primary motor cortex (M1) excitability and plasticity by means of transcranial magnetic stimulation in subjects trained to physically execute or mentally perform a sequence of finger opposition movements. Before and after …

Le Ninfe nell’arte di Siracusa

2015

L’articolo mira a individuare il ruolo delle Ninfe e dell’immaginario ‘ninfale’ a Siracusa, che resta sottostimato nonostante le monete cittadine adottino come emblema civico la Ninfa locale Arethousa dal tardo VI al tardo IV sec. a.C. Ciò è dovuto alla difficoltà di riconoscimento delle Ninfe attraverso criteri iconografici univoci, salvo alcune raffigurazioni triadiche sui pinakes votivi ellenistici. Le antefisse a testa femminile, che la Mertens- Horn ha supposto rappresentino Ninfe a decorazione di piccoli edifici cultuali di divinità “maggiori” (quali Artemis o Kore-Persephone, associate con le Ninfe nei racconti mitologici locali), e alcuni reperti di alto livello qualitativo a partir…