Del Giacco Art Therapy is a cognitive art therapy process that focuses on stimulating the mental sensory systems and working to stabilize the nervous system and create new neural connections in the brain. This system was created by Maureen Del Giacco, Phd. after recovering from her own traumatic brain injury and is based on extensive research of…

Metacontrast has been the subject of two neural network simulations by Weisstein and Bridgeman. This article compared and elaborated on the two models, corrected flaws not inherent in the models' conceptualizations, and discussed the remaining shortcomings. (Editor/RK)

This article reviews current knowledge about how the visual system recognizes letters and words, and the impact on reading when parts of the visual system malfunction. The physiology of eye and brain places important constraints on how we process text, and the efficient organization of the neurocognitive systems involved is not inherent but…

An explanation of visual perception is presented using physiological facts, analogies to digital computers, and analogies to the structure of written languages. According to the explanation, visual input is discontinuous, with the discontinuities mediated by and correlated with the jumps of the eye. This is analogous to the gated and buffer-stored…

Neuropsychological findings relevant to the question of whether visual imagery is visual or perceptual are reviewed and compared to cognitive psychology theories. Imagery does not appear to represent information acquired through visual sensory channels; rather, it seems to use some of the same neural representational machinery as does vision. (SLD)

Recent research demonstrates neurologic and behavioral differences in people's responses to the space that is within and beyond reach. The present studies demonstrated a perceptual difference as well. Reachability was manipulated by having participants reach with and without a tool. Across 2 conditions, in which participants either held a tool or…

Bilingual reading can require more than knowing two languages. Learners must acquire also the writing conventions of their second language, which can differ in its deep mapping principles (writing system) and its visual configurations (script). We review ERP (event-related potential) and fMRI studies of both Chinese-English bilingualism and…

Discusses techniques for studying large-scale brain activity, insights from computational modeling, and cognitive processes that could lead to a better understanding of cognition. Describes interactions between psychology and physiology in perception, structural levels of organization in the nervous system, techniques and research strategies. (RT)

Behavioral studies of early visual development are interpreted within a framework provided by data from the neurosciences. Conclusions concerning the visual responses elicited during the first month of life and the more sophisticated reactions appearing during the second and third months of infancy are presented. (Author/SDH)

It was discovered a few years ago that a child's capacity for academic learning was partially dependent on visual and audio perception. It was also found that the development of perception in these sensory modalities was sometimes deficient. Educators immediately began to devise programs for perceptual-motor training, but ignored the role of the…

A series of simple activities not only illustrates how our eyes work but also dramatically shows how the brain interprets the eyes' information. Uses these activities to introduce a study of the eye to elementary students and to motivate their interest. (Author/RK)

Visual object processing in infancy is often described as proceeding from an early stage in which object features are processed independently to a later stage in which relations between features are taken into account (e.g., Cohen, 1998). Here we present the Representational Acuity Hypothesis, which argues that this behavioral shift can be…

This paper reviews the aspects of cognitive science that relate best to using electrical and magnetic recording to understand the function of brain systems. It outlines a framework for relating cognitive activities of daily life (typing, reading) to underlying neural systems. The framework uses five levels of analysis: task, elementary operations,…