Imani Rameses

Withdrawing the Performer. Facilitating Participatory Sense-Making

Left Prefrontal Cortex Supports the Recognition of Meaningful Patterns in Ambiguous Stimuli

Frontiers in Neuroscience

Processing of ambiguous visual stimuli has been associated with an increased activation of the le... more Processing of ambiguous visual stimuli has been associated with an increased activation of the left lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) in neuroimaging studies. Nevertheless, the functional role of prefrontal activity in this process is not fully understood. In this experiment we asked participants to evaluate ambiguous inkblots from the Rorschach test, while stimulating the left lateral PFC using excitatory anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). In addition, visual insight ability was assessed as a control measure requiring visual and conceptual restructuring and convergent thinking rather than divergent idea generation employed to interpret the equivocal Rorschach inkblots. Using a randomized double-blind design, we demonstrated that anodal tDCS increased the number of meaningful patterns recognized in the inkblots but had no significant effect on visual insight. These findings support the role of left lateral PFC in the processing of ambiguous visual information and object recognition. More generally, we discuss that the PFC may be involved in the mechanisms supporting the activation of stored visual and semantic representations in order to compensate for less informative bottom-up inputs and thus facilitate flexible cognition and idea generation.

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Left Prefrontal Cortex Supports the Recognition of Meaningful Patterns in Ambiguous Stimuli

Frontiers in Neuroscience

Processing of ambiguous visual stimuli has been associated with an increased activation of the le... more Processing of ambiguous visual stimuli has been associated with an increased activation of the left lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) in neuroimaging studies. Nevertheless, the functional role of prefrontal activity in this process is not fully understood. In this experiment we asked participants to evaluate ambiguous inkblots from the Rorschach test, while stimulating the left lateral PFC using excitatory anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). In addition, visual insight ability was assessed as a control measure requiring visual and conceptual restructuring and convergent thinking rather than divergent idea generation employed to interpret the equivocal Rorschach inkblots. Using a randomized double-blind design, we demonstrated that anodal tDCS increased the number of meaningful patterns recognized in the inkblots but had no significant effect on visual insight. These findings support the role of left lateral PFC in the processing of ambiguous visual information and object recognition. More generally, we discuss that the PFC may be involved in the mechanisms supporting the activation of stored visual and semantic representations in order to compensate for less informative bottom-up inputs and thus facilitate flexible cognition and idea generation.

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Left Prefrontal Cortex Supports the Recognition of Meaningful Patterns in Ambiguous Stimuli

Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2020

Processing of ambiguous visual stimuli has been associated with an increased activation of the le... more Processing of ambiguous visual stimuli has been associated with an increased activation of the left lateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) in neuroimaging studies. Nevertheless, the functional role of prefrontal activity in this process is not fully understood. In this experiment we asked participants to evaluate ambiguous inkblots from the Rorschach test, while stimulating the left lateral PFC using excitatory anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). In addition, visual insight ability was assessed as a control measure requiring visual and conceptual restructuring and convergent thinking rather than divergent idea generation employed to interpret the equivocal Rorschach inkblots. Using a randomized double-blind design, we demonstrated that anodal tDCS increased the number of meaningful patterns recognized in the inkblots but had no significant effect on visual insight. These findings support the role of left lateral PFC in the processing of ambiguous visual information and object recognition. More generally, we discuss that the PFC may be involved in the mechanisms supporting the activation of stored visual and semantic representations in order to compensate for less informative bottom-up inputs and thus facilitate flexible cognition and idea generation.

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Computationally Modeling Aesthetic Experiences

This research will confront the challenge of gaining a further comprehensive understanding of the... more This research will confront the challenge of gaining a further comprehensive understanding of the transition from one emotional state( disgust) to another emotional state (pleasure). Previous models indeed set extensive criteria of the sequential stages (prior and post), as well as some contributing factors (preferences, familiarity, cultural background, levels of art expertise etc.) that result in the positive effects; however, the specification that comprise the transition from a negative emotion to eventual positive emotion (if had) remains uninvestigated and unexplained. Thus this project will attempt to begin to explicate this rather elusive, what I like to call ‘Period of Reconciliation’ with not only the compliments of previous models but also with the added computational approach as well as, theories of aesthetic judgement of disgust, and the component of active engagement between the viewer, the art, and the artist. Computational modeling of a transformative aesthetic experience of art offers a unique insight into to an often believed to be unquantifiable process. This approach warrants a potentially more direct explanation of the transformative aesthetic experience and its implications about higher levels of processing (understanding, judgement, etc.)-and with this potential for clarity, an increased probability of eventual simulation and, prediction of the viewers reaction. Computational modeling could aid in the empirical explanation of aesthetic experiences and offer perhaps a more generalizable explanation regarding top-down processing. Can computational modeling be a useful and valuable approach to understanding the process of an transformative aesthetic experience of art, specifically art with negative valence that warrants the initial response of disgust? If so, what specific component of this process can computational modeling explicate? Specifically, can a computational approach explain the transition from rejection (initial feeling of disgust) to transformation (feeling of pleasure)? From this analysis, it is expected that this computational approach will result in further insight into the aesthetic experience of negative valenced artworks and a more concrete understanding of how and why the ‘Period of Reconciliation’ occurs.

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"Ask the Body: Utilizing Dance to Investigate the Effects of Nonverbal Communication of Emotion Experience"

The meaning of the body's movements is elusive in its nature - often only to be understood in rel... more The meaning of the body's movements is elusive in its nature - often only to be understood in relation to its action on or within an environment. Yet, what does an arbitrary bend of the knee have to do with elated joy? What does the torque of the waist mean in relation to anger? More than one could ever imagine ... especially in the context of dance. The body's movements and its emotion-expressing affordances, enable the investigation of nonverbal aspects of the triadic message exchange between the choreographer, the dancer and the audience. To explore the particular intersection of these phenomena: emotion, movement (dance), and communication, this experiment utilized a non-verbal communicative choreographic process to investigate the efficacy of the communication of one's emotion experience though movement. This was a two part study. In study 1, the choreographer relays emotion intentions to two differing choreographic groups of dancers. In study 2: the two groups of dancers relay emotional intentions to an audience. The two groups of dancers differed in choreographic training: one received no verbal choreographic feedback and the other did. During the experimentation period, the choreographic process took place in two parts: the kinematic structure of the movement and the refinement of the movement. Each dancer was surveyed on their emotional experience using a scale-based assessment, as well as interviewed in order to evaluate their ability to feel and understand the emotional intentions of the choreographers. The results reveal the effectiveness of nonverbal communication of emotional experience between the choreographer and the dancer and the dancer and the audience by comparing the survey responses between the two groups of dancers and the audience. Specifically, the results demonstrate dancers' ability to feel and understand the emotional intentions of the choreographers, as well as the audience's ability to feel and understand the emotional intentions of the two groups of dancers. This study unfurls the assumptions and uncertainties about the body and its movements as a constituent of thought - elucidating how effective we can communicate even the complexities of emotions, utilizing the body as an explicit tool of communication, and ultimately share those emotional experiences that arise in the body's movements with others successfully.

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