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IntroductionNowadays museums make large use of digital materials (e.g., virtual tours) to attract visitors. Therefore, it is worthwhile investigating which variables affect the engagement with art outside the museum, and whether digital reproductions of artworks are as effective as museum originals in producing a satisfying aesthetic experience.MethodsHere we tested the effectiveness of introducing additional informative materials on the artistic enjoyment of contemporary paintings presented on a computer screen. Naïve observers were exposed to essential and descriptive labels before viewing artworks. We flanked traditional measurement methods - viewing times and questionnaires, with biometric parameters – pupil responses, eye movements, heart rate, and electrodermal activity. The results were then compared to our previous museum study that adopted the same experimental paradigm.ResultsOur behavioral and psychophysiological data lead to a complex pattern of results. As found in the museum setting, providing detailed descriptions decreases complexity, evokes more positive sensations, and induces pupil dilation but does not enhance aesthetic appreciation. These results suggested that informative labels improve understanding and emotions but have a limited impact on the hedonic evaluation of artworks in both contexts. However, other results do not mirror those found in the museum; in the laboratory setting, participants spend a similar amount of time, have a comparable gaze behavior, and their electrodermal activity and heart rate do not change when viewing artworks with different types of labels. The main difference between the lab and museum settings is the shorter time spent viewing digital reproductions vs. real paintings, although subjective ratings (e.g., liking, interest) are comparable.DiscussionOverall, this study indicates that the environmental context does impact the aesthetic experience; although, some beneficial effects of introducing additional relevant content in labels accompanying artworks can also be acquainted through digital media outside of the museum.

Abstract We investigated the Tuscan Italian colour inventory, with the aim of establishing the cognitive salience of the basic colour terms (BCTs) and most frequent non-BCTs. Native speakers from Tuscany (N = 89) completed a colour-term elicitation task lasting for 5 min. In total, 337 unique terms were elicited, with an average list length of 30.06. The frequency of each term, its mean list position and cognitive salience index (S) were calculated. The CTs with the highest S (ranked 1–13) included 10 counterparts of the Berlin and Kay BCTs listed in their 1969 seminal work and three basic ‘blue’ terms, blu, azzurro, celeste, estimated for Tuscan respondents by Del Viva et al. in 2022. S-index and Zipf-function (the terms’ “popularity”) indicated that fucsia (rank 14) is conceivably an emerging BCT in (Tuscan) Italian. Other cognitively salient non-BCTs are lilla, magenta, ocra and beige. The terms’ 3D semantic map (conceptual closeness), assessed using multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis, revealed that in the lists, closely associated CTs were arranged along three competing criteria: the term’s salience gradient; word length; and clustering of fully chromatic concepts with those defined primarily by lightness or desaturation. We also consider salient Italian non-BCTs as indicators of the ongoing process of lexical refinement in certain areas of the colour space. In conclusion, measures of elicitation productivity, as well as the augmented BCT inventory, including the Tuscan ‘triple blues’, and abundant hyponyms and derived forms all indicate (Tuscan) Italian speakers’ “cultural competence” in the colour domain and the need to communicate nuanced information about colour shades.

To ensure survival, the visual system must rapidly extract the most important elements from a large stream of information. This necessity clashes with the computational limitations of the human brain, so a strong early data reduction is required to efficiently process information in fast vision. A theoretical early vision model, recently developed to preserve maximum information using minimal computational resources, allows efficient image data reduction by extracting simplified sketches containing only optimally informative, salient features. Here, we investigate the neural substrates of this mechanism for optimal encoding of information, possibly located in early visual structures. We adopted a flicker adaptation paradigm, which has been demonstrated to specifically impair the contrast sensitivity of the magnocellular pathway. We compared flicker-induced contrast threshold changes in three different tasks. The results indicate that, after adapting to a uniform flickering field, thresholds for image discrimination using briefly presented sketches increase. Similar threshold elevations occur for motion discrimination, a task typically targeting the magnocellular system. Instead, contrast thresholds for orientation discrimination, a task typically targeting the parvocellular system, do not change with flicker adaptation. The computation performed by this early data reduction mechanism seems thus consistent with magnocellular processing.

Summary: The saccades’ path is influenced by visual distractors, making their trajectory curve away or toward them. Previous research suggested that the more salient the distractor, the more pronounced is the curvature. We investigate the saliency of spatial visual features, predicted by a constrained maximum entropy model to be optimal or non-optimal information carriers in fast vision, by using them as distractors in a saccadic task. Their effect was compared to that of luminance-based control distractors. Optimal features evoke a larger saccadic curvature compared to non-optimal features, and the magnitude and direction of deviation change as a function of the delay between distractor and saccade onset. Effects were similar to those found with high-luminance versus low-luminance distractors. Therefore, model-predicted information optimal features interfere with target-oriented saccades, following a dynamic attraction–repulsion pattern. This suggests that the visuo-oculomotor system rapidly and automatically processes optimally informative features while programming visually guided eye movements.

Abstract In fast vision, local spatial properties of the visual scene can automatically capture the observer’s attention. We used specific local features, predicted by a constrained maximum-entropy model to be optimal information-carriers, as candidate “salient features''. Previous studies showed that participants choose these optimal features as “more salient” if explicitly asked. Here, we investigated the implicit saliency of these optimal features in two attentional tasks. In a covert-attention experiment, we measured the luminance-contrast threshold for discriminating the orientation of a peripheral gabor. In a gaze-orienting experiment, we analyzed latency and direction of saccades towards a peripheral target. In both tasks, two brief peripheral cues, differing in saliency according to the model, preceded the target, presented on the same (valid trials) or the opposite side (invalid trials) of the optimal cue. Results showed reduced contrast thresholds, saccadic latencies, and direction errors in valid trials, and the opposite in invalid trials, compared to baseline values obtained with equally salient cues. Also, optimal features triggered more anticipatory saccades. Similar effects emerged in a luminance-control condition. Overall, in fast vision, optimal features automatically attract covert and overt attention, suggesting that saliency is determined by information maximization criteria coupled with computational limitations.

Several studies on time estimation showed that the estimation of temporal intervals is related to the amount of attention devoted to time. This is explained by the scalar timing theory, which assumes that attention alters the number of pulses transferred by our internal clock to an accumulator that keeps track of the elapsed time. In a previous study, it was found that time underestimation during cognitive-demanding tasks was more pronounced while walking than while sitting, whereas no clear motor-induced effects emerged without a concurrent cognitive task. What remains unclear then is the motor interference itself on time estimation. Here we aim to clarify how the estimation of time can be influenced by demanding motor mechanisms and how different motor activities interact with concurrent cognitive tasks during time estimation. To this purpose, we manipulated simultaneously the difficulty of the cognitive task (solving arithmetic operations) and the motor task. We used an automated body movement that should require no motor or mental effort, a more difficult movement that requires some motor control, and a highly demanding movement requiring motor coordination and attention. We compared the effects of these three types of walking on time estimation accuracy and uncertainty, arithmetic performance, and reaction times. Our findings confirm that time estimation is affected by the difficulty of the cognitive task whereas we did not find any evidence that time estimation changes with the complexity of our motor task, nor an interaction between walking and the concurrent cognitive tasks. We can conclude that walking, although highly demanding, does not have the same effects as other mental tasks on time estimation.

In naturalistic conditions, objects in the scene may be partly occluded and the visual system has to recognize the whole image based on the little information contained in some visible fragments. Previous studies demonstrated that humans can successfully recognize severely occluded images, but the underlying mechanisms occurring in the early stages of visual processing are still poorly understood. The main objective of this work is to investigate the contribution of local information contained in a few visible fragments to image discrimination in fast vision. It has been already shown that a specific set of features, predicted by a constrained maximum-entropy model to be optimal carriers of information (optimal features), are used to build simplified early visual representations (primal sketch) that are sufficient for fast image discrimination. These features are also considered salient by the visual system and can guide visual attention when presented isolated in artificial stimuli. Here, we explore whether these local features also play a significant role in more natural settings, where all existing features are kept, but the overall available information is drastically reduced. Indeed, the task requires discrimination of naturalistic images based on a very brief presentation (25 ms) of a few small visible image fragments. In the main experiment, we reduced the possibility to perform the task based on global-luminance positional cues by presenting randomly inverted-contrast images, and we measured how much observers’ performance relies on the local features contained in the fragments or on global information. The size and the number of fragments were determined in two preliminary experiments. Results show that observers are very skilled in fast image discrimination, even when a drastic occlusion is applied. When observers cannot rely on the position of global-luminance information, the probability of correct discrimination increases when the visible fragments contain a high number of optimal features. These results suggest that such optimal local information contributes to the successful reconstruction of naturalistic images even in challenging conditions.

Educational tools in art exhibitions seem crucial to improve the cultural and aesthetic experience, particularly of non-expert visitors, thus becoming a strategic goal for museums. However, there has not been much research regarding the impact of labels on the quality of visitors' aesthetic experience. Therefore, here we compared the impact on the cognitive and emotional experience of naïve visitors between essential and descriptive labels, through multiple objective and subjective measurements, focusing on the controversial modern art museum context. We found that, after detailed descriptions, observers spend more time inspecting artworks, their eyes wander more looking for the described elements, their skin conductance and pupil size increase, and overall, they find the content less complex and more arousing. Our findings show that people do receive important benefits from reading detailed information about artworks. This suggests that elaborating effective labels should be a primary goal for museums interested in attracting a non-expert public.

Psycholinguistic studies provide evidence that Italian has more than one basic color term (BCT) for “blue”: consensually, blu denotes “dark blue,” while “light-and-medium blue,” with diatopic variation, is termed either azzurro or celeste . For Tuscan speakers (predominantly from Florence), the BLUE area is argued to linguistically differentiate between azzurro “medium blue” and celeste “light blue.” We scrutinized “basicness” of the three terms. Participants ( N = 31; university students/graduates born in Tuscany) named each chip of eight Munsell charts encompassing the BLUE area (5BG-5PB; N = 237) using an unconstrained color-naming method. They then indicated the “best exemplar” (focal color) of blu, azzurro and celeste . We found that frequencies of the three terms and of term derivatives were comparable. Referential meaning of blu , azzurro , and celeste was estimated in CIELAB space as L*a*b*- coordinates of the mean of focal colors and as “modal” categories, that is, dispersion around the mean. The three “blue” terms were distinct on both measures and separated along all three CIELAB dimensions but predominantly along the L* -dimension. Our results provide evidence that Tuscan speakers require all three terms for naming the BLUE area, categorically refined along the lightness dimension. Furthermore, celeste appears to be a third BCT for “blue,” along with commonly considered BCTs azzurro and blu . The “triple blues” as BCTs for Tuscan speakers are in contrast with outcomes of two “blue” basic terms estimated by using the same methodology in two other locations in Italy— azzurro and blu (Verona, Veneto region) or celeste and blu (Alghero, Sardinia).

Under fast viewing conditions, the visual system extracts salient and simplified representations of complex visual scenes. Saccadic eye movements optimize such visual analysis through the dynamic sampling of the most informative and salient regions in the scene. However, a general definition of saliency, as well as its role for natural active vision, is still a matter for discussion. Following the general idea that visual saliency may be based on the amount of local information, a recent constrained maximum-entropy model of early vision, applied to natural images, extracts a set of local optimal information-carriers, as candidate salient features. These optimal features proved to be more informative than others in fast vision, when embedded in simplified sketches of natural images. In the present study, for the first time, these features were presented in isolation, to investigate whether they can be visually more salient than other non-optimal features, even in the absence of any meaningful global arrangement (contour, line, etc.). In four psychophysics experiments, fast discriminability of a compound of optimal features (target) in comparison with a similar compound of non-optimal features (distractor) was measured as a function of their number and contrast. Results showed that the saliency predictions from the constrained maximum-entropy model are well verified in the data, even when the optimal features are presented in smaller numbers or at lower contrast. In the eye movements experiment, the target and the distractor compounds were presented in the periphery at different angles. Participants were asked to perform a simple choice-saccade task. Results showed that saccades can select informative optimal features spatially interleaved with non-optimal features even at the shortest latencies. Saccades’ choice accuracy and landing position precision improved with SNR. In conclusion, the optimal features predicted by the reference model, turn out to be more salient than others, despite the lack of any clues coming from a global meaningful structure, suggesting that they get preferential treatment during fast image analysis. Also, peripheral fast visual processing of these informative local features is able to guide gaze orientation. We speculate that active vision is efficiently adapted to maximize information in natural visual scenes.

The perception of moving objects (real motion) is a critical function for interacting with a dynamic environment. Motion perception can be also induced by particular structural features of static images (illusory motion) or by photographic images of subjects in motion (implied motion, IM). Many cortical areas are involved in motion processing, particularly the medial temporal cortical area (MT), dedicated to the processing of real, illusory, and implied motion. Recently, there has been a growing interest in the influence of high-level visual processes on pupillary responses. However, just a few studies have measured the effect of motion processing on the pupil, and not always with consistent results. Here we systematically investigate the effects of real, illusory, and implied motion on the pupil diameter for the first time, by showing different types of stimuli (movies, illusions, and photos) with the same average luminance to the same observers. We find different pupillary responses depending on the nature of motion. Real motion elicits a larger pupillary dilation than IM, which in turn induces more dilation than control photos representing static subjects (No-IM). The pupil response is sensitive even to the strength of IM, as photos with enhanced IM (blur, motion streaks, speed lines) induce larger dilation than simple freezed IM (subjects captured in the instant they are moving). Also, the subject represented in the stimulus matters: human figures are interpreted as more dynamic and induce larger dilation than objects/animals. Interestingly, illusory motion induces much less dilation than all the other motion categories, despite being seen as moving. Overall, pupil responses depend on the individual perception of dynamicity, confirming that the pupil is modulated by the subjective interpretation of complex stimuli. We argue that the different pupillary responses to real, illusory, and implied motion reflect the top-down modulations of different cortical areas involved in their processing.

Motion can be perceived in static images, such as photos and figurative paintings, representing realistic subjects in motion, with or without directional information (e.g., motion blur or speed lines). Motion impression can be achieved even in non-realistic static images such as motion illusions and abstract paintings. It has been shown that visual motion processing affects the diameter of the pupil, responding differently to real, illusory, and implied motion in photographs (IM). It has been suggested that these different effects might be due to top-down modulations from different cortical areas underlying their processing. It is worthwhile to investigate pupillary response to figurative paintings, since they require an even higher level of interpretation than photos representing the same kind of subjects, given the complexity of cognitive processes involved in the aesthetic experience. Also, pupil responses to abstract paintings allows to study the effect of IM perception in representations devoid of real-life motion cues. We measured pupil responses to IM in figurative and abstract artworks depicting static and dynamic scenes, as rated by a large group of individuals not participating in the following experiment. Since the pupillary response is modulated by the subjective image interpretation, a motion rating test has been used to correct individual pupil data according to whether participants actually perceived the presence of motion in the paintings. Pupil responses to movies showing figurative and abstract subjects, and to motion illusions were also measured, to compare real and illusory motion with painted IM. Movies, both figurative and abstract, elicit the largest pupillary dilation of all static stimuli, whereas motion illusions cause the smallest pupil size, as previously shown. Interestingly, pupil responses to IM depend on the paintings' style. Figurative paintings depicting moving subjects cause more dilation than those representing static figures, and pupil size increases with the strength of IM, as already found with realistic photos. The opposite effect is obtained with abstract artworks. Abstract paintings depicting motion produce less dilation than those depicting stillness. In any case, these results reflect the individual subjective perception of dynamism, as the very same paintings can induce opposite responses in observer which interpreted it as static or dynamic. Overall, our data show that pupil size depends on high-level interpretation of motion in paintings, even when they do not represent real-world scenes. Our findings further suggest that the pupil is modulated by multiple top-down cortical mechanisms, involving the processing of motion, attention, memory, imagination, and other cognitive functions necessary for enjoying a complete aesthetic experience.

The passing of time can be precisely measured by using clocks, whereas humans’ estimation of temporal durations is influenced by many physical, cognitive and contextual factors, which distort our internal clock. Although it has been shown that temporal estimation accuracy is impaired by non-temporal tasks performed at the same time, no studies have investigated how concurrent cognitive and motor tasks interfere with time estimation. Moreover, most experiments only tested time intervals of a few seconds. In the present study, participants were asked to perform cognitive tasks of different difficulties (look, read, solve simple and hard mathematical operations) and estimate durations of up to two minutes, while walking or sitting. The results show that if observers pay attention only to time without performing any other mental task, they tend to overestimate the durations. Meanwhile, the more difficult the concurrent task, the more they tend to underestimate the time. These distortions are even more pronounced when observers are walking. Estimation biases and uncertainties change differently with durations depending on the task, consistent with a fixed relative uncertainty. Our findings show that cognitive and motor systems interact non-linearly and interfere with time perception processes, suggesting that they all compete for the same resources.

Successive presentations of Glass patterns (randomly positioned pairs of dots oriented in a coherent pattern) create a strong sense of global motion along the orientation of the pattern, but ambiguous in direction. Here we report that dynamic "anti-Glass" patterns, created by successive pairs of globally structured pairs of opposite polarity, create an even more powerful motion illusion that is unambiguous in direction: the dark dots always move toward the light. The motion can be cancelled and reversed by introducing a real delay in the presentation of the light dots, suggesting that the effective stimulation of the light is about 3 ms faster than the dark dots. The most plausible explanation for this is that human on channels are faster than off channels, as has been shown in the macaque. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]