Children with spina bifida perceive visual illusions but not multistable figures

Citation
M. Dennis et al., Children with spina bifida perceive visual illusions but not multistable figures, BRAIN COGN, 46(1-2), 2001, pp. 108-113
Citations number
22
Categorie Soggetti
Psycology,"Neurosciences & Behavoir
Journal title
BRAIN AND COGNITION
ISSN journal
02782626 → ACNP
Volume
46
Issue
1-2
Year of publication
2001
Pages
108 - 113
Database
ISI
SICI code
0278-2626(200106/07)46:1-2<108:CWSBPV>2.0.ZU;2-J
Abstract
We compared 32 children with spina bifida and 31 age-matched controls on tw o classes of illusory perception, one involving visual illusions and the ot her, multistable figures. Children with spina bifida were as adept as age p eers in the perception of visual illusions concerned with size, length, and area, but were impaired in the perception of multistable figures that invo lved figure-ground reversals, illusory contours, perspective reversing, and paradoxical figures. That children with spina bifida reliably perceive ill usions that rely on inappropriate constancy scaling of size, length, and ar ea suggests that their brain dysmorphologies do not prevent the acquisition of basic perceptual operations that enhance thr local coherence of object perception. That they do not perceive multistable figures suggests that the ir visual perception impairments may involve not object processing so much as poor top-down control From higher association areas to representations i n the visual cortex. (C) 2001 Academic Press.