What determines what we see? In contrast to the traditional "modular" understanding of perception, according to which visual processing is encapsulated from higher-level cognition, a tidal wave of recent research alleges that states such as beliefs, desires, emotions, motivations, intentions, and linguistic representations exert direct top-down influences on what we see. There is a growing consensus that such effects are ubiquitous, and that the distinction between perception and cognition may itself be unsustainable. We argue otherwise: none of these hundreds of studies - either individually or collectively - provide compelling evidence for true top-down effects on perception, or "cognitive penetrability". In particular, and despite their variety, we suggest that these studies all fall prey to only a handful of pitfalls. And whereas abstract theoretical challenges have failed to resolve this debate in the past, our presentation of these pitfalls is empirically anchored: in each case, we show not only how certain studies could be susceptible to the pitfall (in principle), but how several alleged top-down effects actually are explained by the pitfall (in practice). Moreover, these pitfalls are perfectly general, with each applying to dozens of other top-down effects. We conclude by extracting the lessons provided by these pitfalls into a checklist that future work could use to convincingly demonstrate top-down effects on visual perception. The discovery of substantive top-down effects of cognition on perception would revolutionize our understanding of how the mind is organized; but without addressing these pitfalls, no such empirical report will license such exciting conclusions. Language: en

/pdf/cognition-does-not-affect-perception-evaluating-the-evidence-2kbftivku4.pdf

Cognition does not affect perception: Evaluating the evidence for "top-down" effects.

Hippocampus is a complex brain structure embedded deep into temporal lobe. It has a major role in learning and memory. It is a plastic and vulnerable structure that gets damaged by a variety of stimuli. Studies have shown that it also gets affected in a variety of neurological and psychiatric disorders. In last decade or so, lot has been learnt about conditions that affect hippocampus and produce changes ranging from molecules to morphology. Progresses in radiological delineation, electrophysiology, and histochemical characterization have made it possible to study this archicerebral structure in greater detail. Present paper attempts to give an overview of hippocampus, both in health and diseases.

Hippocampus in health and disease: An overview.

Evidence that experiences of nature can benefit people has accumulated rapidly. Yet perhaps because of the domination of the visual sense in humans, most research has focused on the visual aspects of nature experiences. However, humans are multisensory, and it seems likely that many benefits are delivered through the non-visual senses and these are potentially avenues through which a physiological mechanism could occur. Here we review the evidence around these lesser studied sensory pathways—through sound, smell, taste, touch, and three non-sensory pathways. Natural sounds and smells underpin experiences of nature for many people, and this may well be rooted in evolutionary psychology. Tactile experiences of nature, particularly beyond animal petting, are understudied yet potentially fundamentally important. Tastes of nature, through growing and consuming natural foods, have been linked with a range of health and well-being benefits. Beyond the five senses, evidence is emerging for other non-visual pathways for nature experiences to be effective. These include ingestion or inhalation of phytoncides, negative air ions and microbes. We conclude that (i) these non-visual avenues are potentially important for delivering benefits from nature experiences; (ii) the evidence base is relatively weak and often based on correlational studies; and (iii) deeper exploration of these sensory and non-sensory avenues is needed.

https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/8/864/pdf

A Review of the Benefits of Nature Experiences: More Than Meets the Eye.

Previous studies on the relationship between olfaction and depression have revealed mixed results. In addition, few have focused on the reciprocity of this association. The aim of this study is to combine depression and olfactory data in two separate patient populations to further understand their association. A systematic literature review was conducted using 3 online databases to identify studies correlating olfaction and depression in patients presenting with either primary depression or primary olfactory dysfunction. For the depressed population, weighted means and standard deviations for the Sniffin' Sticks Test and the 40-item Smell Identification Test were combined using 10 studies. For the olfactory dysfunction population, weighted means of Beck's Depression Inventory were combined using 3 studies. Independent t-tests were used to compare differences between groups. Comparing primary depressed patients with controls, depressed patients showed decreased scores in olfactory threshold (6.31±1.38 vs. 6.78±0.88, P = 0.0005), discrimination (12.05±1.44 vs. 12.66±1.36, P = 0.0073), identification (12.57±0.74 vs. 12.98±0.90, P < 0.0001), and 40-Item Smell Identification Test (35.31±1.91 vs. 37.41±1.45, P < 0.0001). In patients with primary olfactory dysfunction, Beck's Depression Inventory scores were significantly different between patients classified as normosmics, hyposmics and anosmics (5.21±4.73 vs. 10.93±9.25 vs. 14.15±5.39, P ≤ 0.0274 for all 3 comparisons). In conclusion, patients with depression have reduced olfactory performance when compared with the healthy controls and conversely, patients with olfactory dysfunction, have symptoms of depression that worsen with severity of smell loss.

/pdf/the-association-between-olfaction-and-depression-a-28izew2w9l.pdf

The Association Between Olfaction and Depression: A Systematic Review

How does it make you feel? A new approach to measuring emotions in food product experience

Olfactory system and emotion: Common substrates

Congenital anosmia and emotion recognition: A case-control study

Les bases communes du système olfactif et des émotions

La depression associee a une pathologie somatique peut etre meconnue ou insuffisamment traitee, notamment en raison des difficultes a en faire le diagnostic et de la banalisation de sa presence dans un tel contexte. Or, cette association contribue a aggraver la maladie physique, a en augmenter le handicap, et peut etre responsable d'une rupture de soins, voire de conduites suicidaires. L'association entre depression et pathologies somatiques peut n'etre qu'une simple coincidence, etre un etat reactionnel a la maladie physique ou meme la consequence directe de la maladie physique par le biais de perturbations biologiques ou des effets iatrogenes des traitements de l'affection somatique. L'humeur depressive constitue egalement un facteur de risque significatif pour le developpement de diverses maladies physiques. Il faut enfin savoir evoquer une depression devant des plaintes physiques medicalement inexpliquees. L'intrication entre la depression et une maladie physique necessite des precautions particulieres en matiere de prescriptions, et notamment une vigilance accrue quant aux interactions medicamenteuses.

Depression and physical illness

This report provides an overview of the relationship between olfaction and surgery. Surgery can be considered as treatment for some olfactory dysfunctions. Moreover, olfactory dysfunction can be analysed as a complication of some surgical procedures. An impaired sense of smell is a common problem affecting approximately 65% of patients with chronic sinusitis. Much of the literature about the effect of surgery on the olfactory system is based on subjective reports of olfactory function, which do not accurately assess objective smell dysfunction. A small number of prospective studies have been published. All studies looking at the sense of smell have found overall post-operative improvement compared with pre-operative symptoms. The range of improvement compared with pre-operative scores ranged from 13 to 91%, with a median of 31%. Olfaction dysfunction can be a complication of various surgical procedures such as laryngectomy, septoplasty, rhinoplasty, ethmoidectomy, and some neurosurgical procedures.

Surgical therapy and olfactory function.

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