ANTONINO ESPOSITO

PhD Graduate

PhD program:: XXXII



Thesis title: Perceptual Grouping by Proximity and Orientation Bias: Experimental and Modelling Investigations

Grouping by proximity is the principle of perceptual organization by which the elements of a visual scene which are closer in space tend to be perceived as a coherent ensemble. Research into this topic makes substantial use of the class of stimuli known as dot lattices. The Pure Distance Law (Kubovy et al., 1998) predicts that the probability of grouping by proximity in these stimuli only depends on the relative inter-dot distance between competing organizations. Despite much effort to explain how grouping by proximity is shaped by the basic organization of visual stimuli, its neural mechanisms are still under debate. Moreover, previous studies reported that grouping in dot lattices also occurs according to an orientation bias, by which these stimuli are perceived along a preferred orientation (vertical), regardless of what predicted by the Pure Distance Law. The aim of this thesis is to shed light on the functional and neural mechanisms characterizing grouping by proximity in dot lattices, as well as the trade-off between proximity- and orientation-based grouping. Study 1 investigates the role of high-level visual working memory (VWM) in promoting for the shift between grouping by proximity and orientation bias. Both the quantity (load) and the quality (content) of the information stored in VWM shape online grouping for dot lattices. Study 2 presents a neural network model simulating the dynamics occurring between low- and high-level processing stages during dot lattices perception. The degree of synchrony between the units at low-level module has a key role in accounting for grouping by proximity. Overall, our results show that high-level (Study 1) and low-level (Study 2) operations contribute in parallel to the emergence of grouping by proximity, as well as to its reciprocity with orientation-based grouping.

Research products

11573/1725441 - 2024 - The role of spatial attention in visual short-term memory and visual consciousness: an ERP change detection study
D’Angiò, Monia; Chiarella, Salvatore Gaetano; Raffone, Antonino; Simione, Luca; Esposito, Antonino; Di Pace, Enrico; Kolev, Vasil; Yordanova, Juliana - 04c Atto di convegno in rivista
paper: COGNITIVE PROCESSING (Lengerich : Pabst Science, 2000-2003 Springer Berlin / Heidelberg 2004-) pp. - - issn: 1612-4782 - wos: (0) - scopus: (0)
conference: 9th International Conference on Spatial Cognition: Segmentation and Binding in Spatial Cognition (ICSC 2024) (Roma)

11573/1711778 - 2024 - Survival value in spatial memory: a pilot study
Pesola, M. C.; Costanzi, Marco; Piccardi, L.; Esposito, Antonino; Rossi Arnaud, C. - 04f Poster
conference: European Workshop of Imagery and Cognition 2024 (Naples; Italy)
book: EWIC2024 - ()

11573/1679250 - 2023 - The binding of negative emotional stimuli with spatial information in working memory: A possible role for the episodic buffer
Cianfanelli, Beatrice; Esposito, Antonino; Spataro, Pietro; Santirocchi, Alessandro; Cestari, Vincenzo; Clelia, Rossi-Arnaud; Costanzi, Marco - 01a Articolo in rivista
paper: FRONTIERS IN NEUROSCIENCE (Lausanne : EPFL : Frontiers Research Foundation, 2007-) pp. - - issn: 1662-453X - wos: WOS:000962752300001 (1) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85152520080 (1)

11573/1724023 - 2022 - Attention, boredom and mind wandering during a vigilance task: EEG and ocular markers
Esposito, Antonino; Braccili, Eleonora; Sgro, Federica; Chiarantano, Eleonora; D'ippolito, Mariagrazia; Pisotta, Iolanda; Bigioni, Alessandra; Guerrieri, Antonio; Mattia, Donatella; Cincotti, Febo - 04b Atto di convegno in volume
conference: 2022 IEEE International Conference on Metrology for Extended Reality, Artificial Intelligence and Neural Engineering (Rome; Italy)
book: 2022 IEEE International Conference on Metrology for Extended Reality, Artificial Intelligence and Neural Engineering (MetroXRAINE) - (978-1-6654-8574-6; 978-1-6654-8573-9; 978-1-6654-8575-3)

11573/1660531 - 2022 - The psychological and cognitive predictors of adherence to social distancing behavior: data from an Italian sample
Santirocchi, Alessandro; Esposito, Antonino; Spataro, Pietro; Cestari, Vincenzo; Clelia, Rossi-Arnaud - 04f Poster
conference: Psychonomic Society 63rd Annual Meeting (Boston (online))
book: Psychonomic Society - ()

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