Cognition and imagery: What applications?

June 9th at 8.30-9.50

Cognition and imagery go hand in hand, both in the laboratory and in real-life contexts. How relevant and current are the applications of research involving imagery and related constructs? One of the most promising lines of research seems to lie in detecting individual differences that affect several types of behavior and choices made in the real world. The round table brings together experts who have focused on examining how different types of imagery relate to everyday activities and professional domains, such as sport, science, and the visual arts, and also in individuals who have particular difficulties in using imagery (as needed in visuospatial tasks and navigation, for instance) due to clinical conditions such as nonverbal learning disorder,  or the sequelae of a stroke.

The researchers involved in the round table will present a review and/or report of their own research concerning: i) the contribution of “imagery” (or related aspects); ii) imagery measures used in assessment and training; iii) applications to everyday life.

Introduction: Chiara Meneghetti (University of Padova)

 

Invited speakers, Title and Short abstract

 

 Visual imagery in different professions

Olesya Blazhenkova

Sabanci University; Istanbul, Turkey

There is growing evidence that distinct imagery subsystems process visual information in different ways. Specifically, research demonstrated the dissociation between object and spatial imagery, as well as between egocentric and allocentric spatial imagery. We examined how individual differences in these types of imagery predict the performance in different professional domains (e.g., science, visual arts, dentistry). Our research suggest that diverse imagery abilities can be suited for effective visual processing during specific professional tasks.

Imagery and sport activity

Petra Jansen

Institute of Sport Science, University of Regensburg; Regensburg, Germany

The relation between motor/sport activity and visual spatial imagery will be discussed. Even an overall advantage of motor experts and non-experts in visual spatial tasks has been shown (Voyer & Jansen, 2017). However, the theoretical assumption which type of sport/motor activity influences which type of visual-spatial ability is missing. Possible mechanism and application will be discussed.

Neurodevelopmental visuospatial syndrome: Phenotypic outcomes for visual-spatial impairment

Jodene Goldenring Fine

Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education; Michigan State University, Michigan, United States

Nonverbal learning disorder describes children who present with visuo-spatial processing deficits and a unique learning profile. Research during the past decade as begun to identify the neuropsychological, academic, and biological features of this neurodevelopmental disorder. This talk will briefly review the history, recent research advances, and limitations of the work, including difficulty establishing a formal diagnosis. Future directions will be discussed.

Spatial navigation impairment after stroke

Ineke J.M. van der Ham

Department of Health, Medical, and Neuropsychology, Leiden University, Netherlands

Impaired spatial navigation is common after stroke, yet very little diagnostic and treatment tools exist. Therefore, we have developed the Wayfinding Questionnaire and are working towards a virtual reality based serious game to treat navigation impairment. I will discuss how cognitive theory, clinical findings, and input from end users have contributed in the development of this treatment and other applications.

Discussant: Michel Denis (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Paris; France)