Biomedical subjects

Alexander Maier

Publications and source records attributed to Alexander Maier.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2003

Perception of temporally interleaved ambiguous patterns.

BACKGROUND: Continuous viewing of ambiguous patterns is characterized by wavering perception that alternates between two or more equally valid visual solutions. However, when such patterns are viewed intermittently, either by repetitive presentation or by periodic closing of the eyes, perception can become locked or "frozen" in one configuration for several minutes at a time. One aspect of this stabilization is the possible existence of a perceptual memory that persists during periods in which the ambiguous stimulus is absent. Here, we use a novel paradigm of temporally interleaved ambiguous stimuli to explore the nature of this memory, with particular regard to its potential impact on perceptual organization. RESULTS: We found that the persistence of a perceptual configuration was robust to interposed visual patterns, and, further, that at least three ambiguous patterns, when interleaved in time, could undergo parallel, stable time courses. Then, using an interleaved presentation paradigm, we established that the occasional reversal in one pattern could be coupled with that of its interleaved counterpart, and that this coupling was a function of the structural similarity between the patterns. CONCLUSIONS: We postulate that the stabilization observed with repetitive presentation of ambiguous patterns can be at least partially accounted for by processes that retain a recent perceptual interpretation, and we speculate that such memory may be important in natural vision. We further propose that the interleaved paradigm introduced here may be of great value to gauge aspects of stimulus similarity that appeal to particular mechanisms of perceptual organization.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Depletion of GIM5 causes cellular fragility, a decreased glycosome number, and reduced levels of ether-linked phospholipids in trypanosomes.

Microbody division in mammalian cells, trypanosomes, and yeast depends on the PEX11 microbody membrane proteins. The function of PEX11 is not understood, and the suggestion that it affects microbody (peroxisome) numbers in mammals and yeast, because it plays a role in beta-oxidation of fatty acids, is controversial. PEX11 and two PEX11-related proteins, GIM5A and GIM5B, are the predominant membrane proteins of the microbodies (glycosomes) of Trypanosoma brucei. The compartmentation of glycosomal enzymes is essential in trypanosomes. Deletion of the GIM5A gene from the form of the parasite that lives in the mammalian blood has no effect on trypanosome growth, but depletion of GIM5B on a gim5a null background causes death. We show here that procyclic trypanosomes, adapted for life in the Tsetse fly vector, survive without GIM5A and with very low levels of GIM5B. The depleted cells have fewer glycosomes than usual and are osmotically fragile, which is a novel observation for a microbody defect. Thus trypanosomes require both GIM5B and PEX11 for the maintenance of normal glycosome numbers. Procyclic cells lacking GIM5A, like mouse cells partially defective in PEX11, have fewer ether-linked phospholipids, even when GIM5B levels are not reduced. Metabolite measurements on GIM5A/B-depleted bloodstream form trypanosomes suggested a change in the flux through the glycolytic pathway. We conclude that PEX11 family proteins play important roles in determining microbody membrane structure, with secondary effects on a subset of microbody metabolic pathways.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2002

Stable perception of visually ambiguous patterns.

During the viewing of certain patterns, widely known as ambiguous or puzzle figures, perception lapses into a sequence of spontaneous alternations, switching every few seconds between two or more visual interpretations of the stimulus. Although their nature and origin remain topics of debate, these stochastic switches are generally thought to be the automatic and inevitable consequence of viewing a pattern without a unique solution. We report here that in humans such perceptual alternations can be slowed, and even brought to a standstill, if the visual stimulus is periodically removed from view. We also show, with a visual illusion, that this stabilizing effect hinges on perceptual disappearance rather than on actual removal of the stimulus. These findings indicate that uninterrupted subjective perception of an ambiguous pattern is required for the initiation of the brain-state changes underlying multistable vision.

Adolescent↗