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Biomedical subjects

T Farrimond

Publications and source records attributed to T Farrimond.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1990

Effect of alcohol on visual constancy values and possible relation to driving performance.

The effects of the constancy phenomena in vision seem to be to provide information about the environment which is not solely dependent upon the characteristics of shape or size of the retinal image but which is modified by the brain to appear closer to the idealized characteristics of the real object. There is a regression away from the retinal image towards the actual object's characteristics. A plate viewed from an angle tends to look more like a disc than would be predicted from the geometry of perspective. This ability of the brain to impose conditions on perception is a high-level process which may be adversely affected by the depressive action of alcohol on the nervous system. In this case, objects such as road signs, etc. would tend to look smaller and so more distant than when sober if regression is inhibited. Drivers' reactions may be delayed if hazards are seen smaller and further away, thereby increasing the possibility of accident. This research indicates a reduction in phenomenal regression after ingestion of alcohol. There are implications for accident-rates in driving or in industry.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Subjective comparisons of auditory distortion.

To assess the accuracy of comparing different levels of distortion when levels are well above threshold, judgments were elicited from 340 subjects using two test tones of similar harmonic distribution in terms of frequency. Even though the total level of distortion in one of the tones had been reduced, subjects could not invariably select the less distorted tone in a comparison. This was true even for those subjects who stated that they could tell that the two tones sounded different from each other. There are implications concerning the validity of subjects' reports in making auditory estimations of 'quality' between signals.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Sudden infant death syndrome and possible relation to vestibular function.

Some infants seem to be born with a degree of respiratory centre immaturity which in combination with other problems such as illness, head colds, exposure to cold, air or smoke, may result in cessation of breathing. Vestibular stimulation by rocking has been shown to be beneficial for premature babies in reducing apnea. There also appear to be other benefits, resulting in more rapid maturation of the nerve cells of the cerebellum which is still developing during the first six months of life. The suggestion is made that crib deaths may be reduced by the use of automatically rocking cribs, particularly during the night when most deaths occur.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Relation of sound intensity and accuracy of localization.

Tests were carried out on 17 subjects to determine the accuracy of monaural sound localization when the head is not free to turn toward the sound source. Maximum accuracy of localization for a constant-volume sound source coincided with the position for maximum perceived intensity of the sound in the front quadrant. There was a tendency for sounds to be perceived more often as coming from a position directly toward the ear. That is, for sounds in the front quadrant, errors of localization tended to be predominantly clockwise (i.e., biased toward a line directly facing the ear). Errors for sounds occurring in the rear quadrant tended to be anticlockwise. The pinna's differential effect on sound intensity between front and rear quadrants would assist in identifying the direction of movement of objects, for example an insect, passing the ear.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Effect of encouragement on performance of young and old subjects on a task involving lipreading.

Two tests of lipreading ability were constructed, one using numbers and the other of sentences including visual cues. The tests were given to two groups of men, one older group aged 40 yr. and over (n = 110) and a younger group of less than 40 yr. (n = 70). Requests to guess produced a higher mean score for the older subjects on the lipreading tests containing the greater amount of information. It is suggested that differences in the effect of encouragement on performance between young and old may be related to both age and cultural factors.

Adult↗