Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 29, 2026
09:49
Methods to Explore the Influence of Top-down Visual Processes on Motor Behavior
Published on: April 16, 2014
Visual processing in Noonan syndrome: dorsal and ventral stream sensitivity
Paolo Alfieri1, Laura Cesarini, Paola De Rose
1Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Bambino Gesù, Children's Hospital, Rome, Italy.
American Journal of Medical Genetics. Part A
|September 13, 2011
Summary
Children with Noonan syndrome (NS) show specific deficits in global form processing, not motion perception. These visuospatial impairments, identified via coherence testing, suggest potential ventral stream issues and inform targeted rehabilitation.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Psychology
- Ophthalmology
Background:
- Noonan syndrome (NS) is a genetic disorder associated with various developmental issues.
- Visuospatial processing is crucial for daily functioning and learning.
- Previous research has not fully elucidated the specific visual processing deficits in NS.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate global spatial and motion processing abilities in children with Noonan syndrome.
- To determine if NS is associated with specific deficits in form or motion coherence.
- To explore the utility of coherence testing as a diagnostic tool for NS.
Main Methods:
- 18 patients with Noonan syndrome and 43 matched controls were tested.
- Form and motion coherence tasks were used to assess global spatial and motion processing.
- The Movement Assessment Battery for Children (M-ABC) evaluated visuomotor skills.
Main Results:
- Patients with Noonan syndrome performed significantly worse on form coherence tasks compared to controls.
- No significant impairment was found in motion coherence processing for the NS group.
- 72% of NS patients exhibited global poor performance on the M-ABC, indicating visuomotor difficulties.
Conclusions:
- Children with Noonan syndrome have a specific impairment in global visuospatial information processing, likely involving the ventral stream.
- Coherence testing may serve as a valuable diagnostic tool for identifying these specific visual processing deficits in NS.
- Findings suggest that targeted rehabilitation programs focusing on global form processing and visuomotor skills could benefit individuals with Noonan syndrome.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:20Parallel Processing
The brain processes sensory information rapidly due to parallel processing, which involves sending data across multiple neural pathways at the same time. This method allows the brain to manage various sensory qualities, such as shapes, colors, movements, and locations, all concurrently. For instance, when observing a forest landscape, the brain simultaneously processes the movement of leaves, the shapes of trees, the depth between them, and the various shades of green. This enables a quick and...
01:26Visual System
Light enters the eye through the cornea, a transparent, dome-shaped surface covering the surface of the eyeball that helps to direct and focus incoming light. This light is then channeled toward the pupil, an adjustable opening whose size is controlled by the iris. The iris, a pigmented muscle, regulates the amount of light entering the eye by contracting or dilating the pupil, thereby ensuring optimal light levels for clear vision.
Once through the pupil, the light passes through the lens, a...
Once through the pupil, the light passes through the lens, a...
01:24Vision
Vision is the result of light being detected and transduced into neural signals by the retina of the eye. This information is then further analyzed and interpreted by the brain. First, light enters the front of the eye and is focused by the cornea and lens onto the retina—a thin sheet of neural tissue lining the back of the eye. Because of refraction through the convex lens of the eye, images are projected onto the retina upside-down and reversed.
01:12Visual Agnosia
Visual agnosia is a condition characterized by the inability to recognize visually presented objects despite having normal vision. For instance, a person with visual agnosia can describe the shape and color of an object but cannot identify or name it. This impairment does not affect their visual field, acuity, color vision, brightness discrimination, language, or memory. An example of this condition in a social setting is someone at a dinner party asking for "that silver thing with a round end"...
01:15Depth Perception and Spatial Vision
Depth perception is the ability to perceive objects three-dimensionally. It relies on two types of cues: binocular and monocular. Binocular cues depend on the combination of images from both eyes and how the eyes work together. Since the eyes are in slightly different positions, each eye captures a slightly different image. This disparity between images, known as binocular disparity, helps the brain interpret depth. When the brain compares these images, it determines the distance to an object.
01:11Sensory Perception: Organization of the Somatosensory System
The somatosensory system is the central and peripheral nervous system component that senses and processes touch, pressure, pain, temperature, and body position or proprioception. The process of sensation takes place at three levels:
The receptor level:
The receptor level is the first stage of sensation. It involves the detection of a stimulus by specialized sensory receptors. The stimulus must arrive within the receptor's receptive field. Next, the receptor converts the energy of the stimulus...
The receptor level:
The receptor level is the first stage of sensation. It involves the detection of a stimulus by specialized sensory receptors. The stimulus must arrive within the receptor's receptive field. Next, the receptor converts the energy of the stimulus...