Haruo Hibino

Red-green and yellow-blue opponent-color responses as a function of retinal eccentricity

Using the hue cancellation technique, I measured the spectral sensitivities of red-green (r-g) and yellow-blue (y-b) opponent-color responses of two color-normal observers at 0 (fovea), 3.3, 10, 21, and 31 degrees along the horizontal meridian of the temporal retina. The stimulus size as a function of retinal eccentricity was varied according to the cortical magnification factor. I found that the net spectral sensitivity (i.e. corrected for macular pigment) of the r-g channel was approximately constant as a function of retinal eccentricity. On the other hand, the net spectral sensitivity of the y-b channel was not constant. For the y-b channel I found a constant spectral sensitivity as a function of eccentricity when no macular correction was made. This means that the y-b system changes its yellow and blue responses with eccentricity to counterbalance the effects of macular pigment.

Self-medication behaviors among Japanese consumers: sex, age, and SES differences and caregivers’ attitudes toward their children’s health management

BackgroundSince 2009, when the revised Pharmaceutical Affairs Act was enacted in Japan, self-medication practices have increased. Because the concept of self-medication was recently introduced in Japan, few studies exist on this topic. Therefore, it is necessary to explore how self-medication is practiced. This study examined Japanese consumers’ self-medication practices and attitudes toward over-the-counter (OTC) medicines based on their sex, age, and socioeconomic status (SES).MethodsThe participants were 403 adults (Mage = 41.1 years, SD = 16.22). A quota sampling method was employed based on age group, and participants completed an online questionnaire.ResultsParticipants in the 20–29 age group reported medical costs as an obstacle in seeing a doctor; in contrast, transportation was a mitigating factor for elderly people. Regarding SES, people at lower SES levels chose to rest instead of seeing a doctor or purchasing over-the-counter (OTC) medicines when sick. They also placed more value on national brand OTC medicines than private brands (likely due to advertisements). This finding suggests individuals with a low SES do not select OTC medicines based on their effects or ingredients. Regarding attitudes toward OTC medicines, Japanese participants seemed to be unaware of the potential for abuse and side effects associated with OTC medicines. Finally, in relation to caregivers’ self-medication practices for their children, the majority of participants reported taking their children to the hospital since children tend to receive free medical care. Furthermore, caregivers with a high educational background are more confident in being able to help manage their children’s health.ConclusionsOur results suggest that health and medical discrepancies among Japanese consumers pose new social problems. In Japan, universal health care is available, but the cost of receiving medical care is not completely free of charge. Thus, we hope that the government will attempt to meet the various needs of patients and support their well-being. Consumers also have to be more independent and aware of their health management, as self-medication practices will continue to play a more significant role in healthcare. More research is needed to find ways to teach Japanese consumers/patients of both the benefits and risks of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines.

Memory Color Effect Induced by Familiarity of Brand Logos

Background When people are asked to adjust the color of familiar objects such as fruits until they appear achromatic, the subjective gray points of the objects are shifted away from the physical gray points in a direction opposite to the memory color (memory color effect). It is still unclear whether the discrepancy between memorized and actual colors of objects is dependent on the familiarity of the objects. Here, we conducted two experiments in order to examine the relationship between the degree of a subject’s familiarity with objects and the degree of the memory color effect by using logographs of food and beverage companies. Methods and Findings In Experiment 1, we measured the memory color effects of logos which varied in terms of their familiarity (high, middle, or low). Results demonstrate that the memory color effect occurs only in the high-familiarity condition, but not in the middle- and low-familiarity conditions. Furthermore, there is a positive correlation between the memory color effect and the actual number of domestic stores of the brand. In Experiment 2, we assessed the semantic association between logos and food/beverage names by using a semantic priming task to elucidate whether the memory color effect of logos relates to consumer brand cognition, and found that the semantic associations between logos and food/beverage names in the high-familiarity brands were stronger than those in the low-familiarity brands only when the logos were colored correctly, but not when they were appropriately or inappropriately colored, or achromatic. Conclusion The current results provide behavioral evidence of the relationship between the familiarity of objects and the memory color effect and suggest that the memory color effect increases with the familiarity of objects, albeit not constantly.

Illusory visual motion stimulus elicits postural sway in migraine patients

Although the perception of visual motion modulates postural control, it is unknown whether illusory visual motion elicits postural sway. The present study examined the effect of illusory motion on postural sway in patients with migraine, who tend to be sensitive to it. We measured postural sway for both migraine patients and controls while they viewed static visual stimuli with and without illusory motion. The participants’ postural sway was measured when they closed their eyes either immediately after (Experiment 1), or 30 s after (Experiment 2), viewing the stimuli. The patients swayed more than the controls when they closed their eyes immediately after viewing the illusory motion (Experiment 1), and they swayed less than the controls when they closed their eyes 30 s after viewing it (Experiment 2). These results suggest that static visual stimuli with illusory motion can induce postural sway that may last for at least 30 s in patients with migraine.

Selective impairment of race perception after bilateral damage in the fusiform and parahippocampal gyri

Although a previous functional magnetic resonance imaging study showed that the fusiform and parahippocampal gyri respond differentially to faces of the same versus different races, it is not clear whether the cortical regions are involved in perception of race. We examined whether two brain‐damaged patients with bilateral fusiform and parahippocampal lesions were able to perceive race. We also examined whether perception of race depended on perception of facial morphology, such as convex and concave surfaces.