Tobias Loetscher

University of South Australia | UniSA · Justice & Society

Besides allowing us to perceive our surroundings, eye movements are also a window into our mind and a rich source of information on who we are, how we feel, and what we do. Here we show that eye movements during an everyday task predict aspects of our personality. We tracked eye movements of 42 participants while they ran an errand on a university...

The spatial numerical association of response code (SNARC) effect is characterized by low numbers mapped to the left side of space and high numbers mapped to the right side of space. In addition to numbers, SNARC-like effects have been found in non-numerical magnitude domains such as time, size, letters, luminance, and more, whereby the smaller/ear...

Spatial neglect after stroke can be a challenging syndrome to diagnose under standard neuropsychological assessment. There is now sufficient evidence that those affected might demonstrate neglect behavior in everyday settings despite showing no signs of neglect during common neglect tasks. This discrepancy is attributed to the simplified and unreal...

While it is generally acknowledged that another person's presence can influence how we behave within our environment, our understanding of the mechanisms underlying this influence is limited. Three experiments investigated the effect of social presence on the lateral distribution of spatial attention. Shifts in spatial attention were measured using...

Many studies use multi-experiment designs where experiments are carried out at different times of semester. When comparing between experiments, the data may be confounded by between-participants effects related to motivation. Research indicates that course-credit participants who engage in research early in semester have different personality and p...

Background People with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) can report reduced mental health. There is also evidence that they struggle with daily tasks because of vision loss. Aims The purpose of this study was to assess the psychological impact of instrumental activities of daily living on people with simulated AMD. Method Twenty-four normall...

Background: Virtual reality (VR) using head-mounted displays (HMDs) has demonstrated to be an effective tool for treating various somatic and psychological symptoms. Technological advances and increased affordability of VR technology provide an interesting option for delivering psychological interventions to patients in palliative care. The primar...

Ongoing research has continued to inform our understanding of the effects of living with domestic violence on both women and children. The majority of this research, however, has tended to focus on each population separately, with only a relatively few studies to date assessing the relationship between maternal and child emotional functioning, part...

Background: People with Down syndrome face various learning challenges. Introducing new and enjoyable experiences in learning settings may improve learning outcomes. Immersive and interactive technologies such as virtual reality can be used to deliver rich visual experiences in classrooms. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the...

The reliable assessment of cognitive functioning is critical to the study of brain-behaviour relationships. Yet conditions that are synchronous which ageing, including visual decline, are easily overlooked when interpreting cognitive test scores. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the negative consequences of visual impairments on cogniti...

Objective: The objective of this scoping review was to capture the reported definitions for the subtypes of neglect post stroke and map the range of assessment tools employed for each neglect subtype. Methods: EMBASE, Emcare, Medline, and psychINFO were searched from database inception. Searching included all allied terms and mesh headings for stro...

BACKGROUND People with Down syndrome face various learning challenges. Introducing new and enjoyable experiences in learning settings may improve learning outcomes. Immersive and interactive technologies such as virtual reality can be used to deliver rich visual experiences in classrooms. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate the feas...

Immersive virtual reality (VR) can cause acute sickness, visual disturbance, and balance impairment. Some manufacturers recommend intermittent breaks to overcome these issues; however, limited evidence examining whether this is beneficial exists. The aim of this study was to examine whether taking breaks during VR gaming reduced its effect on postu...

Non-invasive brain stimulation is a useful tool to probe brain function and provide therapeutic treatments in disease. When applied to the right posterior parietal cortex (PPC) of healthy participants, it is possible to temporarily shift spatial attention and mimic symptoms of spatial neglect. However, the field of brain stimulation is plagued by i...

Purpose Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a degenerative condition impacting central vision. Evaluating the effectiveness of low vision devices provides empirical evidence on how devices can rehabilitate and overcome deficits caused by AMD. This evidence could help to facilitate discussion on necessary future improvements to vision enhancem...

Purpose: Investigating difficulties during activities of daily living is a fundamental first step for the development of vision-related intervention and rehabilitation strategies. One way to do this is through visual impairment simulations. The aim of this review is to synthesize and assess the types of simulation methods that have been used to sim...

Background: Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) has become the standard-of-care for treatment of severe symptomatic aortic stenosis and is also being increasingly recommended for low-risk patients. While TAVI boasts positive post-procedural outcomes, it is also associated with cognitive complications, namely delirium and cognitive declin...

People with neurodevelopmental disorders are often considered unsuitable or incapable of working in open employment. When employment is available, tasks are often limited, and opportunities for career development are restricted. Policy and funding constraints leave people with disabilities without an opportunity to develop skills due to the additio...

Current evidence suggests that the ability to detect and react to information under lowered alertness conditions might be more impaired on the left than the right side of space. This evidence derives mainly from right-handers being assessed in computer and paper-and-pencil spatial attention tasks. However, there are suggestions that left-handers mi...

BACKGROUND Apathy is a frequent and under-recognized symptom of neurological disorders. Reduced goal directed behaviour caused by apathy is associated with poor outcomes for older adults in residential aged care. Recommended nonpharmacological treatments include person-centred therapy using information and communication technology. Virtual reality...

Background: Apathy is a frequent and underrecognized neurological disorder symptom. Reduced goal-directed behavior caused by apathy is associated with poor outcomes for older adults in residential aged care. Recommended nonpharmacological treatments include person-centered therapy using information and communication technology. Virtual reality (VR...

Background: The majority of people living with Parkinson's disease will develop impairments in cognition. These impairments are associated with a reduced quality of life. Objective: The Cochrane Review aimed to investigate whether cognitive training improves cognition in people with Parkinson's disease and mild cognitive impairments or dementia....

Dementia has become a major public health concern globally. With no cure available and strong evidence for modifiable risk factors, it is imperative that the public are knowledgeable about dementia and to reduce their risk. The aim of this study was to measure the knowledge of dementia and its risk factors in the Australian public, as well as the n...

Significance: Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a degenerative condition impacting central vision. Evaluating the effectiveness of low vision devices provides empirical evidence on how devices can overcome deficits caused by AMD and facilitates discussion on future improvements to vision enhancement technology.Methods: A systematic review o...

Purpose: The aim of this review is to synthesise the types of simulation methods that have been used to simulate age-related macular degeneration (AMD) during activities of daily living. Since investigating activities of daily living is a fundamental first step in developing intervention and rehabilitation strategies, it is imperative that simulati...

Introduction Apathy is a prevalent neuropsychiatric symptom for older adults residing in aged care. Left untreated, apathy has been associated with accelerated cognitive decline and increased risk of mortality. Reminiscence therapy is commonly used in aged care and has demonstrated to reduce apathy. Traditional methods of reminiscence use physical...

Background Virtual reality (VR) exergaming has the potential to target sedentary behavior. Immersive environments can distract users from the physical exertion of exercise and can motivate them to continue exergaming. Despite the recent surge in VR popularity, numerous users still experience VR sickness from using head-mounted displays (HMDs). Apar...

Current evidence suggests that the ability to detect and react to information under lowered alertness conditions might be more impaired on the left than the right side of space. This evidence derives mainly from right-handers being assessed in computer and paper-and-pencil spatial attention tasks. However, there are suggestions that left-handers mi...

Background: Apathy is a prevalent neuropsychiatric symptom for older adults residing in aged care. Left untreated, apathy has been associated with accelerated cognitive decline and increased risk of mortality. Pharmacological interventions have not been established and can have side effects, placing a priority on the evaluation of non-pharmacologic...

Higher and lower levels of alertness typically lead to a leftward and rightward bias in attention, respectively. This relationship between alertness and spatial attention potentially has major implications for health and safety. The current study examined alertness and spatial attention under simulated shiftworking conditions. Nineteen healthy righ...

Objectives: Children often have a lack of dementia understanding and poor attitudes toward people with dementia. Intergenerational programs are increasingly common, but the effects on knowledge and attitudes related to dementia are mixed, especially in the long-term (6 months). Using a RE-AIM framework, we quantitatively evaluated the effects of an...

Background: Virtual reality (VR) exergaming has potential for targeting sedentary behavior. Immersive environments can distract users from the physical exertion of exercise and can motivate them to continue exergaming. Despite the recent surge in VR popularity, numerous users still experience VR sickness from using head-mounted displays (HMDs). Asi...

BACKGROUND Virtual reality (VR) exergaming has the potential to target sedentary behavior. Immersive environments can distract users from the physical exertion of exercise and can motivate them to continue exergaming. Despite the recent surge in VR popularity, numerous users still experience VR sickness from using head-mounted displays (HMDs). Apar...

Changes to cognition, both decline and improvement, are commonly reported following transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). However, previous systematic reviews and meta-analyses have missed these subgroups by assessing whole-group-averages for cognitive outcomes. We sought to pool estimates to identify the prevalence of cognitive decline a...

The use of head-mounted displays (HMD) for virtual reality (VR) application-based purposes including therapy, rehabilitation, and training is increasing. Despite advancements in VR technologies, many users still experience sickness symptoms. VR sickness may be influenced by technological differences within HMDs such as resolution and refresh rate,...

Higher and lower levels of alertness typically lead to a leftward and rightward bias in attention, respectively. This relationship between alertness and spatial attention potentially has major implications for health and safety. The current study examined alertness and spatial attention under simulated shiftworking conditions. Nineteen healthy righ...

An accurate perception of the space surrounding us is central for effective and safe everyday functioning. Understanding the factors influencing spatial perception is therefore vital. Here, we first confirm previous reports that our cultural reading habits shape the perception of space. Twenty-four left-to-right readers (tested in Australia) and 23...

Background: Apathy is a common symptom in neurological disorders, including dementia, and is associated with a faster rate of cognitive decline, reduced quality of life, and high caregiver burden. There is a lack of effective pharmacological treatments for apathy and nonpharmacological interventions are a preferred first line approach to treatment...

BACKGROUND Apathy is a common symptom in neurological disorders, including dementia, and is associated with a faster rate of cognitive decline, reduced quality of life, and high caregiver burden. There is a lack of effective pharmacological treatments for apathy, and nonpharmacological interventions are a preferred first-line approach to treatment....

Background and Objectives: Apathy is a common symptom in neurological disorders including dementia and is associated with a faster rate of cognitive decline, reduced quality of life and high carer burden. A lack of effective pharmacological treatments for apathy has placed an emphasis on non-pharmacological interventions. Virtual reality (VR) using...

The use of head-mounted displays (HMD) for virtual reality (VR) application-based purposes including therapy, rehabilitation, and training is increasing. Despite advancements in VR technologies, many users still experience sickness symptoms. VR sickness may be influenced by technological differences within HMDs such as resolution and refresh rate,...

Background: Many survivors of stroke report attentional impairments, such as diminished concentration and distractibility. However, the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation for improving these impairments is uncertain.This is an update of the Cochrane Review first published in 2000 and previously updated in 2013. Objectives: To determine wh...

Risk perception has recently been shown to reveal a mental spatial representation, with people responding faster to low-risk items on the left side, and high-risk items on the right side. Subjective risk perception has a stronger spatial representation than objective risk perception; however, both reveal small effect sizes. With risk magnitude bein...

In many settings, sports training can be difficult to organize, logistically complicated and very costly. Virtual environments (VE) have garnered interest as a tool to train real-world sports skills due to the realism and flexibility that they can deliver. A key assumption of VE-based training is that the learned skills and experiences transfer to...

Objective: The present study investigates skill transfer from Virtual Reality (VR) sports training to the real world, using the fast-paced sport of table tennis. Background: A key assumption of VR training is that the learned skills and experiences transfer to the real world. Yet, in certain application areas, such as VR sports training, the res...

Despite continued improvements in virtual reality (VR) technologies, many people still experience adverse symptoms from using head-mounted displays (HMDs). Typically, these symptoms are monitored through self-report measures, such as the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ); however, by only using subjective measures many symptoms may be overlook...

Despite continued improvements in virtual reality (VR) technologies, many people still experience adverse symptoms from using head-mounted displays (HMDs). Typically, these symptoms are monitored through self-report measures, such as the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ); however, by only using subjective measures many symptoms may be overlook...

Introduction: Visual-spatial processing can be affected in people with cervical dystonia (CD). These impairments have almost exclusively been observed in laboratory studies, but the impact of visuo-spatial impairments on daily activities is unclear. Here, we investigated how people living with CD visually explore the environment. Method: 21 partici...

When thinking about quantifiable domains such as numbers, pitch, and size, they are implicitly mapped on to representational space with small/low/less and large/high/more of the respective domain represented on the left and right sides of representational space, respectively. Recent research has also demonstrated that more abstract domains (colours...

Objective: The present study investigates skill transfer from Virtual Reality (VR) sports training to the real world, using the fast-paced sport of table tennis.Background: A key assumption of VR training is that the learned skills and experiences transfer to the real world. Yet, in certain application areas, such as VR sports training, the researc...

Purpose: Dystonia is a neurological movement disorder with negative impact on function and quality of life. It is currently unclear whether vision-related quality of life is affected. The aim of this study was to determine whether vision-related quality of life is reduced by dystonia. Materials and methods: A vision-related quality of life questio...

We aimed to investigate individual differences that associate with peoples’ acute risk perception for activities such as walking and giving birth, including objective risk and the mapping of numerical magnitudes. The Amazon Mechanical Turk platform was used, with 284 participants recruited (40% female) ranging between 19 and 68 years. Participants...

Data underlying this study. (XLSX)

Delirium is a severe and common complication following transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI). We sought to identify the prevalence and risk factors associated with the development of postprocedural delirium in patients aged over 60 years who underwent elective TAVI for aortic stenosis. Overall, 1,051 articles were searched, from which 9 st...

Although the perception of faces depends on low-level neuronal processes, it is also affected by high-level social processes. Faces from a social in-group, such as people of a similar age, receive more in-depth processing and are processed holistically. To explore whether own-age biases affect subconscious face perception, we presented participants...

Small and large numbers are typically associated with the left and right side of space, respectively. We conducted an online version of the classical Spatial-Numerical Association of Response Codes (SNARC) paradigm in 604 subjects in order to analyse how previous trials and responses affect SNARC. Our results point to a strong inversion of number-s...

Strategies to encourage exercise have led to research on cycle ergometer ‘exergaming’, as a means of enhancing exercise enjoyment. This research has typically prescribed the exercise intensity and used one exercise mode. The aim of this study was to compare self-selected exercise intensity on a cycle ergometer with and without exergaming modes acti...

Healthy individuals usually display a bias toward the left side of space. This effect can be measured in a line bisection task or, alternatively, in a landmark task where prebisected lines are presented to participants. Several factors have been shown to influence pseudoneglect, that is, to vary the magnitude of the left side bias. We performed 2 l...

We present a patient with reading inexpertise and right hemianopia following left posterior cerebral artery (PCA) stroke. We examine the extent of disruption to reading performance and the extent of white matter tract damage relative to a patient with more limited PCA infarction and isolated right hemianopia. We show white matter disconnection of t...

Older individuals can now undergo invasive cardiovascular procedures without serious concern about mortality, and the proportions of the over 65s and 85s doing so in Australia has been increasing over the last 20 years. There is overwhelming evidence linking cardiovascular conditions to late-life (65 years and over) cognitive impairment and dementi...

Spatial neglect is modelled on an imbalance of interhemispheric inhibition (IHI); however evidence is emerging that it may not explain neglect in all cases. The aim of this study was to investigate the IHI imbalance model of visual neglect in healthy adults, using paired pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation to probe excitability of projections f...

Perceptual attention in healthy participants is characterised by two biases, one operating in the horizontal plane which draws attention leftward and the other operating in the vertical plane which draws attention upward. Given that these biases are reliably found in the same individual, and appear similar at a surface level, a number of researcher...

There is evidence that a decrease in alertness is associated with a rightward shift of attention. Alertness fluctuates throughout the day and peak times differ between individuals. Some individuals feel most alert in the morning; others in the evening. Our aim was to investigate the influence of morningness/eveningness and time of testing on spatia...

Among the different personality traits that guide our behaviour, curiosity is particularly interesting for context-aware assistive systems as it is closely linked to our well-being and the way we learn. This work proposes eye movement analysis for automatic recognition of different levels of curiosity. We present a 26-participant gaze dataset recor...

A visual field defect (VFD) is a common consequence of stroke with a detrimental effect upon the survivors' functional ability and quality of life. The identification of effective treatments for VFD is a key priority relating to life post-stroke. Understanding the natural evolution of scanning compensation over time may have important ramifications...