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Prevalence of visual snow and relation to attentional absorption

dc.contributor.authorCosta, Rui Miguel
dc.contributor.authorCampos, Pedro
dc.contributor.authorWiborg, Madalena
dc.contributor.authorRebôlo, Catarina
dc.contributor.authorWittmann, Marc
dc.contributor.authorKornmeier, Jürgen
dc.date.accessioned2022-11-30T17:20:21Z
dc.date.available2022-11-30T17:20:21Z
dc.date.issued2022
dc.description.abstractVisual snow is a condition of unclear prevalence characterized by tiny flickering dots throughout the entire visual field. It appears to result from visual cortex hyperactivity and possibly correlates with propensity to be engrossed in sensory and imaginary experiences (absorption). The prevalence and correlates of visual snow, and emotional reactions to it, were explored in the general Portuguese population with three studies with online surveys. In Study 1, 564 participants were shown an animated graphic simulation of visual snow and asked to rate how frequently they have similar percepts on a scale anchored by 0% and 100% of their waking time. They also reported their degree of distress and fascination resulting from visual snow. Absorption was measured with the Modified Tellegen Absorption Scale. 44% of respondents reported they see visual snow at least 10% of the time, and 20% reported seeing it between 80% and 100% of the time. Similar to findings in clinical samples, the frequency of visual snow correlated with tinnitus frequency and entoptic phenomena, but not with ophthalmologic problems. It was confirmed that visual snow is related to absorption. Although distress caused by visual snow was generally absent or minimal in our samples, a substantial minority (28%) reported moderate to high levels of distress. High fascination with visual snow was reported by 9%. In Studies 2 and 3, visual snow was measured by means of verbal descriptions without graphic simulation (“visual field full of tiny dots of light” and “world seen with many dots of light”, respectively). The results were similar to those in Study 1, but seeing visual snow 80%-100% of the time was less frequent (6.5% in Study 2 and 3.6% in Study 3). Visual snow has been insufficiently investigated. More research is needed to uncover underlying neurophysiological mechanisms and psychological and behavioral correlates.pt_PT
dc.description.versioninfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionpt_PT
dc.identifier.citationCosta, R. M., Campos, P., Wiborg, M., Rebôlo, C., Wittmann, M., & Kornmeier, J. (2022). Prevalence of visual snow and relation to attentional absorption. PLoS ONE, 17(11), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0276971pt_PT
dc.identifier.doi10.1371/journal.pone.0276971pt_PT
dc.identifier.issn1932-6203
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.12/8859
dc.language.isoengpt_PT
dc.peerreviewedyespt_PT
dc.publisherPublic Library of Sciencept_PT
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/pt_PT
dc.titlePrevalence of visual snow and relation to attentional absorptionpt_PT
dc.typejournal article
dspace.entity.typePublication
oaire.citation.conferencePlaceUnited Statespt_PT
oaire.citation.issue11pt_PT
oaire.citation.startPagee0276971pt_PT
oaire.citation.titlePLOS ONEpt_PT
oaire.citation.volume17pt_PT
person.familyNameCosta
person.familyNameWittmann
person.familyNameKornmeier
person.givenNameRui
person.givenNameMarc
person.givenNameJürgen
person.identifier7808
person.identifier42662
person.identifier.orcid0000-0002-9937-1121
person.identifier.orcid0000-0002-4483-7334
person.identifier.orcid0000-0001-7798-3541
person.identifier.ridG-8748-2012
person.identifier.scopus-author-id7203063298
rcaap.rightsopenAccesspt_PT
rcaap.typearticlept_PT
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relation.isAuthorOfPublication9e8d597d-442b-4680-b7fd-fc83fa08221f
relation.isAuthorOfPublicationcd1df0ec-0a82-41e9-ba3f-d5be124390ef
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscovery9e8d597d-442b-4680-b7fd-fc83fa08221f

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