The connection between vision and mood
There is a close link between how we visually process the world and our emotional life. For instance, when we get stressed, it’s generally found that our visual attention narrows.
This is helpful when we need to pay attention to what’s going on in front of us, but after prolonged periods, it can contribute to feelings of anxiety. In daily life, all of us experience this state after spending hours tightly focused on our screens.
And just as stress is linked to narrow central vision, positive moods are linked to relaxed open vision. Good moods have been found to literally expand the size of the window through which we see the world, and vice versa.
There are a range of methods available to help widen our visual focus to reduce stress and anxiety. Typical advice is to direct attention away from a tight focus to ‘open focus vision’ which involves dilating one’s gaze so you can see far into the periphery.
A similar technique is used by NLP practitioners to aid relaxation in their patients.
A physiological connection
A close connection between peripheral vision and higher cognitive function has been found in the prostriata, an area of the ancient limbic cortex, which processes low level visual input, and is particularly responsive to the movement of small fast moving objects in the periphery.
The prostriata also has direct connections with areas of the brain that are responsible for cognition and mood, bypassing the higher order visual processing centres. This indicates the existence of a relatively unexplored anatomical bypass where peripheral vision can exert rapid and widespread effects over how we behave and feel.
Small fast moving objects have been found to elicit the largest area of neuron activity in the prostriata, and it is this variety of visual stimuli that Visualation uses to trigger shifts in mood.
Visualation uses simple moving stimuli that are directed to the peripheral vision on both left and right sides, whilst leading subjects through an awareness meditation linked to the breath.
Through targeting this area of the brain, Visualation promises an astonishingly fast method to shift mood via visual stimulation, and initial EEG tests have indeed been showing this to be the case.
Further reading
Andersen, M., & Williams, J. M. (1988). A model of stress and athletic injury: Prediction and prevention. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 10(3), 294–306.
Caldirola, D., Teggi, R., Bondi, S., Lopes, F. L., Grassi, M., Bussi, M., & Perna, G. (2011). Is there a hypersensitive visual alarm system in panic disorder? Psychiatry Research, 187(3), 387–391.
Fehmi, L., & Robbins, J. (2007). The Open Focus Brain (1st ed.). Trumpeter Books. https://www.worldcat.org/title/open-focus-brain-harnessing-the-power-of-attention-to-heal-mind-and-body/oclc/769821276?referer=null&ht=edition
Gallop, S. (1996). Peripheral Visual Awareness:The Central Issue. Journal of Behavioral Optometry, Vol. 7(6). https://vision-therapy-pa.com/published-articles/peripheral-visual-awareness--the-central-issue
Gasper, K., & Clore, G. L. (2016). Attending to the Big Picture: Mood and Global Versus Local Processing of Visual Information. Psychological Science, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9280.00406
Hsin-Hao, Y., Chaplin, T. A., Davies, A. J., Verma, R., & Rosa, M. (2012). A Specialized Area in Limbic Cortex for Fast Analysis of Peripheral Vision. Current Biology, 22(14), 1351–1357.
Huberman, A. (n.d.). The Science of Vision, Eye Health & Seeing Better. https://hubermanlab.com/the-science-of-vision-eye-health-and-seeing-better/
Langford, T., Burleigh, A., Ruta, N., & Pepperell, R. (2018, July). New Immersive Media to Broaden Attention and Awareness. Electronic Visualisation and the Arts (EVA). https://doi.org/10.14236/ewic/EVA2018.63
Mikicin, M., & Kowalczyk, M. (2015). Audio-Visual and Autogenic Relaxation Alter Amplitude of Alpha EEG Band, Causing Improvements in Mental Work Performance in Athletes. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 40, 219–227.
Rogers, T. J., Alderman, B. L., & Landers, D. (2003). Effects of Life-Event Stress and Hardiness on Peripheral Vision in a Real-Life Stress Situation. Behavioral Medicine, 29(1). https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08964280309596171
Schmitz, T., De Rosa, E., & Anderson, A. K. (2009). Opposing Influences of Affective State Valence on Visual Cortical Encoding. Journal of Neuroscience, 29(22), 7199–7207. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5387-08.2009
Smith, A. (2016, February 11). How To Use Peripheral Vision In Therapy. https://nlppod.com/how-to-use-peripheral-vision-in-therapy/
Tamietto, M., & Leopold, D. A. (2018). Visual Cortex: The Eccentric Area Prostriata in the Human Brain. Current Biology, 28(1), R17–R19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.11.006
Veto, P., Thomas, P. B. M., Alexander, P., Wemyss, T. A., & Mollon, J. D. (2020). ‘The last channel’: Vision at the temporal margin of the field. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.0607
Wapner, J. (2020, November 16). Vision and Breathing May Be the Secrets to Surviving 2020. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/vision-and-breathing-may-be-the-secrets-to-surviving-2020/
Williams, J. M., & Andersen, M. B. (1997). Psychosocial Influences on Central and Peripheral Vision and Reaction Time During Demanding Tasks. Behavioral Medicine, 22(4), 160–167.
Williams, J. M., Tonymon, P., & Andersen, M. B. (1991). The effects of stressors and coping resources on anxiety and peripheral narrowing. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 3(2), 126–141.
Williams, L. J. (1988). Tunnel Vision or General Interference? Cognitive Load and Attentional Bias Are Both Important. The American Journal of Psychology, 101(2), 171–191.
Wilmer, H., Sherman, L., & Chein, J. (2017). Smartphones and Cognition: A Review of Research Exploring the Links between Mobile Technology Habits and Cognitive Functioning. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 605. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00605