Philosophical perspectives on psychedelic psychiatry. This project aims to develop a multi-level integrated theory of self-representation and self-awareness that explains the effects of psychedelic therapy in particular, and transformative experience in general. Psychedelic drugs can produce lasting psychotherapeutic benefits. The mechanism is a dramatic but temporary alteration to the ordinary sense of self, known as “ego dissolution”. However, fundamental questions about self-representation an ....Philosophical perspectives on psychedelic psychiatry. This project aims to develop a multi-level integrated theory of self-representation and self-awareness that explains the effects of psychedelic therapy in particular, and transformative experience in general. Psychedelic drugs can produce lasting psychotherapeutic benefits. The mechanism is a dramatic but temporary alteration to the ordinary sense of self, known as “ego dissolution”. However, fundamental questions about self-representation and its neural and cognitive implementation remain unresolved. In order to explain ego dissolution and its therapeutic effects, this project aims to integrate two theoretical approaches to self-representation situated at the intersection of philosophy and cognitive neuroscience, the predictive coding theory of brain function and the self-binding theory of self-representation. Such a framework has potential to anchor further interdisciplinary research and practical intervention in disorders of the self.Read moreRead less
Neurochemical predictors of cognition and the impact of brain stimulation. This project aims to determine how neurochemical equilibrium between excitation and inhibition (E/I balance), across the brain, is associated with executive function and how this balance is influenced by non-invasive brain stimulation. Brain stimulation shows immense promise for enhancing executive function in applied settings, but the neurochemical basis for this is unknown. Using advanced imaging and stimulation techniq ....Neurochemical predictors of cognition and the impact of brain stimulation. This project aims to determine how neurochemical equilibrium between excitation and inhibition (E/I balance), across the brain, is associated with executive function and how this balance is influenced by non-invasive brain stimulation. Brain stimulation shows immense promise for enhancing executive function in applied settings, but the neurochemical basis for this is unknown. Using advanced imaging and stimulation techniques, the project aims to provide comprehensive insights into the causal relationship between stimulation, E/I balance and executive function. Outcomes and benefits include identifying neurochemical characteristics that determine stimulation efficacy and informing the design of protocols for applied use.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100606
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$426,105.00
Summary
Investigating how visual imagery influences cognition. This project will characterise the role visual imagery plays in other cognitive functions, namely visual working memory and attention. This will be done by studying two special populations that have extreme forms of visual imagery: aphantasia and synaesthesia. This work will develop innovative psychophysics and physiological techniques to identify different cognitive strategies used to solve visual working memory and attention tasks. Further ....Investigating how visual imagery influences cognition. This project will characterise the role visual imagery plays in other cognitive functions, namely visual working memory and attention. This will be done by studying two special populations that have extreme forms of visual imagery: aphantasia and synaesthesia. This work will develop innovative psychophysics and physiological techniques to identify different cognitive strategies used to solve visual working memory and attention tasks. Further magnetoencephalography (MEG) decoding approaches will be used to compare and contrast the neural signatures of voluntary and involuntary visual imagery, working memory, and attention. This work will help us understand why some individuals have better imaginations, memory, and attention than others. Read moreRead less
The Dreamscape Project: Phenomenology and neurophysiology of dreams. The Dreamscape Project aims to discover the neural basis of dreaming. Building on the world’s largest database of sleep electroencephalograms (EEG) and associated dream reports, the project applies cutting-edge analyses of neural activity to resolve why each night, healthy adults alternate between unconscious sleep and vivid dreams. The results promise to shed light on the mystery of dreaming and help locate consciousness in th ....The Dreamscape Project: Phenomenology and neurophysiology of dreams. The Dreamscape Project aims to discover the neural basis of dreaming. Building on the world’s largest database of sleep electroencephalograms (EEG) and associated dream reports, the project applies cutting-edge analyses of neural activity to resolve why each night, healthy adults alternate between unconscious sleep and vivid dreams. The results promise to shed light on the mystery of dreaming and help locate consciousness in the physical world. Expected outcomes include best-practice guidelines for dream research and a model of open data-sharing for consciousness science. Anticipated benefits include deeper understanding of how and why everyone dreams, the role of dreams in waking life, and their impact on sleep quality and well-being.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210100115
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$328,092.00
Summary
Living to tell, telling to live: Experience, narrative, and the self. A robust sense of self is crucial for our mental wellbeing. This sense of self, philosophical research shows, is constituted by our experiences and the socio-culturally shaped stories we tell about us. However, the fundamental role of these self-narratives remains poorly understood: are they merely retrospective accounts of our experiences, or can they influence them? By analysing the biological underpinnings of the human mind ....Living to tell, telling to live: Experience, narrative, and the self. A robust sense of self is crucial for our mental wellbeing. This sense of self, philosophical research shows, is constituted by our experiences and the socio-culturally shaped stories we tell about us. However, the fundamental role of these self-narratives remains poorly understood: are they merely retrospective accounts of our experiences, or can they influence them? By analysing the biological underpinnings of the human mind and defining the core features of self-narratives, this project will lead to a novel theory about the sense of self. This theory will enhance our understanding of the power of self-narratives and has the potential to provide theoretical foundations for future applied research on the self and its disturbances.Read moreRead less
Changing philosophical perceptions of belief in a post-truth world. This project aims to investigate and illuminate the processes underlying belief formation by using the tools of philosophy and cognitive science. Recent events have led many commentators to suggest that we live in a post-truth world. Beliefs seem decreasingly sensitive to evidence and instead, we believe what we want to believe. By developing a deeper understanding of the nature of belief and of the mechanisms that cause belief ....Changing philosophical perceptions of belief in a post-truth world. This project aims to investigate and illuminate the processes underlying belief formation by using the tools of philosophy and cognitive science. Recent events have led many commentators to suggest that we live in a post-truth world. Beliefs seem decreasingly sensitive to evidence and instead, we believe what we want to believe. By developing a deeper understanding of the nature of belief and of the mechanisms that cause belief change, the project will develop concrete proposals for making beliefs more responsive to evidence, and to assess the ethical permissibility of utilising these proposals. It will develop tools that allow for better informed decision-making.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100883
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$452,777.00
Summary
The cognitive science of farsighted deliberation. Many fundamental decisions in life require us to deliberate about sooner versus later consequences. This cognitive psychology project aims to determine how the capacities that enable people to think about the future (prospection) and reflect on their own thinking (metacognition) influence how they manage such decisions. By using innovative methods, this project is expected to advance our understanding of future-oriented cognition across the lifes ....The cognitive science of farsighted deliberation. Many fundamental decisions in life require us to deliberate about sooner versus later consequences. This cognitive psychology project aims to determine how the capacities that enable people to think about the future (prospection) and reflect on their own thinking (metacognition) influence how they manage such decisions. By using innovative methods, this project is expected to advance our understanding of future-oriented cognition across the lifespan. Expected outcomes include new knowledge about how people deliberate through important everyday decisions. This should provide significant benefits by laying the foundation for improving effective choices about the future.Read moreRead less
Minds in skilled performance: Explanatory framework and comparative study. This project aims to develop an explanatory framework to characterise states of mind necessary for skilled performance, and show how intelligence and emotion affect performance. The theoretical grounding of skilled performance is controversial. This project will use and refine core ideas from enactivist approaches to embodied cognition to address philosophical challenges that block understanding of its basis. The project ....Minds in skilled performance: Explanatory framework and comparative study. This project aims to develop an explanatory framework to characterise states of mind necessary for skilled performance, and show how intelligence and emotion affect performance. The theoretical grounding of skilled performance is controversial. This project will use and refine core ideas from enactivist approaches to embodied cognition to address philosophical challenges that block understanding of its basis. The project will draw on Phenomenology, Pragmatism and Japanese "do". clarifying and recontextualising what they have to offer to contemporary thinking about skilled performance.Read moreRead less
Understanding the role of mental imagery in cognition and behaviour. This project aims to develop objective physiological methods to measure mental imagery, uncover its brain mechanisms using neuroimaging and show how it biases cognition. It has long been suspected that mental imagery biases cognition, visual working memory and perception. However, showing this has been difficult due to a lack of measurement techniques. Here this is overcome by developing novel assay technologies and applying th ....Understanding the role of mental imagery in cognition and behaviour. This project aims to develop objective physiological methods to measure mental imagery, uncover its brain mechanisms using neuroimaging and show how it biases cognition. It has long been suspected that mental imagery biases cognition, visual working memory and perception. However, showing this has been difficult due to a lack of measurement techniques. Here this is overcome by developing novel assay technologies and applying them to the extremes of imagery, Aphantasia (no imagery) and Hyperphantasia (strong and vivid imagery). Expected outcomes include new measurement tools for generations of scientists, understanding the brain mechanisms of imagery and showing how our cognition (memory, risk, investing) is biased by mental imagery. Read moreRead less
Towards a cognitive process model of how attention and choice interact. Before making any decision, we must gather information on what options are available. This process may influence the choices we make: if we do not notice an option, we will not choose it even if it would have been valuable. This project aims to examine how prior experience can produce attentional biases that influence decisions, and will develop a new computational model of this interaction of attention and choice as an outc ....Towards a cognitive process model of how attention and choice interact. Before making any decision, we must gather information on what options are available. This process may influence the choices we make: if we do not notice an option, we will not choose it even if it would have been valuable. This project aims to examine how prior experience can produce attentional biases that influence decisions, and will develop a new computational model of this interaction of attention and choice as an outcome. This new knowledge will enhance the world-class status of Australian cognitive psychology. Moreover, it should provide significant benefits through improving our ability to predict and shape behaviour, and shedding light on the role of biases in healthy cognition and in the context of compulsive behaviours.Read moreRead less