The brain in real-time: predicting the present, reconstructing the past. This proposal aims to understand how the brain compensates for its own internal delays to function in real-time. Because it takes time for information from the senses to reach the brain, it takes time for us to become aware of an event that occurs in the outside world. This project will use an innovative combination of techniques to study how prediction and reconstruction mechanisms work together in the brain. Expected outc ....The brain in real-time: predicting the present, reconstructing the past. This proposal aims to understand how the brain compensates for its own internal delays to function in real-time. Because it takes time for information from the senses to reach the brain, it takes time for us to become aware of an event that occurs in the outside world. This project will use an innovative combination of techniques to study how prediction and reconstruction mechanisms work together in the brain. Expected outcomes of this project include a fundamental understanding of how we function in the present. This should provide significant benefits, such as an important theoretical advance in our understanding of how conscious awareness is realised in the brain, placing Australia at the cutting edge.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200101468
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$413,614.00
Summary
Context matters: from sensory processing to decision making. Contextual modulation refers to prominent changes in the processing of information in brain and perception caused by interactions across space and time. Over the past two decades, an enormous amount of work has shown that spatial contextual effects occur throughout the sensory processing hierarchy. However, there has been little work examining how temporal context effects affect information processing and operate for high-level attribu ....Context matters: from sensory processing to decision making. Contextual modulation refers to prominent changes in the processing of information in brain and perception caused by interactions across space and time. Over the past two decades, an enormous amount of work has shown that spatial contextual effects occur throughout the sensory processing hierarchy. However, there has been little work examining how temporal context effects affect information processing and operate for high-level attributes of stimuli as well as interactions of self and environment. The project aims to fill this gap to further understand the nature and mechanisms of temporal contextual modulation on sensory information processing, perception, perceptual judgement and decision making at cellular, circuit and cognitive levels.Read moreRead less
The brain in real time: a neural model of rhythmic action and perception. This project aims to study a fundamental function of the human brain: its temporal architecture. It will provide an innovative perspective on the neural mechanisms underlying and relating perception, intention, and voluntary action in real time, though a combination of eye-tracking, behaviour, and neural recordings. By providing a common language with which to relate perception, cognition, volition and action, this will ....The brain in real time: a neural model of rhythmic action and perception. This project aims to study a fundamental function of the human brain: its temporal architecture. It will provide an innovative perspective on the neural mechanisms underlying and relating perception, intention, and voluntary action in real time, though a combination of eye-tracking, behaviour, and neural recordings. By providing a common language with which to relate perception, cognition, volition and action, this will provide significant benefits that will transform the way we think about brain function.Read moreRead less
Colour visual processing by honeybees: solutions for decision making in complex environments. Honeybees are a cost and time efficient animal model for testing how information is processed in a miniature brain containing less than 0.01% of the number of cells found in a human brain. Bees use their ultraviolet, blue and green colour vision to efficiently find flowers in complex environments. This project investigates how colour information is processed by bees, and develops computer models to eval ....Colour visual processing by honeybees: solutions for decision making in complex environments. Honeybees are a cost and time efficient animal model for testing how information is processed in a miniature brain containing less than 0.01% of the number of cells found in a human brain. Bees use their ultraviolet, blue and green colour vision to efficiently find flowers in complex environments. This project investigates how colour information is processed by bees, and develops computer models to evaluate how novel solutions might be applicable for robotic vision. The model also allows for testing of how environmental factors, like changes in climate, might affect the way in which bees choose to visit certain flower types, including plants that have important environmental and economic impacts.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0452971
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$102,900.00
Summary
Optical imaging of brain activity: Studies of the neural basis of sensory perception, plasticity and behaviour. Basic to the understanding of the brain is to know how the overall architecture of the nervous system relates to its function. We propose to study this by directly visualising the regions that are functionally active in the living brains of animals, down to resolution limits of less than 100 micrometres. Such "optical imaging" will be done by recording light reflected from the surfac ....Optical imaging of brain activity: Studies of the neural basis of sensory perception, plasticity and behaviour. Basic to the understanding of the brain is to know how the overall architecture of the nervous system relates to its function. We propose to study this by directly visualising the regions that are functionally active in the living brains of animals, down to resolution limits of less than 100 micrometres. Such "optical imaging" will be done by recording light reflected from the surface of the brain, which in turn depends upon activity-dependent intrinsic signals (eg. degree of oxygenation of haemoglobin). These signals will be recorded by a special camera and amplified using the requested system.Read moreRead less
Organization and Plasticity of Visual Processing in a Miniature Brain. To recognise objects a brain must have an internal representation of most likely object appearance. Two ways in which brains may posses this information include a hard wired template system, and/or the neuroplasticity to learn novel objects. Recent investigations on honeybee vision show that this animal can learn to recognise very difficult objects, although currently we do not know how the miniaturised bee brain manages thes ....Organization and Plasticity of Visual Processing in a Miniature Brain. To recognise objects a brain must have an internal representation of most likely object appearance. Two ways in which brains may posses this information include a hard wired template system, and/or the neuroplasticity to learn novel objects. Recent investigations on honeybee vision show that this animal can learn to recognise very difficult objects, although currently we do not know how the miniaturised bee brain manages these tasks. This project will reveal changes that occur in the processing of visual objects by the bee's brain with increasing experience, with potential applications including robotics or building interfaces between sensors and biological systems.Read moreRead less
Multimodal testing for a fast subcortical route for salient visual stimuli. This project aims to uncover links between underlying brain circuitry, uncertainty and consciousness, and perceptions of fear. The project will use a multi-modal combination of brain imaging and neural recording techniques to generate new knowledge about the brain’s processing of biologically relevant information. The expected outcomes will enhance our knowledge of how the brain rapidly and non-consciously prepares the ....Multimodal testing for a fast subcortical route for salient visual stimuli. This project aims to uncover links between underlying brain circuitry, uncertainty and consciousness, and perceptions of fear. The project will use a multi-modal combination of brain imaging and neural recording techniques to generate new knowledge about the brain’s processing of biologically relevant information. The expected outcomes will enhance our knowledge of how the brain rapidly and non-consciously prepares the body for potential escape behaviours and of the brain pathways engaged in fear perception. The outcomes have the potential to inform strategies for overcoming anxiety and its effects on daily life, social interactions and workplace productivity.Read moreRead less
Wiring the retina for human vision - a single-cell behavioural approach. This project aims to combine optical and behavioural methods to explore how colour information is channelled from individual cone photoreceptors through the living human retina, to the brain. By non-invasively stimulating either a single cell or specific arrangements of cells, the project aims to contribute fundamental knowledge about how the retina is wired to inform our exquisite sense of colour and spatial vision. This u ....Wiring the retina for human vision - a single-cell behavioural approach. This project aims to combine optical and behavioural methods to explore how colour information is channelled from individual cone photoreceptors through the living human retina, to the brain. By non-invasively stimulating either a single cell or specific arrangements of cells, the project aims to contribute fundamental knowledge about how the retina is wired to inform our exquisite sense of colour and spatial vision. This understanding has consequences across a range of disciplines, including artificial vision systems such as driverless cars, retinal disease, and the processing of information through neuronal connections in general.Read moreRead less
Natural form, aesthetics and the human brain. This project aims to study how the brain represents the emotion of aesthetic experience. This project will establish the characteristics of flowers and floral design that govern their appeal using large scale web based data collection, and identify the neural representation of floral beauty using integrative data analysis. Outcomes of the project are expected to help flower growers and designers with product planning, supporting industry sustainabili ....Natural form, aesthetics and the human brain. This project aims to study how the brain represents the emotion of aesthetic experience. This project will establish the characteristics of flowers and floral design that govern their appeal using large scale web based data collection, and identify the neural representation of floral beauty using integrative data analysis. Outcomes of the project are expected to help flower growers and designers with product planning, supporting industry sustainability. The project will also establish how the brain generates positive experience in response to our visual environment, promoting well-being by enabling informed visual design decisions.Read moreRead less
The neuronal bases of consciousness and attention. Why and how do some electrical activities in the brain make us see, hear and feel pain? Why other neural activities remain non-conscious? This project will utilise visual illusions combined with a range of state-of-the-art neuroimaging techniques to understand what kind of neuronal mechanisms underlie attention and consciousness.