Investigation of the component distributions of pause duration in spontaneous speech: Constraints for models of language production. We have discovered that the distribution of pause durations in spontaneous speech of individual speakers can be decomposed into at least two log-normal distributions. Our project will investigate this finding and provide a foundation for new research relevant to language production models. This will be achieved by determining the semantic, lexical, psycholinguistic ....Investigation of the component distributions of pause duration in spontaneous speech: Constraints for models of language production. We have discovered that the distribution of pause durations in spontaneous speech of individual speakers can be decomposed into at least two log-normal distributions. Our project will investigate this finding and provide a foundation for new research relevant to language production models. This will be achieved by determining the semantic, lexical, psycholinguistic, physiological, and acoustic concomitants of each component distribution and by investigating the impact of selected variables on the shape and location of each. The project has important implications for models of language production and applied problems involving automatic speech recognition, forensic speaker identification, and human communication disorders.Read moreRead less
Keeping track: The effect of distraction on attention to moving objects. This is basic research with broad societal implications. We constantly balance the attention demands of achieving a goal (e.g., driving) in the midst of competing environmental demands (e.g., attention-grabbing advertising). Billions of dollars are spent trying to make our roads safer, but basic research is critical to inform policy and design. There are three main benefits in identifying distractions that impair performanc ....Keeping track: The effect of distraction on attention to moving objects. This is basic research with broad societal implications. We constantly balance the attention demands of achieving a goal (e.g., driving) in the midst of competing environmental demands (e.g., attention-grabbing advertising). Billions of dollars are spent trying to make our roads safer, but basic research is critical to inform policy and design. There are three main benefits in identifying distractions that impair performance on a task that requires attention to moving objects. It will: (1) develop a method for exploring attention demands on real-world experiences (e.g., driving); (2) inform policy decisions on safer environments; and (3) provide a basis for minimising distractions in environments for people with attentional difficulties.Read moreRead less
Electrophysiological correlates of verbal and visuospatial working memory. Successful interaction with the world is dependent on "working memory". This memory system holds things in mind, while relating them to the past and planning for the future. A carefully controlled task, presented on a computer screen, systematically increases the number of items to be kept in mind. Accuracy and speed of matching the items are measured. The results will contribute to a theory of what processes are used ....Electrophysiological correlates of verbal and visuospatial working memory. Successful interaction with the world is dependent on "working memory". This memory system holds things in mind, while relating them to the past and planning for the future. A carefully controlled task, presented on a computer screen, systematically increases the number of items to be kept in mind. Accuracy and speed of matching the items are measured. The results will contribute to a theory of what processes are used in working memory and how the human brain manages these processes.Read moreRead less
Stochastic, Neurally-Plausible Models for Selective Attention and Decision Making. An understanding of the basic cognitive processes involved in attention and decision making is the goal of international research effort in a number of disciplines. The benefits expected from such understanding include improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of a variety of cognitive deficits and improved occupational safety and efficiency in settings involving interaction with complex systems, such air traffi ....Stochastic, Neurally-Plausible Models for Selective Attention and Decision Making. An understanding of the basic cognitive processes involved in attention and decision making is the goal of international research effort in a number of disciplines. The benefits expected from such understanding include improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of a variety of cognitive deficits and improved occupational safety and efficiency in settings involving interaction with complex systems, such air traffic control, airline cockpits, motor vehicles, and process management. By developing mathematical models of these processes and the neural mechanisms that underlie them, this project will contribute to this understanding. It will also provide international postdoctoral opportunties for Australian-trained Ph.D. graduates.Read moreRead less
The mind's nose: Evocation, representation and similarity of imaginary and real odours. The food industry is a key sector in the Australian economy, accounting for 26.6 Billion Dollars in exports in 2001/2. Every year substantial sums are spent advertising, developing and testing new products, with notoriously high failure rates. Arguably both advertising and development depend, to some degree, on the ability of people to imagine the flavour and smell of these products. This project should id ....The mind's nose: Evocation, representation and similarity of imaginary and real odours. The food industry is a key sector in the Australian economy, accounting for 26.6 Billion Dollars in exports in 2001/2. Every year substantial sums are spent advertising, developing and testing new products, with notoriously high failure rates. Arguably both advertising and development depend, to some degree, on the ability of people to imagine the flavour and smell of these products. This project should identify procedures which enhance peoples ability to do this. Such findings should enable advertisers to design advertisements that are better able to induce imaginary aromas in their audience and enhance the training of food product developers, so they too can better imagine and conceptualise new food products.Read moreRead less
Working Memory: The Binding of Spatial and Nonspatial Features in the Retention of Visual and Auditory Information. By advancing the understanding of how integrated representations are retained in memory for the features of visual objects and the features of sounds, the research will provide new theoretical insights as well as new methods for investigating several forms of psychopathology. Deficits in feature binding have been argued to be implicated in autism, in the auditory hallucinations exp ....Working Memory: The Binding of Spatial and Nonspatial Features in the Retention of Visual and Auditory Information. By advancing the understanding of how integrated representations are retained in memory for the features of visual objects and the features of sounds, the research will provide new theoretical insights as well as new methods for investigating several forms of psychopathology. Deficits in feature binding have been argued to be implicated in autism, in the auditory hallucinations experienced by individuals with schizophrenia, and in memory decline with advancing age. By investigating these deficits using insights from the proposed study, researchers may be able to develop ways to ameliorate the adverse effects of the deficits.Read moreRead less
Face recognition: Properties and origins of whole-face processing. Humans identify other individuals almost entirely by their faces. Correspondingly, research has demonstrated a "special" style of cognitive processing that is unique to faces (at least in ordinary adults). The present project will address two major theoretical issues: (1) the exact nature of the special processing for faces, and (2) the extent to which it is innate, or learned. New progress in understanding these issues will be m ....Face recognition: Properties and origins of whole-face processing. Humans identify other individuals almost entirely by their faces. Correspondingly, research has demonstrated a "special" style of cognitive processing that is unique to faces (at least in ordinary adults). The present project will address two major theoretical issues: (1) the exact nature of the special processing for faces, and (2) the extent to which it is innate, or learned. New progress in understanding these issues will be made using a series of novel experimental techniques. These techniques isolate the specific contribution of the face recognition system, independent of contributions from object recognition, and from early visual processing.Read moreRead less
Special cognitive processing for faces: Expertise effects, and links to neural mechanisms. Humans identify other individuals primarily by their faces. Evidence from cognitive psychology indicates a special 'whole-face' (as opposed to part-based) style of processing for upright faces. This project will provide new insights into two long-standing issues about the origin of special face processing: (1) whether it derives from generic expert recognition processes or has some face-specific innate co ....Special cognitive processing for faces: Expertise effects, and links to neural mechanisms. Humans identify other individuals primarily by their faces. Evidence from cognitive psychology indicates a special 'whole-face' (as opposed to part-based) style of processing for upright faces. This project will provide new insights into two long-standing issues about the origin of special face processing: (1) whether it derives from generic expert recognition processes or has some face-specific innate component; and (2) the extent to which it can be distinguished from part-based processing at the neural level using both functional brain imaging (fMRI) and adaptation to distorted faces.Read moreRead less
Absolute identification and beyond: A comprehensive, integrated architecture for speeded choice. Absolute identification (AI) is an important field of study for both theoretical and practical reasons. Theoretically, advances in AI study shed light on fundamental memory and attentional limitations of human cognition. Practically, AI models a task that is useful and necessary in everyday life and the extensions we propose are similarly useful (e.g., a model of the confidence with which judgments a ....Absolute identification and beyond: A comprehensive, integrated architecture for speeded choice. Absolute identification (AI) is an important field of study for both theoretical and practical reasons. Theoretically, advances in AI study shed light on fundamental memory and attentional limitations of human cognition. Practically, AI models a task that is useful and necessary in everyday life and the extensions we propose are similarly useful (e.g., a model of the confidence with which judgments are made). Apart from the epistemological benefits, the proposal will rebuild the role that Australian researchers have previously played in mathematical approaches to basic cognitive problems (including decision making and AI).
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The How and Why of Auditory-Visual Speech Perception: Affective and Articulatory Factors in Japanese and English Language Infants and Children. When we talk to babies certain aspects of our face and voice change compared with when we talk to adults. In this project we investigate the nature of the changes mothers make to their face and voice when talking to infants, the emotional or language-based purpose of these changes, and how infants and schoolchildren perceive these changes. Our previous s ....The How and Why of Auditory-Visual Speech Perception: Affective and Articulatory Factors in Japanese and English Language Infants and Children. When we talk to babies certain aspects of our face and voice change compared with when we talk to adults. In this project we investigate the nature of the changes mothers make to their face and voice when talking to infants, the emotional or language-based purpose of these changes, and how infants and schoolchildren perceive these changes. Our previous studies show that visual information is used more by English than Japanese language speakers, so these studies are investigated with both these language groups. The results will inform us more about language learning, hearing aid use, and speech recognition by machines.Read moreRead less