Testing the Modularity of Memory. Researchers disagree about whether verbal and visual working memory (WM) storage occurs in separate modules. Recent evidence suggests that only verbal memoranda have access to a specialised module, while visual memories make use of more general resources. This project aims to re-examine interference between verbal and visual memoranda using statistical methods specialised for assessing whether multiple latent factors underlie performance on recognition memory ta ....Testing the Modularity of Memory. Researchers disagree about whether verbal and visual working memory (WM) storage occurs in separate modules. Recent evidence suggests that only verbal memoranda have access to a specialised module, while visual memories make use of more general resources. This project aims to re-examine interference between verbal and visual memoranda using statistical methods specialised for assessing whether multiple latent factors underlie performance on recognition memory tasks, examining adult and child populations. This is expected to influence applications of WM theory in many everyday settings, resulting in improvements in educational practices, workplace procedures, and clinical treatments that depend on theoretical understandings of limits in cognition.Read moreRead less
The role of episodic memory in imagining and planning for the future. For future planning we draw on past experiences. In many cases, past experiences are used to imagine novel potential scenarios yet to be experienced. This project will examine in detail the role of memory in imagining possible futures and planning for those possibilities, drawing on our contemporary understanding of memory as captured in computational models of human memory. By controlling the information that people encode in ....The role of episodic memory in imagining and planning for the future. For future planning we draw on past experiences. In many cases, past experiences are used to imagine novel potential scenarios yet to be experienced. This project will examine in detail the role of memory in imagining possible futures and planning for those possibilities, drawing on our contemporary understanding of memory as captured in computational models of human memory. By controlling the information that people encode into memory, and thus determining the building blocks from which people build simulations of the future, this project will gain valuable data that will be used to develop a detailed and precise computational model of the role of memory mechanisms and representations in imagining and planning.Read moreRead less
Decoding the neural representation of objects in the human brain. Humans can effortlessly recognise thousands of objects in a fraction of a second. This essential capacity is an integral part of our daily lives that allows us to recognise our keys, our car, our friends and family. This project will elucidate how humans recognise objects by investigating the neural representation of objects in the brain.
Combating Misinformation – Designing a Toolkit to Address a Global Problem. Misinformation impairs people’s cognition – their memory, reasoning and judgements – even if credible corrections are issued; it therefore poses a significant threat to evidence-based practice and policy. This project aims to develop novel psychological interventions to reduce the impact of misinformation, based on an experimental research program designed to systematically assess the effects of various types of misinfor ....Combating Misinformation – Designing a Toolkit to Address a Global Problem. Misinformation impairs people’s cognition – their memory, reasoning and judgements – even if credible corrections are issued; it therefore poses a significant threat to evidence-based practice and policy. This project aims to develop novel psychological interventions to reduce the impact of misinformation, based on an experimental research program designed to systematically assess the effects of various types of misinformation on cognition and behaviour. The expected outcome is the development of new knowledge regarding misinformation processing and communication and its translation into a toolkit for practical application. This promises to improve individual and public decision making and foster a culture of accurate information exchange.Read moreRead less
Seeing the forest and the trees: Cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying recognition of individual objects and sets. When confronted with a set of similar objects, such as a crowd of faces or a flow of oncoming cars, human observers can rapidly and seemingly automatically extract summary statistics of these sets of objects (e.g., mean expression or location). This research will provide insights into how the human visual system executes this massive feat of computation. This represents a vital ....Seeing the forest and the trees: Cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying recognition of individual objects and sets. When confronted with a set of similar objects, such as a crowd of faces or a flow of oncoming cars, human observers can rapidly and seemingly automatically extract summary statistics of these sets of objects (e.g., mean expression or location). This research will provide insights into how the human visual system executes this massive feat of computation. This represents a vital step in understanding vision in general and in eventually applying our knowledge to the development of artificial vision systems and to rehabilitation of visual disorders. The research will also investigate the effects of attentional load on perception of summary statistics of the environment, which is critical for tasks such as driving in busy traffic.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.
In search of relevant things: A novel approach for image analysis. This project aims to investigate how experts’ cognitive processes may be transferred to computers for the automatic recognition of visual features. By merging computer and brain sciences, the project will characterise the way the brains of experts understand what is seen, in order to translate such a process in a new computer vision tool. This should provide significant benefits, such as automatic detection of threats or diseases ....In search of relevant things: A novel approach for image analysis. This project aims to investigate how experts’ cognitive processes may be transferred to computers for the automatic recognition of visual features. By merging computer and brain sciences, the project will characterise the way the brains of experts understand what is seen, in order to translate such a process in a new computer vision tool. This should provide significant benefits, such as automatic detection of threats or diseases in satellite and diagnostic imaging, respectively, among other applications. For the first time, the combination of how a computer analyses an image and how an expert interprets it will be used as a common language to enable machines to process visual information in a manner that mimics the way human brains do.Read moreRead less
How emotion shapes perception: delineating structural, temporal, and representational properties of emotion-induced blindness. Emotion helps shape conscious perception, with implications for public safety and mental health. This project will reveal mechanisms underlying emotion’s impact on perception. In doing so, it will advance theoretical understanding of basic processes and of how perceptual mechanisms might operate within and inform treatment of emotional disorders.
Attention please! Selective attention and human associative learning. Selective attention allows us to pick useful pieces of information out of the mass of stimulation that we're faced with every moment. This project investigates how what we've previously learnt about the significance of events influences whether we'll pick them out as useful in future, and how this might be impaired by old age or mental disorder.