Stimulus fear-relevance: Exploring the boundaries of preferential attentional processing. The present project will contribute to our knowledge about the manner in which emotionally salient events are processed. It will test predictions from a current, influential theory of anxiety and in doing so, inform our understanding of information processing in psychopathology. Investigation of these basic questions can have implications for the design of therapeutic interventions. Moreover, the presen ....Stimulus fear-relevance: Exploring the boundaries of preferential attentional processing. The present project will contribute to our knowledge about the manner in which emotionally salient events are processed. It will test predictions from a current, influential theory of anxiety and in doing so, inform our understanding of information processing in psychopathology. Investigation of these basic questions can have implications for the design of therapeutic interventions. Moreover, the present project will provide the opportunity for research training for undergraduate and post graduate students. In doing so, it will enhance the quality of our culture and contribute to the discipline of psychology.Read moreRead less
Testing the ghost with the machine: Empirical investigations of cognition using high-field functional magnetic resonance imaging. The primary aim of the project is to test hypotheses about the cognitive architecture of word production and negative priming using high-field functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Additional aims/outcomes are to apply a novel fMRI acquisition sequence that permits overt verbal responding with rapid presentation of trials and collection of the time course of t ....Testing the ghost with the machine: Empirical investigations of cognition using high-field functional magnetic resonance imaging. The primary aim of the project is to test hypotheses about the cognitive architecture of word production and negative priming using high-field functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Additional aims/outcomes are to apply a novel fMRI acquisition sequence that permits overt verbal responding with rapid presentation of trials and collection of the time course of the blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal, and to further develop a methodology that delineates the logic of making inferences about cognitive systems from functional neuroimaging data. These represent potentially significant developments in the fields of cognitive neuroscience and functional neuroimaging.Read moreRead less
How Stenolemus Assassin Bugs Crack Spider Codes. This unique study of sophisticated behavioural flexibility and dynamic sensory exploitation in an insect will provide novel insights into how simple cognitive architecture can be used to solve complex problems. These insights are important for the development of artificial intelligence systems. This will be the first study of flexible aggressive mimicry in an insect and will attract considerable international attention, raise the profile of Austra ....How Stenolemus Assassin Bugs Crack Spider Codes. This unique study of sophisticated behavioural flexibility and dynamic sensory exploitation in an insect will provide novel insights into how simple cognitive architecture can be used to solve complex problems. These insights are important for the development of artificial intelligence systems. This will be the first study of flexible aggressive mimicry in an insect and will attract considerable international attention, raise the profile of Australian science and support numerous students. We will make the first use in Australia of state-of-the-art vibration recording and interactive playback techniques. Making these powerful experimental tools available in Australia will enable other many additional innovative lines of research.Read moreRead less
Biased information processing in anxiety: Low anxiety scores, but still at risk. Information processing in anxious persons is biased if confronted with threatening stimulus materials such as words or pictures. This finding has considerable implications for our understanding of fear acquisition and maintenance and for the design of therapeutic interventions. More recent research has shown, however, that low anxious persons who employ repressive coping styles show similar biases. The present proj ....Biased information processing in anxiety: Low anxiety scores, but still at risk. Information processing in anxious persons is biased if confronted with threatening stimulus materials such as words or pictures. This finding has considerable implications for our understanding of fear acquisition and maintenance and for the design of therapeutic interventions. More recent research has shown, however, that low anxious persons who employ repressive coping styles show similar biases. The present project will follow up on these findings by combining the expertises of the two CIs in contemporary cognitive and psychophysiological research. It will not only provide new insights, but also offer research opportunities for postgraduate students, and prospects for future collaborative funding.Read moreRead less
Human learning of likes and dislikes: A test of the dual process account and an investigation of its neural substrates. Dual process accounts of human affective learning hold that affective learning, the learning of likes and dislikes, and relational learning, the learning of predictive relationships, reflect separate learning mechanisms. Affective learning, for instance, is said not to extinguish, a claim that has far reaching consequences for the design of behaviourally based treatments of a ....Human learning of likes and dislikes: A test of the dual process account and an investigation of its neural substrates. Dual process accounts of human affective learning hold that affective learning, the learning of likes and dislikes, and relational learning, the learning of predictive relationships, reflect separate learning mechanisms. Affective learning, for instance, is said not to extinguish, a claim that has far reaching consequences for the design of behaviourally based treatments of anxiety. The project will test this and other predictions of dual process accounts. Moreover, it will extent the experimental analysis of affective learning to the acquisition of likes and identify the cortical bases for aversive, appetitive, and relational learning using event related functional magnetic resonance imaging.Read moreRead less
Maturation of the brain and the development of cognitive abilities. This project aims to develop techniques for measuring the growing brain. We will use these techniques to determine how the growing brain influences a child's intellectual ability and to answer an important question - do areas of the brain mature at the same or different rates and what influence does that have on the development of specific abilities such as language and reasoning? An answer to this question will make an import ....Maturation of the brain and the development of cognitive abilities. This project aims to develop techniques for measuring the growing brain. We will use these techniques to determine how the growing brain influences a child's intellectual ability and to answer an important question - do areas of the brain mature at the same or different rates and what influence does that have on the development of specific abilities such as language and reasoning? An answer to this question will make an important contribution to our theoretical understanding of developmental disorders. Moreover, given the influence of intellectual development on life prospects, it is important to understand how early brain development impacts on a child's ability to learn.Read moreRead less
Neural correlates of performance trade-offs and interference in dual-task performance. Our daily lives are characterised by our ability to produce and sustain a wide range of different movement patterns and to deliberately change patterns as the situation demands. In this project we seek to understand the relationship between brain processes, attentional demands, and the control and learning of coordinated behaviour. A further aim will be to examine how this relationship may be altered as a re ....Neural correlates of performance trade-offs and interference in dual-task performance. Our daily lives are characterised by our ability to produce and sustain a wide range of different movement patterns and to deliberately change patterns as the situation demands. In this project we seek to understand the relationship between brain processes, attentional demands, and the control and learning of coordinated behaviour. A further aim will be to examine how this relationship may be altered as a result of aging, degenerative disease, or brain damage. This research will provide a foundation upon which rehabilitation strategies can be developed for the movement impaired.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0668421
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$650,000.00
Summary
A MEG-based cognitive neuroscience laboratory. At present there is no MEG system in Australia, whereas MEG systems are currently springing up in research institutions in many other countries across the globe. This project will enable Australia to remain at the forefront of research in the cognitive neurosciences, as well as provide training opportunities to Australian doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows in the use of MEG in research. Finally, the MEG laboratory will allow Australian resea ....A MEG-based cognitive neuroscience laboratory. At present there is no MEG system in Australia, whereas MEG systems are currently springing up in research institutions in many other countries across the globe. This project will enable Australia to remain at the forefront of research in the cognitive neurosciences, as well as provide training opportunities to Australian doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows in the use of MEG in research. Finally, the MEG laboratory will allow Australian researchers to fill important gaps in our understanding of several areas of cognitive neuroscience, including basic auditory and visual processing, the study of cognitive processing in schizophrenia and in children with dyslexia and/or specific language impairment.Read moreRead less
Establishing how head and face movement properties contribute to the perception of speech and identity. The proposed studies provide an extensive research program into audio-visual speech processing and person identification: key components of face-to-face communication. The likely impact and benefits of the project concern its contribution to perceptual theory (linking signal, brain and behaviour) and its practical implications: For determining the viability of multimodal biometric identificati ....Establishing how head and face movement properties contribute to the perception of speech and identity. The proposed studies provide an extensive research program into audio-visual speech processing and person identification: key components of face-to-face communication. The likely impact and benefits of the project concern its contribution to perceptual theory (linking signal, brain and behaviour) and its practical implications: For determining the viability of multimodal biometric identification procedures by assessing the distinctiveness and permanence of AV speech characteristics. In the development of a visual dubbing technique that has potential for communication in noisy environments (and for the deaf) and for the development of a morphable model for AV presentation that has application for both first and second language learning.Read moreRead less