Overcoming distraction by reward-related stimuli. This project aims to establish the cognitive processes underlying distraction by reward associated stimuli, and whether 'attentional control' processes can reduce distraction. Even when people try to concentrate on a certain task, they can be distracted and they are more likely to be distracted by events associated with reward (such as money, food, sex, etc.). The expected outcomes of this project should show how to minimise distraction when it i ....Overcoming distraction by reward-related stimuli. This project aims to establish the cognitive processes underlying distraction by reward associated stimuli, and whether 'attentional control' processes can reduce distraction. Even when people try to concentrate on a certain task, they can be distracted and they are more likely to be distracted by events associated with reward (such as money, food, sex, etc.). The expected outcomes of this project should show how to minimise distraction when it is most detrimental: when safety depends on staying focussed (such as when driving), or for recovering addicts trying to ignore drug-related stimuli.Read moreRead less
The emotional face. The recognition of emotional facial expressions is essential for successful social functioning. This project will determine how information concerning facial expressions is encoded by the human brain, providing potential insight into situations where this process can fail, such as in old age or autism.
Understanding visual working memory: a cognitive strategy framework. This project will assess the role cognitive strategies play in visual working memory with the aim of unifying theories in the field. Specifically, this work will investigate whether variations in cognitive memory strategies result in the use of different sensory stores and neural regions to hold visual information in mind. This work aspires to use innovative perceptual psychophysics and modelling techniques along with brain ima ....Understanding visual working memory: a cognitive strategy framework. This project will assess the role cognitive strategies play in visual working memory with the aim of unifying theories in the field. Specifically, this work will investigate whether variations in cognitive memory strategies result in the use of different sensory stores and neural regions to hold visual information in mind. This work aspires to use innovative perceptual psychophysics and modelling techniques along with brain imaging and non-invasive brain stimulation to elucidate the exact neural regions responsible for different memory strategies. This work has the potential to solve many of the current debates in the field and lead to a unified theory and model of visual working memory, opening the door to optimise human memory.Read moreRead less
Understanding the neural dynamics of integrated perceptual decisions. This project aims to characterise the brain processes involved in perceptual decision-making. While scientists have a good understanding of how people make decisions about the properties of individual sensory inputs, much less is known about how the brain integrates information across multiple sensory sources that differ in their salience and fidelity. The project expects to elucidate the neural mechanisms responsible for thes ....Understanding the neural dynamics of integrated perceptual decisions. This project aims to characterise the brain processes involved in perceptual decision-making. While scientists have a good understanding of how people make decisions about the properties of individual sensory inputs, much less is known about how the brain integrates information across multiple sensory sources that differ in their salience and fidelity. The project expects to elucidate the neural mechanisms responsible for these integrative perceptual decisions, using a combination of brain imaging and behavioural measures, computational modelling and real-time neurofeedback. This should provide significant benefits for developing more effective approaches to training individuals in professions that rely on optimal decision-making skills.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100829
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$447,038.00
Summary
Stop it: Learning response inhibition. Behavioural inhibition is an essential part of daily life. However, some behaviours are hard to inhibit, such as refraining from eating junk foods. This project aims to determine how learning from past experiences and individual differences account for our capacity to inhibit actions. The project combines novel behavioural paradigms with an associative learning framework, cutting-edge neurophysiological techniques, and advanced statistical analyses. Expecte ....Stop it: Learning response inhibition. Behavioural inhibition is an essential part of daily life. However, some behaviours are hard to inhibit, such as refraining from eating junk foods. This project aims to determine how learning from past experiences and individual differences account for our capacity to inhibit actions. The project combines novel behavioural paradigms with an associative learning framework, cutting-edge neurophysiological techniques, and advanced statistical analyses. Expected outcomes include new knowledge of the psychological, cognitive, and neural mechanisms involved when behaviours are successfully inhibited. This project should provide benefits to understanding why inhibiting actions is prone to failure in addiction and psychological disorders.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120100535
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
The role of the human cerebellum in perceptual processes. Our brains are constantly bombarded with sensory information. This project will determine how a particular brain structure, the cerebellum, regulates the perception of our environment. The project will also contribute to a better understanding of deficits in disorders that have been linked to cerebellar abnormality such as autism.
Unpacking the effects of stimulus exposure in human learning. The project examines how humans learn to distinguish between complex stimuli that are at first very hard to tell apart such as identical twins. It will aid in the training of experts who are required to make fine discriminations (for example radiologists) and aid in the design of Australian products that must "stand out from the crowd".
Do rewarded features automatically capture attention? This project will demonstrate how attention can come to be captured involuntarily by stimuli that have previously been rewarded. This has implications for training of many skilled tasks and in understanding the mechanisms of interruption.
The multitasking brain: training and individual differences. Difficulties with doing two things at once are experienced by everyone, but are particularly common as we get older and in the context of many neurological and psychiatric conditions. This project will examine how training changes the brain to improve multitasking performance and why some individuals are better at multitasking than others.