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How does the brain process facial expressions? Humans are social animals and we rely heavily on facial expressions to give us cues to other peoples' thoughts. In many disorders, such as autism and schizophrenia, this ability is compromised, causing considerable difficulties in social functioning. The results of this study will increase our understanding of the way the brain processes facial expressions, using new brain imaging methods. This knowledge will inform clinical research into disorders ....How does the brain process facial expressions? Humans are social animals and we rely heavily on facial expressions to give us cues to other peoples' thoughts. In many disorders, such as autism and schizophrenia, this ability is compromised, causing considerable difficulties in social functioning. The results of this study will increase our understanding of the way the brain processes facial expressions, using new brain imaging methods. This knowledge will inform clinical research into disorders involving social impairments. The new techniques developed in this study will also provide Australian researchers with cutting-edge methods, raising the profile of Australian cognitive neuroscience research.Read moreRead less
Cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying lateral biases in human vision. Under conditions of unconstrained viewing, humans show a consistent and reliable asymmetry in their perception of visual stimuli. This bias, which favours the left side, arises at a post-retinal level and is hypothesised to reflect hemispheric asymmetry in the control of visuospatial attention. This program of research investigates the mechanisms underlying lateral biases in visual perception, using the latest cognitive n ....Cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying lateral biases in human vision. Under conditions of unconstrained viewing, humans show a consistent and reliable asymmetry in their perception of visual stimuli. This bias, which favours the left side, arises at a post-retinal level and is hypothesised to reflect hemispheric asymmetry in the control of visuospatial attention. This program of research investigates the mechanisms underlying lateral biases in visual perception, using the latest cognitive neuroscience techniques. The findings will provide important new information about the neural and cognitive bases for normal and disordered visuospatial perception. The goal is to develop a novel test of perceptual asymmetries for use in normal participants and neurological patients.Read moreRead less
Attentional biases that underlie free-viewing perceptual asymmetries: Endogenous and exogenous effects in a behavioural/imaging study. As we move our eyes and attention around us, we are capable of interacting with any part of our immediate environment. It is intriguing, therefore, to discover that the upper and leftward features of an object are more salient than those on the bottom or right. By investigating the nature of these attentional biases in normal individuals, this research will impro ....Attentional biases that underlie free-viewing perceptual asymmetries: Endogenous and exogenous effects in a behavioural/imaging study. As we move our eyes and attention around us, we are capable of interacting with any part of our immediate environment. It is intriguing, therefore, to discover that the upper and leftward features of an object are more salient than those on the bottom or right. By investigating the nature of these attentional biases in normal individuals, this research will improve our understanding of the thought processes and brain structures that control spatial attention. This research has important implications for the development of remedial programs for patients with attentional disorders. The test we use to measure attentional asymmetries has the potential to become an important tool for the early detection of clinical abnormalities in attention.
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Left of centre: Attentional distortions in the mental representation of space in healthy and clinical populations. Stroke patients cost the Australian economy $1.3bn pa in addition to their social burden, but effective diagnosis and rehabilitation is impeded by a lack of fundamental research into the cognitive and neural mechanisms that underlie attentional disorders. Our research will provide significant new insights into how the brain deploys attention in external and imagined space and will l ....Left of centre: Attentional distortions in the mental representation of space in healthy and clinical populations. Stroke patients cost the Australian economy $1.3bn pa in addition to their social burden, but effective diagnosis and rehabilitation is impeded by a lack of fundamental research into the cognitive and neural mechanisms that underlie attentional disorders. Our research will provide significant new insights into how the brain deploys attention in external and imagined space and will lead to more effective management and treatment of stroke victims. Our new test of attentional disorders is independent of a patient's inability to see or move and will enable more effective diagnosis. Our research provides the fundamental knowledge base for our discipline and is vital for developing the next generation of Australia's cognitive neuroscientists. Read moreRead less
The roles of attention and masking in perception of rapidly-sequential stimuli. Many activities, such as driving and reading, require us to process rapidly-sequential visual inputs and to rapidly switch between different tasks. The present work uses a novel combination of behavioural testing and electrophysiological recording of brain activity to examine the mechanisms that underlie perception and performance under these conditions. This work will place Australian research at the forefront of ....The roles of attention and masking in perception of rapidly-sequential stimuli. Many activities, such as driving and reading, require us to process rapidly-sequential visual inputs and to rapidly switch between different tasks. The present work uses a novel combination of behavioural testing and electrophysiological recording of brain activity to examine the mechanisms that underlie perception and performance under these conditions. This work will place Australian research at the forefront of international work on perception and cognitive neuroscience and contribute to student training. More importantly, it may lead to the design of safer driving environments or the creation of programs that will help Australian children learn to read more effectively.Read moreRead less
Segmentation and completion in visual object perception: Behavioural and neural perspective. The problem of perceptual completion and unit formation is among hardest in vision and central to our understanding of how visual perception works. Using novel approaches this research will provide insights of theoretical significance to the cognitive and neural bases of perceptual completion. This issue is also relevant to image interpretation in medicine, surveillance and virtual reality. The research ....Segmentation and completion in visual object perception: Behavioural and neural perspective. The problem of perceptual completion and unit formation is among hardest in vision and central to our understanding of how visual perception works. Using novel approaches this research will provide insights of theoretical significance to the cognitive and neural bases of perceptual completion. This issue is also relevant to image interpretation in medicine, surveillance and virtual reality. The research proposed here will enhance international collaboration and strengthen Australia's strong reputation in vision research and cognitive neuroscience. It also contributes to national research training by offering honours and PhD students an outstanding research training and international exposure.Read moreRead less
Integrating holistic processing and face-space approaches to the perception of facial identity. Recognising faces is a socially crucial task, and humans are remarkably good at it. Scientists investigating the 'software' our brains use to recognise faces have referred to two different theories -- one when explaining why we distinguish faces better than objects, and the other in explaining why we distinguish some people's faces more easily than others. The project aims to integrate these two theor ....Integrating holistic processing and face-space approaches to the perception of facial identity. Recognising faces is a socially crucial task, and humans are remarkably good at it. Scientists investigating the 'software' our brains use to recognise faces have referred to two different theories -- one when explaining why we distinguish faces better than objects, and the other in explaining why we distinguish some people's faces more easily than others. The project aims to integrate these two theories. This has two potential long-term benefits: it will give a stronger basis for understanding what goes wrong in people where face recognition does not develop normally; and, the improved knowledge from a biological system may also lead to improved computer face recognition algorithms (eg. for airport security).Read moreRead less
Recognition of rotated objects: paying attention to orientation. This research will increase our understanding of what aspects of an object contribute to our conscious visual experience and how the brain integrates information about various visual attributes. Eventually, this could be used in industry to develop more sophisticated computer pattern recognition systems. The research will also enable the design of better rehabilitation and management strategies for patients with brain damage and de ....Recognition of rotated objects: paying attention to orientation. This research will increase our understanding of what aspects of an object contribute to our conscious visual experience and how the brain integrates information about various visual attributes. Eventually, this could be used in industry to develop more sophisticated computer pattern recognition systems. The research will also enable the design of better rehabilitation and management strategies for patients with brain damage and degenerative brain disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0882345
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$650,000.00
Summary
A 3.0 Tesla MRI system for human cognitive neuroscience research. For the first time scientists are beginning to reveal the complex relationship between human brain function and behaviour. These advances have stemmed almost exclusively from the development of sophisticated brain scanning techniques that provide high-resolution images of physiological changes associated with perceptual, cognitive and motor behaviours. This application seeks support for a state-of-the-art scanner to obtain high-re ....A 3.0 Tesla MRI system for human cognitive neuroscience research. For the first time scientists are beginning to reveal the complex relationship between human brain function and behaviour. These advances have stemmed almost exclusively from the development of sophisticated brain scanning techniques that provide high-resolution images of physiological changes associated with perceptual, cognitive and motor behaviours. This application seeks support for a state-of-the-art scanner to obtain high-resolution images of the brain as healthy adults perceive, think, learn, remember and decide. The facility will enable Australian scientists to understand the complex links between brain and behaviour in health and disease.Read moreRead less
Imaging supra- versus sub-threshold perception: Towards a neural 'signature' of conscious experience. This is the first study to combine spatial and temporal brain measures to test the prediction that 'conscious' (versus 'unconscious') emotion perception is distinguished by responses in cortical brain regions, and by later peaks in integrative brain activity. Two additional innovative features include the simultaneous measurement of arousal (as an independent index of responses to emotion, regar ....Imaging supra- versus sub-threshold perception: Towards a neural 'signature' of conscious experience. This is the first study to combine spatial and temporal brain measures to test the prediction that 'conscious' (versus 'unconscious') emotion perception is distinguished by responses in cortical brain regions, and by later peaks in integrative brain activity. Two additional innovative features include the simultaneous measurement of arousal (as an independent index of responses to emotion, regardless of conscious awareness), and the use of psychophysical methods to establish objective thresholds for 'unconscious' and 'conscious' perception. Elucidating the neural basis of conscious emotion perception is important to understanding the mechanisms of unique human experience, and disorders of stress and anxiety.Read moreRead less