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
Biomarkers and objective assessment of cognitive and brain effects of fish oil dietary supplementation. There are potential widespread community benefits from knowing whether consuming fish oils will improve cognitive function. This is mainfest in children and even more so in those suffering attention deficits at a time when inattention and hyperacitvity is likely to permanently lower their overall career prospects.
Optimising Performance Under Pressure: Testing and Developing Athletes' Attentional Focus Strategies. Sport has long played a significant role in Australia's cultural identity, but the economic value of this industry must also be recognised. Australia has invested heavily in supporting our athletes, teams and coaches, who have achieved high levels of success in international sports. In using innovative technology to optimise performance, the research has the potential to enhance Australia's inte ....Optimising Performance Under Pressure: Testing and Developing Athletes' Attentional Focus Strategies. Sport has long played a significant role in Australia's cultural identity, but the economic value of this industry must also be recognised. Australia has invested heavily in supporting our athletes, teams and coaches, who have achieved high levels of success in international sports. In using innovative technology to optimise performance, the research has the potential to enhance Australia's international reputation in the sport sciences, and may well prove essential to our future competitiveness. In promoting innovative, evidence-based coaching and psychological skills training that develop and foster human talent, the project will also assist strategic initiatives to increase community participation in sport.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
The relative impacts of sleep, wake and the internal body clock on human performance. The 24h society presents a number of challenges to the shiftworker. First, shiftworkers have to maintain a balance between the competing needs of work, family, leisure and social life. Second, shiftwork has been identified as a risk factor for obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Third, shiftworkers have an increased risk of injury and death at work. This project will use an innovative research protocol to prov ....The relative impacts of sleep, wake and the internal body clock on human performance. The 24h society presents a number of challenges to the shiftworker. First, shiftworkers have to maintain a balance between the competing needs of work, family, leisure and social life. Second, shiftwork has been identified as a risk factor for obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Third, shiftworkers have an increased risk of injury and death at work. This project will use an innovative research protocol to provide critical information about the independent and combined effects of sleep loss and body clock disruption on human performance. Work schedules designed on the basis of a better understanding of sleep loss and circadian disruption will result in healthier employees, safer workplaces, and reduced costs to the community.Read moreRead less