The effect of multisensory and sensory-motor training on auditory accommodation. Learning to use a hearing aid or cochlear implant requires the brain to make adaptive changes to the new type of sensory information provided to the ears. This project examines what drives this accommodation and how we may accelerate the process and maximise its benefits by training so that listeners are able to make better use of these devices.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190100136
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$385,288.00
Summary
The influence of naturalistic context on visual short-term memory. This project aims to understand visual short-term memory in natural visual environments using a combination of behavioural and brain data. Visual short-term memory is thought to be critical to complex cognitive tasks such as learning and problem solving, but how low-level image context and high-level semantic information influence short-term memory is poorly understood. This project will use advanced computational image processin ....The influence of naturalistic context on visual short-term memory. This project aims to understand visual short-term memory in natural visual environments using a combination of behavioural and brain data. Visual short-term memory is thought to be critical to complex cognitive tasks such as learning and problem solving, but how low-level image context and high-level semantic information influence short-term memory is poorly understood. This project will use advanced computational image processing tools, neuro-imaging, and psychophysical experiments to provide a comprehensive analysis of short-term memory in naturalistic images. The expected outcome is a better understanding of the neural bottlenecks that limit short-term memory, and a model that predicts memory constraints in natural visual environments.Read moreRead less
How human vision separately determines object and scene motion. This project aims to enhance understanding of how people process visual scenes containing multiple moving objects of interest. The project intends to measure human visual performance to determine how the brain processes multiple motion signals simultaneously. Expected outcomes include an increased understanding of how we are able to use an evolving visual scene to distinguish between changes due to self-motion and those due to the m ....How human vision separately determines object and scene motion. This project aims to enhance understanding of how people process visual scenes containing multiple moving objects of interest. The project intends to measure human visual performance to determine how the brain processes multiple motion signals simultaneously. Expected outcomes include an increased understanding of how we are able to use an evolving visual scene to distinguish between changes due to self-motion and those due to the motion of multiple moving objects such as crowded city footpaths and busy roads. The results will improve our understanding of failures to see moving objects in challenging viewing conditions (for example, high density traffic), and inform work in the design of autonomous driving and augmented reality display systems.Read moreRead less
Centre-surround interactions in ageing human vision. Australia has a rapidly ageing population. This project will study how ageing affects the visual perception of objects presented on non-uniform backgrounds. Our ability to discriminate objects from their backgrounds is key to most natural visual tasks. The visual processes involved are known as centre-surround interactions, and are considered fundamental building blocks to human perception. This project will significantly advance our knowledge ....Centre-surround interactions in ageing human vision. Australia has a rapidly ageing population. This project will study how ageing affects the visual perception of objects presented on non-uniform backgrounds. Our ability to discriminate objects from their backgrounds is key to most natural visual tasks. The visual processes involved are known as centre-surround interactions, and are considered fundamental building blocks to human perception. This project will significantly advance our knowledge of which spatial visual mechanisms are altered due to age, supplying key information for understanding and improving visual environments for the elderly, as well as increasing knowledge of the brain mechanisms susceptible to the ageing process.Read moreRead less
Neuroimaging Of Human Visual Cortex Using Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Improving Multivariate Techniques For Decoding Brain Activity
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$316,449.00
Summary
This research will investigate how the brain processes visual information using non-invasive functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The aims of this project are to advance techniques for "decoding" human brain activity from fMRI and to increase our understanding of how the brain uses visual information. Improvements in fMRI analysis will allow this cutting-edge technique to be applied more readily in clinical settings for improved treatment and diagnosis of neurological disorders.
Predicting Behaviour from Brain Representations. This project aims to advance our understanding of how perceptual information is represented in the human brain and to link the structure of perceptual brain representations to human behaviour. The project plans to use complementary methods for recording brain activity (human neuroimaging and primate single-cell neurophysiology) and cutting-edge analytic techniques to generate a predictive model of behaviour based on the structure of perceptual bra ....Predicting Behaviour from Brain Representations. This project aims to advance our understanding of how perceptual information is represented in the human brain and to link the structure of perceptual brain representations to human behaviour. The project plans to use complementary methods for recording brain activity (human neuroimaging and primate single-cell neurophysiology) and cutting-edge analytic techniques to generate a predictive model of behaviour based on the structure of perceptual brain representations. It is anticipated that the results will significantly advance the field of cognitive neuroscience by providing a novel empirical framework for understanding how brain representations are predictive of behaviour.Read moreRead less
Linking human brain structure to function with ultra-high resolution fMRI. This project will examine the structure and function of the sensory cortex of the human brain using ultra-high resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (7 Tesla MRI). The project pushes new boundaries for resolution with ultra-high field MRI (7 Tesla) and, as such, will advance techniques for the acquisition, analysis, and computational modelling of high-resolution fMRI brain imaging, providing detail of the funct ....Linking human brain structure to function with ultra-high resolution fMRI. This project will examine the structure and function of the sensory cortex of the human brain using ultra-high resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging (7 Tesla MRI). The project pushes new boundaries for resolution with ultra-high field MRI (7 Tesla) and, as such, will advance techniques for the acquisition, analysis, and computational modelling of high-resolution fMRI brain imaging, providing detail of the functional organisation of the sensory cortex at a level never previously possible in the living human brain. This will provide new understanding of the neural-level networks that underpin attention and touch perception in the human brain.Read moreRead less
Identifying the basis for perceptual stability and perceptual omission during saccadic eye movements. The ability to explore the world via eye movements is an important feature of visual capabilities. This project will establish how the brain maintains the perception of a stable and stationary world despite the several eye movements made each second. This knowledge will fill a conspicuous gap in the understanding of the human visual system.
Neural plasticity in older adult human vision. This project aims to expand our understanding of age related changes in brain function, specifically plasticity. The project will increase knowledge of the role of an inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA in visual plasticity. Expected outcomes include new knowledge regarding the regulation of brain function in adulthood, enabling future research and planning for societal benefit to older Australia.