Role of form information in motion processing. The study of the mind, and its relationship to the brain, is currently at the forefront of new developments in science. In the international setting, visual psychophysics is playing a major role in this development. The present project will help maintain Australia's international competitiveness in this rapidly growing field. Also, given how important being able to accurately perceive motion is to our ability to safely interact with the world, there ....Role of form information in motion processing. The study of the mind, and its relationship to the brain, is currently at the forefront of new developments in science. In the international setting, visual psychophysics is playing a major role in this development. The present project will help maintain Australia's international competitiveness in this rapidly growing field. Also, given how important being able to accurately perceive motion is to our ability to safely interact with the world, there are a number of potential applied benefits of the proposed research. These benefits range from areas like road safety to clinical neuropsychology.Read moreRead less
Peripheral and central mechanisms of sensory coding and integration. The research described in this proposal seeks to provide generic answers to fundamental questions about sensory processes, the nature of perceptual experience, and how these are subserved by the nervous system. The study of inter-sensory interactions in perception has the potential to be incorporated into the development of virtual reality-type computer-based technologies. The neurophysiology research will provide basic informa ....Peripheral and central mechanisms of sensory coding and integration. The research described in this proposal seeks to provide generic answers to fundamental questions about sensory processes, the nature of perceptual experience, and how these are subserved by the nervous system. The study of inter-sensory interactions in perception has the potential to be incorporated into the development of virtual reality-type computer-based technologies. The neurophysiology research will provide basic information that has the potential to deepen our understanding, and even enhance possible treatment, of neurological conditions that involve sensory systems.Read moreRead less
Perceiving and tracking moving objects. Processing and tracking moving objects poses challenges for human perception. To succeed, visual processing must accumulate analyses of the object from its different positions. Perceptual experiments will reveal human limits and yield insights into the underlying mechanisms, providing a basis for understanding object tracking in tasks like driving.
The causes and consequences of attentional rescaling. This project aims to investigate the mechanisms that underlie people’s capacity to rescale the focus of their visual attention. Such rescalings are important because they are linked with people’s capacity to perform specific tasks. Using an innovative approach within cognitive psychology that integrates individual differences, experimental, and training frameworks, this project expects to generate new theoretical knowledge about attentional ....The causes and consequences of attentional rescaling. This project aims to investigate the mechanisms that underlie people’s capacity to rescale the focus of their visual attention. Such rescalings are important because they are linked with people’s capacity to perform specific tasks. Using an innovative approach within cognitive psychology that integrates individual differences, experimental, and training frameworks, this project expects to generate new theoretical knowledge about attentional re-scaling and its possible improvement. The expected outcomes include selection and training programs for specific contexts such as training athletes and flight attendants. Economic benefits can be expected through the identification of those who will benefit most from training (reducing waste) and developing cost-effective forms of training which improve task performance.Read moreRead less
Form and motion interactions in human motion perception. Vision works efficiently to detect the motion of both ourselves and other objects by combining motion and pattern information. This project will determine how the visual system achieves this and also create a detailed model that will be directly applicable to areas ranging from clinical neuropsychology to the analysis and design of visual displays.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140101734
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$371,220.00
Summary
The temporal dynamics of conscious object perception . We live in a constantly changing visual world. Thus a key inferential challenge that the human brain must solve is whether ongoing visual input represents a single object varying over time (for example, one person moving through a scene), or two distinct objects (for example, two different people successively occupying the same location). This project will investigate, for the first time, how the brain optimises this inference by using infor ....The temporal dynamics of conscious object perception . We live in a constantly changing visual world. Thus a key inferential challenge that the human brain must solve is whether ongoing visual input represents a single object varying over time (for example, one person moving through a scene), or two distinct objects (for example, two different people successively occupying the same location). This project will investigate, for the first time, how the brain optimises this inference by using information about context, whether the flexibility of the inference process reduces with ageing, and the role of the two main visual pathways in this inference. This will enhance our knowledge of this fundamental process in vision, and our ability to promote optimal functioning into later life.Read moreRead less
How do bees orchestrate smooth landings? The results should pave the way for the development of novel, biologically inspired strategies for the control of landing in unmanned aerial vehicles. Endowing aircraft with the capability of autonomous flight and landing has been a major challenge in engineering technology. There is now considerable interest, nationally and world wide, in the development of small, intelligent, autonomous airborne vehicles for application in a number of areas of defense, ....How do bees orchestrate smooth landings? The results should pave the way for the development of novel, biologically inspired strategies for the control of landing in unmanned aerial vehicles. Endowing aircraft with the capability of autonomous flight and landing has been a major challenge in engineering technology. There is now considerable interest, nationally and world wide, in the development of small, intelligent, autonomous airborne vehicles for application in a number of areas of defense, surveillance and space exploration. The proposed research will help Australia maintain a leading edge in uncovering important biological principles of flight control that can be translated into useful technological applications.Read moreRead less
Complex Motion Processing in Primate Visual Cortex. As we move through the world, a dynamic visual image is projected onto our retinas. The pattern of movement in the retinal image contains information about three-dimensional structure in the environment and the time of impending collisions. Our visual systems are expert at exploiting this information, enabling us to navigate through complex visual environments at a level far beyond the most sophisticated artificial systems. We plan to investiga ....Complex Motion Processing in Primate Visual Cortex. As we move through the world, a dynamic visual image is projected onto our retinas. The pattern of movement in the retinal image contains information about three-dimensional structure in the environment and the time of impending collisions. Our visual systems are expert at exploiting this information, enabling us to navigate through complex visual environments at a level far beyond the most sophisticated artificial systems. We plan to investigate complex motion processing in the primate brain by recording the responses of neurons in identified regions of the visual cortex of macaque monkeys to a range of behaviourally relevant motion stimuli.Read moreRead less
Face recognition: Properties and origins of whole-face processing. Humans identify other individuals almost entirely by their faces. Correspondingly, research has demonstrated a "special" style of cognitive processing that is unique to faces (at least in ordinary adults). The present project will address two major theoretical issues: (1) the exact nature of the special processing for faces, and (2) the extent to which it is innate, or learned. New progress in understanding these issues will be m ....Face recognition: Properties and origins of whole-face processing. Humans identify other individuals almost entirely by their faces. Correspondingly, research has demonstrated a "special" style of cognitive processing that is unique to faces (at least in ordinary adults). The present project will address two major theoretical issues: (1) the exact nature of the special processing for faces, and (2) the extent to which it is innate, or learned. New progress in understanding these issues will be made using a series of novel experimental techniques. These techniques isolate the specific contribution of the face recognition system, independent of contributions from object recognition, and from early visual processing.Read moreRead less
Special cognitive processing for faces: Expertise effects, and links to neural mechanisms. Humans identify other individuals primarily by their faces. Evidence from cognitive psychology indicates a special 'whole-face' (as opposed to part-based) style of processing for upright faces. This project will provide new insights into two long-standing issues about the origin of special face processing: (1) whether it derives from generic expert recognition processes or has some face-specific innate co ....Special cognitive processing for faces: Expertise effects, and links to neural mechanisms. Humans identify other individuals primarily by their faces. Evidence from cognitive psychology indicates a special 'whole-face' (as opposed to part-based) style of processing for upright faces. This project will provide new insights into two long-standing issues about the origin of special face processing: (1) whether it derives from generic expert recognition processes or has some face-specific innate component; and (2) the extent to which it can be distinguished from part-based processing at the neural level using both functional brain imaging (fMRI) and adaptation to distorted faces.Read moreRead less