Vision and lighting in the age of melanopsin. This project aims to develop innovative new technologies, which will advance understanding of the effects of light on human behavior mediated via the recently discovered melanopsin photopigment in the eye. The project expects to create a cutting-edge visual display technology, which will deliver the foundation knowledge of melanopsin shapes visual perception. The project will redefine current knowledge of human vision and provide a practical lighting ....Vision and lighting in the age of melanopsin. This project aims to develop innovative new technologies, which will advance understanding of the effects of light on human behavior mediated via the recently discovered melanopsin photopigment in the eye. The project expects to create a cutting-edge visual display technology, which will deliver the foundation knowledge of melanopsin shapes visual perception. The project will redefine current knowledge of human vision and provide a practical lighting solution to suit the biological needs of humans, especially in relation to the human body’s internal (circadian) clock. Read moreRead less
‘Super-human’ colour vision: how does it improve animal visual performance? Colour vision enables animals to find food, attract mates and avoid predators. Many animals, including fish, birds and insects, have ‘super-human’ colour vision systems and process colour using 4 or 5 spectral channels, instead of our 3. Yet we do not know how information is combined across these different channels to achieve colour vision. This project will develop new technology to measure UV vision in a range of anima ....‘Super-human’ colour vision: how does it improve animal visual performance? Colour vision enables animals to find food, attract mates and avoid predators. Many animals, including fish, birds and insects, have ‘super-human’ colour vision systems and process colour using 4 or 5 spectral channels, instead of our 3. Yet we do not know how information is combined across these different channels to achieve colour vision. This project will develop new technology to measure UV vision in a range of animal taxa, and show how animals with 4 or 5 spectral channels integrate or partition visual information to perceive colour. The Fellowship will provide new biological models for the development of next-generation multispectral cameras used in medical, military, security and remote sensing applications.Read moreRead less
Insights from brain imaging to study the neural basis of cognition. This project aims to address a major challenge - the need for a better understanding of the basis for human cognition. Humans have a unique capacity for diverse, complex, thought and behaviour. To achieve this our brains need to rapidly and flexibly reconfigure, directing attention to different aspects of the world moment-to-moment as we think and act. The project will combine innovative analysis methods with state-of-the-art n ....Insights from brain imaging to study the neural basis of cognition. This project aims to address a major challenge - the need for a better understanding of the basis for human cognition. Humans have a unique capacity for diverse, complex, thought and behaviour. To achieve this our brains need to rapidly and flexibly reconfigure, directing attention to different aspects of the world moment-to-moment as we think and act. The project will combine innovative analysis methods with state-of-the-art neuroimaging and brain stimulation to understand how key brain regions drive this process. Insights from this project will link brain activation to behaviour, improve insights from brain imaging, and contribute a better understanding of the neural basis of cognition. Such insights can ultimately benefit the development of evidence based approaches to key areas of public concern such as health and education.Read moreRead less
Understanding the neural basis of gaze behaviour in the human brain. Selecting where to look is a necessary step in human vision that is vital for guiding social behaviours. For example, although we inadvertently look toward faces in our environment, especially faces expressing emotion, we do not know how this is accomplished. This project aims to define the mechanisms responsible for detecting and prioritising faces in the human brain. The results are expected to advance our understanding of ho ....Understanding the neural basis of gaze behaviour in the human brain. Selecting where to look is a necessary step in human vision that is vital for guiding social behaviours. For example, although we inadvertently look toward faces in our environment, especially faces expressing emotion, we do not know how this is accomplished. This project aims to define the mechanisms responsible for detecting and prioritising faces in the human brain. The results are expected to advance our understanding of how vision operates in daily life, and augment theories of how the prioritisation of social cues might differ in people living with Anxiety disorders. It is anticipated that the project outcomes will also inform the development of artificial vision systems that can interpret social meaning in visual environments.
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Human Vision: Predicting the present? Suppressing the past? When dealing with moving objects, how does the human brain cope with lags between exposure to retinal images depicting physical events and consequent activity in cortex? Obviously motor planning plays a role, with people reaching toward predicted locations when intercepting moving objects, but what, if any, compensation for informational delays is provided by perception? This project will explore situations wherein moving objects are er ....Human Vision: Predicting the present? Suppressing the past? When dealing with moving objects, how does the human brain cope with lags between exposure to retinal images depicting physical events and consequent activity in cortex? Obviously motor planning plays a role, with people reaching toward predicted locations when intercepting moving objects, but what, if any, compensation for informational delays is provided by perception? This project will explore situations wherein moving objects are erroneously localised and seem deformed, in order to determine if these are indicative of perception helping to compensate for informational lags. Project results will have substantial theoretical significance, pertaining to the nature of perception and conscious visual awareness.Read moreRead less
Operation of nerve cell networks in the neocortex. In humans, intellectual disabilities occur when nerve cells in the neocortex, the most complicated area of the brain, fail to function correctly. The goal of this project is to understand how neocortical areas communicate and how changes in the structure of neurons disturb their function; work that will lead to a better understanding of the operation of the neocortex.
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.
Using toxins to understand the mechanisms of pain. Toxins have evolved in plants, animals and microbes as part of defensive and/or prey capture strategies, and have proven to be invaluable research tools as well as providing leads for potential new therapies. This project will use subtype-selective toxins to define the role of ion channels in pain, using novel pathway-specific and disease-specific animal models of pain. The findings from this project will provide significant insight into the ne ....Using toxins to understand the mechanisms of pain. Toxins have evolved in plants, animals and microbes as part of defensive and/or prey capture strategies, and have proven to be invaluable research tools as well as providing leads for potential new therapies. This project will use subtype-selective toxins to define the role of ion channels in pain, using novel pathway-specific and disease-specific animal models of pain. The findings from this project will provide significant insight into the neuropharmacology of pain, will lead to the identification of novel molecular targets with analgesic potential and is expected to provide novel treatment approaches for pain.Read moreRead less
Revealing how the human brain coordinates body movements for applications in health and technology. This project will extend the basic understanding about how the brain controls the movements of our bodies, and how it changes to allow us to adapt and refine our movements. This project will generate information that is critical for applications in the fields of health (e.g. rehabilitation) and technology (e.g. human-machine interfaces).
Can the relational account of attention explain search in natural environments and inattentional blindness? This project aims to further extend the relational theory of attention to account for visual search and inattentional blindness in natural environments. In addition, the neuronal correlates for inattentional blindness will be investigated with the use of Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). The research has fundamental implications for theories of visual attention and awareness, a ....Can the relational account of attention explain search in natural environments and inattentional blindness? This project aims to further extend the relational theory of attention to account for visual search and inattentional blindness in natural environments. In addition, the neuronal correlates for inattentional blindness will be investigated with the use of Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). The research has fundamental implications for theories of visual attention and awareness, and will advance understandings of how and why we frequently fail to notice potentially important objects and events in the environment.Read moreRead less