Parallel and generative binding in human visual cortex. Imagine watching a group of children running around in brightly coloured T-shirts. How does your brain keep track of which colour goes with which T-shirt goes with which child? This project will use magnetic resonance imaging to identify where in our brains information about colour, shape and motion gets put together.
Resolving multi-sensory conflict as we age: audio-visual integration and the role of normal and abnormal sensory decline. Australia has an ageing population. Even the healthiest older individuals undergo some deterioration of vision and hearing, however, these senses are almost invariably studied in isolation. The real world is multisensory. This project will enhance our knowledge of how ageing impacts on the interpretation of visual and auditory information regarding the timing and location of ....Resolving multi-sensory conflict as we age: audio-visual integration and the role of normal and abnormal sensory decline. Australia has an ageing population. Even the healthiest older individuals undergo some deterioration of vision and hearing, however, these senses are almost invariably studied in isolation. The real world is multisensory. This project will enhance our knowledge of how ageing impacts on the interpretation of visual and auditory information regarding the timing and location of objects; essential precursors to many real world tasks, for example: driving, interpreting speech, and hazard avoidance. This knowledge is essential for the optimisation of audio-visual environments for the elderly, and for the development of tools to improve performance in the presence of sensory decline due to age-related eye disease.Read moreRead less
The neuronal bases of consciousness and attention. Why and how do some electrical activities in the brain make us see, hear and feel pain? Why other neural activities remain non-conscious? This project will utilise visual illusions combined with a range of state-of-the-art neuroimaging techniques to understand what kind of neuronal mechanisms underlie attention and consciousness.
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
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
Image constraints on the perception of surfaces and materials. Humans visually perceive objects that vary in 3D shape, colour, sheen, and opacity, but understanding how this information is recovered from the images seen remains a mystery. The brain must exploit constraints on the way images are formed through the interaction of light with different surface properties. This project aims to identify image constraints that the brain measures to infer this material diversity. This will advance under ....Image constraints on the perception of surfaces and materials. Humans visually perceive objects that vary in 3D shape, colour, sheen, and opacity, but understanding how this information is recovered from the images seen remains a mystery. The brain must exploit constraints on the way images are formed through the interaction of light with different surface properties. This project aims to identify image constraints that the brain measures to infer this material diversity. This will advance understandings of computational processes underlying material perception. It will create efficient innovations in image-based pattern recognition algorithms used for commercial and everyday applications, such as quality sorting of fresh produce, and monitoring driver performance in wet weather to reduce errors.Read moreRead less
Perception: From Genes to Behaviour. Understanding how genes affect behaviour is inherently difficult because the human brain is extraordinarily complex. This project aims to map fundamental relationships between genes, brain, and behaviour by studying visual perception, where brain mechanisms can be characterised with high fidelity. The project expects to generate new knowledge in behavioural genetics using innovative, interdisciplinary approaches to integrate precise genetic, neural and psycho ....Perception: From Genes to Behaviour. Understanding how genes affect behaviour is inherently difficult because the human brain is extraordinarily complex. This project aims to map fundamental relationships between genes, brain, and behaviour by studying visual perception, where brain mechanisms can be characterised with high fidelity. The project expects to generate new knowledge in behavioural genetics using innovative, interdisciplinary approaches to integrate precise genetic, neural and psychophysical measurements. Expected outcomes of this project include a deeper understanding of our perceptual experience, and rich new experimental paradigms. This should provide significant benefits for future research attempting to disentangle complex gene–behaviour relationships.Read moreRead less
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
Position perception, attention, object motion, and action. The research will achieve a deeper understanding of the neural processing of the visual perception of position, and of the associated behavioural limits. This will provide a foundation for the development of a range of technologies to assist disabled and elderly people. The results will help reveal the link between the perception of moving objects and the capacity for visually guided movement. This link will benefit areas such as enginee ....Position perception, attention, object motion, and action. The research will achieve a deeper understanding of the neural processing of the visual perception of position, and of the associated behavioural limits. This will provide a foundation for the development of a range of technologies to assist disabled and elderly people. The results will help reveal the link between the perception of moving objects and the capacity for visually guided movement. This link will benefit areas such as engineering of vehicles and road systems, and the design of telepresence systems. The first applications are likely to be in the rehabilitation of brain injury and the decline of mental function with age.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.