ARC Research Network for Enabling Human Communication. The Human Communication Network promotes interdisciplinary research in speech, language, and sound by and between humans and machines. The network connects leading and emerging researchers across disciplines, exploits previously unrecognised intersections, supports interdisciplinary graduate training and exchanges, provides database storage infrastructure, and consults with industry and government to set, not follow, research agendas. By ge ....ARC Research Network for Enabling Human Communication. The Human Communication Network promotes interdisciplinary research in speech, language, and sound by and between humans and machines. The network connects leading and emerging researchers across disciplines, exploits previously unrecognised intersections, supports interdisciplinary graduate training and exchanges, provides database storage infrastructure, and consults with industry and government to set, not follow, research agendas. By generating an explosion of new approaches and knowledge, the network will build Australia's reputation as a leader in communication science and technology via advances in automatic speech recognition, distress call monitoring, hearing prostheses, web interfaces, and data retrieval and data mining systems.Read moreRead less
Motion and Spatial Coding in Vision. The results of this project will have implications for the design and implementation of artificial visual systems. Completion of this project will depend upon international collaboration - forging links between a young Australian investigator and outstanding overseas scientists as well as providing excellent training opportunities. Subsequent publication of the research in top-ranking international journals will further promote Australian science abroad.
The Ins and Outs of the Central Bottleneck. Humans display severe capacity limitations at multiple levels of information processing. When considering, with modern technological advances, the amount of multitasking one is called upon to do in every day life (e.g., talking on a hands-free mobile phone device and driving) it is vital to understand what stages of information processing interfere with one another. The present work will extend our knowledge regarding which cognitive operations can be ....The Ins and Outs of the Central Bottleneck. Humans display severe capacity limitations at multiple levels of information processing. When considering, with modern technological advances, the amount of multitasking one is called upon to do in every day life (e.g., talking on a hands-free mobile phone device and driving) it is vital to understand what stages of information processing interfere with one another. The present work will extend our knowledge regarding which cognitive operations can be performed concurrently without impairment. In addition, it will help us better understand processing limitations that have been linked to a variety of clinical groups such as those suffering from schizophrenia and mood disorders.Read moreRead less
How does dopamine modulate adult new word learning? Stroke is a chronic disease of increasing prevalence with increasing age. There is a critical need to develop more effective treatments of communication disorders in this population. One way of achieving this is to combine certain drugs with language therapy. Through studying how these drugs influence language, this research will provide vital knowledge for developing effective forms of pharmacotherapy for adults with language disorders after b ....How does dopamine modulate adult new word learning? Stroke is a chronic disease of increasing prevalence with increasing age. There is a critical need to develop more effective treatments of communication disorders in this population. One way of achieving this is to combine certain drugs with language therapy. Through studying how these drugs influence language, this research will provide vital knowledge for developing effective forms of pharmacotherapy for adults with language disorders after brain injury. More effective language rehabilitation can have direct positive consequences on the ability to regain and maintain employment and social relationships after stroke or brain injury and will address the large and growing social and economic cost to the nation.Read moreRead less
A functional imaging study of semantic processing modulated by dopamine. The role of dopamine in language processing is largely unknown, despite emerging evidence that dopaminergic alterations can modulate language in schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, and healthy individuals. The research aims to reveal the neural and behavioural correlates of dopaminergic modulation of semantic processing using neuroimaging in healthy individuals who have ingested levodopa. It is hypothesised that levodopa wi ....A functional imaging study of semantic processing modulated by dopamine. The role of dopamine in language processing is largely unknown, despite emerging evidence that dopaminergic alterations can modulate language in schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, and healthy individuals. The research aims to reveal the neural and behavioural correlates of dopaminergic modulation of semantic processing using neuroimaging in healthy individuals who have ingested levodopa. It is hypothesised that levodopa will modulate brain activity under circumstances where there is heightened semantic competition, consistent with a contemporary theory of dopaminergic cognitive control. The expected outcome of the research is an increased understanding of the interactions between dopamine, the language faculty, and associated neural systems.Read moreRead less
Enhancing Language Learning in Ageing With Exercise. This project aims to determine if exercise improves language learning and consolidation in ageing. There is now compelling evidence for the benefits of exercise on cognition in older adults, however, it is unclear whether exercise improves age-related language problems. The project plans to examine exercise-induced changes in brain activity and biomarkers in an innovative set of studies that seeks to identify the brain mechanisms involved. The ....Enhancing Language Learning in Ageing With Exercise. This project aims to determine if exercise improves language learning and consolidation in ageing. There is now compelling evidence for the benefits of exercise on cognition in older adults, however, it is unclear whether exercise improves age-related language problems. The project plans to examine exercise-induced changes in brain activity and biomarkers in an innovative set of studies that seeks to identify the brain mechanisms involved. The findings are expected to contribute to theories of word learning and cognitive ageing and should advance our understanding of how exercise may be harnessed to optimise language and cognition. This would have practical applications in a range of populations with language and learning difficulties.Read moreRead less
A Scalable Theory of Behavior Composition for Practical Engineering Models of Human Performance. Minimizing human error and maximizing human performance is a major design goal in safety critical systems. The development of methods for affordable human performance modeling has widespread applicability for evaluating user-system interfaces. The compositional method explored here has been shown to make accurate predictions reduce model development time by an order of magnitude. Large safety critica ....A Scalable Theory of Behavior Composition for Practical Engineering Models of Human Performance. Minimizing human error and maximizing human performance is a major design goal in safety critical systems. The development of methods for affordable human performance modeling has widespread applicability for evaluating user-system interfaces. The compositional method explored here has been shown to make accurate predictions reduce model development time by an order of magnitude. Large safety critical applications, such as military or air traffic control systems, would benefit greatly. The proposed work tests whether the compositional methods will scale to more complex domains. The work will be coordinated with Australian industry, academia, and government research efforts.Read moreRead less
Determinants and consequences of conscious visual awareness. Usually salient images can disappear from awareness without corresponding stimulus changes. This project is based on an innovative account linking such disappearances to a functional adaptation which facilitates vision in cluttered environments. Project completion will expand Australia's knowledge base, forge links between junior and senior Australian based investigators and provide excellent training opportunities. Publication of rese ....Determinants and consequences of conscious visual awareness. Usually salient images can disappear from awareness without corresponding stimulus changes. This project is based on an innovative account linking such disappearances to a functional adaptation which facilitates vision in cluttered environments. Project completion will expand Australia's knowledge base, forge links between junior and senior Australian based investigators and provide excellent training opportunities. Publication of research in top-ranking international journals will further promote Australian science abroad. Ultimately, this research will have implications for the design and implementation of artificial visual systems, which must overcome many of the same dilemmas faced by the human visual system in cluttered environments.Read moreRead less
Human Time Perception. Most human tasks require timing on a scale of tens to hundreds of milliseconds. We must judge time to produce and comprehend speech, to move about and interact with our dynamic environment, to determine causality and decode information from sensory receptors. However, the neural bases of time perception are largely unknown. This project will explore temporal phenomena to determine how and where durations, temporal order and coincidence are encoded in the human brain. Proje ....Human Time Perception. Most human tasks require timing on a scale of tens to hundreds of milliseconds. We must judge time to produce and comprehend speech, to move about and interact with our dynamic environment, to determine causality and decode information from sensory receptors. However, the neural bases of time perception are largely unknown. This project will explore temporal phenomena to determine how and where durations, temporal order and coincidence are encoded in the human brain. Project results will provide new insight into the mechanisms of time perception, with implications for disorders associated with impaired time perception, such as autism, dyslexia and schizophrenia.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200101159
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$420,556.00
Summary
Understanding the role of hemispheric communication in the human brain. A crucial question in cognitive neuroscience regards how humans integrate perceptual information to understand and interact with our environment. This project aims to identify neural processes that operate competitively and cooperatively within the left and right hemispheres to understand how the human brain integrates information for perception. This project expects to generate new insight into the nature of hemispheric com ....Understanding the role of hemispheric communication in the human brain. A crucial question in cognitive neuroscience regards how humans integrate perceptual information to understand and interact with our environment. This project aims to identify neural processes that operate competitively and cooperatively within the left and right hemispheres to understand how the human brain integrates information for perception. This project expects to generate new insight into the nature of hemispheric communication and perceptual decision making. This should provide significant benefits by understanding how the two brain hemispheres process different visual information yet communicate efficiently to allow seamless interface with the world.Read moreRead less