The effect of cochlear implants on cognitive decline in ageing Australians. This project aims to investigate the impact of cochlear implants on cognitive function in elderly people with deafness. Deafness has been found to be independently associated with a 30–40 per cent accelerated rate of cognitive decline in elderly adults. There is currently no effective treatment for cognitive decline. The intended outcomes of this observational study will help us to understand the biological process of co ....The effect of cochlear implants on cognitive decline in ageing Australians. This project aims to investigate the impact of cochlear implants on cognitive function in elderly people with deafness. Deafness has been found to be independently associated with a 30–40 per cent accelerated rate of cognitive decline in elderly adults. There is currently no effective treatment for cognitive decline. The intended outcomes of this observational study will help us to understand the biological process of cognitive decline, whether hearing loss is causal, and whether the process can be altered. These findings should be applicable to all individuals with hearing loss. If cochlear implants delay cognitive decline, this would significantly affect policy, quality of life for the elderly, and the cost to society.Read moreRead less
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
Using written language to probe speech recognition models. Speech recognition models fall into two principal classes, with fundamentally different processing architectures. Feedback models (e.g. TRACE, McClelland & Elman, 1986) allow lexical knowledge to exert top-down control over phonemic analysis. Feedforward models (e.g. Merge, Norris, McQueen & Cutler, 2000) assume that information flow is entirely bottom-up. Our project adopts an innovative approach to testing between these model classe ....Using written language to probe speech recognition models. Speech recognition models fall into two principal classes, with fundamentally different processing architectures. Feedback models (e.g. TRACE, McClelland & Elman, 1986) allow lexical knowledge to exert top-down control over phonemic analysis. Feedforward models (e.g. Merge, Norris, McQueen & Cutler, 2000) assume that information flow is entirely bottom-up. Our project adopts an innovative approach to testing between these model classes, by examining the influence of written-word knowledge on speech perception. To distinguish the models, contrasts must test different processing levels and examine strategy effects. TRACE favors broad effects with limited strategic influence; Merge favors lexical effects that are necessarily sensitive to strategic factorsRead moreRead less
Reconciling perceptual and cognitive accounts of dyslexia: The neural rate deficit hypothesis. The proposed research will form part of a co-ordinated program to understand the causes of dyslexia, a disorder that affects a large number of children and often persists into adulthood. It complements parallel efforts to elucidate the genetic basis of dyslexia, the heterogeneity and subtypes of dyslexia, and the developmental precursors to the disorder. This research will inform early intervention and ....Reconciling perceptual and cognitive accounts of dyslexia: The neural rate deficit hypothesis. The proposed research will form part of a co-ordinated program to understand the causes of dyslexia, a disorder that affects a large number of children and often persists into adulthood. It complements parallel efforts to elucidate the genetic basis of dyslexia, the heterogeneity and subtypes of dyslexia, and the developmental precursors to the disorder. This research will inform early intervention and remediation efforts and will also assist in the understanding of the normal process of reading acquisition in children.Read moreRead less
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
From sound to hearing: the integration of behavioural, neurophysiological, and neuroimaging research with computational models. McLachlan and Wilson have recently published a ground-breaking new model of the auditory system with important implications for treating deafness and understanding neurological disorders. In this research the predictions of the model will be experimentally validated using advanced neuroimaging techniques.
Understanding the consequences of normal ageing on visual form perception. Australia has an ageing population. Within the elderly, vision is a key sense that contributes significantly to the maintenance of independence, mobility and participation in society. This project will enhance our knowledge of the impact of ageing on vision. The research findings are important to a variety of disciplines involved in planning for our ageing population; for example: the design of living/working spaces for t ....Understanding the consequences of normal ageing on visual form perception. Australia has an ageing population. Within the elderly, vision is a key sense that contributes significantly to the maintenance of independence, mobility and participation in society. This project will enhance our knowledge of the impact of ageing on vision. The research findings are important to a variety of disciplines involved in planning for our ageing population; for example: the design of living/working spaces for the elderly, information technology, and the design of technology to assist with independent living. This project will train students in visual psychophysics, continuing the strong international reputation and output of Australian scientists in this discipline.Read moreRead less
New, Efficient Tests That Map Both Central and Peripheral Vision. This project seeks to develop a new, combined approach for quantifying both central and peripheral vision with a single test. Current methods for testing far peripheral vision are not efficient and not fully automated. Yet peripheral vision is important for tasks involving navigation and hazard avoidance such as driving. The project intends to invent and test new approaches to sampling and measuring the spatial extent of vision. T ....New, Efficient Tests That Map Both Central and Peripheral Vision. This project seeks to develop a new, combined approach for quantifying both central and peripheral vision with a single test. Current methods for testing far peripheral vision are not efficient and not fully automated. Yet peripheral vision is important for tasks involving navigation and hazard avoidance such as driving. The project intends to invent and test new approaches to sampling and measuring the spatial extent of vision. The anticipated algorithms will be more accurate and efficient than current tests, will be suitable for older adults, and will enable ready assessment of vision for occupational tasks.Read moreRead less
Vision Impairment and Fitness to Drive. Vision is fundamental to driving. Intuitively vision impairments will significantly affect fitness to drive. However the relationship between vision and crash risk is not well understood and current tests are unreliable. This study will describe the way in which specific vision conditions affect driving performance. The study will examine the effects of visual field loss on drivers' ability to monitor information, allocate attention and minimise the effect ....Vision Impairment and Fitness to Drive. Vision is fundamental to driving. Intuitively vision impairments will significantly affect fitness to drive. However the relationship between vision and crash risk is not well understood and current tests are unreliable. This study will describe the way in which specific vision conditions affect driving performance. The study will examine the effects of visual field loss on drivers' ability to monitor information, allocate attention and minimise the effect of distractions. Outcomes of the study will enable the development of evidence-based guidelines for assessment of vision for driving and effective countermeasures to enhance mobility and reduce crash risk.Read moreRead less
Biomarkers and objective assessment of cognitive and brain effects of fish oil dietary supplementation. There are potential widespread community benefits from knowing whether consuming fish oils will improve cognitive function. This is mainfest in children and even more so in those suffering attention deficits at a time when inattention and hyperacitvity is likely to permanently lower their overall career prospects.