The development of predictive brain function in preschool children. This project aims to track developmental changes in brain activity and connectivity in typically developing three-to-six year-old children. The preschool years are a time of huge change in children's cognitive abilities, but little is known of the corresponding changes in brain function. This work will use child-optimised magnetoencephalography to test the hypothesis that early cognitive development is characterised by refinemen ....The development of predictive brain function in preschool children. This project aims to track developmental changes in brain activity and connectivity in typically developing three-to-six year-old children. The preschool years are a time of huge change in children's cognitive abilities, but little is known of the corresponding changes in brain function. This work will use child-optimised magnetoencephalography to test the hypothesis that early cognitive development is characterised by refinement of the brain's innate ability to generate predictions about the sensory environment. The resulting insights could improve understanding of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100201
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$460,806.00
Summary
Learning how we learn: linking inhibitory brain circuits to motor learning. Understanding the relationship between brain activity and human behaviour is a fundamental question in neuroscience. This project aims to contribute to this question by using cutting-edge brain stimulation techniques to demonstrate causal relationships between inhibitory brain circuit activity and motor learning. This project expects to generate fundamental knowledge about the relationship between the brain and behaviour ....Learning how we learn: linking inhibitory brain circuits to motor learning. Understanding the relationship between brain activity and human behaviour is a fundamental question in neuroscience. This project aims to contribute to this question by using cutting-edge brain stimulation techniques to demonstrate causal relationships between inhibitory brain circuit activity and motor learning. This project expects to generate fundamental knowledge about the relationship between the brain and behaviours. Eventually, this may contribute to the development of optimised training protocols in healthy populations such as school children, recreational and elite athletes, medical and military personnel, and ageing adults, as well as the development of brain stimulation interventions to improve motor learning.Read moreRead less
How inequalities affect attitudes and behaviours concerning sex and gender. This project addresses how economic inequalities—between and within the sexes—shape behaviour, gender sentiment, and violence both online and ‘in real life’. The research brings evolutionary understandings of sexual marketplaces together with the psychology of social behaviour, to shed new light on the origins of sexual conflict and harmful gender ideologies. This project integrates within-individual variation, careful e ....How inequalities affect attitudes and behaviours concerning sex and gender. This project addresses how economic inequalities—between and within the sexes—shape behaviour, gender sentiment, and violence both online and ‘in real life’. The research brings evolutionary understandings of sexual marketplaces together with the psychology of social behaviour, to shed new light on the origins of sexual conflict and harmful gender ideologies. This project integrates within-individual variation, careful experimental dissection of the sources of inequality, and the study of large-scale (among cities, among countries) patterns of behaviour on social media. A fuller understanding of how and why inequalities affect behaviour presents opportunities for improved social policy and responses to gendered violence and cyberhate.Read moreRead less
Learning how people read: Models, brains, big data and maths. Aims: This project aims to understand how people read. We will use novel mathematical methods, experimentation, brain imaging and computational modelling to adjudicate between model predictions.
Significance: This project expects to develop methods to understand and test important aspects of reading.
Expected outcomes: Expected outcomes are the development of novel methods for understanding complex models and the collection of data t ....Learning how people read: Models, brains, big data and maths. Aims: This project aims to understand how people read. We will use novel mathematical methods, experimentation, brain imaging and computational modelling to adjudicate between model predictions.
Significance: This project expects to develop methods to understand and test important aspects of reading.
Expected outcomes: Expected outcomes are the development of novel methods for understanding complex models and the collection of data that can extend and falsify current models of reading.
Benefits: These developments will significantly increase our understanding of how people read and what causes dyslexia. This work will also provide new ways to evaluate complex computational psychological models.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190100850
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$402,252.00
Summary
Learning to read and understand complex words. This project aims to study the development of morphological reading skills from kindergarten through to high school, providing insights into the full spectrum of abilities required to move from novice to expert reader. Over 80 per cent of English words comprise multiple morphemes, but how children learn to read such complex words is not well understood. Understanding this key reading process will have the potential to inform reading instruction prac ....Learning to read and understand complex words. This project aims to study the development of morphological reading skills from kindergarten through to high school, providing insights into the full spectrum of abilities required to move from novice to expert reader. Over 80 per cent of English words comprise multiple morphemes, but how children learn to read such complex words is not well understood. Understanding this key reading process will have the potential to inform reading instruction practices from primary school through to high school. Expected outcomes are a richer understanding of the predictors, developmental time-course, and mechanisms involved in the acquisition of morphological processes in reading. This project has the potential to inform the effectiveness of explicit morphological teaching and intervention, to the benefit of Australia’s children.Read moreRead less
Goal pursuit decisions under environmental and social uncertainty. This project aims to develop an integrative computational model that explains how people prioritise the allocation of resources to different goals in the face of uncertainty. The project seeks to test a new theory through a series of experiments in which participants pursue goals by themselves in unpredictable environments, or in competition against an opponent. Expected outcomes include an integrated theory that accounts for the ....Goal pursuit decisions under environmental and social uncertainty. This project aims to develop an integrative computational model that explains how people prioritise the allocation of resources to different goals in the face of uncertainty. The project seeks to test a new theory through a series of experiments in which participants pursue goals by themselves in unpredictable environments, or in competition against an opponent. Expected outcomes include an integrated theory that accounts for the effects of both environmental and social uncertainty in the pursuit of multiple goals. Intended benefits include the development of computational models that can simulate human decision making in complex environments, analyse new concepts of operation, redesign work roles, and identify factors that reduce risk in decision-making.Read moreRead less
Misinformation: Evidence evaluation in an alternate fact reality . This project aims to understand why people believe misinformation. Misinformation causes some people to adopt implausible beliefs. These beliefs pose a significant challenge for society because they can result in behaviours that negatively impact personal and public safety. By combining surveys, qualitative analysis, and systematic experimentation, this project will identify differences in evidence evaluation and persuasiveness b ....Misinformation: Evidence evaluation in an alternate fact reality . This project aims to understand why people believe misinformation. Misinformation causes some people to adopt implausible beliefs. These beliefs pose a significant challenge for society because they can result in behaviours that negatively impact personal and public safety. By combining surveys, qualitative analysis, and systematic experimentation, this project will identify differences in evidence evaluation and persuasiveness between people who believe misinformation and those who do not. It is anticipated that our novel approach will build knowledge about misinformation effects and will reduce associated harms by expanding our understanding of how to communicate effectively with people who are persuaded by misinformation.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100614
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$443,007.00
Summary
How does the brain process conflicting information? Learning is the means by which we adapt to our environments. Occasionally, what we learn contradicts our present knowledge about the world. When this occurs, the old and new (contradictory) information compete for control over behaviour. Yet, how the brain processes contradictory information and resolves this competition is poorly understood. This project uses modern genetic tools in rodents to examine how the brain encodes and retrieves contra ....How does the brain process conflicting information? Learning is the means by which we adapt to our environments. Occasionally, what we learn contradicts our present knowledge about the world. When this occurs, the old and new (contradictory) information compete for control over behaviour. Yet, how the brain processes contradictory information and resolves this competition is poorly understood. This project uses modern genetic tools in rodents to examine how the brain encodes and retrieves contradictory information to influence behaviour. The outcomes include new insights regarding the neural basis of adaptive behaviour; and the benefits include an understanding of why we sometimes fail to adapt to change, and disorders characterized by such failures (e.g., anxiety disorders, addiction).Read moreRead less
Risky choices: From cells and circuits to computations and behaviour. This project aims to ask and answer fundamental questions about how we safely make risky decisions to guide our behaviour. It combines theoretically driven approaches from experimental psychology with state-of-the-art technology for mapping and manipulating brain function. The project expects to show, with unprecedented behavioural, brain cell type, and circuit precision, how we safely make choices, how these choices are shape ....Risky choices: From cells and circuits to computations and behaviour. This project aims to ask and answer fundamental questions about how we safely make risky decisions to guide our behaviour. It combines theoretically driven approaches from experimental psychology with state-of-the-art technology for mapping and manipulating brain function. The project expects to show, with unprecedented behavioural, brain cell type, and circuit precision, how we safely make choices, how these choices are shaped by experience, and how controlling these cells and circuits controls choice. This outcome should provide significant benefits including a new knowledge base bridging behavioural, cognitive, and neural sciences to advance theories of behaviour and laying a new basic science platform to understand impulsive behaviours.Read moreRead less
Animal social behaviour and emerging infectious fungal diseases in nature. This project aims to improve knowledge about the central role that animal social behaviour plays in the spread of emerging infectious fungal diseases in nature. Applying approaches from behavioural ecology, network modelling and quantitative genetics, and utilising rare empirical pre- and post-infection data, the project expects to generate new understandings about how fungal diseases spread through animal populations, ho ....Animal social behaviour and emerging infectious fungal diseases in nature. This project aims to improve knowledge about the central role that animal social behaviour plays in the spread of emerging infectious fungal diseases in nature. Applying approaches from behavioural ecology, network modelling and quantitative genetics, and utilising rare empirical pre- and post-infection data, the project expects to generate new understandings about how fungal diseases spread through animal populations, how animal social behaviour influences disease transmission, and how disease-status affects animal social behaviour. This project should have international impact, and advance current knowledge about disease dynamics. Applied outcomes should inform much-needed control strategies to benefit wildlife and preserve biodiversity. Read moreRead less