Evolution of Mind: The representational capacities of gibbons (H. syndactylus) and the common ancestor of humans and apes. This research is the first systematic investigation into the mental capacity of gibbons. These apes are one of our closest genetic relatives. Results of the research will inform human-animal comparisons and investigations into the evolution of the human mind. More appropriate enrichment measures for captive apes could be developed as a result. It is hoped that this work will ....Evolution of Mind: The representational capacities of gibbons (H. syndactylus) and the common ancestor of humans and apes. This research is the first systematic investigation into the mental capacity of gibbons. These apes are one of our closest genetic relatives. Results of the research will inform human-animal comparisons and investigations into the evolution of the human mind. More appropriate enrichment measures for captive apes could be developed as a result. It is hoped that this work will also lead to new collaborations with Indonesia, home of many gibbon species. The proposed research continues Australia's outstanding tradition of excellence in basic research. Read moreRead less
The prediction of sleep/wake behaviour based on physiological and social factors. The prevalence of shiftwork has increased in Australia over the last few decades. Shiftworkers obtain less sleep, have greater difficulty maintaining good relationships, have poorer health, and are more likely to be injured at work than others. Using the largest dataset of its kind, we will substantially contribute to understanding the relationships between work hours, sleep, performance and safety. Ultimately, the ....The prediction of sleep/wake behaviour based on physiological and social factors. The prevalence of shiftwork has increased in Australia over the last few decades. Shiftworkers obtain less sleep, have greater difficulty maintaining good relationships, have poorer health, and are more likely to be injured at work than others. Using the largest dataset of its kind, we will substantially contribute to understanding the relationships between work hours, sleep, performance and safety. Ultimately, the project will answer a question critical to workplace safety - how much time off between shifts is needed to be alert and safe at work? The project will also produce tools to help industry design fatigue-friendly rosters, improving the safety, productivity and general well-being of shiftworkers in Australia and overseas.Read moreRead less
The nature of self-recognition: novel approaches to vexing questions. Mirror self-recognition has often been interpreted as evidence for the presence of some form of self-concept/awareness. Children from age 2 onwards investigate their own bodies after seeing a novel mark on their heads in the mirror (surreptitiously placed in their hair by the experimenter). Younger children and most animals do not respond to their images in such a way (instead, for example, treating it as another individual). ....The nature of self-recognition: novel approaches to vexing questions. Mirror self-recognition has often been interpreted as evidence for the presence of some form of self-concept/awareness. Children from age 2 onwards investigate their own bodies after seeing a novel mark on their heads in the mirror (surreptitiously placed in their hair by the experimenter). Younger children and most animals do not respond to their images in such a way (instead, for example, treating it as another individual). The present experiments probe the nature of self-recognition using novel digital video technology rather than mirrors. This technology allows us to manipulate the contingency and appearance of the image. Five studies investigate the performance of 2 to 4-year-old children, autistic children, chimpanzees and dolphins to determine whether they recognize themselves and what underwrites their performance on the tasks. The innovative use of modern technology is expected to answer some of the most persistent questions in psychology.
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Thinking about the future: The nature and development of mental time travel. This project is one of the first systematic investigations into the development of the human capacity to consider future events. A variety of novel tasks will probe what children know about the future and how it relates to their ability to reason about past events. Comparisons between children and apes will further inform us about the nature of this crucial mental skill. The findings will provide valuable information fo ....Thinking about the future: The nature and development of mental time travel. This project is one of the first systematic investigations into the development of the human capacity to consider future events. A variety of novel tasks will probe what children know about the future and how it relates to their ability to reason about past events. Comparisons between children and apes will further inform us about the nature of this crucial mental skill. The findings will provide valuable information for developing appropriate educational approaches and for our understanding of abnormalities. As international leaders in this field, we are in an ideal position to conduct this research, offer unique opportunities for postgraduate training, and to continue in Australia's outstanding tradition of excellence in basic research.Read moreRead less
Thinking Systems: Navigating Through Real and Conceptual Spaces. The project will provide fundamental insights into physical and conceptual spaces and develop applications in robotics and information systems. The project brings together national and international researchers to study how humans and other animals navigate: how trajectories through space are used to build maps, the neural bases of these mapping processes and how to use maps to achieve goals. The project will develop a new generati ....Thinking Systems: Navigating Through Real and Conceptual Spaces. The project will provide fundamental insights into physical and conceptual spaces and develop applications in robotics and information systems. The project brings together national and international researchers to study how humans and other animals navigate: how trajectories through space are used to build maps, the neural bases of these mapping processes and how to use maps to achieve goals. The project will develop a new generation of robots that can learn about the physical spaces they work in, and create concept-mapping systems that can map and navigate information spaces. Also, it will provide new insights into the mechanisms regulating human cognition and mental dysfunctions.Read moreRead less
Neural mechanisms for human form perception. This project aims to determine if there is a single cortical mechanism underlying the human ability to discriminate and recognise objects. It has been speculated that different classes of objects, or forms require different processes. Demonstrating a single process would be a significant advance towards understanding the neural mechanisms giving rise to our ability to segment visual fields into meaningful objects and background. This research provides ....Neural mechanisms for human form perception. This project aims to determine if there is a single cortical mechanism underlying the human ability to discriminate and recognise objects. It has been speculated that different classes of objects, or forms require different processes. Demonstrating a single process would be a significant advance towards understanding the neural mechanisms giving rise to our ability to segment visual fields into meaningful objects and background. This research provides a means for testing models of the neural interactions thought to be generating human form perception and will help us discover how the visual cortex converts raw sensory input into object and form perception.Read moreRead less
Stimulus fear-relevance: Exploring the boundaries of preferential attentional processing. The present project will contribute to our knowledge about the manner in which emotionally salient events are processed. It will test predictions from a current, influential theory of anxiety and in doing so, inform our understanding of information processing in psychopathology. Investigation of these basic questions can have implications for the design of therapeutic interventions. Moreover, the presen ....Stimulus fear-relevance: Exploring the boundaries of preferential attentional processing. The present project will contribute to our knowledge about the manner in which emotionally salient events are processed. It will test predictions from a current, influential theory of anxiety and in doing so, inform our understanding of information processing in psychopathology. Investigation of these basic questions can have implications for the design of therapeutic interventions. Moreover, the present project will provide the opportunity for research training for undergraduate and post graduate students. In doing so, it will enhance the quality of our culture and contribute to the discipline of psychology.Read moreRead less
How do bees orchestrate smooth landings? The results should pave the way for the development of novel, biologically inspired strategies for the control of landing in unmanned aerial vehicles. Endowing aircraft with the capability of autonomous flight and landing has been a major challenge in engineering technology. There is now considerable interest, nationally and world wide, in the development of small, intelligent, autonomous airborne vehicles for application in a number of areas of defense, ....How do bees orchestrate smooth landings? The results should pave the way for the development of novel, biologically inspired strategies for the control of landing in unmanned aerial vehicles. Endowing aircraft with the capability of autonomous flight and landing has been a major challenge in engineering technology. There is now considerable interest, nationally and world wide, in the development of small, intelligent, autonomous airborne vehicles for application in a number of areas of defense, surveillance and space exploration. The proposed research will help Australia maintain a leading edge in uncovering important biological principles of flight control that can be translated into useful technological applications.Read moreRead less
Discovery and characterization of new classes of small regulatory RNAs in mammals. The project will reaffirm and enhance Australian leadership in the most rapidly developing area of molecular biological and genetic research, by the application of ultra high-throughput sequencing technologies to discovery of regulatory RNAs, thereby to identify the characteristics of important regulatory pathways that underpin mammalian development, brain function and species diversity. The results of this resear ....Discovery and characterization of new classes of small regulatory RNAs in mammals. The project will reaffirm and enhance Australian leadership in the most rapidly developing area of molecular biological and genetic research, by the application of ultra high-throughput sequencing technologies to discovery of regulatory RNAs, thereby to identify the characteristics of important regulatory pathways that underpin mammalian development, brain function and species diversity. The results of this research will have wide implications and applications in biotechnology, genetic engineering, animal breeding, medical science and advanced informatics.Read moreRead less
Testing the ghost with the machine: Empirical investigations of cognition using high-field functional magnetic resonance imaging. The primary aim of the project is to test hypotheses about the cognitive architecture of word production and negative priming using high-field functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Additional aims/outcomes are to apply a novel fMRI acquisition sequence that permits overt verbal responding with rapid presentation of trials and collection of the time course of t ....Testing the ghost with the machine: Empirical investigations of cognition using high-field functional magnetic resonance imaging. The primary aim of the project is to test hypotheses about the cognitive architecture of word production and negative priming using high-field functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Additional aims/outcomes are to apply a novel fMRI acquisition sequence that permits overt verbal responding with rapid presentation of trials and collection of the time course of the blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) signal, and to further develop a methodology that delineates the logic of making inferences about cognitive systems from functional neuroimaging data. These represent potentially significant developments in the fields of cognitive neuroscience and functional neuroimaging.Read moreRead less