Attention vs Perception: When is selection optimal, when relational? This project aims to investigate an important, newly discovered dissociation between early visual selection and perceptual decision-making. Contrary to current theories, attentional and perceptual processes are tuned to different stimulus attributes described in the relational vs. optimal account, which implies that current theories of attention do not describe early attention but later, decisional processes. This project will ....Attention vs Perception: When is selection optimal, when relational? This project aims to investigate an important, newly discovered dissociation between early visual selection and perceptual decision-making. Contrary to current theories, attentional and perceptual processes are tuned to different stimulus attributes described in the relational vs. optimal account, which implies that current theories of attention do not describe early attention but later, decisional processes. This project will provide an accurate description of these processes, which promises important theoretical breakthroughs. Work on this project will also significantly advance methods to detect and describe early attentional processes, by identifying error-prone methods of Psychophysics and Neuroscience studies, and proposing remedies.Read moreRead less
Decoding the neural representation of objects in the human brain. Humans can effortlessly recognise thousands of objects in a fraction of a second. This essential capacity is an integral part of our daily lives that allows us to recognise our keys, our car, our friends and family. This project will elucidate how humans recognise objects by investigating the neural representation of objects in the brain.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100915
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$345,000.00
Summary
Uncovering the dynamics of object selection from movement trajectories. This project aims to establish the dynamic properties of selection for perception and action, and develop a computational model of object selection across perception and action. Everyday actions depend on isolating the relevant object (perceptual selection) and appropriate grasp (action selection). It was long thought that distinct and sequential stages of processing carried out perceptual and action selection, but recent fi ....Uncovering the dynamics of object selection from movement trajectories. This project aims to establish the dynamic properties of selection for perception and action, and develop a computational model of object selection across perception and action. Everyday actions depend on isolating the relevant object (perceptual selection) and appropriate grasp (action selection). It was long thought that distinct and sequential stages of processing carried out perceptual and action selection, but recent findings suggested that a single mechanism may subserve both. Through a two-pronged approach including rigorous empirical work and computational modelling, this project aims to study this fundamental aspect of human cognition.Read moreRead less
Attention please! Selective attention and human associative learning. Selective attention allows us to pick useful pieces of information out of the mass of stimulation that we're faced with every moment. This project investigates how what we've previously learnt about the significance of events influences whether we'll pick them out as useful in future, and how this might be impaired by old age or mental disorder.
Brain mechanisms for coordinating with others through sound. Distinguishing between sounds produced by self and others is critical for interpersonal coordination and communication through speech and music. This project employs a novel dual-brain electrophysiological technique with tagged audio signals to elucidate how the human brain achieves this distinction, and when and why it cannot. Expected outcomes include new knowledge on the neurophysiological mechanisms that support self-other processi ....Brain mechanisms for coordinating with others through sound. Distinguishing between sounds produced by self and others is critical for interpersonal coordination and communication through speech and music. This project employs a novel dual-brain electrophysiological technique with tagged audio signals to elucidate how the human brain achieves this distinction, and when and why it cannot. Expected outcomes include new knowledge on the neurophysiological mechanisms that support self-other processing, and the acoustic conditions and behavioural strategies that facilitate their operation. These outcomes should ultimately have applied benefits for improving interpersonal coordination and social interaction, especially in digital environments and clinical populations with atypical self-other processing.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160101064
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$373,536.00
Summary
How musical rhythms entrain the human brain. This project is designed to investigate the brain mechanisms that allow humans to feel the beat in musical rhythms. Although such activity facilitates pro-social and therapeutic effects, the underlying brain mechanisms remain unknown. The project intends to examine the interface between musical rhythms, behaviour and brain activity to increase knowledge on a fundamental process of brain function: the dynamic coupling between perception and body moveme ....How musical rhythms entrain the human brain. This project is designed to investigate the brain mechanisms that allow humans to feel the beat in musical rhythms. Although such activity facilitates pro-social and therapeutic effects, the underlying brain mechanisms remain unknown. The project intends to examine the interface between musical rhythms, behaviour and brain activity to increase knowledge on a fundamental process of brain function: the dynamic coupling between perception and body movement. The project aims to provide insight into how psychological, environmental and neural mechanisms affect entrainment to rhythmic events and inform practices for education and clinical rehabilitation.Read moreRead less
Psychological and neurophysiological mechanisms underlying human interaction in musical contexts. Human interaction in musical groups is a culturally widespread activity that showcases the remarkable capacity for precision and creativity in interpersonal coordination. Although such activity has beneficial effects, including the facilitation of prosociality and positive therapeutic outcomes, the psychological and neurophysiological mechanisms that underpin an individual’s ability to coordinate wi ....Psychological and neurophysiological mechanisms underlying human interaction in musical contexts. Human interaction in musical groups is a culturally widespread activity that showcases the remarkable capacity for precision and creativity in interpersonal coordination. Although such activity has beneficial effects, including the facilitation of prosociality and positive therapeutic outcomes, the psychological and neurophysiological mechanisms that underpin an individual’s ability to coordinate with others remain poorly understood. This project aims to investigate these mechanisms by examining relationships between behaviour, social factors, and brain structure and function in naturalistic and laboratory settings. This will inform the assessment and treatment of clinical conditions that affect movement timing and social interaction.Read moreRead less
Cortical regulation of attentional capture. The proposed experiments examine how brain mechanisms interact to determine whether a stimulus will capture our attention, distracting us from the task at hand. The experiments test competing theories of attentional control and have implications for clinical populations (for example, stroke) that have difficulty avoiding distraction.
Multimodal testing for a fast subcortical route for salient visual stimuli. This project aims to uncover links between underlying brain circuitry, uncertainty and consciousness, and perceptions of fear. The project will use a multi-modal combination of brain imaging and neural recording techniques to generate new knowledge about the brain’s processing of biologically relevant information. The expected outcomes will enhance our knowledge of how the brain rapidly and non-consciously prepares the ....Multimodal testing for a fast subcortical route for salient visual stimuli. This project aims to uncover links between underlying brain circuitry, uncertainty and consciousness, and perceptions of fear. The project will use a multi-modal combination of brain imaging and neural recording techniques to generate new knowledge about the brain’s processing of biologically relevant information. The expected outcomes will enhance our knowledge of how the brain rapidly and non-consciously prepares the body for potential escape behaviours and of the brain pathways engaged in fear perception. The outcomes have the potential to inform strategies for overcoming anxiety and its effects on daily life, social interactions and workplace productivity.Read moreRead less
Effects of audio-visual rhythmic stimulation on motor functioning. This project aims to determine how the human capacity for entrainment contributes to the development and modification of motor functions through passive perception. Human movements are spontaneously attracted to auditory and visual environmental rhythms. The intended outcome is knowledge about short and long-term effects of entrainment on spontaneous cerebral, muscular and behavioural motor activity, and how auditory rhythms comb ....Effects of audio-visual rhythmic stimulation on motor functioning. This project aims to determine how the human capacity for entrainment contributes to the development and modification of motor functions through passive perception. Human movements are spontaneously attracted to auditory and visual environmental rhythms. The intended outcome is knowledge about short and long-term effects of entrainment on spontaneous cerebral, muscular and behavioural motor activity, and how auditory rhythms combined with visual depictions of human movement modulate these effects. This research should advance the understanding of perception and action links, ultimately opening pathways for training patients with reduced movement capacities and developing health technologies.Read moreRead less