How the brain learns and uses inhibitory predictions. Humans and other animals readily learn about cues and actions that predict the absence of important events. Yet, how and where such inhibitory predictions are processed in the mammalian brain remains unclear. This project aims to demonstrate that inhibitory predictions are generally encoded and retrieved in the medial prefrontal cortex, without any detailed information about the absent events. It combines a unique behavioural approach with th ....How the brain learns and uses inhibitory predictions. Humans and other animals readily learn about cues and actions that predict the absence of important events. Yet, how and where such inhibitory predictions are processed in the mammalian brain remains unclear. This project aims to demonstrate that inhibitory predictions are generally encoded and retrieved in the medial prefrontal cortex, without any detailed information about the absent events. It combines a unique behavioural approach with the latest tools for manipulation of brain activity in behaving rodents. The project expects to generate new insights into how the mammalian brain extracts inhibitory predictions from the environment to guide our behaviours and decisions in the most optimal way.Read moreRead less
Understanding Growth in Emotion Regulatory Flexibility in Emerging Adults. Emerging adults (ages 18-25) are now facing unparalleled social and technological change and the on-going effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Such demands can be overwhelming and undermine engagement with education and employment, with serious impacts for the individual and society. At the same time, our novel model proposes that the diverse daily adult-like stressors that characterise emerging adulthood can also drive grow ....Understanding Growth in Emotion Regulatory Flexibility in Emerging Adults. Emerging adults (ages 18-25) are now facing unparalleled social and technological change and the on-going effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Such demands can be overwhelming and undermine engagement with education and employment, with serious impacts for the individual and society. At the same time, our novel model proposes that the diverse daily adult-like stressors that characterise emerging adulthood can also drive growth in flexible emotion regulation when combined with reflection on, and insight into, their own coping processes. Our research expands scientific knowledge by taking the first steps to uncover why some emerging adults increase their ability to flexibly regulate their emotions over this period, whereas others fail to do so.Read moreRead less
From me to you and beyond: understanding socially-induced nocebo effects. Nocebo effects – when negative expectancies trigger adverse outcomes – cause enormous personal and societal harm. We have made great progress understanding how instruction and conditioning contribute to nocebo effects. Yet, the role of social learning – what we learn by observing others – has received surprisingly little attention despite its relevance to many prominent societal-level nocebo effects. The current project us ....From me to you and beyond: understanding socially-induced nocebo effects. Nocebo effects – when negative expectancies trigger adverse outcomes – cause enormous personal and societal harm. We have made great progress understanding how instruction and conditioning contribute to nocebo effects. Yet, the role of social learning – what we learn by observing others – has received surprisingly little attention despite its relevance to many prominent societal-level nocebo effects. The current project uses novel experimental methods to understand how social learning contributes to nocebo effects and which strategies inhibit these effects. The results will significantly advance scientific understanding of socially-induced nocebo effects and pave the way for translational research to reduce the substantial harm they cause.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100206
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$423,154.00
Summary
Pain: Open to interpretation? This project aims to determine how pain interpretation drives pain experience, using rigorous state-of-the-art lab research. This project expects to generate new knowledge about the psychological mechanisms maintaining pain experience and avoidance behaviour, using novel techniques to measure interpretation of pain sensations. Expected outcomes include the development of an evidence-based psychological model of pain interpretation, enhanced capacity to build interna ....Pain: Open to interpretation? This project aims to determine how pain interpretation drives pain experience, using rigorous state-of-the-art lab research. This project expects to generate new knowledge about the psychological mechanisms maintaining pain experience and avoidance behaviour, using novel techniques to measure interpretation of pain sensations. Expected outcomes include the development of an evidence-based psychological model of pain interpretation, enhanced capacity to build international collaborations, and ecologically valid methods for measuring pain interpretation. This research forms a solid platform for further translational research, to build novel, scalable interventions to improve outcomes for the one in five Australians living with chronic pain.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL220100061
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,147,256.00
Summary
Literacy in adolescence: The next major challenge in the science of reading. This project aims to address the pressing problem of why Australian secondary school children have been declining in literacy. To do so is crucial, since adolescence is a period when strong literacy is critical for knowledge acquisition and preparation for adult life. The project will use a range of theoretically-informed methods to scrutinise cognitive processes in adolescent reading, as well as identify interactions b ....Literacy in adolescence: The next major challenge in the science of reading. This project aims to address the pressing problem of why Australian secondary school children have been declining in literacy. To do so is crucial, since adolescence is a period when strong literacy is critical for knowledge acquisition and preparation for adult life. The project will use a range of theoretically-informed methods to scrutinise cognitive processes in adolescent reading, as well as identify interactions between reading progress and socio-emotional functioning and motivation. Expected outcomes will be the first comprehensive account of secondary school reading acquisition and new insights into how to optimise progress. These will inform research, policy, and reading instruction practice, to the benefit of Australia's children.Read moreRead less
Contextual modulation in high-level vision. This project aims to understand the nature and mechanisms of spatial contextual modulation and the relationship between spatial and temporal context. Contextual modulation refers to the sometimes profound changes in the appearance of the visual image caused by interactions across space and time. Little work has been done to examine whether spatial context effects exist for high-level attributes of objects, and socially relevant stimuli such as heads an ....Contextual modulation in high-level vision. This project aims to understand the nature and mechanisms of spatial contextual modulation and the relationship between spatial and temporal context. Contextual modulation refers to the sometimes profound changes in the appearance of the visual image caused by interactions across space and time. Little work has been done to examine whether spatial context effects exist for high-level attributes of objects, and socially relevant stimuli such as heads and bodies. This project expects to provide new knowledge regarding the way that contextual modulation is mediated by interactions within the normal human visual system. This will provide significant societal benefits as contextual interactions in sensory processing can have profound consequences for our perceptual experience.Read moreRead less
Extracting meaning from motion. This project aims to understand how the human visual system uses motion signals to detect the presence of other people and nonhuman animals. This question links vision science to social experience, and will be addressed using rigorous methods for studying human vision combined with 3D graphical modelling of interactive motion. The expected outcomes include an improved theoretical understanding of how rich, social information is extracted from motion signals in the ....Extracting meaning from motion. This project aims to understand how the human visual system uses motion signals to detect the presence of other people and nonhuman animals. This question links vision science to social experience, and will be addressed using rigorous methods for studying human vision combined with 3D graphical modelling of interactive motion. The expected outcomes include an improved theoretical understanding of how rich, social information is extracted from motion signals in the brain and the introduction of new techniques for testing an individual's social perception. This is expected to provide the knowledge and methodological tools to progress research in clinical neuroscience, computer vision, and interactive robotics.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100139
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$426,979.00
Summary
Understanding the neural dynamics of colour constancy and feature binding. A key open question in visual neuroscience is how sensory input is combined with higher-level influences (e.g. attentional state). This project aims to address this using neuroimaging techniques combined with sophisticated analysis methods that were recently developed to measure when stimulus-related information is being transferred between different brain regions. These methods will be used to investigate the neural mech ....Understanding the neural dynamics of colour constancy and feature binding. A key open question in visual neuroscience is how sensory input is combined with higher-level influences (e.g. attentional state). This project aims to address this using neuroimaging techniques combined with sophisticated analysis methods that were recently developed to measure when stimulus-related information is being transferred between different brain regions. These methods will be used to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying two fundamental phenomena in visual perception: feature binding and colour constancy. Understanding the neural mechanisms by which sensory input interacts with attention for these tasks would be a major advance in understanding how interactions between brain regions give rise to our perceptual experiences.Read moreRead less
Cortical layers: examining the role of feedback in human visual perception. This project aims to generate a detailed mechanistic understanding of the neural circuitry underlying human visual perception. Through an international collaboration with the world-renowned Max Planck Institute, Germany, the project will exploit powerful new tools to measure human brain activity in cortical layers to test major theoretical models of human vision. The anticipated results are expected to significantly adva ....Cortical layers: examining the role of feedback in human visual perception. This project aims to generate a detailed mechanistic understanding of the neural circuitry underlying human visual perception. Through an international collaboration with the world-renowned Max Planck Institute, Germany, the project will exploit powerful new tools to measure human brain activity in cortical layers to test major theoretical models of human vision. The anticipated results are expected to significantly advance our basic understanding of how the human visual system parses complex visual input into objects and visual scenes, which may inform the development of artificial vision systems.Read moreRead less
Improving novice drivers' speed and hazard management. The aim of the study is to extend the evidence-based approach we have developed for speed management (cognitive integration speed management training) to hazard management, thereby developing cognitive integration hazard management training for young drivers. Hence, this study is specifically designed to curb the alarming trend in young driver fatalities on Australian roads. The results of the research will provide clear direction to road au ....Improving novice drivers' speed and hazard management. The aim of the study is to extend the evidence-based approach we have developed for speed management (cognitive integration speed management training) to hazard management, thereby developing cognitive integration hazard management training for young drivers. Hence, this study is specifically designed to curb the alarming trend in young driver fatalities on Australian roads. The results of the research will provide clear direction to road authorities and driver training providers as to effective training strategies to improve young driver training, and ultimately improve road safety with this vulnerable population.Read moreRead less