Philosophical perspectives on psychedelic psychiatry. This project aims to develop a multi-level integrated theory of self-representation and self-awareness that explains the effects of psychedelic therapy in particular, and transformative experience in general. Psychedelic drugs can produce lasting psychotherapeutic benefits. The mechanism is a dramatic but temporary alteration to the ordinary sense of self, known as “ego dissolution”. However, fundamental questions about self-representation an ....Philosophical perspectives on psychedelic psychiatry. This project aims to develop a multi-level integrated theory of self-representation and self-awareness that explains the effects of psychedelic therapy in particular, and transformative experience in general. Psychedelic drugs can produce lasting psychotherapeutic benefits. The mechanism is a dramatic but temporary alteration to the ordinary sense of self, known as “ego dissolution”. However, fundamental questions about self-representation and its neural and cognitive implementation remain unresolved. In order to explain ego dissolution and its therapeutic effects, this project aims to integrate two theoretical approaches to self-representation situated at the intersection of philosophy and cognitive neuroscience, the predictive coding theory of brain function and the self-binding theory of self-representation. Such a framework has potential to anchor further interdisciplinary research and practical intervention in disorders of the self.Read moreRead less
Neurochemical predictors of cognition and the impact of brain stimulation. This project aims to determine how neurochemical equilibrium between excitation and inhibition (E/I balance), across the brain, is associated with executive function and how this balance is influenced by non-invasive brain stimulation. Brain stimulation shows immense promise for enhancing executive function in applied settings, but the neurochemical basis for this is unknown. Using advanced imaging and stimulation techniq ....Neurochemical predictors of cognition and the impact of brain stimulation. This project aims to determine how neurochemical equilibrium between excitation and inhibition (E/I balance), across the brain, is associated with executive function and how this balance is influenced by non-invasive brain stimulation. Brain stimulation shows immense promise for enhancing executive function in applied settings, but the neurochemical basis for this is unknown. Using advanced imaging and stimulation techniques, the project aims to provide comprehensive insights into the causal relationship between stimulation, E/I balance and executive function. Outcomes and benefits include identifying neurochemical characteristics that determine stimulation efficacy and informing the design of protocols for applied use.Read moreRead less
The Dreamscape Project: Phenomenology and neurophysiology of dreams. The Dreamscape Project aims to discover the neural basis of dreaming. Building on the world’s largest database of sleep electroencephalograms (EEG) and associated dream reports, the project applies cutting-edge analyses of neural activity to resolve why each night, healthy adults alternate between unconscious sleep and vivid dreams. The results promise to shed light on the mystery of dreaming and help locate consciousness in th ....The Dreamscape Project: Phenomenology and neurophysiology of dreams. The Dreamscape Project aims to discover the neural basis of dreaming. Building on the world’s largest database of sleep electroencephalograms (EEG) and associated dream reports, the project applies cutting-edge analyses of neural activity to resolve why each night, healthy adults alternate between unconscious sleep and vivid dreams. The results promise to shed light on the mystery of dreaming and help locate consciousness in the physical world. Expected outcomes include best-practice guidelines for dream research and a model of open data-sharing for consciousness science. Anticipated benefits include deeper understanding of how and why everyone dreams, the role of dreams in waking life, and their impact on sleep quality and well-being.Read moreRead less
Changing philosophical perceptions of belief in a post-truth world. This project aims to investigate and illuminate the processes underlying belief formation by using the tools of philosophy and cognitive science. Recent events have led many commentators to suggest that we live in a post-truth world. Beliefs seem decreasingly sensitive to evidence and instead, we believe what we want to believe. By developing a deeper understanding of the nature of belief and of the mechanisms that cause belief ....Changing philosophical perceptions of belief in a post-truth world. This project aims to investigate and illuminate the processes underlying belief formation by using the tools of philosophy and cognitive science. Recent events have led many commentators to suggest that we live in a post-truth world. Beliefs seem decreasingly sensitive to evidence and instead, we believe what we want to believe. By developing a deeper understanding of the nature of belief and of the mechanisms that cause belief change, the project will develop concrete proposals for making beliefs more responsive to evidence, and to assess the ethical permissibility of utilising these proposals. It will develop tools that allow for better informed decision-making.Read moreRead less
Minds in skilled performance: Explanatory framework and comparative study. This project aims to develop an explanatory framework to characterise states of mind necessary for skilled performance, and show how intelligence and emotion affect performance. The theoretical grounding of skilled performance is controversial. This project will use and refine core ideas from enactivist approaches to embodied cognition to address philosophical challenges that block understanding of its basis. The project ....Minds in skilled performance: Explanatory framework and comparative study. This project aims to develop an explanatory framework to characterise states of mind necessary for skilled performance, and show how intelligence and emotion affect performance. The theoretical grounding of skilled performance is controversial. This project will use and refine core ideas from enactivist approaches to embodied cognition to address philosophical challenges that block understanding of its basis. The project will draw on Phenomenology, Pragmatism and Japanese "do". clarifying and recontextualising what they have to offer to contemporary thinking about skilled performance.Read moreRead less
Towards a cognitive process model of how attention and choice interact. Before making any decision, we must gather information on what options are available. This process may influence the choices we make: if we do not notice an option, we will not choose it even if it would have been valuable. This project aims to examine how prior experience can produce attentional biases that influence decisions, and will develop a new computational model of this interaction of attention and choice as an outc ....Towards a cognitive process model of how attention and choice interact. Before making any decision, we must gather information on what options are available. This process may influence the choices we make: if we do not notice an option, we will not choose it even if it would have been valuable. This project aims to examine how prior experience can produce attentional biases that influence decisions, and will develop a new computational model of this interaction of attention and choice as an outcome. This new knowledge will enhance the world-class status of Australian cognitive psychology. Moreover, it should provide significant benefits through improving our ability to predict and shape behaviour, and shedding light on the role of biases in healthy cognition and in the context of compulsive behaviours.Read moreRead less
Towards Closure on the Animal Pain Debate. This project aims to address the question about which animals feel pain by framing multiple current debates into a single narrative focused on the fundamental principle in evolutionary biology that structure determines function. This project is significant because the question as to whether or not an animal (such as a fish or octopus) feels pain is highly contentious across both science and philosophy and arguments are plagued by simplistic anecdotes an ....Towards Closure on the Animal Pain Debate. This project aims to address the question about which animals feel pain by framing multiple current debates into a single narrative focused on the fundamental principle in evolutionary biology that structure determines function. This project is significant because the question as to whether or not an animal (such as a fish or octopus) feels pain is highly contentious across both science and philosophy and arguments are plagued by simplistic anecdotes and poor analogies. The ramifications of this confusion for animal welfare and food security are considerable. Expected outcomes include the development of shared principles of reasoning and structural constraints on the attribution of pain that promise to move the debate towards consensus.Read moreRead less
Using cognitive models to understand memorability of real world images. This proposal aims to understand and make predictions about which real world images -- specifically living things, objects, and human faces -- that people will remember remember via an integration of cognitive models of memory and machine learning techniques. Computer vision models and similarity scaling techniques will be used to produce psychological representations of the images. These representations will then be integra ....Using cognitive models to understand memorability of real world images. This proposal aims to understand and make predictions about which real world images -- specifically living things, objects, and human faces -- that people will remember remember via an integration of cognitive models of memory and machine learning techniques. Computer vision models and similarity scaling techniques will be used to produce psychological representations of the images. These representations will then be integrated with cognitive models of memory, which predict that images are more likely to be recognized if they are similar to each of the representations in memory. Large scale memory and similarity rating datasets will be used to develop and test the model.Read moreRead less
The Misinformation Future—Confronting Emerging Threats. Misinformation presents challenges to public health and democracy. Though psychological research has explored processing mechanisms and countermeasures, new threats are arising that need to be confronted. This project aims to help meet these threats by (a) investigating misinformation impacts on future-oriented cognition and behaviours, with a focus on global long-term issues and (b) addressing the unique challenges posed by visual and synt ....The Misinformation Future—Confronting Emerging Threats. Misinformation presents challenges to public health and democracy. Though psychological research has explored processing mechanisms and countermeasures, new threats are arising that need to be confronted. This project aims to help meet these threats by (a) investigating misinformation impacts on future-oriented cognition and behaviours, with a focus on global long-term issues and (b) addressing the unique challenges posed by visual and synthetic (AI-generated) misinformation. The expected outcome is new knowledge on the processing and impacts of emerging types of misinformation and translation into practical interventions. These promise to benefit consumers, educators and policymakers, contributing to a healthier information environment.Read moreRead less
Finding equivalence between natural and artificial intelligences. This project aims to investigate the ways in which artificial intelligence is equivalent to human intelligence. Computers outperform humans in many domains, yet it is clear that computers often don’t perform tasks the way humans do. Developing innovative methods for evaluating claims of equivalence by drawing on simpler, well-understood model systems like the honeybee brain, the project expects to fill this existing knowledge gap. ....Finding equivalence between natural and artificial intelligences. This project aims to investigate the ways in which artificial intelligence is equivalent to human intelligence. Computers outperform humans in many domains, yet it is clear that computers often don’t perform tasks the way humans do. Developing innovative methods for evaluating claims of equivalence by drawing on simpler, well-understood model systems like the honeybee brain, the project expects to fill this existing knowledge gap. Expected outcomes include a framework that provides powerful, nuanced criteria for comparison of natural and artificial intelligences. Benefits are expected to include enhanced guidance for the development of AI systems both in everyday contexts and as exploratory tools in comparative and cognitive neuroscience.Read moreRead less