A fast comparative method for historical linguistics. Linguists are able to infer ancient histories of languages by a procedure known as the Comparative Method. Its results are used in related studies of human genetic and cultural change. However, the Comparative Method is a manual-only process and thus currently is a bottleneck for the science of unravelling the human past. This project aims to overcome this limitation and significantly accelerate linguistic discovery, by combining recent advan ....A fast comparative method for historical linguistics. Linguists are able to infer ancient histories of languages by a procedure known as the Comparative Method. Its results are used in related studies of human genetic and cultural change. However, the Comparative Method is a manual-only process and thus currently is a bottleneck for the science of unravelling the human past. This project aims to overcome this limitation and significantly accelerate linguistic discovery, by combining recent advances in computational language processing, statistics and cultural-evolutionary modelling. By producing innovative mathematical means for rapidly discovering ancient language relationships, it will enable a breakthrough in our capacity to uncover human linguistic, genetic and cultural heritage worldwide.Read moreRead less
Speech perception precedes, indexes, and is changed by language acquisition. What is exceptional about human infants is not their sophisticated speech perception (for animals perceive human speech similarly) but their use of speech to regulate linguistic attention and bootstrap language. Using a new validated measure, language specific speech perception (discrimination ability for native minus non-native speech sounds), we can ascertain children's distribution of resources in linguistic tasks. T ....Speech perception precedes, indexes, and is changed by language acquisition. What is exceptional about human infants is not their sophisticated speech perception (for animals perceive human speech similarly) but their use of speech to regulate linguistic attention and bootstrap language. Using a new validated measure, language specific speech perception (discrimination ability for native minus non-native speech sounds), we can ascertain children's distribution of resources in linguistic tasks. This measure will be used in conjunction with a raft of experimental psycholinguistic techniques to investigate speech perception bases of phoneme perception, tone perception, word meaning, reading, and their vestiges in adulthood, to arrive at a dynamic new conception of language development. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100164
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$387,551.00
Summary
How do neural circuits coordinate to produce adaptive changes in behaviour? This project aims to discover how neurons alter their function in coordinated ways to produce adaptive changes in behaviour. Behavioural outputs result from the activity of multiple cells in a functional network, but current methods are limited to studying signalling effects on single neurons. To address this, I will develop new methods to visualise every cell in the brain of the living nematode worm to provide a unique ....How do neural circuits coordinate to produce adaptive changes in behaviour? This project aims to discover how neurons alter their function in coordinated ways to produce adaptive changes in behaviour. Behavioural outputs result from the activity of multiple cells in a functional network, but current methods are limited to studying signalling effects on single neurons. To address this, I will develop new methods to visualise every cell in the brain of the living nematode worm to provide a unique systems-level understanding of a model brain. Through collaboration with engineers and psychologists, I will describe molecular switches that trigger reorganisation of entire neural networks. Expected outcomes include new insights on neural circuit plasticity, which will advance discovery in neuroscience and robotics.Read moreRead less
A Method for Analysis of Complexity in Cognitive Processes: Applications to Prediction of Industrial Workloads. The project will develop a method for analysis of cognitive complexity in human and animal cognition. It will contribute to basic research because it will enable equivalences and relative complexities of cognitive functions to be determined, independent of content or methodology. It will have applications to education, because it enables complexities of concepts to be recognised and a ....A Method for Analysis of Complexity in Cognitive Processes: Applications to Prediction of Industrial Workloads. The project will develop a method for analysis of cognitive complexity in human and animal cognition. It will contribute to basic research because it will enable equivalences and relative complexities of cognitive functions to be determined, independent of content or methodology. It will have applications to education, because it enables complexities of concepts to be recognised and appropriate pedagogies determined. It also has application to human factors, especially industrial performance and decision making. It will advance on currrent methods because it enables workload to be analysed and predicted, so that it can be factored into job and system design. Read moreRead less
Understanding the robustness and plasticity of metabolite concentrations. This project aims to further the understanding of how organisms mitigate the effects of changing environment by altering metabolite concentrations, important for food quality, energetics, and health. Through this understanding, the project provides the potential to precisely tailor metabolic intervention strategies, highly beneficial for applied sciences. The expected outcome of the project is a suite of computational appr ....Understanding the robustness and plasticity of metabolite concentrations. This project aims to further the understanding of how organisms mitigate the effects of changing environment by altering metabolite concentrations, important for food quality, energetics, and health. Through this understanding, the project provides the potential to precisely tailor metabolic intervention strategies, highly beneficial for applied sciences. The expected outcome of the project is a suite of computational approaches that allow for integration of large-scale data with networks to predict metabolite concentration ranges. This will provide significant benefit with the aim of maintaining outstanding research in Australia, and has clear potential for improved human health and enhanced food quality via metabolic reprogramming.Read moreRead less