Project description
Untangling impaired visual perception and prediction in autism spectrum disorder
The ability to predict future events or processes based on prior experience is a skill inherent in many living organisms, critical to their functioning and survival. In the case of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), studies support a dysfunction in an individual’s ability to sample the current visual scene to update visual ‘priors’. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the APPROVE project is conducting eye-tracking experiments based on the hypothesis that impairments associated with saccades (rapid eye movements to objects of visual interest) are responsible for the build-up of weak priors. Outcomes will enhance understanding of perceptual symptoms of ASD and potentially point to biomarkers of the condition.
Objective
"Localizing stimuli in our environment is crucial for virtually all motor, perceptual and cognitive tasks. The brain is constantly confronted with sensory information that must be processed efficiently to facilitate appropriate reactions. One way of improving processing efficiency is to predict incoming sensory information based on previous experience. However, the way in which prior experience (""priors"" within the Bayesian framework) and current sensory inputs are combined varies between individuals. This project is based on state-of-the-art eye-tracking experiments driven by recent theoretical developments in Autism Spectrum Disorder research. While abnormalities in saccade accuracy in ASD have often been reported, here we investigate the novel hypothesis that impairments in saccade efference-copy processing are responsible for the build-up of weak priors. The project focuses on the dynamic processes by which the brain samples visual scenes to update its model. Eye-movement and pupillometry indices will be used to track differences in visual behavior between ASD and matched controls. The project is intrinsically multidisciplinary, combining educational psychology, neuropsychology, psychophysics, eye-movement and pupillometyry measurement, and virtual reality. This proposal includes both the transfer of knowledge from the host institution and the training of the candidate in new advanced techniques. The results have the potential capacity to lead to a deeper understanding of the perceptual symptoms of ASD, and may also provide a biomarker of ASD. Finally, the project will provide a new theoretical framework within which to conceptualize the role of priors and predictions in visual behavior in normal and pathological eye-movement development which will lay the groundwork for new insights into the link between potential early visual behavior vulnerability in childhood and the subsequent onset of socio-communicative difficulties and behavioral stereotypes in adulthood."
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences neurobiology cognitive neuroscience
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine psychiatry
- natural sciences computer and information sciences software software applications virtual reality
- social sciences psychology developmental psychology
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2020
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
40225 Dusseldorf
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.