Project description
A closer look at the secrets of object perception
In the blink of an eye, our brain rapidly translates photons hitting our retina into a detailed percept of the world filled with objects. Yet, the precise neural transformations enabling this rich object perception remains a mystery, despite research efforts. Understanding how these transformations occur is crucial for deciphering the meaning of the visual world around us. The ERC-funded TRANSFORM project will explore the neural mechanisms behind rich object perception. By mapping these transformations from infancy to adulthood, TRANSFORM aims to forge a predictive model bridging brain activity and behaviour. Using brain imaging, mathematical analysis, and deep learning, it seeks to redefine our understanding of human vision and cognition.
Objective
In the blink of an eye our brain rapIn the blink of an eye our brain rapidly transforms the photons hitting our retina into a rich and detailed percept of the world as consisting of objects. By knowing what the objects are, and in what configuration these objects appear to us, we understand the meaning of the visual world around us. Yet, despite intense research how neural transformations enable rich object perception remains unclear. The overall goal of the research program TRANSFORM is to provide an explanatory theory of the neural transformations mediating rich object perception, and a predictive quantitative model embodying this theory.
Towards this goal TRANSFORM will provide three strong and novel constraints for theory and model building. First, TRANSFORM will reveal the neural transformations underlying visual object perception in the mature brain, providing the neural constraint. Second, it will unravel the link between the neural transformation and object-related behaviour, providing the behavioural constraint. Third, it will clarify the developmental trajectory of neural transformations underlying visual object perception from infancy into adulthood, providing the developmental constraint. For maximal efficiency and power in unified theory formation and model building, TRANSFORM will employ an integrated, interdisciplinary research strategy that combines i) large-scale non-invasive brain imaging to capture neural transformations in space and time with unprecedented depth, ii) advanced mathematical analysis to reveal the geometry of the transformations, and iii) computational modelling using deep neural networks to build a predictive, quantitative model of those transformations.
Through this orchestrated effort TRANSFORM will provide the empirical pieces of evidence for a new theory and model of the neural transformations mediating our rich everyday experience of object vision and change the way we think about and investigate human vision and cognition.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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.
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.
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine ophthalmology
- natural sciences mathematics pure mathematics geometry
- natural sciences physical sciences theoretical physics particle physics photons
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
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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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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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.
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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.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2023-COG
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14195 Berlin
Germany
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