Project description
A closer look at our memory
Our memories don't just store events or things - we also remember how they're related to each other. This project explores the idea that we represent these relationships through patterns of attention, which can be tracked through eye movements. Early results show that people's eye movements reveal how they structure their ideas, reason, and understand stories. Based on this, we suggest the existence of 'attentional templates' in the brain that help us organise and connect our knowledge, supported by areas involved in memory. We aim to test this theory by combining advanced eye-tracking and brain imaging with deep learning methods. If successful, this work could transform our understanding of memory and influence fields like neuroscience and artificial intelligence
Objective
Declarative memory is fundamentally relational. We not only remember things or events, but also whether and how they are related to each other. Cracking the mental code that supports relational memory is one of the greatest challenges of cognitive neuroscience. Here I suggest that memories are relationally encoded through an attentional repertoire, such that different types of conceptual relationships (before/after, bigger than, part of, caused by, etc.) correspond to different dynamic attentional patterns. Such an attentional code is largely decodable from eye-movement and embodies the structure of our relational knowledge. I provide preliminary data showing that spontaneous eye movements encode conceptual similarity, as well as conceptual relationships, in abstract semantic spaces and cognitive maps; and that the eye movements of different people synchronize while listening to the same narrative even if their eyes are closed. On this basis I hypothesize that: (i) structural knowledge in the form of low-dimensional schemas is encoded in attentional templates that support relational thinking and cross-domain generalization; (ii) in principle all conceptual relationships encoded in memory can be represented through an attentional code that can be decoded from eye movements; (iii) the construction of this code through sequential movements of attention is supported by hippocampal/parietal mechanisms for sequence generation and memory consolidation; (iv) this attentional code allows us to understand each other via inter-subject synchronization of attentional schemas. I will test these hypotheses using cutting-edge eye-tracking technology, multimodal neuroimaging (fMRI, MEG, iEEG) and deep neural networks. ATCOM is a high-risk/high-gain investigation of a novel groundbreaking hypothesis that, if correct, will have a long-lasting impact in cognitive neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and related fields, reshaping the way we think about memory.
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.
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Keywords
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.
Funding Scheme
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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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38122 TRENTO
Italy
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