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Seen Together, Activating Together: How object co-occurrence statistics shape object representation and visual cognition

Project description

A closer look at human vision and behaviour

Deciphering visual objects involves more than meets the eye. While the role of taxonomy is clear, the impact of the co-occurrence of objects remains elusive. This dual nature of semantics complicates our understanding of visual cognition. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) programme, the STAT project aims to unravel how objects’ co-occurrence influences our visual understanding. Through fMRI and EEG, researchers will map brain activity to unveil how co-occurrence shapes object representation and cognition. The project’s four objectives range from pinpointing neural representations to understanding how they impact conscious perception and everyday tasks like visual search. By decoding how objects interact in our environment, STAT promises to redefine our comprehension of human vision and behaviour.

Objective

Visual objects in real life carry both perceptual and semantic information, which cannot readily be inferred from simple visual features and is based on prior knowledge. However, semantics is not a unitary concept; it can be separated into taxonomy (e.g. ducks and frogs are both animals) and co-occurrence (e.g. candles appear together with cakes). Previous studies have extensively characterized the role of taxonomy in visual cognition, while co-occurrence is less well-understood and more disputed. The aim of this proposal is to investigate the impact of object co-occurrence on object representation and visual cognition. The project has four objectives: First, I will use fMRI and EEG to identify where and when object co-occurrence statistics are represented in the brain, how they rival other competing organizations, and which mechanisms enable these representations. Objective 1 will provide a characterization of co-occurrence as a key organizational principle of object representation. Second, I will investigate how co-occurrence modulates neural competition between objects using fMRI. Objective 2 will clarify whether organizing objects based on co-occurrence can overcome information processing bottlenecks in the visual brain. Third, I will examine whether co-occurrence can facilitate conscious perception using the attentional blink paradigm and explore where and when neural representations of co-occurrence predict AB magnitudes. Fourth, I will investigate how and when co-occurrence impacts performance and neural processing in visual search using EEG. Objectives 3 and 4 will aid our understanding of how object co-occurrence contributes to human perception and cognition and thereby helps people to perform everyday tasks successfully. Overall, this research will provide a comprehensive characterization of how object co-occurrence in the world shapes human vision and open new avenues for explaining visual behaviors in natural environments.

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Topic(s)

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HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01

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Coordinator

JUSTUS-LIEBIG-UNIVERSITAET GIESSEN
Net EU contribution

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.

€ 173 847,36
Address
LUDWIGSTRASSE 23
35390 GIESSEN
Germany

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Region
Hessen Gießen Gießen, Landkreis
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

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