Project description
A closer look at the mechanisms of human sensory representation
Humans form complex internal representations from sensory stimuli, a process investigated through various approaches such as feature detection, categorisation and learning. However, these methods have often been studied separately. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the GEPREST project will explore the unconscious mechanisms of pattern formation that work similarly across different complexities and sensory modalities, like vision and audition. By focusing on both space and time as dependent dimensions, the project tests simple to complex stimuli from pure tones to intricate patterns. Through behavioural and EEG measurements, GEPREST aims to build a hierarchical Bayesian model to provide deeper insights into human representation and its malfunctions in special populations.
Objective
The process by which humans formulate increasingly complex internal representations from sensory stimuli based on their available knowledge has been investigated traditionally by a somewhat disconnected set of approaches under various labels such as “feature detection”, “grouping”, “figure-ground segregation”, “chunking”, “categorization” and “learning”. We explore the idea that there might exist some general unconscious mechanisms of this pattern formation process that work similarly and repeatedly across different levels of complexity from basic segmentation to complex chunking-based learning and across different modalities. such as vision (typically viewed with spatial processing) and audition (associated with temporal processing). We will follow 4 principles in our work to test this. First, we will focus a) on the auditory and visual modalities, b) with space and time as the two dependent dimensions of comparison, and c) we will test the two endpoints of the complexity scale: at one end, pure tones in audition and single squares in vision easily treated by instantaneous perceptual biases and at the other end, complex time- and space-varying patterns requiring learning. Second, we will perform the equivalent version of each experiment in both modalities to check the generality of the mechanisms that establish the representations of the input. Third, we will use the same testing method across experiments, measuring behavioral sensitivity induced by the resulting representation to quantify the representation’s structure and its EEG correlates. Fourth, we will interpret our results by building a new hypothesis about humans’ internal representation into a Hierarchical Bayesian Model so that we can derive further individual- and population-specific predictions to inspire subsequent empirical work. Our integrated approach will contribute to a deeper understanding of the general principles of representation forming and its malfunctioning in special populations.
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.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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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.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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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) HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01
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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.
1100 WIEN
Austria
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.