Objective
Our mind constantly extracts the patterns and regularities from the environment, in a process called implicit statistical learning (ISL). Yet, humans often struggle to describe the acquired patterns; consider, for instance, the grammatical rules we effortlessly use. Indeed, empirical research shows that ISL exhibits multiple markers of unconscious operation. However, at the same time, humans invariably form partial conscious representations of what they learned. This paradox, in which conscious knowledge emerges from processes that appear unconscious, makes the relation between ISL and awareness deeply controversial.
GENESIS offers a novel solution, advancing the idea that conscious knowledge is not produced by learning itself but by a post-hoc redescription process through which the mind interprets its own unconscious computations. Thus, the paradoxical relation between awareness and ISL becomes an opportunity to investigate the mechanisms that generate awareness, under conditions of a naturally occurring representational mismatch. Specifically, GENESIS proposes that, whereas ISL builds a complex network of distributed memory traces, consciousness emerges by compressing and redescribing these traces into a simpler symbolic format. Thus, the resulting conscious contents may often diverge from the underlying knowledge acquired through ISL.
In a rich and interdisciplinary research programme combining behavioural paradigms, psychophysiology, kinematic analyses, and computational modelling, GENESIS will provide a fresh perspective on unconscious processing, conscious misrepresentation, and, more importantly, on the mechanisms that generate our conscious experience. Ultimately, GENESIS will establish a radically new empirical and theoretical framework for understanding the relation between conscious and unconscious representations that shape the human mind.
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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)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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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
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-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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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) ERC-2026-STG
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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.
400084 Cluj-Napoca
Romania
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.