Project description
Studying how working memory works
Working memory (WM) plays a central role in our mental life. It is the ability to hold and manipulate information in our mind over brief intervals, like when we need to remember a phone number. The question is how the brain balances between internal storage and external sampling when the remembered information is no longer physically present. The EU-funded HOMEOSTASIS project hypothesises that WM maintains a perceptual homeostasis by dynamically trading the costs of accurate internal storage against external sampling of the external visual world. To test the hypothesis, the project will study WM in interaction with the physically present environment. Electroencephalographic decoding techniques will be used to decode the current content. Virtual reality technology will also be used to study WM in interaction with worlds of varying reliability and familiarity.
Objective
While interacting with the external world, the brain can only represent very little of this world in working memory (WM). WM is therefore generally referred to as a limited-capacity system. This limitation is not a problem in daily life, however, because the external world typically remains available and can be accessed relatively easily. The current dominant theory of WM does not explain how the brain balances between internal storage and external sampling, as this theory exclusively relates to situations in which the remembered information is no longer physically present. The HOMEOSTASIS project is motivated by the idea that WM should be studied in interaction with the world that is still within view.
HOMEOSTASIS will develop a new theoretical model of WM based on an internal mental economy: I propose that WM maintains a perceptual homeostasis by dynamically trading the costs of accurate internal storage against external sampling of the external visual world. Whereas current research on WM has a strong focus on its maximum capacity, this capacity may hardly be used as observers prefer to minimize internal storage due to the effortful nature of WM storage.
I will rigorously test the models theoretical basis using novel experimental paradigms in which WM is studied in interaction with the physically present environment. To decode the current content of WM, I will adopt state-of-the-art electroencephalographic decoding techniques. To study WM in interaction with worlds of varying reliability and familiarity, I will employ virtual reality technology. Finally, I will investigate patients with restricted deficits to specific components of the model and use machine learning techniques to discover biometric signatures in eye movements.
This new model of WM will open a new window to diagnose WM disorders and for understanding how we interact with computer-manipulated virtual environments in an increasingly computer-dominated world.
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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H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - 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
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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.
ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant
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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-2019-COG
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3584 CS Utrecht
Netherlands
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