PostDoctoral Research Fellowship

博士后研究奖学金

• 批准号: 0309998
• 负责人: Alejandro Lleras
• 金额: $ 10万
• 依托单位: Lleras Alejandro
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fellowship Award
• 财政年份: 2003
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2003-07-01 至 2005-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0309998&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: PostDoctoral; Research; Fellowship

This Minority Post-Doctoral Research and Training Fellowship will be conducted at the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver, Canada, under the supervision of Dr. Alan Kingstone. The central topic of investigation is a phenomenon known as Troxler Fading (Troxler, 1804). Troxler Fading (TF) occurs when an observer pays attention to an object (the target) in his/her peripheral field of vision, while keeping his/her eyes focused on a secondary object. After several seconds of sustained attention, the target disappears from the observer's view for a few seconds. At its location, the observer instead perceives a smooth continuation of the background surface. This phenomenon is also known as perceptual filling-in, a name that reflects the introspective experience of seen the target getting filled-in by the background. The research project is divided into three related, though almost independent, sub-projects. The first sub-project is centered on learning the technique of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and applying it to the study of TF. The objective of this sub-project will be to identify the areas of the brain where the fading and filling-in of the target takes place. The results from this sub-project will not only have implications regarding theories of TF, but also regarding theories of normal surface perception. The second sub-project is centered on learning the technique of Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) and using it to investigate TF and perceptual awareness. The objective of this sub-project will be to utilize the "visual" or "sensory" ERPs (the so-called P1/N1 complex), which are believed to reflect the cortical processing of visual stimuli, as a functional marker to determine whether visual events occurring at the faded location are processed by the visual cortex. The results from this project will have important implications regarding theories of perceptual awareness and TF, as well as, theories regarding how sensory information is processed by the visual system. The third sub-project is a continuation of the behavioral investigation of TF. In this sub-project, the factors determining the duration of fading events will be investigated. Factors such as eye movements and coverts shift of visual attention (i.e., moving the focus of attention without accompanying eye movements) will be studied. The results of this project will have important implications regarding theories of TF and selective attention. Furthermore, when interpreted in the context of the other two sub-projects, these results will also provide important new information regarding the different brain regions where visual selective attention can influence perceptual processing. The University of British Columbia is uniquely equipped to house a project with the scope of the present proposal. UBC has research-dedicated, state-of-the-art, fMRI and ERP facilities at the Brain Research Center. Furthermore, UBC hosts a select group of highly expert academics in the fields of Cognitive Neurosciences and Visual Perception, who will provide the PI the appropriate learning training environment.

这项少数民族博士后研究和培训奖学金将在加拿大温哥华的不列颠哥伦比亚大学进行，由艾伦·金斯通博士指导。研究的中心话题是一种被称为特罗克斯勒衰落的现象(特罗克斯勒，1804)。当观察者注意到他/她周围视野中的一个物体(目标)，同时将他/她的眼睛集中在第二个物体上时，就会发生特罗克斯勒衰落(TF)。经过几秒钟的持续关注，目标从观察者的视野中消失了几秒钟。在它的位置，观察者反而感觉到背景表面的平滑延续。这种现象也被称为知觉填充，反映了看到目标被背景填充的内省体验。该研究项目分为三个相互关联但几乎独立的子项目。第一个子项目是学习功能磁共振成像(FMRI)技术，并将其应用于转铁蛋白的研究。这个子项目的目标将是确定大脑中发生目标褪色和填充的区域。这一子项目的结果不仅对转换函数理论有影响，而且对正常表面知觉理论也有影响。第二个子项目集中在学习事件相关电位(ERPs)的技术，并用它来研究TF和知觉。这一分项目的目标将是利用“视觉”或“感觉”事件相关电位(所谓的P1/N1复合波)作为一个功能标记物，以确定发生在褪色部位的视觉事件是否由视皮层处理。这个项目的结果将对知觉知觉和转换因子的理论以及视觉系统如何处理感觉信息的理论产生重要的影响。第三个子项目是特遣队行为调查的继续。在这个子项目中，将调查决定衰落事件持续时间的因素。将研究眼球运动和视觉注意的隐蔽转移(即移动注意力焦点而不伴随眼球运动)等因素。本项目的研究结果将对心理传播学和选择性注意理论产生重要的影响。此外，当在其他两个子项目的背景下进行解释时，这些结果还将提供关于视觉选择性注意可以影响知觉处理的不同大脑区域的重要新信息。不列颠哥伦比亚省大学拥有独一无二的设备，可以容纳本提案范围内的一个项目。UBC在大脑研究中心拥有致力于研究的最先进的fMRI和ERP设施。此外，UBC拥有一批认知神经科学和视觉感知领域的高度专家学者，他们将为PI提供适当的学习培训环境。