NSF-BSF: Mechanisms of Perceptual Enhancement by Action Preparation

感知的一个主要目标是使有机体能够执行确保其生存的行动。早期的理论认为这个过程是简单和单向的：我们感知环境中的事物，用高层次的认知来处理它，然后计划和执行适当的行动。与这种观点相反，最近的研究表明，我们的行为也会影响我们对事物的看法。例如，当人们打算抓住物体时，他们更善于感知物体方向的变化。该项目旨在确定这种感知-动作相互依赖的机制，使用行为，心理物理，生理和计算方法的组合。这项工作涉及两个国际研究小组的合作，一个在美国，一个在以色列。研究人员还致力于通过指导EPSCoR州有才华的本科生以及从科学代表性不足的群体中选出的全国学生来促进包容性和多样性。此外，研究人员还将制作和分发针对K-12学生、教师和公众的多媒体科学卡通（SciToons）。这里讨论的问题集中在感知、认知和行动的相互依赖性上。 该项目将新颖的经验方法与连续动作跟踪、瞳孔测量和计算建模相结合。第一个目标是了解如何确定的行动需要，以影响视觉感知。第二个目标是评估当我们准备行动或接受行动训练时，视觉处理的哪些方面有所改善。第三个目标是确定准备行动是否通过改变对目标的关注程度和/或吸引注意力的速度来增强视觉处理。其目的是促进我们对感知和行动驱动机制之间相互依存关系的理解。这项工作有可能通过识别和利用认知，感知和运动功能之间的相互作用来推进人的因素，人机交互（HRI）和人工智能领域的技术创新。该项目由Perception，Action，和认知和既定的计划，以刺激竞争力的研究（EPSCoR）该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

A major goal of perception is to enable an organism to perform actions that ensure its survival. Early theories assumed this process was simple and unidirectional: We perceive things in our environment, process it with high-level cognition, and then plan and execute appropriate actions. In contrast to this view, recent studies suggest that our actions can also influence how we perceive things. For example, people are better at perceiving the changes in the orientation of objects when they are intending to grasp them. This project aims to determine the mechanisms underlying this perception-action interdependence, using a combination of behavioral, psychophysical, physiological, and computational approaches. The work involves the collaboration of two international research teams, one based in the United States and one in Israel. The investigators are also committed to promoting inclusivity and diversity by mentoring talented undergraduates in an EPSCoR state, as well as nationally selected students from groups underrepresented in science. Additionally, the investigators will produce and distribute multimedia science cartoons (SciToons) aimed at K-12 students, teachers, and the general public.The questions addressed here focus on the mutual interdependence of perception, cognition, and action. The project integrates novel empirical methods with continuous action tracking, pupillometry, and computational modeling. The first goal is to understand how determinate actions need to be in order to influence visual perception. The second goal is to assess which aspects of visual processing improve when we prepare to act or have been trained to act. The third goal is to determine whether preparing to act enhances visual processing by changing how much attention is paid to the target and/or how quickly it grabs attention. The aim is to advance our understanding of the interdependence between perception and action-driven mechanisms. The work has the potential to advance technological innovations in the areas of human factors, human-robot interaction (HRI), and artificial intelligence by identifying and exploiting the interactions among cognitive, perceptual, and motor functions.This project is jointly funded by Perception, Action, and Cognition and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.