Knowledge-based control of cognition and action

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Skilled cognitive actions, such as reading words, identifying objects, or using a tool, are underpinned by multiple mental representations that often are in conflict with one another. For example, a coffee mug affords a number of different, mutually exclusive grasps (e.g., a closed grasp on the handle, an open grasp around the barrel of the mug, or even a pinch grasp on the rim) and interaction with the mug requires that one grasp be selected over the others for execution. How does this selection occur and what are the consequences for the candidates that are not selected? The objective of my research program is to reveal the knowledge-based influences that evoke candidate actions and determine the outcome of the selection process. My approach is guided by two working hypotheses. First, memory for relevant prior experience, including general knowledge, is unconsciously recruited during task execution, forming the basis for skilled performance. Second, task context influences the recruitment and selection of this knowledge. Across a range of task domains, typically involving word reading, object identification, or sentence comprehension, four methods of measuring components of skilled actions will be applied: (1) speeded identification or classification responses (e.g., identifying objects as quickly as possible), (2) hand actions performed using a specially constructed response apparatus that accommodates a range of articulated hand postures (e.g., performing a cued hand action in the context of a related or unrelated object), (3) tracking eye movements as an observer views a visual display (e.g., searching a picture of a natural scene for a target object), and (4) using sensors attached to fingers and hands to record details of hand shape and position as observers make rapid reach and grasp responses. This research will provide important information about how conceptual knowledge and action representations support skilled performance and will contribute to a deeper understanding of selective impairments in reading and object identification that often accompany specific forms of brain damage.