Factors contributing to natural variation in perceptual and cognitive skills

导致感知和认知技能自然变化的因素

• 批准号: RGPIN-2019-05485
• 负责人: Jakobson, Lorna
• 金额: $ 2.4万
• 依托单位: University of Manitoba
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2019-01-01 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=684719
• 关键词: Factors; contributing; natural; variation; perceptual

In my lab, we study how people use sensory information to perceive their world and move about in it. We are also interested in how they hold information about objects and people in memory, and form mental images. We study how these kinds of abilities change throughout life, and how they might be affected by special training in things like sports or music, or by brain injuries or problems affecting brain development.******The work I have planned for the next 5 years will involve 2 PhD students, 3 MA students, and several undergraduates. Some of the work will examine how our bodies respond when we look at people and objects. When we see someone make a facial expression parts of our brains that are activated when we make the same facial expression ourselves show increased activity. The autonomic nervous system, which controls things like our heart rate and breathing, reacts. Even the motor system respondsso, we tend to mimic other people's facial expressions automatically as we watch them unfold. We are interested in studying how information about these different responses to what we see are used help us to figure out how the people we are watching might be feeling, and whether their feelings are about to change or not. ******We are also interested in what happens when people look at objects. We respond differently to some objects than others. For example, when we look at tools there is increased activity in parts of the brain that are involved in actually using those tools. We want to know how properties of objects affect our ability to think about them (e.g., to imagine what they would look like from another angle), and to pay attention to other things that are happening around us. ******We are also interested in how special training can change how we process and react to certain kinds of sensory information. Some research suggests that training in sports like swimming changes how we process cues about how our own bodies move. We want to see if it might also affect how athletes process and interpret the movements of other people.******Finally, the work that we have planned will help us discover more about factors that contribute to individual differences in perceptual and cognitive abilities. We want to understand why some people seem either overly-sensitive or insensitive to certain kinds of sensory information, and whether this affects how they make sense of their own feelings, and of the world around them. Learning more about this may help to explain some contradictory findings and shed new light on many phenomena. It may also help us to design better studies in the future.******The basic research we will carry out will contribute to current theories about how our brains and bodies work together to help us to make sense of the world around us. Ultimately, this kind of basic research may have important implications for understanding and treating conditions characterized by perceptual and social difficulties, such as autism spectrum disorders.*****

在我的实验室中，我们研究人们如何使用感官信息来感知他们的世界并在其中移动。我们还对它们如何在记忆中保存有关物体和人的信息并形成心理图像感兴趣。我们研究这些能力在一生中如何变化，以及它们如何受到体育或音乐等特殊训练、脑损伤或影响大脑发育的问题的影响。******我计划未来5年的工作将涉及2名博士生、3名硕士生和几名本科生。其中一些工作将研究当我们看人和物体时我们的身体如何反应。当我们看到某人做出面部表情时，我们大脑中的某些部分就会被激活，而当我们做出相同的面部表情时，我们自己的大脑也会表现出更多的活动。控制我们的心率和呼吸等的自主神经系统会做出反应。即使是运动系统也会做出反应，当我们看到别人的面部表情时，我们往往会自动模仿他们的表情。我们感兴趣的是研究如何使用有关我们所看到的这些不同反应的信息来帮助我们弄清楚我们正在观察的人可能会有什么感受，以及他们的感受是否会改变。 ******我们也对人们观察物体时发生的情况感兴趣。我们对某些物体的反应与其他物体不同。例如，当我们查看工具时，大脑中涉及实际使用这些工具的部分的活动会增加。我们想知道物体的属性如何影响我们思考它们的能力（例如，从另一个角度想象它们会是什么样子）以及关注我们周围发生的其他事情的能力。 ******我们还对特殊训练如何改变我们处理某些类型的感官信息和做出反应的方式感兴趣。一些研究表明，游泳等运动训练会改变我们处理身体运动线索的方式。我们想看看它是否也会影响运动员如何处理和解释其他人的动作。*****最后，我们计划的工作将帮助我们更多地发现导致感知和认知能力个体差异的因素。我们想了解为什么有些人似乎对某些类型的感官信息过于敏感或不敏感，以及这是否会影响他们理解自己的感受以及周围世界的方式。更多地了解这一点可能有助于解释一些相互矛盾的发现，并为许多现象提供新的线索。 它还可能帮助我们在未来设计更好的研究。 *****我们将进行的基础研究将为当前有关我们的大脑和身体如何协同工作的理论做出贡献，以帮助我们理解周围的世界。 最终，这种基础研究可能对理解和治疗以知觉和社交困难为特征的疾病（例如自闭症谱系障碍）具有重要意义。*****