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: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=715572
• 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.

在我的实验室里，我们研究人们如何利用感官信息来感知他们的世界并在其中活动。我们也对他们如何在记忆中保存关于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是如何变化的，以及它们如何受到体育或音乐等特殊训练的影响，或者受到大脑损伤或影响大脑发育的问题的影响。 我计划在未来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我们的身体在看到人和物体时的反应。当我们看到某人做出面部表情时，我们大脑中的某些部分会在我们做出同样的面部表情时被激活，这些部分会表现出更高的活动。自主神经系统，控制我们的心率和呼吸，做出反应。即使是运动系统也会做出反应，所以当我们看到别人的面部表情时，我们倾向于自动模仿他们。我们感兴趣的是研究如何使用这些对我们所看到的不同反应的信息来帮助我们了解我们正在观察的人的感受，以及他们的感受是否会改变。 我们也对人们看物体时发生的事情感兴趣。我们对某些物体的反应与其他物体不同。例如，当我们看到工具时，大脑中与实际使用这些工具有关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，想象他们从另一个角度看起来会是什么样子），并注意我们周围发生的其他事情。 我们还对特殊训练如何改变我们对某些感官信息的处理和反应感兴趣。一些研究表明，像游泳这样的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对某些感官信息要么过于敏感，要么不敏感，以及这是否会影响他们对自己的感受和周围世界的理解。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解释。 它也可以帮助我们在未来设计更好的研究。 我们将开展的基础研究将有助于当前关于我们的大脑和身体如何协同工作的理论，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感知和社会困难为特征的疾病（如自闭症谱系障碍）具有重要意义。