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Neural origins of illusory biases in perception and short term memories
Humans generally have a distorted perception of the world, often classified as illusory biases. Here we want to discover the neural origins of such illusory biases in our perception of the world
The ability to make judgments and decisions is a core aspect of behavior in humans and other animals. However, variable decisions and biased judgments are a hallmark of behavior across several perceptual and subjective evaluation modalities, which are often preserved across species. Critically, systematic judgment biases are often posited to deterministic heuristic functions and their associated variability is blamed to unspecific forms of noise in the nervous system, which apparently corrupt ideal behavior. In this study we will use a combination of novel behavioral tasks (together with peripheral measurements such as Eye Tracking), computational models, brain imaging and non-invasive brain stimulation to demonstrate that illusory biases in our perception of the world and short term memory storage of information can be explained via mechanistic models that take into account the limited-capacity nature of biological systems.
The ability to make judgments and decisions is a core aspect of behavior in humans and other animals. However, variable decisions and biased judgments are a hallmark of behavior across several perceptual and subjective evaluation modalities, which are often preserved across species. Critically, systematic judgment biases are often posited to deterministic heuristic functions and their associated variability is blamed to unspecific forms of noise in the nervous system, which apparently corrupt ideal behavior. In this study we will use a combination of novel behavioral tasks (together with peripheral measurements such as Eye Tracking), computational models, brain imaging and non-invasive brain stimulation to demonstrate that illusory biases in our perception of the world and short term memory storage of information can be explained via mechanistic models that take into account the limited-capacity nature of biological systems.
This project is suitable for a BSc or MSc thesis or semester project. The student will focus on the following tasks:
piloting
data collection involving healthy volunteers
data analysis
statistical analysis
writing-up report
R or Matlab experience is desirable.
The student will gain in-depth knowledge in the field of human cognition and neuroscience, and will have the opportunity to develop their problem-solving and quantitative skills.
The kind involvement of in the project is flexible and depends on the interests and skills of the student
This project is suitable for a BSc or MSc thesis or semester project. The student will focus on the following tasks: piloting data collection involving healthy volunteers data analysis statistical analysis writing-up report
R or Matlab experience is desirable.
The student will gain in-depth knowledge in the field of human cognition and neuroscience, and will have the opportunity to develop their problem-solving and quantitative skills.
The kind involvement of in the project is flexible and depends on the interests and skills of the student
Joseph Heng, PhD Candidate: joseph.heng@hest.ethz.ch
Rafael Polania, PI: rafael.polania@hest.ethz.ch
Location
Decision Neuroscience Lab (ETHZ)
Joseph Heng, PhD Candidate: joseph.heng@hest.ethz.ch Rafael Polania, PI: rafael.polania@hest.ethz.ch
