Attention

…The workshop explores attention, memory, reasoning, language, learning and human interaction with physical and computational environments. It brings formal modelling and analysis methods into dialogue with cognitive science, with applications in cognitive robotics, biomedical signals and imaging, neural interfaces, human–computer interaction and intelligent educational systems. The meeting is co-located with SEFM 2026 in Malta. Abstract and paper sub

Experimental psychology research on attention, perception, learning, memory, language and reasoning falls within the society’s Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology remit. Supports small empirical projects in experimental psychology, including research assistance, participant costs, specialist software, scanning fees, essential small equipment and consumables. The maximum is GBP 10,000 for a project normally completed within one year. Applications are due 1 December 2026, with earliest start 1 February. Funds are reimbursed to the host institution in arrears; overheads, student fees and

Experimental psychology research on attention, perception, learning, memory, language and reasoning falls within the society’s Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology remit. Travel and accommodation support for a visit to another institution to learn experimental methods or undertake studies unavailable at the home department. Up to GBP 3,500 is available to the visitor, with up to GBP 100 of additional actual host costs. Subsistence, conference fees and poster costs are excluded. The next submission date is 1 December 2026; visits should start at least three months after submission. Appl

The Cognitive Neuroscience (CogNeuro) program seeks to fund proposals that can advance our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying human cognition and behavior. Funded proposals typically relate precise and rich quantifications of physiological responses and behavior in ways that advance theory (Intellectual Merit). Funded proposal also typically strengthen the field through, for example, outreach, mentoring the next generation of diverse cognitive neuroscientists, and/or increasing awareness and utilization of the research the field produces (Broader Impacts). Intellectual Merit In

…foveal and peripheral processing, attention, retinal anatomy, emmetropization and myopia. The laboratory combines human psychophysics, controlled retinal stimulation, computational modelling, precise eye and head tracking, retinal imaging and EEG during active vision. Researchers work within the Center for Visual Science and Brain and Cognitive Sciences, with collaborations in optics, neuroscience and ophthalmology. Applications comprise

…connects neural mechanisms with attention, decision-making, and bodily state.

…she discusses next-token prediction, attention and loss functions, trajectory data, context retrieval, error recovery and the role of scale in learning tool use.

…The conversation also considers attention, constraints on neural codes and studying cognition in ecological settings.

…Gaze can be considered a proxy for attention or indicator of the relative importance of different parts of the environment. In this talk, we discuss the development of generative models of human gaze in response to visual input. We discuss how such models can be learned, both using supervised learning and using implicit feedback as an agent interacts with the environment, the latter being more plausible in biological agents. We also discuss two ways such models can be used. Firs

Fast periodic visual stimulation (FPVS) has emerged as a promising tool for assessing cognitive function in individuals with dementia. This technique leverages electroencephalography (EEG) to measure brain responses to rapidly presented visual stimuli, offering a non-invasive and objective method for evaluating a range of cognitive functions. Unlike traditional cognitive assessments, FPVS does not rely on behavioural responses, making it particularly suitable for individuals with cognitive impairment. In this talk I will highlight a series of studies that have demonstrated its ability to detec

Visual representations become progressively more abstract along the cortical hierarchy. These abstract representations define notions like objects and shapes but at the cost of spatial specificity. By contrast, low-level regions represent spatially local but simple input features. How do spatially non-specific representations of abstract concepts in high-level areas flexibly modulate the low-level sensory representations in appropriate ways to guide context-driven and goal-directed behaviors across various tasks? We present a biologically motivated and trainable neural network model of dyna

Developing a technology able to measure in-vivo and non-invasively the electrical activity of the human spinal cord would fulfill an important and still unmet need in both basic and clinical research. In this work, we describe a novel recording and analysis pipeline to obtain non-invasive, high-resolution images of the electrical activity of the spinal cord in humans (Electrical Spinal Imaging, ESI). Using this approach, we provide a detailed description and physiological characterization of the spatiotemporal dynamics of the peripheral, spinal and cortical activity elicited by somatosensory s

Decades of research on understanding the mechanisms of attentional selection have focused on identifying the units (representations) on which attention operates in order to guide prioritized sensory processing. These attentional units fit neatly to accommodate our understanding of how attention is allocated in a top-down, bottom-up, or historical fashion. In this talk, I will focus on attentional phenomena that are not easily accommodated within current theories of attentional selection – the “attentional platypuses,” as they allude to an observation that within biological taxonomies the platy

…Attention and working memory (WM) represent two core cognitive abilities that are involved in cognitive control. Higher cognitive abilities have mostly been demonstrated in primates, yet corvid songbirds show remarkably similar skills. Therefore, we used jackdaws to study these instances of cognitive control. Two jackdaws were trained on a delayed estimation paradigm, tailored to probe attention and WM processes. One of two simultaneously presented sample colors h

The level of cognitive functions related to mathematical ability declines in the aging process. Moreover, studies show that dysfunction in numerical abilities can be a predictor of dementia. One of the numerical competence that can be studied in this area is the numerosity estimation ability, which is the basis for more complex mathematical operations, such as addition or multiplication. The purpose of the study was to test the relationship between different areas of cognitive functioning and selected numerical competence. The study participants were 72 elderly people (M = 71.00, SD = 4.90), w

…a pivotal role in visual processing, attention, and cognitive flexibility. Most of the studies have been using standard visual stimuli, but the advance of virtual reality (VR) tools is promising for better elucidating the dynamics of this neuromodulator in visually guided behaviors. The present study aims to explore the spatiotemporal activation of cortical cholinergic fibers during the presentation of a VR dynamic environment compared to standard visual stimuli using mesoscopic ACh imaging in awake mice.Choliner

…activity during behavioral testing for attention and decision-making. Rats (lesion [n=9], sham-lesion [n=6], naï

Low-grade glioma (LGG) brain tumours can devastate all areas of a patient’s life. However, life expectancy is now greater than 15 years from diagnosis due to improvements in diagnosis, surgery and treatment. Therefore, clinical focus must shift from being solely treatment-orientated to promoting a rich quality of life for patients upon completion of oncology treatment (QoL). Returning to work (RTW) has shown to improve QoL in brain tumour patients. However, there is a lack of research specific to LGG patients experience of RTW. The present study investigated the rate of RTW in LGG patients and

The surge in interest in individual differences, driven partly by the rise of precision medicine, has coincided with the latest replication crisis, centred around brain-wide association studies of brain-behaviour correlations. In this context, understanding the reliability of the measures we use in cognitive neuroscience has never been more important. Tasks designed to study individual differences must reliably differentiate participants at the individual rather than the group level. Yet assessing the reliability of a given dataset, and even more so optimizing the design of a new behavioural t

The prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays a critical role in attentional processes in humans and animals. Neuroimaging studies have reported that cigarette smokers have reduced prefrontal cortex (PFC) function and impaired attention, suggesting that dysfunction in the PFC may underlie these attentional deficits. However, little is known about the PFC neuronal processes underlying attentional performance and their alterations following nicotine exposure. Here, we first assessed the long-term effects of nicotine intake escalation and withdrawal on attentional performance. Rats were trained in a 5-choice

…species, adaptive processes like attention and motivation manifest as flexibly fluctuating, brain-wide states. Although these states likely share commonalities across species, classical tasks are highly species-specific, preventing direct cross-species comparisons.Here we examine naturalistic fluctuations of attention across three species—mice, monkeys, and humans—completing the same highly immersive virtual reality (VR) foraging task (Fig.1A). This allows us to continuously track behavioural decisio

…function including decision-making and attention across many different species. In this study, we leveraged the small size and conserved brain structure of larval zebrafish to investigate the consequences of sleep deprivation in the context of two well-described behaviors, a visual and an olfactory-based decision-making task. We find that in both paradigms, sleep deprivation leads to an improvement in performance. Specifically, we show that sleep deprivation increases reaction time and improves performance in a visual motion discrimina

Time perception can be distorted by factors such as arousal, attention or emotions. Recently, it has been demonstrated that stimulation of the vestibular system causes a contraction of subjective time (1). Conversely, the greater the amplitude of a whole-body rotation, the longer it seems to last, i.e. it causes a dilation of subjective time (2).To resolve this apparent inconsistency, and to better understand mechanisms of time perception during whole-body rotations, we evaluated time reproduction (2 or 4 seconds) in static (shakes) vs. two rotatory conditions (40° and 80°).The perceived time

Wobble board-based Exergaming of different intensities provides a unique approach to enhance different cognitive and balance parameters . This study aims to determine that which of the cognitive and balance components are greatly affected by wobble board exergaming of different intensities in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI).In this study ninety-seven MCI participants (MoCA 18-24, aged 50-75 years) were randomly assigned into mild, moderate, high intensity novel wobble board based exergaming, and control. All groups received 24 sessions (40 minutes/session, 3 times/week). Diffe