Successful 2003 Discovery Projects Grants by Institution - Australian ...

2003 : $100,000
2004 : $95,000
2005 : $95,000
2006 : $95,000
2007 : $95,000
Category: 3801 - PSYCHOLOGY
Administering Institution: The University of Sydney
ARF Dr DM Alais
Summary:
How the brain integrates information from different sensory modalities to form coherent perceptions of
the external environment is a challenging question in sensory and cognitive neuroscience.
Neurophysiologically, sensory interactions have become well documented over the last decade or so.
Complementary perceptual research, however, is lacking. This project seeks to redress the imbalance,
using audio-visual interactions as a paradigm. Psychophysical experiments will explore: (i) audio-visual
interactions in perception (sound enhancing vision, vision enhancing hearing); (ii) audio-visual interactions
in spatial attention. Neurophysiological evidence, plus very recent psychophysical findings of
audio-visual interactions, suggest this will be a rich vein of research.
DP0345724 Prof SM Andrews
Title: Lexical retrieval and reading comprehension: Binding perceptual, lexical and
conceptual information in on-line reading
2003 : $55,000
2004 : $54,000
2005 : $54,000
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Category: 3801 - PSYCHOLOGY
Administering Institution: The University of Sydney
Summary:
Reading is a complex process that involves integrating sensory information extracted from text with
stored memories about word meanings, syntactic structures and general knowledge. Most reading
research has focused on the processing of isolated words, but normal reading requires integration
processes that are not necessary to recognise single words. This research uses tasks requiring
sentence comprehension and measures of eye movements during reading to investigate how readers
retrieve and combine information while reading to comprehend text. It will contribute to developing more
comprehensive theories of normal reading that can inform methods of teaching reading and contribute to
refinement of text recognition systems.
DP0346254 Dr RA Ankeny
Title: Modelling Nervous Systems, 1880-1930: Debates over Choice of Materials and
Techniques in the Correlation of Form and Function
2003 : $30,000
2004 : $25,000
Category: 3706 - HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE AND MEDICINE
Administering Institution: The University of Sydney
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Summary:
This project will examine key scientific research programs in the history of the neurosciences in the
transitional period 1880-1930 in order to explore the models, methodologies, and material techniques that
were the foundation for the most influential theories. Several major figures will serve as anchors for the
study, providing insight into the contentious debates as well as the often unstated basic agreements that
occurred across a range of disciplinary, social, and national boundaries to examine the roots of what
neuroscience is today.
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DP0344616 A/Prof SW Armfield Prof JC Patterson