NSF-BSF: Mechanisms of Perceptual Enhancement by Action Preparation

A major goal of perception is to enable an organism to perform actions that ensure its survival. Early theories assumed this process was simple and unidirectional: We perceive things in our environment, process it with high-level cognition, and then plan and execute appropriate actions. In contrast to this view, recent studies suggest that our actions can also influence how we perceive things. For example, people are better at perceiving the changes in the orientation of objects when they are intending to grasp them. This project aims to determine the mechanisms underlying this perception-action interdependence, using a combination of behavioral, psychophysical, physiological, and computational approaches. The work involves the collaboration of two international research teams, one based in the United States and one in Israel. The investigators are also committed to promoting inclusivity and diversity by mentoring talented undergraduates in an EPSCoR state, as well as nationally selected students from groups underrepresented in science. Additionally, the investigators will produce and distribute multimedia science cartoons (SciToons) aimed at K-12 students, teachers, and the general public. The questions addressed here focus on the mutual interdependence of perception, cognition, and action. The project integrates novel empirical methods with continuous action tracking, pupillometry, and computational modeling. The first goal is to understand how determinate actions need to be in order to influence visual perception. The second goal is to assess which aspects of visual processing improve when we prepare to act or have been trained to act. The third goal is to determine whether preparing to act enhances visual processing by changing how much attention is paid to the target and/or how quickly it grabs attention. The aim is to advance our understanding of the interdependence between perception and action-driven mechanisms. The work has the potential to advance technological innovations in the areas of human factors, human-robot interaction (HRI), and artificial intelligence by identifying and exploiting the interactions among cognitive, perceptual, and motor functions. This project is jointly funded by Perception, Action, and Cognition and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.