2010-2011 CSE Lecture Series

 

Title: Attention, Decision, and the Brain

Dr. Taosheng Liu , MSU Neuroimaging of Perception and Attention Laboratory

 

Date:   October 8, 2010
Time:  11:30 am
Room: 1279 Anthony Hall

Abstract:

The brain is a general-purpose information processing device. It has a limited processing capacity, entailing a selective  processing of a small portion of information our sensory system receives. The outcome of information processing normally leads to a decision that can subsequently guide action. Selectively attending to information and making decisions are two of the most important functions the brain perform. Recent advances in functional neuroimaging techniques allow us to study these questions in the living human brain. I will present two ongoing studies in my laboratory that address 1). How do we attend to non-spatial feature information? and 2). How does the brain accumulate sensory evidence in perceptual decision making? The results from these studies suggest an intimate relationship between attentional and decisional processes in the brain.

Biography: 

Taosheng Liu received his PhD in Cognitive Psychology from Columbia University in 2001.  From 2001-2007 he did postdoctoral training at the Johns Hopkins University and New York University.  Since 2008 he is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Michigan State University.  Taosheng Liu’s research interests are in the cognitive neuroscience of visual perception, attention, and decision making.  His main experimental techniques include using psychophysics and eyetracking to measure behavior and using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure human brain activity.  Current research in his lab focuses on the representation of attentional priority in the brain, how attention affects motion perception, and the neural mechanisms of perceptual decision making.