Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster Spatial representations in active scene cognition

Markus Lappe's workgroup investigates spatial aspects of active scene cognition. They study the role of attention, anticipation, and decision on spatial localization across eye movements, and investigate the metric of the spatial representation by separating visual and motor signals through saccadic adaptation. Furthermore, they investigate the contribution of context to visuo-spatial scene cognition by analyzing visual search behavior in gaze contingent and virtual reality displays.

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Extraretinal and cognitive influences on scene perception: The role of thalamus and prefrontal cortex

Christoph Ploner's workgroup aims at elucidating the functional neuroanatomy of trans-saccadic integration in the normal brain by comparing the performance of normal subjects to patients with focal lesions of the frontal cortex and thalamus. It is intended to use these patients as a model of defective visual perception in neuro-psychiatric diseases, in which deficits in the awareness of one's own actions and its sensory consequences may be a core deficit underlying seemingly disparate cognitive impairments.

Universität Regensburg Neural correlates of visually guided and memory guided saccades during visual search

Mark Greenlee's workgroup analyzes the interplay between sensory and oculomotor cortex and subcortical structures (nucleus caudatus, superior colliculus, substantia nigra) using high-field (3 Tesla) temporally resolved MRI and relate our findings to the computational model developed by the workgroup of Fred Hamker. These experiments will be conducted in healthy volunteers and neurological patients with focal damage in the prefrontal cortex, the parietal cortex and the cerebellum.

Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster Neurocomputational models of attentive visuo-spatial cognition

Fred Hamker's workgroup aims to establish a unifying theory of attentive visuo-spatial cognition, based on experimental observations. We develop computational models of space perception within different reference frames, e.g., head centered, object centered, and simulate the effect of eye movements on the dynamic internal representation of objects.

Universität Tübingen Higher order integration of space and gist in the human parietal cortex - evidence from healthy - subjects and stroke patients

Hans-Otto Karnath's workgroup aims to investigate the role of visuospatial attention in integration processes to build up scene cognition by studying patients with unilateral and with bilateral brain damage.