Scientific interests
Perception
Classical research in conscious perception focuses on prototypical cases, specifically in visual modality, yet humans have access to a vast array of content that defines our conscious experience, including auditory, sensorimotor, and affective information (Churchland 1996; Theriault et al., 2025). General principles can be extracted such as perceptual hierarchies, but cognitive science is still far from understanding mental information processing.
What are these principles of information processing, how do they differ across modalities, and how do they relate to brain function?
Attention
Studies of attention demonstrate that we can only be aware of a small subset of information at a time (Cherry 1953; Mack & Rock, 1998; Smith et al., 2012). Relevant information reaches awareness if attention operates on it, while irrelevant information filters out of our awareness, with factors such as current goals, stimulus salience, selection history, and reward among others influencing attention. (Addleman, 2019; Addleman & Stormer, 2022; Wostmann et al., 2022)
How does such information bubble into consciousness, and why do some things reach awareness while otherthings do not?
Brain Architecture
Brain processes occur at various spatial scales from voxels/vertices in an fMRI timeseries to broader regions/searchlights to large-scale brain networks based on connectivity. There is substantial variability in brain areas across five primary properties: cyto/melo-architecture, topography, function, connectivity:, and neurotransmitters (Felleman & Van Essen 1991; Moghimi et al., 2022).
How are cognitive processes embedded in the brain's functional architecture at various spatial sales?
Individual Differences
Beyond brain architecture, there is substantial variability in the human population in terms of behavior, cognition, personality, and subjective experience (Finn et al., 2015; Rosenberg et al., 2016). Many studies are now seeking to engage in predictive modeling based on brain characteristics to individuals, such as personality, intelligence, and clinical outcomes (Feilong et al., 2018; 2021).
How do differences in brain characteristics relate to variability in mental and behavioral attributes?
Genetics
Given that individuals differ variability in brain architecture, cognitive functions, and behavior, these attributes arise from two sources: genetics and environment (Busch et al., 2023). Genetics play a crucial role in human formation, but has been arguably underexplored, with more recent fromeworks now emphasizing an active interplay of genes, brain regions and networks, and brain function across the lifespan (Johnson, 2010).
How do such differences occur in connection to development across the lifespan and potential genetic factors?