Research Interest

Visual perception and Computational modelling

When sensory system receives an ambiguous signal, human perception often switches between two or more possible interpretations. This perceptual phenomenon is called multistable perception and considered important since this phenomenon links the relationship between the stimulus and sensation of the brain. This perceptional switch is considered important to understand brain functions thus extensively studied, however the complete mechanism of multistable perception is still elusive. To investigate the various feature of multistable perception, we perform psychophysics experiment and simulate the computational model to explore the mechanism. This study will provide an insight into how brain makes a perceptual interpretation based on the external stimulus.

Research Interest

Memory System simulation

Factors (e.g. Excitability, Oscillation) that affects memory; Efficient storage of information in memory system.

Computational Data Analysis
Analysis & Simulation with experimental data; Neural activity pattern analysis.

Ph.D. course

(Lab Manager)

Research Interest

Long-range horizontal connections are distinctive connectivity structure observed in V1 layer 2/3 in higher mammals. However, why visual cortex requires such connections, what is the functional role of them remains elusive. Here, we investigated visual functions of the structure by simulating model network.

Research Interest

Group-level benefit of unconditional imitation

Human, as well as other intelligent animals, are capable of imitating other subjects. The imitating behavior is often unconditional, which means that the subject behavior of imitation does not necessarily have to be profitable to the imitator. Yet, the fact that the unconditional imitation is observed in these animals suggests that it has some benefits to it. In this research, the unconditional imitation is thought to benefit a whole group or society of imitators, for instance, by increasing the overall lifespan or efficiency of the group. The underlying mechanism of this effect is studied using a multi-agent simulation.

Research Interest

Perception of visual symmetry

While symmetry has had a special status in vision research for more than a hundred years, the neural basis of symmetry perception is still unknown. My research interest is in finding the neural mechanism of symmetry perception and its effect on object recognition.

Research Interest

Visual perception of magnitude

A given visual scene may contain several types of magnitude information, such as the number of objects, their overall size and density. Despite what their apparent qualitative differences might suggest, experimental evidence points to the possibility that these distinct categories of magnitude are represented by a shared neural architecture and that a neuron might be tuned to a particular combination of magnitudes across the said categories. Using Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model as a structural and functional abstraction of the real brain for visual processing, I'm investigating candidate computational mechanisms underlying these phenomena in a hope to elucidate how the brain might have evolved to code distinct, but relevant, information efficiently.