Thesis supervisor: Ilona Kovács
Location of studies (in Hungarian): Semmelweis Egyetem Abbreviation of location of studies: SE
Description of the research topic:
The purpose is to uncover individual differences and neural correlates of human mental imagery. According to the prevalent theory of imagery, it is a weak form of perception, therefore the search for neural correlates is mostly related to the visual areas of the brain. We hypothesize that mental imagery is more than a weak form of perception: it is an important tool in human adaptation that can organise past memories and future plans into mental compositions through creative processes and models our environmental circumstances and social situations. We assume that imagery is based on the activity of a cortical network that is largely independent from the sensory input. Specifically, we propose that the resting state network (medial-frontoparietal network, M-FPN) is behind imagery. The first step in the redefinition of imagery in the above sense is to construct objective research tools that are mostly lacking in this field so far. Among these tools is the earlier developed binocular rivalry and eye-movement based method that will allow us to measure imagery strength without the response bias problems characteristic of earlier studies. With the new objective tools, we plan to select cohorts of low, average, and high imagery strength and compare them in terms of cognitive abilities, personality-, and transdiagnostic clinical variables. The three cohorts will also be compared in their M-FPN activity in stimulus free situations, that is, during awake resting state and sleep. The work is carried out at the Psychology Research Laboratory (Pázmány Péter Catholic University Egyetem), in close collaboration with the Reseach Centre for Natural Sciences (HUN-REN), with the support of NRLN (OTKA K-143084, 2022-2026).
Deadline for application: 2024-05-31
2024. IV. 17. ODT ülés Az ODT következő ülésére 2024. június 14-én, pénteken 10.00 órakor kerül sor a Semmelweis Egyetem Szenátusi termében (Bp. Üllői út 26. I. emelet).
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