Even though we experience a rich and detailed visual world, we actually perceive and remember only a small subset of the available information. What limits the bandwidth of visual cognition? To answer this question, I work at multiple levels of analysis and explore this topic from a cognitive neuroscience, psychological, and theoretical perspective.
Theoretical foundations of perceptual awareness.
Why are some bits of information in the visual system consciously perceived while other bits remain unconscious? What differentiates conscious and unconscious processing? Is attention necessary or sufficient for visual awareness? How can we characterize visual awareness?
What is the true capacity of visual cognition? Cohen. Trends Cogn Sci (2019)
What is the bandwidth of perceptual experience? Cohen et al. Trends Cogn Sci (2016)
The attentional requirements of consciousness. Cohen et al. Trends Cogn Sci (2012)
Consciousness cannot be separated from function. Cohen & Dennett. Trends Cogn Sci (2011)
Natural-scene perception requires attention. Cohen et al., Psych Science (2011).
Why are some bits of information in the visual system consciously perceived while other bits remain unconscious? What differentiates conscious and unconscious processing? Is attention necessary or sufficient for visual awareness? How can we characterize visual awareness?
What is the true capacity of visual cognition? Cohen. Trends Cogn Sci (2019)
What is the bandwidth of perceptual experience? Cohen et al. Trends Cogn Sci (2016)
The attentional requirements of consciousness. Cohen et al. Trends Cogn Sci (2012)
Consciousness cannot be separated from function. Cohen & Dennett. Trends Cogn Sci (2011)
Natural-scene perception requires attention. Cohen et al., Psych Science (2011).
Characterizing the bandwidth of perceptual awareness
What is the capacity and resolution of perceptual experience? How much information do we perceive in the world around us? To answer these questions, I use a combination of standard psychophysics, virtual reality, and computational modeling.
Perceptual awareness occurs along a graded continuum: Evidence from psychophysical scaling. Cohen et al. PsyArxiv (2022)
Characterizing a snapshot of perceptual experience. Cohen et al. J Exp Psychol: General (2021)
The limits of color awareness during active, real-world vision. Cohen et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (2020)
How much color do we see in the blink of an eye? Cohen and Rubenstein. Cognition (2020)
The neural mechanisms supporting perceptual awareness
What are the parts of the brain that are necessary for conscious experience? How can we separate the neural mechanisms required for perceptual awareness from those involved in post-perceptual processing (i.e., attention, memory, reporting, etc.)? To answer these questions, I use a combination of both functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG).
Bifurcation of neural responses reveal a novel signature of conscious processing
independent of post-perceptual processing. Cohen et al. (in prep)
Decoding perceptual awareness across the brain with a no-report fMRI masking paradigm. Hatamimajoumerd et al. Curr Biol (2022)
Distinguishing the neural correlates of perceptual awareness and post-perceptual processing. Cohen et al. J Neurosci (2020)