CHDH Seminar Series 2020: Modeling Memory for WHERE — Simon Dennis

Presenter: Professor Simon Dennis

Date: Monday 14 September

Time: 12 - 1 PM

Location: Via Zoom. Please use this link at the time of the event to join: https://unimelb.zoom.us/j/91785120792?pwd=NEtSMUVUbnNnM1JVTldXT0F1aWU5UT09

Seminar Description

Remembering where you were at a given date and time is sometimes necessary in life; for example, to provide an alibi in a criminal investigation. In this presentation, Professor Simon Dennis will present his new model for these memory decisions based on results from an experience-sampling experimental paradigm. Participants collected audio, accelerometry, GPS and emotion data over a two week period and then a week later were asked where they were at different times. People were able to identify where they were about two thirds of the time. A dynamic eigen network model with a max degree learning rule captures 51.3% of participant choices. Perhaps generalization is happening at retrieval rather than encoding (c.f. Hintzmann, 1988) through the dynamic reconfiguration of the eigenstructure of the memory network by short term plasticity. Finally, Simon will discuss how using experience sampling allows us to make models that are informed by the structure of an individual's environment.

Also, we will have a musical introduction from a previous winner of the Golden Harmonica Championship (and an RA within the CHDH), Michael Diamond.

Presenter Biography:

Professor Simon Dennis is the Director of the Complex Human Data Hub in the Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences and CEO of Unforgettable Research Services Pty Ltd. Professor Dennis is a computer scientist by training and has extensive experience in the computational modelling of episodic and semantic memory. Professor Dennis has been developing and applying passive and active experience sampling methods to understand human experience and memory. Professor Dennis also has a keen research interest in the role of privacy and participant owned data in the behavioural sciences. To this end, he has created an extensive data collection, retrieval, visualization, and analysis ecosystem provided by Unforgettable Research Services Pty Ltd which places participant privacy and autonomy as paramount.