Introducing Dr Paul Garrett: Our CNH May Feature Story
Can you describe your research interests?
"I’m a mathematical psychologist who studies decision making models of human memory and attention."
What inspired you to pursue this research topic?
"Complexity! Decision making crosses large areas of study. From Psychophysics where we tightly control what information enters the brain, to Neuroscience where we study how the brain reacts to stimuli and complexity, to Applied Research where we create validated tools that make lab-based theories tractable for solving real-world problems (e.g., driving, flying, AI)."
What do you like most about your work?
"I build complex, custom models of human decision making that jointly explain decision speed and accuracy, and that link to neural outcomes (EEG). These models describe how fast, how variable, and how much information you need, before you reach a decision (you can play with simulations here!)
Our lab members, Daz Liu and Allen Qian, are combining neural population models – that describe how neurons respond to colour and orientation – with decision making models. By experimentally manipulating visual attention and memory quantity, we examine how attention and memory independently and jointly inform decision making.
For example, our recently published work explains why short-term memories that feel lost are not always gone. Using decision making models, we show that a trace of ‘fuzzy information’ remains which can lead people to make better-than chance recognition decisions, even when it felt like the memory was gone. Read more about this in The Conversation.
Other work led by Lauren Fong, has used EEG to establish that both voluntary decisions (where no ‘correct’ outcome exists) and forced decisions show similar decision accumulation dynamics in the brain. These dynamics share properties with the mathematical models we study in the lab, creating tangible links between cognitive theory and neuroscience. You can read about this in The Conversation too."
Do you have any exciting projects or news upcoming?
"We have a raft of papers that will be coming out this year – new decision models, fitting tools, and experiments – so keep an eye out for work by the Vision and Attention Lab, headed by Philip Smith. And if you’re interested in knowing what insights decision making models can give to your research, send me an email or come have a chat!"