Generalization of temporal learning across modalities and tasks

• Grant number: 17/24979-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: March 01, 2018
• End date: February 29, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Cognitive Psychology
• Agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: André Mascioli Cravo
• Grantee: Gabriela Mueller de Melo
• Host Institution: Centro de Matemática, Computação e Cognição (CMCC). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Santo André , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The nature of our perceptions and interactions with the world is inherently associated with the passing of time. Highly refined mechanisms for temporal processing enable the discrimination and learning of time patterns at different scales of complexity. However, even the most fundamental principles underlying these mechanisms are still largely unknown. A central point consists on elucidating to what instances they are best described as dedicated models of specialized neural systems, as intrinsic models of distributed systems among the brain, or as intermediary hybrid models. The generalization properties of temporal learning provide one particularly interesting opportunity to the empirical investigation of these questions. Therefore, we propose the performance of behavioral experiments aiming to the following objectives: 1. Investigating the generalization of temporal learning in the auditory modality to the visual modality; 2. Investigating the generalization of temporal learning in a task of discrimination of auditory intervals to a task of production of motor intervals; 3. Comparing the learning generalization effects between intervals with short and long durations. Moreover, the results to be obtained through the proposed approaches will provide a more precise understanding of the core mechanisms underlying the processing of time. (AU)