Our Science
Here at Future Minds Lab great science is at the core of everything we do. Hence, we work on a lot of fundamental research in psychology and neuroscience, across a range of topics. Unlike most science labs we diversify into a range of topics and use any method or technique appropriate for humans. Here is a small sample of a few fundamental research topics.
+ Aphantasia and mental imagery
For most of us when we think about how something looks, for example when I think about how an apple looks I have a conscious experience of what scientists and philosophers call Qualia of the apple, a fancy word to say that I have a vague conscious experience of seeing the apple in my mind’s eye, yes I actually see it! This is by no way the same as actually seeing an apple I hold in my hand, but I do you have moments or glimpses that are kind of graphic and colourful and look just like the apple. Although this is effortful and I cannot maintain it for any long period of time, it’s simply comes and goes as I put effort into holding that mental image in my mind. Now aphantasia is the complete lack of this experience or being blind in the mind. The inability to visualise things – so not seeing any apple when I think about the apple. You can read more and sign up to our extreme imagery projects Here.
+ Memory
Despite the immense processing power of the human brain, there are severe limitations to what we can remember about a single moment. The amount and type of information held in visual memory is poorly understood. The lab is currently investigating the dynamics of visual memory employing behavioural, neural imaging and neural disruption techniques. The findings will reveal whether different memory processes rely on common or independent traces in the visual system, identify the neural substrates of these memory traces and redefine the major categories of visual short-term memory. We are looking into how you remember your past and plan your future. The results will have significant implications for models of human memory, cognitive performance, visual consciousness and clinical diagnosis of memory impairments.
+ Intuition
From the times of ancient Greece, philosophers, psychologists, and, well almost everyone has been attracted to the seductive proposition that individuals can make successful decisions without rational, analytical thought or inference, a process that has become known as intuition. Despite the widespread acceptance of this idea and its everyday use to describe the feeling of certain sensations, little scientific evidence supports the existence of such a phenomenon.
We recently devised the first scientific technique to measure intuition. Using this method, we found evidence that people can use intuition to make faster, more accurate and more confident decisions. This groundbreaking discovery is the first to show scientific evidence that intuition actually exists and a new method to objectively measure it. We have shown behavioural, physiological and computational models that all support the existence of intuition. Read more about it here, or the Sydney Morning Herald piece here or Huffington Post here.
+ Consciousness
Many have said that cracking the mystery of consciousness is one of the last great remaining mysteries in science. There are many approaches to attack this mystery, empirical, theoretical, medical, but perhaps what is most exciting is that over the past 20 years the topics has gone from taboo to a mainstream hot topic! Most of what goes on in our brains and bodies is unconscious. There is clear evidence that unconscious information can change our behaviour, our perception and – yes – even our decisions. Another way to think about this is that the criteria for us to be conscious of something is simply different to the criteria for it to affect behaviour and decisions.
+ Agile science
For a long time the classical science method has served us well, it has given us almost everything we know about the world. We rely on it to save our lives, solve our biggest problems, drive our economies and most importantly show us the things we don’t yet know and cannot imagine. The guiding framework of Lean Startup has had a revolutionary influence on how businesses grow and change. The Agile Science framework gives you the power to make breakthroughs by providing a guide formerly practiced exclusively by the top research laboratories around the globe. Read more about agile science here.
Academic Publications
Over the last 15 years our lab has published 60+ articles in some of the world’s most highly esteemed peer-reviewed academic journals such as Nature Review etc.
Find our papers in the links below.
2018 - 2023
Pace, T., Koenig-Robert, R., & Pearson, J. (2023). Different representational mechanisms for imagery and perception: modulation vs excitation. Psychological Science.
Koenig-Robert, R., Omar, H. E., & Pearson, J. (2023). Implicit bias training can remove bias from subliminal stimuli, restoring choice divergence: A proof-of-concept study. PLoS ONE 18(7): e0289313. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0289313.
Burns, E., Martin, A., Kennett, R., Pearson, J., & Munro-Smith, V. (2022). High School Students’ Out-of-School Science Participation: A Latent Class Analysis and Unique Associations with Science Aspirations and Achievement. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 1– 33.
Kay, L, Keogh, R., Andrillon, T. & Pearson, J. (2022). The pupillary light response as a physiological index of aphantasia, sensory and phenomenological imagery strength. eLife.
Dawes, A., Keogh, R., Robuck, S. & Pearson, J. (2022) Memories with a blind mind: Remembering the past and imagining the future with aphantasia. Cognition 227, 105192 (2022).
Monzel, M., Mitchell, D., Macpherson,F., Pearson, J. & Zeman, A. (2022). Aphantasia, dysikonesia, anauralia: call for a single term for the lack of mental imagery – Commentary on Dance et al. (2021) and Hinwar and Lambert (2021). Cortex.
Glomb, K., Kringelbach, M. L., Deco, G., Hagmann, P., Pearson, J., and Atasoy, S., (2021). Functional harmonics reveal multi-dimensional basis functions underlying cortical organization. Cell Reports
Keogh, R., Wicken, M., & Pearson, J. (2021). Visual working memory in aphantasia: retained accuracy and capacity with a different strategy. Cortex.
Martin, A.J., Burns, E.C., Kennett, R., Pearson, J., & Munro-Smith, V. (2020). Boarding and day school students: A large-scale multilevel investigation of academic outcomes among students and classrooms. Frontiers in Psychology (Educational Psychology).
Keogh, R., Pearson, J. & Zeman, A. (2021). Chapter 15 - Aphantasia: The science of visual imagery extremes, Editor(s): Jason J.S. Barton, Alexander Leff, Handbook of Clinical Neurology, Elsevier, Volume 178.
Martin, A., Ginns, P., Burns, E. M., Kennett, R. K, Munro-Smith, V., Collie, R.J., & Pearson, J. (2021). Assessing Instructional Cognitive Load in the Context of Students’ Psychological Challenge and Threat Orientations: A Multi-level Latent Profile Analysis of Students and Classrooms. Frontiers in Psychology, section Educational Psychology.
Burns, E. C., Martin, A. J., Kennett, R. K., Pearson, J., & Munro-Smith, V. (2020). Optimizing science self-efficacy: A multilevel examination of the moderating effects of anxiety on the relationship between self-efficacy and achievement in science. Contemporary Educational Psychology.
Martin, A.J., Burns, E.C., Kennett, R., Pearson, J., & Munro-Smith, V. (2020). Boarding and day school students: A large-scale multilevel investigation of academic outcomes among students and classrooms. Frontiers in Psychology (Educational Psychology).
Fazekas, P., Nanay, B. & Pearson, J. (2020). Offline perception — An introduction. Philosophical Transactions B.
Keogh, R. & Pearson, J. (2020). Attention driven phantom vision: Measuring the sensory strength of attentional templates and their relation to visual mental imagery and aphantasia. Philosophical Transactions B.
Rogers, S., Keogh, R. & Pearson, J. (2020). Hallucinations on demand: The utility of experimentally induced phenomena in hallucination research. Philosophical Transactions B.
Pearson, J. (2020). Reply to: Assessing the causal role of early visual areas in visual mental imagery. Nature Reviews Neuroscience.
Koenig-Robert, R. & Pearson, J. (2020). Why do imagery and perception look and feel so different? Philosophical Transactions B.
Koenig-Robert, R. & Pearson, J. (2020). Decoding non-conscious thought representations during successful thought suppression. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.
Dawes, A., J., Keogh, R., Andrillon, T., & Pearson, J. (2020). A cognitive profile of multi-sensory imagery, memory and dreaming in aphantasia. Scientific Reports.
Keogh, R., Bergmann, J., & Pearson, J. (2020). Cortical excitability controls the strength of mental imagery. ELife.
Martin, A. Ginns, P., Burns, E.C., Kennett, R., & Pearson, J. (In press). Load Reduction Instruction in Science and Students’ Science Engagement and Science Achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology.
Chang, S. & Pearson J. (2019). The Functional effects of voluntary and involuntary visual phantom color on conscious awareness. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
Martin, A.J., Malmberg, L-E., Kennett, R., Mansour, M., Papworth, B., & Pearson, J. (2019). What happens when students reflect on their self-efficacy during a test? Exploring test experience and test outcome in science. Learning and Individual Differences.
Pearson J. (2019). The Human Imagination: The cognitive neuroscience of visual mental imagery. Nature Reviews Neuroscience.
Koenig-Robert, R., & Pearson, J. (2019). Decoding the contents and strength of imagery before volitional engagement. Scientific Reports
Kwok, E. L., Leys, G., Koenig-Robert, R & Pearson, J. (2019). Measuring Thought Control Failure: Sensory Mechanisms and Individual Differences. Psychological Science.
Pearson, J. & Keogh, R. (2019). Redefining visual working memory: A cognitive strategy, brain region approach. Current Directions in Psychological Science.
Chiou, R., Rich, A. N., Rogers, S. & Pearson, J. (2018). Exploring the nature of synaesthetic experience: dissociations from colour perception and imagery. Cognition.
Vlassova, A. & Pearson, J. (2018). Unconscious decisional learning improves unconscious information processing. Cognition.
Keogh, R., & Pearson, J. (2018). The blind mind: No sensory visual imagery in aphantasia. Cortex.
Chang, S., & Pearson, J. (2018). The functional effects of prior motion imagery and motion perception. Cortex.
2015 - 2017
Atasoy, S., Deco, G. Kringelbach, M. L. & Pearson, J. (2017). Harmonic brain modes: a unifying framework for linking space and time in brain dynamics. The Neuroscientist.
Keogh, R., & Pearson, J. (2017, March 3). The blind mind: No sensory imagery in aphantasia. PsyArXiv osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/pdjb9
Keogh, R., & Pearson, J. (2017). The perceptual and phenomenal capacity of mental imagery. Cognition.
Keogh, R., Bergmann, J., & Pearson, J. (2016). Cortical excitability controls the strength of mental imagery. bioRxiv. http://doi.org/10.1101/093690
Koenig-Robert, R., & Pearson, J. (2016). Decoding the nonconscious dynamics of thought generation. bioRxiv. http://doi.org/10.1101/090712
Pearson, J., Chiou, R., Rogers, R., Wicken, M., Heitmann, S., & Ermentrout, B. (2016). Sensory dynamics of visual hallucinations in the normal population. eLife 2016;5:e17072 [Business Insider] [LiveScience] [Science alert] [Daily Mail] - watch Joel Pearson talking about this research here
Payzan-LeNestour, E., Balleine, B. Berrada,T & Pearson, J. (2016). Variance after-effects distort risk perception in humans. Current Biology.
Lulfityanto, G., Donkin, C. & Pearson, J. (2016). Measuring Intuition: Non-conscious Emotional Information Boosts Decision Accuracy and Confidence. Psychological Science. [Sydney Morning Herald press] [The Huffington Post] [LiveScience] [The Juice Daily]
Atasoy, S. Donnelly, I. & Pearson, J. (2016). Human brain networks function in connectome specific harmonic waves. Nature Communications. 7.
Bergmann, J., Pilatus, U., Genç, E., Kohler, A., Singer, W. & Pearson, J. (2016). V1 surface size predicts GABA concentration in medial occipital cortex. NeuroImage. 124A, 654–662.
Pearson, J., Naselaris, T., Holmes E.A., & Kosslyn S. M., (2015). Mental imagery: Functional mechanisms and clinical applications. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 19(10), 590-602.
Bergmann, J., Genç, E., Kohler, A., Singer, W. & Pearson, J. (2015). Smaller primary visual cortex is associated with stronger, but less precise mental imagery. Cerebral Cortex. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhv186
Pearson, J. & Kosslyn S.M. (2015). The Heterogeneity of Mental Representation: Ending the Imagery Debate. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Dieter, K.C., Tadin, D. & Pearson, J. (2015). Motion-induced blindness continues outside visual awareness and without attention. Scientific Reports.5, 11841.
Pearson, J & Westbrook, F. (2015). Phantom perception: voluntary and involuntary non-retinal vision. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 19(5), 278–284.
Wassell, J. Rogers, S. Felmingam, K.L. Bryant, R.A. & Pearson, J. (2015). Sex hormones predict the sensory strength and vividness of mental imagery. Biological Psychology. 107, 61–68.
Shine J., Keogh, R., O’Callaghan, C. Muller, A., Lewis, S. Pearson, J. (2015). Imagine that: Elevated sensory mental imagery in individuals with Parkinson’s disease and visual hallucinations. Proceedings of Royal Society: B. 282: 20142047.
2012 - 2014
Vlassova, A., Donkin, C. & Pearson, J. (2014). Unconscious information changes decision accuracy but not confidence. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Khuu, S. K., Chung, C.Y.L., Lord, S. & Pearson, J. (2014). Unconscious local motion alters global image motion. PLoS One. 9(12): e112804.
Wassell, J. Rogers, S. Felmingam, K.L. Pearson, J. & Bryant, R.A. (2014). Progesterone and Mental Imagery Interactively Predict Emotional Memories. Psychoneuroendocrinology.
Keogh, R. & Pearson, J. (2014). The sensory strength of voluntary visual imagery predicts visual working memory capacity. Journal of Vision. 14 (12):7, 1-13.
Bergmann, J., Genç, E., Kohler, A., Singer, W.A. & Pearson, J. (2014). Neural anatomy of primary visual cortex limits visual working memory. Cerebral Cortex.
Pearson, J. (2014). New directions in mental imagery research: the binocular rivalry technique and decoding fMRI patterns. Current Directions in Psychological Science. 23(3), 178-183.
De Zilva, D., Vu, L., Newell, B.R. & Pearson, J. (2013). Exposure is not enough: Suppressing stimuli from awareness can abolish the mere exposure effect. PLoS ONE. 8(10): e77726.
Chang, S., Lewis, D.E. & Pearson, J. (2013). The Functional Effects of Colour Perception and Colour Imagery. Journal of Vision, 13(10):4, 1-10.
Vlassova, A. & Pearson, J. (2013). Look before you leap: sensory memory improves decision-making. Psychological Science. 24(9), 1635-1643.
Lewis, D. O’reilly, M, Khuu, S. & Pearson, J. (2013). Conditioning the mind’s eye: Associative learning with voluntary mental imagery. Clinical Psychological Science. 1(4) 390-400.
Lewis, D.E., Pearson J., Khuu S.K. (2013) The Color “Fruit”: Object Memories Defined by Color. PLoS ONE 8(5): e64960
Pearson J., & Kosslyn, S.M. (2013). Mental Imagery. Frontiers Perception science and Frontiers In Neuroscience. 4:198.
Bradley, C. & Pearson, J. (2012). The sensory components of high-capacity iconic memory and visual working memory. Front. Psychology 3:355.
Ashley, S. & Pearson, J. (2012). When more equals less: overtraining inhibits perceptual learning owing to lack of wakeful consolidation. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. Sydney Morning Herald press
Rademaker, R. & Pearson, J. (2012). Training visual imagery: Improvements of metacognition, but not imagery strength. Frontiers in Perception Science.
Pearson, J. (2012). Sates of Consciousness. In Passer, M. & Smith, R. (Eds), Psychology: The science of mind and behaviour. Australian ed. Only. (pp. 173-212). McGraw-Hill. Aus.
Pearson, J. (2012). Associative Learning: Pavlovian Conditioning Without Awareness. Current Biology, 22, 12, R495-R496.
2009 - 2011
Keogh, R. & Pearson, J. (2011). Mental Imagery and visual working memory. PLoS ONE 6(12) e2922.
Pearson, J. Rademaker, R. & Tong, F. (2011). Evaluating the mind’s eye: The metacognition of visual imagery. Psychological Science. 22, 1535-1542.
Knapen, T., Brascamp, J., Pearson, J., van Ee, R & Blake R. (2011). The role of frontal and parietal areas in bistable perception. Journal of Neuroscience. 31(28), 10293-10301.
Sherwood R, & Pearson J (2010). Closing the Mind's Eye: Incoming Luminance Signals Disrupt Visual Imagery. PLoS ONE 5(12): e15217. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0015217.
Pearson, J. (2010). Inner VIsion: Seing the minds eye. Psyche, 16 (1).
Ling, S., Pearson, J. & Blake, R. (2009). Dissociation of neural mechanisms underlying orientation processing in humans. Current Biology. 19, 1458-1462.
Brascamp,J., Pearson,J., Blake, R. & van den Berg, A. (2009). Intermittent ambiguous stimuli: implicit memory causes periodic perceptual alternations. Journal of Vision, 9(3), 3, 1-23.
2006 - 2008
Pearson, J., Clifford, CWG. & Tong F. (2008). The functional impact of mental imagery
on conscious perception. Current Biology. 18, 982-986.
Pearson, J. & Brascamp, J. (2008). Sensory memory for ambiguous vision. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 12, 334-341.
Pearson, J., Tadin, D. & Blake, R. (2007). The effects of transcranial magnetic stimulation on visual rivalry. Journal of Vision, 7(7):2, 1-11, http://journalofvision.org/7/7/2/
Tong, F. & Pearson, J. (2007). Vision. In B. Baars (Ed.) Cognition, Brain and
Consciousness. Elsevier press.
2003 - 2005
Pearson, J. & Clifford, C.W.G. (2005). Suppressed patterns alter vision during binocular rivalry Current Biology, 15, 2142-2148.
Pearson, J. & Clifford, C.W.G. (2005). Mechanisms Selectively engaged in rivalry: normal vision habituates, rivalrous vision primes Vision Research. 45, 707-714.
Pearson, J. & Clifford, C.W.G. (2005). When your brain decides what you see: Grouping across monocular, binocular, and stimulus rivalry. Psychological Science. 16, 516 519.
Pearson, J. & Clifford C.W.G. (2004). Determinants of visual awareness following interruptions during rivalry. Journal of Vision, 4(3), 196-202, http://journalofvision.org/4/3/6/, doi:10.1167/4.3.6.
Watson, T.L. Pearson, J. & Clifford, C. W. G. (2004). Perceptual grouping of biological motion promotes binocular rivalry. Current Biology. 14, 1670-1674.
Clifford, C.W.G., Spehar, B. & Pearson, J. (2004). Motion Transparency Promotes Synchronous Perceptual Binding. Vision Research. 44, 3073-3080.
Clifford, C.W.G, Pearson, J., Forte, J.D., & Spehar, B. (2003). Colour and Luminance Selectivity of Spatial and Temporal Interactions in Orientation Perception. Vision Research. 43, 2885–2893.
Clifford, C.W.G., Arnold, D.H. & Pearson, J. (2003). A paradox of temporal perception revealed by a stimulus oscillating in colour and orientation, Vision Research. 43, 2245–2253.