Research Focus: Processing of visual words and mechanisms of perceptual learning

The human visual brain is extremely efficient in processing vast amount of input information, and is very versatile and highly specialized at the same time.

The cognition group investigates the functional organization of the visual brain, with an emphasis on neural systems involved in processing visual words. The group’s current goal is to address the hierarchical neural representation of visual words and how the visual word form, orthographic, phonological, and semantic information is extracted and computed in this system. In addition, the team also investigates how experience modifies the functional specialization of the neural system for visual object processing.

The group adopted multiple technical approaches such as psychophysics, fMRI, EEG, neuropsychology, intracranial recording, TMS, etc. The group’s research subjects include both healthy adults and children at different levels of developmental stages, as well as patients with reading impairments. The current team members of this group are Sheng He (adjunct professor), Fang Fang (adjunct professor), Xuelian Zang, Jing Zhao, Ye Zhang and Jianrong Jia.