The thesis has been accepted for defense. Here are the details.
Date of defense: 9 November, 2022 at 16:30 CET / 21:00 IST
Location: Auditorium, Radboud University
Online broadcast link
Paranymphs: Giacomo Aldegheri, Charlotte de Blecourt
PDF of the thesis
Summary of the thesis: (Extended version)
We can easily find a banana in the kitchen. On the other hand, multiplying two large numbers feels more difficult. However, in recreating these abilities in machines, we found that it is easier to program multiplication than visual search. This is a testament to the complexity of the processes in the brain that underlie our search capabilities. Here we present new insights into our understanding of these processes on two fronts: first, our ability to search for targets in parallel in the field of view, and second, our ability to group objects that occur simultaneously thus simplifying the search. Using neuroimaging (fMRI), we found processes in the brain associated with the search for human bodies, executed in parallel across the visual field. Using behavioral experiments, we found that we can use the co-occurrences between distractor shapes to lead to efficient target search. The implications of these findings and follow-ups are discussed.