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Department of Psychology

Research

In order to interact with the world, our brains construct and sustain their own internal representations of it. Our aim is to understand the nature of these representations and the computations the brain performs on them to achieve behavioural goals. In the lab, we use visual psychophysics and memory tasks, eye and limb movement recordings, mathematical models and computer simulations. We also collaborate with researchers using brain imaging, recording and stimulation, and with neuropsychologists who study cognitive aging, mental illness and neurological disorders.    

Publications

Key publications: 

Reassessing the evidence for capacity limits in neural signals related to working memory. Bays PM. Cerebral Cortex 28(4): 1432--1438 (2018)

Efficient coding in visual working memory accounts for stimulus-specific variations in recall. Taylor R & Bays PM. Journal of Neuroscience 38(32): 7132-7142 (2018)

Neural architecture for feature binding in visual working memory. Schneegans S & Bays PM. Journal of Neuroscience 37(14): 3913-3925 (2017)

Distinct neural mechanisms underlie the success, precision, and vividness of episodic memory. Richter FR, Cooper RA, Bays PM & Simons JS. eLife 5: e18260 (2016)

Evidence for optimal integration of visual feature representations across saccades. Oostwoud Wijdenes L, Marshall L & Bays PM. Journal of Neuroscience 35(28): 10146-10153 (2015)

Noise in neural populations accounts for errors in working memory. Bays PM. Journal of Neuroscience 34(10): 3632-3645 (2014)

Changing concepts of working memory. Ma WJ, Husain M & Bays PM. Nature Neuroscience 17(3): 347-356 (2014)

Active inhibition and memory promote exploration and search of natural scenes. Bays PM & Husain M. Journal of Vision 12(8):8, 1-18 (2012)

The precision of visual working memory is set by allocation of a shared resource. Bays PM, Catalao RFG & Husain M. Journal of Vision 9(10): 7, 1-11 (2009)

Dynamic shifts of limited working memory resources in human vision. Bays PM & Husain M. Science 321: 851-854 (2008)

Perception of the consequences of self-action is temporally tuned and event driven. Bays PM, Wolpert DM & Flanagan JR. Current Biology 15: 1125-1128 (2005)

Two eyes for an eye: The neuroscience of force escalation. Shergill SS, Bays PM, Frith CD & Wolpert DM.  Science  301: 187 (2003)

Professor of Computation and Cognition
pmb20[at]cam.ac.uk

Contact Details

Classifications: 
Person keywords: 
visual cognition
Bayesian modelling
Uncertainty
memory
visual perception
Takes PhD students
Available for consultancy