ARCADE – Augmented Reality and Cognitive Analysis in Decision-making Environments

Our research is based on the concept that the brain's interpretive framework has evolved over millions of years, forming a Bayesian model that is attuned to a multimodal and dynamic environment. This model is adept at navigating the complexities of everyday life by continuously comparing incoming sensory information with pre-existing expectations. Central to this process is the encoding of deviations or prediction errors, which reflect the brain's adaptability and learning capacity.

In our lab, we strive to construct advanced models of perception, cognition, and motivation, with a strong focus on understanding how the brain resolves differences between sensory input and predicted outcomes. This work involves a variety of psychophysiological methods, paradigms, and the study of diverse populations to gain comprehensive insights.

Ecological validity is critical to our research, ensuring that our studies and experiments closely mimic the real-world conditions that the brain has evolved to navigate. This approach reflects the recognition that understanding brain processes requires more than isolated, controlled experiments - it requires recreating the rich, dynamic environments that have shaped human cognition and behavior over time.

An important area of our research is the study of autobiographical memory as a driving model of motivational processes. We leverage virtual reality (VR) to create realistic, multimodal experiences that enable us to study how these experiences are perceived, encoded, and recalled. These VR-based investigations are compared to conventional 2D laboratory settings to enhance the ecological validity of psychological science.

Incorporating the study of autism into our research allows us to explore the breadth of neural processing strategies and the brain's ability to adapt to sensory and cognitive challenges. This understanding is critical for building comprehensive models of human cognition and perception that are not only theoretically sound, but also grounded in the realities of diverse human experiences.