Current Research
My work, in the Shimojo
Psychophysics
Laboratory at
Caltech, focuses on the role of
orienting
behavior in preference formation in human beings. Besides psychophysics, we use
a variety of brain imaging / localizing techniques to investigate how the way we
look at things modifies our perception of preference for them.
The central question of my research is: "Do we look at what we like, or do we
like what we look at?" Puzzling, eh?
Instruments and techniques
- Eye tracking - we use the state-of-the-art eye tracking device
Eyelink 2, from SR Research. Click
here to see me
wearing the eye tracker helmet.
- EEG - we use a 32-channel EEG system to localize brain signals
during comparison tasks. What brain areas are more active? Is there a
difference between tasks involving attractiveness and other tasks?
- Psychophysics toolbox - a powerful Matlab toolbox, specially
designed for us, psychophysicists. You can download it
here.
Conference abstracts
- VSS 2001 - Simion, C., Scheier, C., Shimojo, E., Shimojo, S. - Do
we like what we see more, or do we see more what we like? (VSS Abstracts,
#281/2001)
- VSS 2002 - Simion, C., Shimojo, S. - What we see is what we like -
intrinsic link between gaze and preference (VSS Abstracts, #573/2002)
- VSS 2003 - Simion, C., Shimojo, S. - Gaze manipulation biases
preference decisions (VSS Abstracts, #306/2003)
- SfN 2003 - Simion, C., Bhattacharya, J., Shimojo, S. - Gaze,
decision and cortical activation: a join eye-tracking / EEG study
- VSS 2004 - Simion, C., Shimojo, S., - How early does the brain know
what it likes? Evidence from pupillometry (VSS Abstracts, 2004 in press)
- VSS 2004 - Shimojo, S., Simion, C., - Orienting behavior robustly
contributes to preference decisions (VSS Abstracts, 2004, in press)
Articles
First Author Articles
- Shimojo, S. & Simion, C., Shimojo, E., Scheier, C. - Gaze bias both reflects and influences preference - Nature
Neuroscience, Vol. 6(12), Dec. 2003, pp. 1317-1322 - you can see it on-line
here, if you have a subscription to Nature Neuroscience.
References (more or less scientific :)
1. in:
