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Simon Fischer-Baum
Postdoctoral Fellow
Contact info:
5215 Beckman Institute
405 North Mathews Avenue
Urbana, Illinois 61801
Email: fischerb@illinois.edu
Research interests:
Although human cognition can be carved into dissociable domains, different domains may deploy similar operations. Using a varied methodological toolbox, I aim to understand the extent to which information is represented and processed similarly in different cognitive domains - with a focus on the representations and processes required for working memory and spoken and written language processing. To this end, I am currently involved in a number of projects including:
(1) The representation of position: One skill that is expressed in multiple domains is our ability to process serial order. Speaking, spelling, and serial recall all rely on sequence representations that, at a minimum, contain information about the identity and position of the items in the sequence. Although, various hypotheses have been proposed for how position is represented little empirical work has directly contrasted them. My dissertation explored item position representation for sequences in different domains: letters in reading and spelling, phonemes in spoken production, and words, spatial locations and object orientations in working memory. For each domain I determined which of a large set of position representation schemes best explained the patterns of errors produced in these tasks.
(2) Knowledge about regularities: In spoken language, researchers have long investigated how to best characterize phonotactic knowledge – regularities in the patterns of sound sequences found in spoken languages – and have studied how this knowledge influences behavior in spoken production and comprehension. In my research, I am investigating how to best characterize our knowledge about regularities for other types of sequences (for example, regularities in the patterns of letter sequences found in written languages) as well as investigating how that knowledge influences behavior.
(3) Dynamics of competition between past and present: Perseveration errors are a widespread phenomenon, having been reported both in higher cognitive functions – like problem-solving and language production – and in more peripheral processes, like auditory and visual perception and motor production. Excessive perseveration of various forms is a sign of an immature (e.g. kids), damaged (e.g. aphasia), or otherwise improperly functioning (e.g. schizophrenia) brains. My research investigates the underlying cause(s) of perseveration errors in different cognitive domains as a tool to investigate the temporal dynamics of the competition between the past and the present. What is the role of inhibition in explaining perseveration errors? To what extent is perseveration a domain-specific or a domain-general problem?
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