Sustained perception in humans and how attention shapes it
Official title: CRCNS: Computations and Neural Mechanisms in Sustained Perception in Humans
Funded at University of California Berkeley · NIH-11418971 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A brain-based study in people with epilepsy that looks at how we maintain awareness of longer visual stimuli over time.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California Berkeley NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Berkeley, United States) |
| Project start | September 30, 2024 |
| Project end | June 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $297,068 |
| NIH project number | 5R01EY037195-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11418971 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Patients undergoing intracranial monitoring who can participate in perceptual tasks and provide informed consent.
✕Less likely to help
Individuals not involved in intracranial monitoring or unable to participate in the specific tasks.
What this research studies
This project studies how the brain keeps perceiving things as they unfold over several seconds, not just at the moment of first glance. Researchers will record brain signals, including local field potentials and single neurons, from consenting patients undergoing neurosurgical monitoring to understand sustained perception. They will use advanced computer methods to analyze the data and test how attention and awareness influence persistent representations across different brain regions. The study also aims to develop new computational ideas about how perception stays coherent over time and will provide hands-on training for students. Participation involves tasks with long visual stimuli and intracranial recordings in a carefully monitored clinical setting.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Better understanding of how attention and awareness support continuous perception could inform treatments for perceptual disorders and guide future brain-computer interface approaches.
How similar studies have gone: Prior work shows persistent neural representations in certain brain areas, suggesting this approach could reveal new principles of sustained perception.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California Berkeley
Berkeley, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Sommer, Friedrich T — University of California Berkeley
- Study coordinator: Sommer, Friedrich T
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.