18, GOALS FOR FELLOWSHIP TRAINING AND CAREER ini_a_,HeB]_, Kksten M. MENTOR Louis Mueller Susan C. Johnson SUPERVISOR/EMPLOYER Velma Dobson David Rosenberg Susan C. Johnson My graduate program provided an understanding of developmental issues; I hope to learn more about the relationship between psychological and neural representation with my post-doctoral fellowship. The Cognitive Science department at Johns Hopkins University provides the environment and expertise needed to achieve this general aim. My specific goal, inspired by my work with infants, is to better characterize the functional divisions found in object representation. Children with Williams syndrome, a developmental disorder, are an ideal population in which to examine these issues. Training will include additional coursework (e.g., cognitive neuroscience,) other learning opportunities (e.g., fMRI journal club), mastering new techniques (e.g., eye tracking), and working with new populations. The fellowship would leave me ideally situated to advance our understanding of the development of higher order visual representations through a cross-disciplinary approach. t'ao|ll-'l.ll 19. NAME AND DEGREE(S) Bnrhn__ral__and_9_3P,h:D 20. POSITION/RANK Todd l:_nfpoe.r c_f(_gnitlv_ _i_=nc'P 21. RESEARCH INTERESTS/AREAS Language, Spatial Cognition, Conceptual Development ilif-1=fllil i= =='ii['l-'rll 22. DESCRIPTION (Do not exceed space provided) This research investigates visual object representation in children and adults with Williams syndrome, as well as normally developing children. People with Williams syndrome have particular difficulty reasoning about the spatial aspects of objects, such as the relations between objects, but seem relatively unimpaired with object category. We hypothesize that this pattern reflects deficits in the representation of the spatiotemporal characteristics of objects, specifically the ability to locate and track multiple objects through time and space, with comparative preservation in their representation of the object's category. Using well-established methodologies from adult psychology, we will examine working memory for an object's location and category, object tracking with and without occlusion, and enumeration of multiple objects. These studies will provide a more accurate characterization of the visuospatial deficits in WS, benefiting further research in three important ways. First, it will further our understanding of the functional divisions in object representation and the associated neurophysiological substrates, since researchers have begun to describe the brain abnormalities that accompany this disorder. Second, it will provide a foundation for addressing these impairments clinically. Third, it will increase our understanding of the effects of the gene deletion that is a marker of this syndrome. PHS 416-1 (Rev. 12/98) Form Page 2 BB cc Individual NRSA Application Table of Contents ========================================Section End===========================================
