STAFF PROFILE
Dr Robin Laycock
Dr Laycock's main research focus is on understanding the neural mechanisms underlying visual attention and object recognition, and also in how these may be impaired in some neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions (e.g., dyslexia, autism spectrum disorders, schizophrenia/schizotypy).
Investigations of parallel visual pathways in human by use of psychophysics techniques and by application of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) to briefly disrupt neural networks are being used to better understand how in healthy individuals such an automatic and rapid perception of the visual world is achieved. Electrophysiological, eye-tracking and functional brain imaging (fMRI) techniques are also important tools for understanding the spatial and temporal profile of visual and visual attentional networks involved.
In particular, Dr Laycock has focused on understanding the contribution of parallel visual pathways (magnocellular, parvocellular), and of their contribution to the dorsal and ventral streams. TMS, as a brain stimulation technique, is a particularly exciting tool when used in conjunction with other cognitive neuroscience methodologies, as it provides causal information about the involvement of cortical regions in a given cognitive task.
Dr Laycock has also looked more recently at how anxiety and acute stress can influence perception, as well as exploring the relationship between conscious and non-conscious visual processing (e.g, what role do direct sub-cortical pathways to the amygdala contribute to non-conscious processing in those on the autism spectrum?)
- BSc (University of Melbourne)
- Postgrad Dip AppPsych (La Trobe University)
- PhD (La Trobe University)
SUPERVISORY INTERESTS
Vision science, cognitive neuroscience, neurospsychology, affective neuroscience.
Visual abnormalities in neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders including aspects of social/affective processing. I am particularly interested in visual/attentional (including eye-movement) abnormalities in people on the autism spectrum, or in schizotypy. I am interested in running projects exploring the extent of information processing that is possible without conscious awareness (e.g., using Continuous Flash Suppression) in general, as well as across the autism spectrum or how such processes contribute to fear mechanisms (e.g., Phobia). I also have an interest in exploring the relationship between stress/anxiety and perception.
- Becker, C.,Caterer, E.,Chouinard, P.,Laycock, R. (2021). Alterations in Rapid Social Evaluations in Individuals with High Autism Traits In: Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 51, 3575 - 3585
- Laycock, R.,Wood, K.,Wright, A.,Crewther, S.,Goodale, M. (2020). Saccade Latency Provides Evidence for Reduced Face Inversion Effects With Higher Autism Traits In: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 13, 1 - 9
- Laycock, R.,Crewther, S.,Chouinard, P. (2020). Blink and You Will Miss It: a Core Role for Fast and Dynamic Visual Processing in Social Impairments in Autism Spectrum Disorder In: Current Developmental Disorders Reports, 7, 237 - 248
- Bardalai, R.,Laycock, R.,Troynikov, O. (2020). Material-touch-emotion lexicon enabling design for wellbeing In: Proceedings of the AMPS Experiential Design – Rethinking relations between people, objects and environments Conference (AMPS 2020), Florida, United States, 16-17 January 2020
- Peel, H.,Sherman, J.,Sperandio, I.,Laycock, R.,Chouinard, P. (2019). Perceptual size discrimination requires awareness and late visual areas: A continuous flash suppression and interocular transfer study In: Consciousness and Cognition, 67, 77 - 85
- Laycock, R.,Cutajar, E.,Crewther, S. (2019). Subclinical high schizotypy traits are associated with slower change detection In: Acta Psychologica, 195, 80 - 86
- Laycock, R.,Cutajar, E.,Crewther, S. (2019). High schizotypy traits associated with atypical processing of negative emotions with low spatial frequencies In: Schizophrenia Research, 210, 294 - 295
- Cross, A.,Goharpey, N.,Laycock, R.,Crewther, S. (2019). Anxiety as a common biomarker for school children with additional health and developmental needs irrespective of diagnosis In: Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1 - 10
- Shilton, A.,Laycock, R.,Crewther, S. (2019). Different effects of trait and state anxiety on global-local visual processing following acute stress In: Cognition, Brain, Behavior. An Interdisciplinary Journal, 23, 155 - 170
- Laycock, R. (2018). Perceptual discrimination of basic object features is not facilitated when priming stimuli are prevented from reaching awareness by means of visual masking In: Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience, 12, 1 - 10
3 PhD Current Supervisions
- Gowerlabs LUMO fNIRS Neuroimaging Ecosystem (UK). Funded by: Harold and Cora Brennen Trust Grant from (2021 to 2021)