2024-05-14 Our first Lingnan University Psychological Conference after pandemic!
The Department of Psychology at Lingnan University, Hong Kong was proud to host our first Lingnan University Psychological Conference after the COVID pandemic - From Neurons to Consciousness: The Brain Basis for Cognition on May 2nd 2024. Speakers from across the world came to share their recent research, from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, South Korea, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong.
Our backdrop was the stunning view of the beautiful Victoria Harbour, as we utilised the amazing space Lingnan University has at M+. Attendees and speakers alike were able to enjoy morning coffee break, lunch, and afternoon coffee break with views of the harbour and cultural district. The opportunity to connect with fellow researchers and learn about the advancements in the visual cognition field was invaluable.
Firstly, the Vice President for Research and Innovation at Lingnan University, Prof. Xin Yao, and the Head of Lingnan’s Department of Psychology, Prof. Siu Oi Ling, delivered welcome speeches.
Our first keynote speaker was Prof. Charles Leek (University of Liverpool). The topic of deep neural networks (often used in the engineering and computer science field) and how it can be applied to visual cognition research conducted by psychological researchers was thought-provoking and intriguing.
The following morning talks from researchers based here in Hong Kong showed the exciting and novel research happening in this part of the world. Dr. Dorita Chang (University of Hong Kong) spoke on eye dominance and binocular vision training, and Prof Janet Hsiao (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) shared her person perception research on recognition of faces and eye-movement patterns with an emphasis on deep neural networks and hidden Markov models.
After the very satisfying and fulfilling lunch provided, we had three incredible talks: our very own Prof Yi Huang from Lingnan University delved into the ageing brain and how it impacts decision making, particularly exploring their changes in emotion and motivation as mediators. Prof Ruida Zhu (Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou) spoke about moral choices in perceptual tasks and neurocomputational mechanisms. Before we enjoyed some afternoon coffee and food, Prof Dongil Chung (UNIST Korea) also presented research related to decision-making with an emphasis on how decision-making behaviours change based on whether we are observed by others and observing others.
The conference was concluded by the final keynote speaker: Prof Paul Corballis, (University of Auckland, New Zealand). He aimed to inspire us with a vast number of directions that human perception research could take. I think the most intriguing of the topics for all in attendance was the Ghostalt concept (a clever play on words combining Gestalt [the perception of a whole from the sum of its parts] and Ghosts). Whereby, we could potentially think of ghost sightings by grieving loved ones as a similar experience to phantom limb syndrome.
The first Lingnan University Department of Psychology conference was a huge success! The opportunity to hear the research being conducted across the world and network with fellow vision and neurological researchers was invaluable.
Can’t wait for the conference next year!