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David Watson
Research Associate

Profile

Biography

I completed my PhD at the University of York under the supervision of Prof Timothy Andrews and Dr Tom Hartley. My doctoral work used neuroimaging techniques to study how visual properties of natural scenes are represented in the human brain.

Following this, I moved to the University of Nottingham as a postdoctoral research associate working with Dr Ben Webb and Dr Neil Roach, using behavioural psychophysics to investigate mechanisms underlying multisensory recalibration. I then completed a second postdoctoral position at Nottingham with Prof Alan Johnston, employing computational approaches to study biological signals in dynamic facial behaviours.

Most recently, I have returned to the University of York, working again with Prof Timothy Andrews. My current research investigates the functional organisation of mid-level visual cortices, using both traditional and naturalistic imaging paradigms. I also assist with the supervision of other research students and projects within the lab.

Career

  • 2021 - Present: Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of York, UK
  • 2016 - 2021: Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Nottingham, UK
  • 2011 - 2016: PhD Psychology, University of York, UK

Research

Overview

My research combines behavioural, computational, and neuroimaging techniques to study the functional organisation and connectivity of mid-level visual networks in the human brain. I am particularly interested in networks underpinning the perception of natural scenes and objects. Recently, I have been developing naturalistic imaging (movie-watching) paradigms to investigate the responses of these networks to complex visual scenes.

Research group(s)

  • PlaceLab
  • Vision Group

Publications

Selected publications

  • Watson, D. M., Brown, B. B. Johnston, A. (2020). A data-driven characterisation of natural facial expressions when giving good and bad news. PLOS Computational Biology, 16(10), e1008335. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008335
  • Watson, D. M., Akeroyd, M. A., Roach, N. W., & Webb, B. S. (2019). Distinct mechanisms govern recalibration to audio-visual discrepancies in remote and recent history. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 8513. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-44984-9
  • Watson, D. M., Hartley, T., & Andrews, T. J. (2017). Patterns of response to scrambled scenes reveal the importance of visual properties in the organization of scene-selective cortex. Cortex, 92, 162–174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2017.04.011
  • Watson, D. M., Andrews, T. J., & Hartley, T. (2017). A data driven approach to understanding the organization of high-level visual cortex. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 3596. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-03974-5

Full publications list

Google Scholar

Contact details

David Watson
Research Associate
Department of Psychology
University of York