Texas Tech University

Miranda Scolari, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Experimental (Cognitive)

Email: miranda.scolari@ttu.edu

Phone: (806) 834-5796

Office: 322, Lab: 154D; 406

Education:
Post doc, 2011-2016, Princeton University, Princeton Neuroscience Institute
PhD, 2007-2012, University of California, San Diego, Psychology
MA, 2005-2007, University of Oregon, Psychology
BA, 2004, Willamette University, Psychology

Please see my CV.
Website: Selective Attention & Perception Lab


Dr. Scolari will be reviewing applications for the incoming 2023-2024 class.

Dr. Miranda Scolari

Research Interests

The human visual system is best conceived of as a limited capacity processor: we can only take in and process a finite amount of information at a time. The natural environment, however, contains a wealth of visual input that far exceeds processing capacities. How, then, do we attend only to important information while ignoring the clutter? My research broadly explores the functions and limitations of the human visual system in the face of such perceptual challenges. I am particularly interested in how mechanisms of attention recruit regions of the brain that process visual input in order to facilitate behavioral goals, and primarily use fMRI, TMS and behavioral methods in my investigations.

Selected Research

O'Bryan, S. R. & Scolari, M. (2021). Phasic pupillary responses modulate object-based attentional prioritization. Attention, Perception & Psychophysics

Liang, G. & Scolari, M. (2020). Limited interactions between space- and feature-based attention in visually sparse displays. Journal of Vision, 20, 4, 5.

Scolari, M. & Awh, E. (2019). Object-based biased competition during covert spatial orienting. Attention, Perception & Psychophysics, 81, 1366-1385. 

Scolari, M., Seidl-Rathkopf, K. & Kastner, S. (2015). Functions of the human frontoparietal attention network: Evidence from neuroimaging. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences.

Scolari, M., Ester, E. F. & Serences, J. T. (2014). Feature- and object-based attentional modulation in the human visual system. In: The Oxford Handbook of Attention (A.C. Nobre & S. Kastner, Eds).

Scolari, M., Byers, A. & Serences, J. T. (2012). The precision of top-down attentional gain in early visual cortex. Journal of Neuroscience, 32, 22, 7723-7733.

Umemoto, A., Scolari, M., Vogel, E. K. & Awh, E. (2010). Statistical learning induces discrete shifts in the allocation of working memory resources. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception & Performance, 36, 6, 1419-1429.

Scolari, M. & Serences, J. T. (2010). Basing perceptual decisions on the most informative sensory neurons. Journal of Neurophysiology, 104, 4, 2266-2273.

Scolari, M. & Serences, J. T. (2009). Adaptive allocation of attentional gain. Journal of Neuroscience, 29, 38, 11933-11942.

 

Teaching Interests & Activities


Undergraduate:
Cognition
Neuroscience of Vision

Graduate:
Neuroscience of Vision