I received my PhD in 2013 in Psychology from the Department of Psychology at The University of Queensland. During my PhD I tested how eye movements affect visual perception, and I won an Australian Psychological Society and Dean's award for my thesis. In 2013 I moved to Cambridge, Massachussets, to study translational vision science with Professor Peter Bex at Schepens Eye Research Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School. Pete's lab moved to Northeastern University in 2014, where I stayed for another year. In 2014 I received an Early Career Fellowship from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, and moved to Cambridge, UK, in 2015 to work with Tristan Bekinschtein trying to understand consciousness. I later worked with Dr Paul Bays to understand why the brain is so limited in its ability to store visual short term memories. I am now an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Research Fellow at the Queensland Brain Institute and the School of Psychology, The University of Queensland.
Journal Article: Neural tuning instantiates prior expectations in the human visual system
Harrison, William J., Bays, Paul M. and Rideaux, Reuben (2023). Neural tuning instantiates prior expectations in the human visual system. Nature Communications, 14 (1) 5320, 1-12. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-41027-w
Journal Article: Biased population coding of visual orientation in the human brain
Harrison, William J., Bays, Paul M. and Rideaux, Reuben (2023). Biased population coding of visual orientation in the human brain. Journal of Vision, 23 (9), 5278. doi: 10.1167/jov.23.9.5278
Journal Article: Modality independent or modality specific? Common computations underlie confidence judgements in visual and auditory decisions
West, Rebecca K., Harrison, William J., Matthews, Natasha, Mattingley, Jason B. and Sewell, David K. (2023). Modality independent or modality specific? Common computations underlie confidence judgements in visual and auditory decisions. PLOS Computational Biology, 19 (7) e1011245, e1011245. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011245
The influence of naturalistic context on visual short-term memory
(2019–2023) ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award
Novel approaches to understanding peripheral vision in patients with central vision loss
(2015–2019) NHMRC Early Career Fellowships
Seeing the Forest Through the Trees: Perceptual Influences of Natural Feature Distributions
Doctor Philosophy
Visual Ensemble Statistics: A Primary Effect or Epiphenomenon of Visual Perception?
Doctor Philosophy
Neural tuning instantiates prior expectations in the human visual system
Harrison, William J., Bays, Paul M. and Rideaux, Reuben (2023). Neural tuning instantiates prior expectations in the human visual system. Nature Communications, 14 (1) 5320, 1-12. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-41027-w
Biased population coding of visual orientation in the human brain
Harrison, William J., Bays, Paul M. and Rideaux, Reuben (2023). Biased population coding of visual orientation in the human brain. Journal of Vision, 23 (9), 5278. doi: 10.1167/jov.23.9.5278
West, Rebecca K., Harrison, William J., Matthews, Natasha, Mattingley, Jason B. and Sewell, David K. (2023). Modality independent or modality specific? Common computations underlie confidence judgements in visual and auditory decisions. PLOS Computational Biology, 19 (7) e1011245, e1011245. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011245
Contextual Influences of Perceptual Inferences
A-Izzeddin, Emily, Mattingley, Jason and Harrison, William (2022). Contextual Influences of Perceptual Inferences. Journal of Vision, 22 (14), 3811. doi: 10.1167/jov.22.14.3811
Luminance and contrast of images in the THINGS database
Harrison, William J (2022). Luminance and contrast of images in the THINGS database. Perception, 51 (4), 244-262. doi: 10.1177/03010066221083397
Spatial structure, phase, and the contrast of natural images
Rideaux, Reuben, West, Rebecca K., Wallis, Thomas S.A., Bex, Peter J., Mattingley, Jason B. and Harrison, William J. (2022). Spatial structure, phase, and the contrast of natural images. Journal of Vision, 22 (1), 1-19. doi: 10.1167/JOV.22.1.4
The influence of visual distortion on face recognition
Dear, Micaela and Harrison, William J. (2021). The influence of visual distortion on face recognition. Cortex, 146, 238-249. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.10.008
Limited memory for ensemble statistics in visual change detection
Harrison, William J., McMaster, Jessica M. V. and Bays, Paul M. (2021). Limited memory for ensemble statistics in visual change detection. Cognition, 214 104763, 104763. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2021.104763
Location-independent feature binding in visual working memory for sequentially presented objects
Schneegans, Sebastian, Harrison, William J. and Bays, Paul M. (2021). Location-independent feature binding in visual working memory for sequentially presented objects. Attention, Perception, and Psychophysics, 83 (6), 2377-2393. doi: 10.3758/s13414-021-02245-w
Segmenting processes in the human lateral geniculate nucleus
Harrison, William J. (2019). Segmenting processes in the human lateral geniculate nucleus. Cortex, 121, 485-487. doi: 10.1016/j.cortex.2019.07.011
Rideaux, Reuben and Harrison, William J. (2019). Border ownership-dependent tilt aftereffect for shape defined by binocular disparity and motion parallax. Journal of Neurophysiology, 121 (5), 1917-1923. doi: 10.1152/jn.00111.2019
The (in)visibility of groomed ski runs
Harrison, William J. (2019). The (in)visibility of groomed ski runs. i-Perception, 10 (2), 204166951984289. doi: 10.1177/2041669519842895
The role of attention in learning in the digital age
Lodge, Jason M. and Harrison, William J. (2019). The role of attention in learning in the digital age. Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, 92 (1), 21-28.
Attentional selection and illusory surface appearance
Harrison, William J., Ayeni, Alvin J. and Bex, Peter J. (2019). Attentional selection and illusory surface appearance. Scientific Reports, 9 (1) 2227, 2227. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-37084-7
Voluntary control of illusory contour formation
Harrison, William J. and Rideaux, Reuben (2019). Voluntary control of illusory contour formation. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 81 (5), 1522-1531. doi: 10.3758/s13414-019-01678-8
Visual working memory is independent of the cortical spacing between memoranda
Harrison, William J. and Bays, Paul M. (2018). Visual working memory is independent of the cortical spacing between memoranda. The Journal of Neuroscience, 38 (12), 3116-3123. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2645-17.2017
Harrison, William J. and Bex, Peter J. (2017). Visual crowding is a combination of an increase of positional uncertainty, source confusion, and featural averaging. Scientific Reports, 7 (45551) 45551, 45551. doi: 10.1038/srep45551
Monocular and binocular contributions to oculomotor plasticity
Maiello, Guido, Harrison, William J. and Bex, Peter J. (2016). Monocular and binocular contributions to oculomotor plasticity. Scientific Reports, 6 (1) 31861, 31861. doi: 10.1038/srep31861
How best to unify crowding? Reply
Harrison, William J. and Bex, Peter J. (2016). How best to unify crowding? Reply. Current Biology, 26 (9), R353-R354. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.03.024
A Unifying Model of Orientation Crowding in Peripheral Vision
Harrison, William J. and Bex, Peter J. (2015). A Unifying Model of Orientation Crowding in Peripheral Vision. Current Biology, 25 (24), 3213-3219. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.10.052
Robinson, Gail A., Spooner, Donna and Harrison, William J. (2015). Frontal dynamic aphasia in progressive supranuclear palsy: distinguishing between generation and fluent sequencing of novel thoughts. Neuropsychologia, 77, 62-75. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.08.001
Integrating retinotopic features in spatiotopic coordinates
Harrison, William J. and Bex, Peter J. (2014). Integrating retinotopic features in spatiotopic coordinates. Journal of Neuroscience, 34 (21), 7351-7360. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5252-13.2014
Visual crowding is anisotropic along the horizontal meridian during smooth pursuit
Harrison, W. J., Remington, R. W. and Mattingley, J. B. (2014). Visual crowding is anisotropic along the horizontal meridian during smooth pursuit. Journal of Vision, 14 (1) 21, 1-16. doi: 10.1167/14.1.21
Visual crowding at a distance during predictive remapping
Harrison, William J., Retell, James D., Remington, Roger W. and Mattingley, Jason B. (2013). Visual crowding at a distance during predictive remapping. Current Biology, 23 (9), 793-798. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2013.03.050
Eye movement targets are released from visual crowding
Harrison, William J., Mattingley, Jason B. and Remington, Roger W. (2013). Eye movement targets are released from visual crowding. Journal of Neuroscience, 33 (7), 2927-2933. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4172-12.2013
Harrison, William J., Mattingley, Jason B. and Remington, Roger W. (2013). Releasing crowding prior to a saccade requires more than "attention": response to van Koningsbruggen and Buonocore. The Journal of Neuroscience, 33 (28).
Pre-saccadic shifts of visual attention
Harrison, William J., Mattingley, Jason B. and Remington, Roger W. (2012). Pre-saccadic shifts of visual attention. Plos One, 7 (9) e45670, e45670.1-e45670.10. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0045670
Multisensory integration with a head-mounted display: Background visual motion and sound motion
Harrison, William J., Thompson, Matthew B. and Sanderson, Penelope M. (2010). Multisensory integration with a head-mounted display: Background visual motion and sound motion. Human Factors, 52 (1), 78-91. doi: 10.1177/0018720810367790
Rideaux, Reuben and Harrison, William (2019). Border-ownership-dependent tilt aftereffect for shape defined by binocular disparity and motion parallax. 42nd European Conference on Visual Perception, Leuven, Belgium, 25-29 August 2019. London, United Kingdom: Sage.
Trans-saccadic updating of spatial attention: Classification images and generative model comparisons
Harrison, William J., Stead, Imogen, Wallis, Thomas S. A., Bex, Peter J. and Mattingley, Jason B. (2019). Trans-saccadic updating of spatial attention: Classification images and generative model comparisons. 42nd European Conference on Visual Perception (ECVP) 2019 , Leuven, Belgium, 25 - 29 August, 2019. London, United Kingdom: Sage Publications. doi: 10.1177/0301006619863862
Visual crowding is altered during smooth pursuit eye movements
Harrison, W., Remington, R. and Mattingley, J. (2013). Visual crowding is altered during smooth pursuit eye movements. Vision Sciences Society Annual Meeting, Naples, Florida, 10-15 March 2013. Rockville, MD, United States: Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. doi: 10.1167/13.9.581
Head-mounted displays and multisensory integration: Replications and challenges
Tear, Morgan J., Harrison, William J., Thompson, Matthew B. and Sanderson, Penelope M. (2009). Head-mounted displays and multisensory integration: Replications and challenges. Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 53rd Annual Meeting, San Antonio, Texas, USA, 19-23 October 2009. United States: Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. doi: 10.1518/107118109x12524443345230
Influences of voluntary eye movements on object perception in peripheral vision
Harrison, William J. (2012). Influences of voluntary eye movements on object perception in peripheral vision. PhD Thesis, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland.
The influence of naturalistic context on visual short-term memory
(2019–2023) ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award
Novel approaches to understanding peripheral vision in patients with central vision loss
(2015–2019) NHMRC Early Career Fellowships
Seeing the Forest Through the Trees: Perceptual Influences of Natural Feature Distributions
Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor
Other advisors:
Visual Ensemble Statistics: A Primary Effect or Epiphenomenon of Visual Perception?
Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor