EVRA Visioning Event
Just got invited to this event.
Dear Hari,
I am delighted to invite you to the upcoming ERVA visioning event on Engineering Design to Equip a Neurodiverse Workforce on January 29-30, 2025, in Nashville, TN. You were selected for your expertise and experience in this field, which we believe will allow you to contribute to the discussion and raise the level of understanding among all participants. That will lead to a better visioning report, which is the output from this event.....
The Engineering Research Visioning Alliance (ERVA), an initiative funded by the National Science Foundation Engineering Directorate, will host a visioning event to roadmap critical areas of engineering that can have a significant impact. The goal of the event is to collectively develop a strategic plan spanning the next 20-50 years of high-impact, high-reward, pre-competitive engineering research-led opportunities that will advance United States competitiveness. The event outcomes will inform future research directions/resourcing across the nation in industry, academia, federal agencies, national labs, and other stakeholders.
Challenges-Based Solutions
"For some autistics, we can step right into the application of positive psychology. For others, we need to be working on challenge-based solutions at the same time. It’s not a binary, either/or situation where you do one at the expense of the other. " - Hari Srinivasan
https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/aut.2024.38246.pw
VKC Science Day
Poster Presentation at VKC Science Day
https://vkc.vumc.org/multisensory/hari.html
Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Science Day - Tuesday, October 15, 2025
2024 Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Science Day will take place Tuesday, Oct. 15, beginning at 11:30 a.m. at Vanderbilt University Student Life Center. Posters will be hung in the Commodore Ballroom from 10:00-11:30 a.m. with the program beginning at 11:30 a.m. in the Commodore Ballroom. Science Day festivities will include lunch, two poster sessions, a keynote, and a Data Blitz, closing with a wine/cheese reception. Find updates for Science Day at the VKC Science Day webpage here: https://vkc.vumc.org/vkc/scienceday/
What's on my mind
What's on my mind.
I'm just troubled by all the hate in the world. If humankind wants to progress it should be a combined effort forward, not splitting into all the hate factions for whatever reason. Humans are an insignificant nix in the context of the vast universe we live in. I also wonder about my role in all this. I know in terms of disability advocacy I've thought of everything I get to do as adding small pebbles that widen ripples in the pond of change. So I wonder about which small pebbles I can add to that pond.
Diagnostic Overshadowing
"Autism already faces the problem of diagnostic overshadowing where anything and everything is attributed to the mysterious bucket of “it's all part of autism so live with it, nothing more need be done,” by medical professionals. Ironically, the same underlying issues would get treated if the autism label were not attached to that person."
- Hari Srinivasan, Newsweek
The SfN experience
Was at the Society for Neuroscience Conference from Oct 4-9.
Largest neuroscience conference in the world with 22K attendees and 3K exhitors. A mix of overwhelm and awe.
2 poster sessions navigated - a 2 hr long one during the Early Career Session linked to my TPDA award and another 4hr one under Cross Modal Processing in Humans Session
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Temporal ventriloquism
Temporal ventriloquism is a phenomenon where the timing of one sensory modality, such as vision, influences the perception of timing in another modality, like sound. In multisensory integration research, temporal ventriloquism is explored through tasks where auditory and visual stimuli are presented slightly out of sync, but the brain often perceives them as occurring simultaneously or closer together in time. Researchers aim to understand how the brain resolves conflicting sensory information and determines which sensory input to prioritize in order to create a coherent perception of the environment.
In temporal ventriloquism tasks, participants might be asked to judge whether a sound and a visual flash are occurring at the same time, even when their timing is slightly offset. The extent to which vision can alter auditory perception—or vice versa—is key to understanding how the brain integrates sensory inputs. This task is particularly valuable in studying sensory processing in autism, where atypical multisensory integration is often reported.
In autism research, there is growing interest in how temporal ventriloquism might differ from typical sensory integration patterns. Autistic individuals may exhibit less flexibility in how sensory inputs are combined, potentially leading to difficulties in processing complex environments where timing discrepancies between senses occur. Studies have shown that autistics often rely more heavily on one sense over others, which might contribute to challenges in tasks like temporal ventriloquism (Noel et al., 2018). Understanding these differences in temporal processing can offer insights into sensory sensitivities and the broader challenges related to perception in autism.
PlainSpeak. In Plain Language for the Lay Audience
Temporal ventriloquism is when the brain tricks us into thinking that sounds and visuals are happening at the same time, even if they’re slightly out of sync. Imagine you see a light flash and hear a beep that’s just a little delayed, but your brain adjusts and makes you think they’re perfectly in sync. This is how the brain works to keep everything feeling smooth and connected across different senses.
In experiments, researchers test this by showing people lights and playing sounds that are a bit off in timing. They ask participants to judge if they think the sounds and visuals happened together. What’s interesting is that the brain can often ignore these small timing differences and make everything seem like it’s happening at once.
For autistic people, the way the brain handles sensory inputs like this might work a little differently. Some studies suggest that autistic individuals may have a harder time combining sounds and visuals when they’re slightly out of sync, which could be related to sensory sensitivities or challenges in processing multiple types of information at once. Understanding these differences could help explain why certain environments feel overwhelming for autistic individuals.
Vandy is racking it in this year
First a shoutout to MacArthur Genius Grant given to Keivan Staussun at Frist Center.
Next a Nobel in Chemistry.
Disability and Multilingualism
The approach, shaped by clinicians who advised speaking only English to autistic children, paradoxically led to a loss of cultural identity rather than the inclusive exposure that neurotypical children might receive.
Read Full Article at unesco.org...
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