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To study information processing in the brain, neuroscientists manipulate experimental stimuli while recording participant brain activity. They can then use encoding models to find out which brain "zone" (e.g. which region of interest,…
Novice programmers often struggle to comprehend code due to vague naming, deep nesting, and poor structural organization. While explanations may offer partial support, they typically do not restructure the code itself. We propose code…
Visual perception is critically influenced by the focus of attention. Due to limited resources, it is well known that neural representations are biased in favor of attended locations. Using concurrent eye-tracking and functional Magnetic…
How do humans and other animals learn new tasks? A wave of brain recording studies has investigated how neural representations change during task learning, with a focus on how tasks can be acquired and coded in ways that minimise mutual…
AI code generators like OpenAI Codex have the potential to assist novice programmers by generating code from natural language descriptions, however, over-reliance might negatively impact learning and retention. To explore the implications…
This paper represents a pilot study examining learners who are new to computer science (CS). Subjects are taught to program in one of two virtual reality (VR) applications developed by the researcher that use interactable objects…
Neuroprosthetic brain-computer interfaces function via an algorithm which decodes neural activity of the user into movements of an end effector, such as a cursor or robotic arm. In practice, the decoder is often learned by updating its…
This paper presents an approach to the study of cognitive activities in collaborative software development. This approach has been developed by a multidisciplinary team made up of software engineers and cognitive psychologists. The basis of…
Decoding visual stimuli from neural population activity is crucial for understanding the brain and for applications in brain-machine interfaces. However, such biological data is often scarce, particularly in primates or humans, where…
Novice programmers experience emotional difficulties in informal online learning environments, where confusion and frustration can hinder motivation and learning outcomes. This study investigates novice programmers' emotional experiences in…
AI code generation tools have expanded software creation beyond professional developers, giving rise to vibe coding, a practice in which users generate software via natural-language prompts, evaluate outputs primarily by execution. Prior…
Scientific software-defined as computer programs, scripts, or code used in scientific research, data analysis, modeling, or simulation-has become central to modern research. However, there is limited research on the readability and…
How do we imagine visual objects and combine them to create new forms? To answer this question, we need to explore the cognitive, computational and neural mechanisms underlying imagery and creativity. The body of research on deep learning…
As programmers write code, they often edit and retry multiple times, creating rich "interaction traces" that reveal how they approach coding tasks and provide clues about their level of skill development. For novice programmers in…
Neural encoding and decoding, which aim to characterize the relationship between stimuli and brain activities, have emerged as an important area in cognitive neuroscience. Traditional encoding models, which focus on feature extraction and…
Various programming tools, languages, and environments give programmers the impression of changing a program while it is running. This experience of liveness has been discussed for over two decades and a broad spectrum of research on this…
Similar to how differences in the proficiency of the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal system predict an individual's athletic ability, differences in how the same brain region encodes information across individuals may explain their…
We present the results of a user study with novice NMR analysts (N=19) involving a gamified simulation of the NMR analysis process. Participants solved randomly generated spectrum puzzles for up to three hours. We used eye tracking, event…
This exploratory field study investigates the integration of innovative forms of recitation tasks in a first-year introductory mechanics course, focusing on smartphone-based experimental tasks alongside programming and standard recitation…
In the pursuit to understand the intricacies of human brain's visual processing, reconstructing dynamic visual experiences from brain activities emerges as a challenging yet fascinating endeavor. While recent advancements have achieved…