Noriko Yamagishi

Profie photo of Noriko Yamagishi

Professor

Ph.D., Purdue University

Office Location:
AC5314
Office Hours:
Wednesday 13:00-14:00 (Make an appointment by email in advance)

Education

  • Ph.D., Purdue University
  • MBA, McGill University

I was awarded Ph.D. from Purdue University (Department of Psychological Sciences, Cognitive Psychology) in 1995 and was awarded MBA with Dean's Honor list from McGill University (Desautels Faculty of Management) in 2016. I was a postdoctoral fellow at University of California, San Diego (Department of Ophthalmology) from 1995 to 1996, and at Royal Holloway, University of London (Department of Psychology) from 1996 to 1997. I was a senior researcher at Advanced Telecommunications Research Institutes International from 1997 to 2013 and CiNeT from 2013 to 2019. From 2019 April, joined Ritsumeikan University as a professor.

Message to Students

Our society has been changing dramatically. We always need to sense such a change, and think and act to it. Study at college used to be a learning of specific knowledge and skills, but we now need to develop abilities to analyze situations, communicate with people and think deeply. The college of GLA provides students a program where ones can obtain such skills systematically. Hope you will build new abilities to live in the new era, and could be a leader for the future.

Courses Taught

  • Introduction to Global Liberal Arts I & II
  • Social Impacts of Brain Science
  • Human Intelligence
  • Research Seminar I & II
  • Thesis

Social Impacts of Brain Science

This course introduces neural mechanisms underlying human behavior. Learn how human nervous system produces behavior, such as decision, attention and perception, in our everyday life. We will study how neuroscience can explain our common problems. The course lectures cover fundamental structures and mechanisms of nervous systems as well as applications of this knowledge to neuroeconomics and AI. The students will be provided the most recent evidence from brain imaging techniques (fMRI, MEG, TMS, etc.) and introduced to the explanatory models behind human social behavior.

Research Interests

Cognitive Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Psychological Sciences, Vision, Attention, Emotion, Brain Science

My research is focused on mechanisms underlying human visual dynamics and attention, and their relation to human consciousness. Our research uses psychophysical techniques in combination with a number of human brain imaging techniques, including fMRI, MEG and EEG. Over a series of experiments, we've shown that visual attention modulates specific neural activity in human visual cortex, even before stimulus onset. Furthermore, we've shown that the levels of such modulation is highly predictive of behavioral performance. We're also interested in applying such basic findings to support ambient intelligence. My lab has pioneered the use of real-time attention monitoring systems that enable us to predict humans' internal states (e.g., readiness, happiness levels) from brain imaging data. Using this system, it is possible to develop real-time applications in helping people to avoid depression.

See more on Yamagishi Vision Dynamics Laboratory .

Grant Received

Principal Investigator (2019-2022) JSPS KAKENHI Grant number 19H00635 Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) 'Detecting and healing mental disorder by using attentional function system' (46,150,000 JPY research grant)

Supervision Information

Cognitive processing, visual processing, attentional processes, emotion, gratitude, psychophysical methods, cognitive neuroscientific approaches.

Representative Publications

To be added.