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Oliver Braddick

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Oliver Braddick
Born(1944-11-16)16 November 1944
Died17 January 2022(2022-01-17) (aged 77)
EducationCambridge University
(PhD, 1968)
Scientific career
FieldsExperimental psychology, Developmental psychology, Visual perception
InstitutionsUniversity of Oxford
ThesisBinocular fusion and perceptual analysis (1968)
Doctoral advisorRichard Gregory
Doctoral studentsVilayanur S. Ramachandran

Oliver John Braddick, FBA, FMedSci (16 November 1944 – 17 January 2022) was a British developmental psychologist who researched infant visual perception. He frequently collaborated with his wife Janette Atkinson.[1][2]

Biography

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Braddick was Emeritus Professor of Experimental Psychology at Oxford University from 2011 to 2022. Prior to that, from 2001 to 2011 he was professor and head of the Department of Experimental Psychology.[3][4]

Braddick gained a BA (1965) and PhD (1968) in Experimental Psychology at Trinity College, Cambridge. Between 1968 and 1969 he was a post-doctoral fellow in the laboratory of Lorrin Riggs, Brown University, USA. In 1969 he returned to Cambridge as a University Demonstrator; later he became a lecturer and then reader. By 1976, Braddick was an active member of the Cambridge Visual Development Unit, along with Janette Atkinson, his wife. The unit carried out pioneering research on the development of visual cortical function in infancy and in early visual screening. He also advanced understanding of binocular processes of both infants and adults.[5]

In 1993, Braddick and Janette Atkinson moved to University College London as professors of Psychology. He became head of the Psychology department in 1998. In 2001, he was elected fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, was appointed Head of Psychology at the University of Oxford, and became a Fellow at Magdalen College, Oxford. In July 2012, Braddick was elected as a Fellow of the British Academy for his contributions in the field of visual perception and its development in early childhood.[4] Braddick was also a member of the Visual Development Unit at the University College of London and University of Oxford, a unit that specialises in child visual perception.[6]

Braddick was a member of the editorial board for Current Biology.[7] He died on 17 January 2022, at the age of 77.[1]

Research

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Braddick specialised in infant vision,[8] particularly visual and visuomotor development of the dorsal and ventral streams[9] in infants and children. In infancy, visual traits determine a manual response and the kinematic parameters of each type of response, including reach-and-grasp and surface exploration. These responses reflect the properties of visuo-motor modules which appear in infants from 4 to 12 months old. Because these modules are part of the dorsal cortical stream, they interact with the ventral stream processing in development and in the mature system.[10] Braddick also researched perceptual development of infants with hyperopia.[11][12]

In addition to working on infant vision, Braddick and colleagues showed that adults attempting to grab a glowing item in the dark had a longer reach duration, lower average speed, as well as lower peak speed versus the same situation in the light.[13][importance?]

According to Braddick, reliable motion perception requires several processes that integrate and combine visual motion signals from neighbouring locations within the field of vision. This has the effect of smoothing out spatial variations in velocity.[14]

Selected publications[15]

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  • Atkinson, Janette; Braddick, Oliver; Nardini, Marko; Anker, Shirley (2007). "Infant Hyperopia: Detection, Distribution, Changes and Correlates-Outcomes From the Cambridge Infant Screening Programs". Optometry and Vision Science. 84 (2): 84–96. doi:10.1097/OPX.0b013e318031b69a. PMID 17299337. S2CID 39967549.
  • Braddick, Oliver; Atkinson, Janette; Wattam-Bell, John (2003). "Normal and anomalous development of visual motion processing: motion coherence and 'dorsal-stream vulnerability'". Neuropsychologia. 41 (13): 1769–1784. doi:10.1016/S0028-3932(03)00178-7. PMID 14527540. S2CID 35205340.
  • Atkinson, J; Anker, S; Braddick, O; Nokes, L; Mason, A; Braddick, F (2001). "Visual and visuospatial development in young children with Williams syndrome". Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology. 43 (5): 330–337. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8749.2001.tb00213.x. PMID 11368486.
  • Curran, W; Braddick, O J; Atkinson, J; Wattam-Bell, J; Andrew, R (1999). "Development of illusory-contour perception in infants". Perception. 28 (4): 527–538. doi:10.1068/p2845. PMID 10664792. S2CID 29944681.

References

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  1. ^ a b "In Memoriam: Oliver "Ol" Braddick". Oxford Experimental Psychology News. 21 January 2022. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
  2. ^ Bishop, Dorothy (12 October 2022). "Braddick, Oliver, 1944 - 2022". The British Academy.
  3. ^ "Academic & Independent Researcher Contact List". University of Oxford: Department of Experimental Psychology. Archived from the original on 20 July 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  4. ^ a b "New British Academy fellows announced". University of Oxford Press Office. 23 July 2012. Archived from the original on 10 September 2013. Retrieved 28 June 2013.
  5. ^ Atkinson, Janette; Braddick, Oliver (1976). "Stereoscopic discrimination in infants". Perception. 5 (1): 29–38. doi:10.1068/p050029. PMID 958846. S2CID 145733849.
  6. ^ "Visual Development Unit". UCL Institute of Ophthalmology. University College of London. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2024.mn xzz
  7. ^ "Advisory board: Current Biology".
  8. ^ Vital-Durand, Francois; Atkinson, Janette; Braddick, Oliver (1996). Infant Vision. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198523161. OCLC 32822731.
  9. ^ Atkinson, Janette; Braddick, Oliver (2011). "From genes to brain development to phenotypic behavior". Gene Expression to Neurobiology and Behavior: Human Brain Development and Developmental Disorders. Progress in Brain Research. Vol. 189. Elsevier. pp. 261–283. doi:10.1016/B978-0-444-53884-0.00029-4. ISBN 978-0-444-53884-0. PMID 21489394.
  10. ^ Braddick, Oliver; Atkinson, Janette (2007). "Development of brain mechanisms for visual global processing and object segmentation". From Action to Cognition. Progress in Brain Research. Vol. 162. pp. 151–168. doi:10.1016/s0079-6123(07)64008-4. ISBN 9780444530165. PMID 17920430.
  11. ^ Atkinson et al. 2007
  12. ^ "Visual Development Unit: recent and forthcoming publications". Archived from the original on 10 December 2005.
  13. ^ Babinsky, E; Braddick, O; Atkinson, J (March 2012). "Infants and adults reaching in the dark". Experimental Brain Research. 217 (2): 237–249. doi:10.1007/s00221-011-2984-5. PMID 22198531. S2CID 253744572.
  14. ^ Braddick, Oliver (July 1993). "Segmentation versus integration in visual motion processing". Trends in Neurosciences. 16 (7): 263–268. doi:10.1016/0166-2236(93)90179-P. PMID 7689769. S2CID 4001817.
  15. ^ "Oliver Braddick — Neuroscience". www.neuroscience.ox.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 9 July 2009.
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