Welcome to the Kwon Lab! We are a research group in the Department of Psychology at Northeastern University investigating how humans perceive and interpret the external world through their sensory filters.

Our perception of reality is not a direct copy of the physical world but an approximation shaped by the properties and precision of our sensory and cognitive systems. The visual system, in particular, acts as a dynamic filter that transforms light into meaningful and coherent percepts through processes of inference and prediction. Just as some animals like bees or mantis shrimp, can see ultraviolet light invisible to humans, every species samples the world through its own sensory channels – each revealing a different version of the visual world.

Aging or disease can alter the sensory filter through which the brain receives information, while atypical or degraded viewing conditions alter the statistical regularities of the environment. By studying how the human brain reconstructs the world under these altered sensory conditions, we seek to uncover fundamental principles of perception and its plasticity. This knowledge also guides our efforts to detect early sensory loss and to help individuals with visual impairments see and function more effectively in everyday life.

We employ a diverse set of methods, including psychophysics, brain imaging (fMRI, EEG), retinal imaging (OCT), eye tracking, computational modeling, and deep learning, to bridge basic and clinical vision science. Our goal is to understand not only how we see but also why the brain constructs vision the way it does.

Our Scientific Mission. Our mission is to generate knowledge that deepens human understanding and serves society. Whether through incremental discoveries or groundbreaking insights, we prioritize rigorous methodology to ensure that our findings are well-founded and reliable. Scientific progress is built on collective knowledge, and we recognize our responsibility to contribute with integrity, acknowledging that our understanding evolves with new evidence and technological advancements.

Our Commitment to Diversity. We are dedicated to fostering an inclusive and supportive environment where all members, regardless of background, can thrive. Diversity enriches scientific inquiry, and we strive to provide equitable access to opportunities, individualized mentorship, and a culture of open communication.

And Beyond. Diverse perspectives may at times introduce tension or disagreement, yet such moments are precisely what drive refinement. Through open dialogue, where ideas are weighted by their evidential accuracy and inferential precision, the synthesis is rarely a regression to the mean; it more often reflects an optimal integration – one that yields novel insights and a more reliable understanding of the world, much of which is hidden to us.