Jon Driver

Jon Driver

Jon Driver (1951 – 2017) was a prominent British neuroscientist and psychologist known for his influential work in the fields of cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychology. He made significant contributions to the understanding of attention, perception, and consciousness.

Early Life and Education

Jon Driver was born in 1951. He pursued his undergraduate studies in psychology at the University of Oxford, where he developed a keen interest in the workings of the human mind. He later completed his PhD at the University of Cambridge, focusing on the mechanisms of visual attention.

Academic Career

Driver held several academic positions throughout his career. He began as a lecturer at the University of London before moving to the University of Oxford as a professor. In 2004, he joined the University College London (UCL) as a professor of cognitive neuroscience and later became the director of the UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience.

Research Contributions

Driver's research primarily focused on the neural mechanisms underlying attention and perception. He conducted pioneering studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to explore how the brain processes sensory information and how these processes are affected by brain damage.

Attention and Perception

Driver's work on spatial attention and visual perception has been highly influential. He investigated how attention is directed to different locations in space and how this affects the processing of visual stimuli. His research provided insights into the neural basis of selective attention and its role in perceptual awareness.

Multisensory Integration

Another significant area of Driver's research was multisensory integration, the process by which the brain combines information from different sensory modalities. He explored how the brain integrates visual, auditory, and tactile information to create a coherent perceptual experience.

Neuropsychology

Driver also made important contributions to the field of neuropsychology, particularly in understanding the effects of brain lesions on cognitive functions. His studies on patients with hemispatial neglect and other attentional disorders provided valuable insights into the neural mechanisms of attention and perception.

Awards and Honors

Throughout his career, Jon Driver received numerous awards and honors for his contributions to neuroscience and psychology. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) and a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA). He also received the Cortex Prize and the Experimental Psychology Society Mid-Career Award.

Legacy

Jon Driver's work has had a lasting impact on the fields of cognitive neuroscience and neuropsychology. His research continues to influence studies on attention, perception, and multisensory integration. Driver's legacy is also reflected in the many students and researchers he mentored throughout his career.

Related Pages

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive neuroscience
• Attention
• Perception
• Consciousness
• Neuropsychology
• Functional magnetic resonance imaging
• Transcranial magnetic stimulation
• Hemispatial neglect