Dr Sophie Smit

Position

‪Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Cognitive Neuroscience‬

MARCS Research Program: Brain Sciences

Biography

Sophie completed her PhD and MRes in Cognitive Science from Macquarie University. Prior to this, she earned her MA in Philosophy from King’s College London. Her research employs electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) in combination with machine learning techniques. She also has experience with behavioural and qualitative research methods. She joined MARCS as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in 2023.

Research Interests

My research investigates how the brain processes information from the world around us, focusing on the integration of visual and tactile information, which is crucial for aspects like self-perception and social understanding. I employ EEG and machine learning to study brain representations of touch, both directly felt and observed, such as through videos depicting touch. I also examine individual variations in sensory processing, particularly in relation to empathy and phenomena like vicarious touch and mirror-touch synaesthesia, where one feels touch when observing touch on others. Additionally, I explore multisensory perception more broadly, delving into how vision, touch, proprioception, and audition interact. The goal is to unravel the intricacies of sensory processing and the unique variations that exist among individuals.

Featured Stories

https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/marcs/news-and-media/marcs_news/whats_your_research_story_sophie_smit.

Qualifications and Honours

• PhD & MRes in Cognitive Science from Macquarie University (graduated 2024)
• MA in Philosophy from King’s College London (graduated 2014)
• BA in Cultural Studies & Philosophy from The University of Amsterdam (graduated 2011)

Publications

Smit, S., Moerel, D., Zopf, R., & Rich, A. N. (2023). Vicarious touch: Overlapping neural patterns between seeing and feeling touch. NeuroImage, 278, 120269.

Smit, S., Rich, A. N., & Zopf, R. (2019). Visual body form and orientation cues do not modulate visuo-tactile temporal integration. PloS one, 14(12), e0224174.

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