Shona Fitzpatrick
Papers
1
Total Citations
4
H-Index
1
About
Shona Fitzpatrick investigates the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying human perception of artificial agents, with a particular focus on the uncanny valley effect—the unsettling sensation elicited by entities that appear almost, but not quite, human. Her most-cited work, "Neural correlates of the uncanny valley effect for robots and hyper-realistic masks" (2025, 4 citations), employs neuroimaging to pinpoint brain regions activated when viewing androids and hyper-realistic masks, revealing distinct neural responses tied to category ambiguity and threat detection. This foundational study bridges robotics, psychology, and neuroscience, offering critical insights for designing more acceptable human-like interfaces. Fitzpatrick’s research has implications for human-robot interaction, computer graphics, and clinical understanding of social perception. Her work is notable for experimentally isolating the neural signature of the uncanny valley, moving beyond behavioral measures to map its underlying circuitry. As a rising scholar, she is shaping how we understand the boundary between human and machine, with future work poised to influence both artificial intelligence development and our grasp of social cognition.
Research Focus
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Top Papers
- 1