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Nagai Lab
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A lab that investigates how people see and feel the world.
AboutAbout the lab
The science of the world humans see and feel.
The Nagai Lab studies information processing in human vision.
The world that humans see is not the external world itself, but one that has been processed by the brain and nervous system.
Using psychophysical experiments, EEG measurement, and eye movement measurement, the lab investigates the mechanisms that process material perception, color, and kansei (affective response), which are directly involved in object recognition.
The lab also explores why human eyes still play a major role in checking quality, material appearance, and flaws, and what mechanisms lie behind that.
Key terms
- Psychophysical experiments
- Experiments that measure the relationship between stimuli with controlled physical quantities and the responses of people viewing them, in order to infer processing in the brain
- Material perception
- The impression, grasped at a glance, of gloss, transparency, and how much something looks like a particular material
- EEG measurement
- A method that records the brain's electrical activity with electrodes placed on the head to examine how information is processed
NewsLab news
A paper by a doctoral student was published in Journal of Vision
A doctoral student received the Best Paper Award for Early-Career Researchers from JOSA A
A master's student received a Presentation Encouragement Award at the Annual Conference of the Color Science Association of Japan
A paper by a doctoral graduate and Associate Professor Nagai received the Paper Award of the Color Science Association of Japan
A paper by a student who completed the doctoral program was published in an international journal
ResearchResearch themes
The world that humans see is one that has passed through image processing by the brain and nervous system. The Nagai Lab aims to elucidate how the visual system processes image information, in particular the mechanisms that process material perception, color, and affective responses (kansei).
*Illustrative imageThe Science of Material Perception and Kansei
People can tell materials apart the instant they see an object, and also form feelings such as preference. The lab investigates how these impressions of material appearance and affective responses arise, using glossiness and transparency as clues, through psychophysical experiments and image engineering.
*Illustrative imageThe Science of Color
Color is a sensation that reflects information about the wavelengths of light entering the eye. By examining how color is represented in the brain and how color and material perception influence each other, the lab re-examines the principles of color engineering.
*Illustrative imageAdvancing Methods for Measuring Kansei
Measuring human perception and affective responses takes time. Building on statistical psychophysical methods, the lab develops methods that measure accurately in a short time, as well as methods that reveal ways of seeing that even the observers themselves are unaware of.
MembersFaculty
Members of the Nagai Lab include faculty, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, and research students.As of 2025
- Associate ProfessorTakehiro NagaiPublications ↗
VoicesStudent voices
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Grey square optical illusion line” Sakurambo / Public domain (cropped)
- The Science of Material Perception and Kansei: “JM marbles 01” Joe Mabel / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- The Science of Color: “Dispersion of White Light Through a Prism” Aligatorigiganti / CC0 (cropped)
- Advancing Methods for Measuring Kansei: “Eye-tracking setup” Naomi Nota / CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (金子研究室): “Ernemann Stereo Betrachtungs Apparat 4,5x10,7 eyepieces-side” Julo / CC0 (cropped)
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- Related lab (山口研究室): “Hologram by Ken Harris, 2012 Switzerland” Harris, Ken / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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