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A new, "sensorimotor", view of seeing
Lecture
Monday, February 14, 2011
Hour: 14:00
Location:
Gerhard M.J. Schmidt Lecture Hall
A new, "sensorimotor", view of seeing
Prof. J Kevin O'Regan
Laboratoire Psychologie de la Perception
CNRS - Université Paris Descartes
There seem to be numerous defects of the eye that would be expected to interfere with vision. Examples are the upside down retinal image, the blind spot in each eye's visual field, non-uniform spatial and chromatic resolution, and blur and image shifts caused by eye saccades. In order to overcome such defects scientists have proposed a variety of compensation mechanisms. I will argue that such compensation mechanism not only face empirical difficulties, but they also suffer from a philosophical objection. They seem to require the existence of a "homunculus" in the brain that contemplates the picture-like output of the compensation mechanism. A new view of what "seeing" consists in is required.
The new view of seeing considers seeing as a particular way of actively exploring the environment. This "sensorimotor" approach is subtly different from the idea of "active vision" known today in cognitive or computer science. The sensorimotor approach explains how, despite the eye's imperfections and despite interruptions in the flow of sensory input, we can have the impression of seeing everything in the visual field in detail and continuously.
I shall show how the phenomenon of "inattentional blindness" (or "Looked but Failed to See") is expected from the new approach, and I shall examine the phenomenon of "change blindness" which arose as a prediction from the theory. Finally I examine the question of the photographic quality of vision: why we have the impression of seeing things all over the visual field, why everything seems simultaneously and continuously present, and why things seem to visually impose themselves upon us in a way quite different from how memory and imagining do. To explain these facts I shall invoke four objectively measurable aspects of visual interactions: richness, bodiliness, partial insubordinateness and grabbiness.
Reconfiguring Memory
Lecture
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Hour: 12:30
Location:
Gerhard M.J. Schmidt Lecture Hall
Reconfiguring Memory
Shuli Sade
Artist, NYC
: Sadé will talk about the relevance in collaboration between artists and scientists, and will introduce her recent art project: “Reconfiguring Memory”. Sadé collaborates with Professor Andre Fenton at NYU Neuroscience labs to develop art for the renovated Neuroscience labs at NYU. Her work with memory, time and light led to this collaboration and will result in art relating to the questions: How does the brain store experience as memories and how the expression of knowledge activates information that is relevant without activating what is irrelevant, and what visual methods can be used for recording the activity of memory, gain or loss.
Olfaction: from receptors to behavior
Conference
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Hour: 08:00 - 16:30
Location:
Dolfi and Lola Ebner Auditorium
Face to Face, Brain to Brain: Exploring the Mechanisms of Dyadic Social Interactions
Lecture
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Hour: 12:00
Location:
Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Building for Biomedical Research
Face to Face, Brain to Brain: Exploring the Mechanisms of Dyadic Social Interactions
Prof. Uri Hasson
Dept of Psychology
Princeton University
Cognitive neuroscience experiments typically isolate human or animal subjects from their natural environment by placing them in a sealed quiet room where interactions occur solely with a computer screen. In everyday life, however, we spend most of our time interacting with other individuals. Using fMRI, we recently recorded the brain activity of a speaker telling an unrehearsed real-life story and the brain activity of a listener listening to a recording of the story. To make the study as ecological as possible, we instructed the speaker to speak as if telling the story to a friend. Next, we measured the brain activity of a listener hearing the recorded audio of the spoken story, thereby capturing the time-locked neural dynamics from both sides of the communication. Finally, we asked the listeners to complete a detailed questionnaire that assessed their level of comprehension. Our results indicate that during successful communication the speaker’s and listener’s brains exhibit joint, temporally coupled, response patterns. Such neural coupling substantially diminishes in the absence of communication, for instance, when listening to an unintelligible foreign language. In addition, more extensive speaker–listener neural couplings result in more successful communication. The speaker-listener neural coupling exposes a shared neural substrate that exhibits temporally aligned response patterns across communicators. The recording of the neural responses from both the speaker brain and the listener brain opens a new window into the neural basis of interpersonal communication, and may be used to assess verbal and non-verbal forms of interaction in both human and other model systems.
Ode To Memory A mini-series devoted to memory in cenema
Lecture
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Hour: 14:00
Location:
Dolfi and Lola Ebner Auditorium
Ode To Memory A mini-series devoted to memory in cenema
Prof. Yadin Dudai
Dept of Neurobiology, WIS
Response fluctuations in neurons and networks
Lecture
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Hour: 12:30
Location:
Jacob Ziskind Building
Response fluctuations in neurons and networks
Prof. Shimon Marom
Dept of Physiology
Technion Haifa
Experimental analyses of fluctuations in responses to long series of stimuli will be presented. The experiments are performed at the single neuron, population of synapses and network levels. Sources and impacts of these fluctuations will be discussed.
Ode To Memory A mini-series devoted to memory in cinema
Lecture
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Hour: 14:00
Location:
Dolfi and Lola Ebner Auditorium
Ode To Memory A mini-series devoted to memory in cinema
Prof. Yadin Dudai
Dept of Neurobiology, WIS
The evolution of behavioral mechanisms: theory and experiments on learning rules and their adaptive (or maladaptive) consequences
Lecture
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Hour: 12:30
Location:
Jacob Ziskind Building
The evolution of behavioral mechanisms: theory and experiments on learning rules and their adaptive (or maladaptive) consequences
Prof. Arnon Lotem
Dept of Zoology
Tel-Aviv University
My talk will be based on our recent attempts to explain apparently maladaptive behaviors in humans and other animals as the consequences of generally adaptive learning mechanisms. I will first describe several cases where seemingly paradoxical behavior can be explained as the result of using relatively simple learning rules. I will then discuss the evolution of such learning rules in the context of individual decision making under variable conditions, as well as in the context of social foraging games of searchers and followers.
Synaptic mechanisms of sensory perception
Lecture
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Hour: 10:00
Location:
Gerhard M.J. Schmidt Lecture Hall
Synaptic mechanisms of sensory perception
Prof. Carl Petersen
Brain Mind Institute,
EPFL Lausanne, Switzerland
Ode To Memory A mini-series devoted to memory in cinema
Lecture
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Hour: 14:00
Location:
Dolfi and Lola Ebner Auditorium
Ode To Memory A mini-series devoted to memory in cinema
Prof. Yadin Dudai
Dept of Neurobiology, WIS
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Visualizing Circuits in the Visual System
Lecture
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Hour: 12:00
Location:
Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Building for Biomedical Research
Visualizing Circuits in the Visual System
Prof. Josh Sanes
Center for Brain Science
Harvard University
Formation of neural circuits requires that axons recognize appropriate cells, and even appropriate parts of cells, upon which to synapse. In the retina, amacrine and bipolar cells form synapses on retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in the inner plexiform layer (IPL). The visual features to which different RGC subtypes respond depend on what input they receive, prime determinants of which are the IPL sublaminae in which their dendrites make synapses. We have therefore sought molecules that mark RGC subtyoes and mediate lamina-specific connectivity. Candidates include members of the immunoglobulin superfamily, such as Sidekicks, Dscams and JAMs, and members of the cadherin superfamily, such as Class II and protocadherins. I will discuss our progress toward identifying and testing such candidates. I will also discuss methods for tracing connections of retinal neurons in wild-type and mutant mice, so that we can assess the consequences of perturbing target recognition systems.
Cortical blood flow: Every (subsurface) vessel counts
Lecture
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Hour: 11:00
Location:
Gerhard M.J. Schmidt Lecture Hall
Cortical blood flow: Every (subsurface) vessel counts
Prof. David Kleinfeld
Dept of Physics
University of California at San Diego La Jolla, CA
Neuronal processing has a high energetic cost, all of which is supplied through brain vasculature. What are the design rules for this system? How is flow controlled by neuronal activity? How do neurons respond to failures in the vasculature? Theses questions will be addressed at the level of necortex in rat and mouse. An essential aspect of this work is the use of nonlinear optical tools to measure and perturb vasodynamics and automate the large-scale mapping of brain angioarchitecture.
The neurobiology of seizures and depression
Lecture
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Hour: 12:30
Location:
Jacob Ziskind Building
The neurobiology of seizures and depression
Dr. Oscar G. Morales
Associate Director, Psychiatric Neurotherapeutics Program (PNP)
Harvard Medical School
Altered Function of the Prefrontal Cortex Following Extended Access to Self-Administered Cocaine
Lecture
Monday, November 8, 2010
Hour: 13:30
Location:
Nella and Leon Benoziyo Building for Brain Research
Altered Function of the Prefrontal Cortex Following Extended Access to Self-Administered Cocaine
Dr. Osnat Ben-Shahar
Dept of Psychology
University of California Santa Barbara
One main alteration in neural function observed in human cocaine addicts is reduced function in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). However, whether altered function of the mPFC precede, or result from, excessive self-administration of cocaine, and the exact neurochemical changes it consists of, is still unknown. To answer these questions, one needs an appropriate animal model of addiction. As, it is well established that differences in the route of, and control over, cocaine-administration, or in the frequency and size of the daily-dose of cocaine, result in significant differences in cocaine-induced neurochemical effects; then if we are to better understand the neuroadaptations that underlie the development of addiction in humans, we should employ animal models that mimic as closely as possible the human situation. Hence, my lab utilize an animal model that employs intravenous self-administration of cocaine, under conditions (based on Ahmed & Koob, 1998) that distinguish the effects of brief versus extended daily access to cocaine upon both behavior and neural substrates. This permits the investigation of neuroadaptations associated with the transition from the drug-naïve state to controlled drug-use, versus the further adaptations associated with the transition from controlled to compulsive drug-use. Using this model, we measured basal, as well as cocaine-induced, release of glutamate and dopamine within the mPFC during and after various levels of exposure to cocaine. The differences we found between controlled and compulsive drug-states, will be discussed in this talk.
HOW RHYTHMIC ACTIVITIES IN THE BRAIN MAKE YOU FEAR AND FORGET
Lecture
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Hour: 12:30
Location:
Jacob Ziskind Building
HOW RHYTHMIC ACTIVITIES IN THE BRAIN MAKE YOU FEAR AND FORGET
Prof. Hans-Christian Pape
Institute for Physiology I
Westfälische Wilhelms University Münster, Germany
Fear is a crucial adaptive component of the behavioral repertoire that is generated in relation to stimuli which threaten to perturb homeostasis. Fear-relevant associations are learned and consolidated as part of long term memory. After learning, fear responses are modulated through processes termed safety learning and extinction. Perturbation of these mechanisms can lead to disproportional anxiety states and anxiety disorders. Recent years have seen considerable progress in identifying relevant brain areas – such as the amygdala, the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex - and neurophysiological principles. Key mechanisms, involving rhythmic oscillations of neuronal subpopulations and neuromodulatory influences, will be discussed
Individual differences in the expression and control of conditioned fear
Lecture
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Hour: 12:00
Location:
Nella and Leon Benoziyo Building for Brain Research
Individual differences in the expression and control of conditioned fear
Catherine Hartley
Doctoral Student, New York University
In order to function adaptively in a complex environment, individuals must both react to environmental threats and modify their reactions as circumstances change. A large body of work employing Pavlovian conditioning paradigms has generated a detailed neuroscientific understanding of how fear responses are acquired. More recent research has begun to probe the various means by which learned fear can be diminished. The vast majority of this research focuses on the mechanisms that underlie typical responding in an idealized “average” individual. A robust model of fear learning must also account for the substantial variability in fear reactivity and regulation that exists between individuals. The experiments presented here explore neurobiological and experiential factors that are associated with individual variation in the expression and regulation of conditioned fear using psychophysiology, neuroimaging, and behavioral genetics.
Faces, Attention, and the Temporal Lobe
Lecture
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Hour: 11:00
Location:
Nella and Leon Benoziyo Building for Brain Research
Faces, Attention, and the Temporal Lobe
Prof. Winrich Freiwald
The Rockefeller University, New York
Understanding the neural mechanisms of visual object recognition is a difficult task in part, because for any given object it is not clear, which exact part of the brain to study. Yet evolution has presented us with a unique model system to decipher these mechanisms. The temporal lobes of macaque monkeys contain neural machinery to support face recognition consisting of six discrete patches of face-selective cortex. The two main organizing features of this system – concentration of cells encoding the same complex object category into modules and spatial separation of modules – make it possible to break down the process of face recognition into its components. In my talk I will present anatomical results supporting the notion that the distributed face patches really are part of an integrated face-processing machine, and electrophysiological results showing that each patch subserves a distinct computational function. In the second part of my talk I will turn to something completely different, attention. Using fMRI in macaque monkeys, we found a network of areas to be modulated by attention in motion-discrimination task, included a hitherto unsuspected region within inferotemporal cortex, PITd. We then targeted PITd for electrophysiological recordings and electrical microstimulation in different tasks to learn about its role in sensory information processing and spatial attention. I will discuss the somewhat radical conclusion we arrived at, namely that PITd may constitute a region for attentional control.
Embraining the mind: On cerebral localization and the nature of culture
Lecture
Monday, August 9, 2010
Hour: 12:30
Location:
Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Building for Biomedical Research
Embraining the mind: On cerebral localization and the nature of culture
Dr. Sky Gross
Dept of Sociology and Anthropology
Tel Aviv University
Are we our brains?
This question has troubled Western society for centuries, and still does today. Philosophers, psychologists, psychiatrists and neuroscientists - as much as the lay public - battle with the question of whether our personality, sense of self and states of mind can truly be explained through a scientific study of the brain, and whether one can at least correlate these with brain activity and structure. With the recent hyperbolic advances made in neuroscience, these questions arise in the form of intensive and broad debates on whether one may be able, at some point in the future, to fully account for what we cherish more than all, our sense that we are more than a lump of flesh.
This "more" however, does not belong to the realm of science: in the laboratory, one must deal with observable and operalizationable phenomena – everything core subjectivity ('qualia'- e.g. the experience of pain, of seeing the color red) is not. How can neuroscience approach the mind without losing its brain? How well has it done thus far, and what may we expect in the future?
This talk will suggest one – among many – approaches to this quandary, by looking at the history and current practices of brain localization. By introducing the mind-body conundrum into the study of this enterprise, we will consider the extent to which localization and classification of brain/mind functions serve as a way to materialize what is/was believed to be beyond 'matter'. The following debate will allow a discussion of an issue that concerns us all.
Translational Research in the Neuroscience of Fear Extinction: Implications to PTSD and Other Anxiety Disorders
Lecture
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Hour: 15:00
Location:
Nella and Leon Benoziyo Building for Brain Research
Translational Research in the Neuroscience of Fear Extinction: Implications to PTSD and Other Anxiety Disorders
Prof. Mohammed Milad
Psychiatry Dept, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA
Some people adapt well in the aftermath of traumatic events and are quickly able to inhibit their fear responses to trauma-associated stimuli. Fear responses, however, persist for longer periods of time for others to the point where they reach a pathological state. Why are some people more resilient to trauma while others are not? What are the neural substrates that underlie fear inhibition and extinction? Are these circuits deficient in patients with anxiety disorders? In my talk, I will focus on presenting translational data from the rat and human brains with the objective of trying to provide some preliminary answers to the above stated questions. Specifically, I will review human studies indicating that prefrontal areas homologous to those critical for extinction in rats. Furthermore, I will present some data to show that those brain regions in the rat brain appear to be structurally and functionally homologous to specific brain regions in the human brain. I will also show some data suggesting that these brain regions, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), appear to be deficient in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). I will present some structural and functional neuroimaging and psychophysiological studies done in our lab that focused on the neural mechanisms of fear extinction, particularly extinction recall and the contextual modulation of extinction recall. These recent studies suggest that: 1) human vmPFC is involved in the recall of extinction memory; 2) the size of the vmPFC might explain individual differences in the ability to modulate fear among humans; 3) hippocampal activation is observed during the recall of extinction memory in a context where extinction training took place but not in the initial conditioning context; 4) and the dACC may be involved in the expression of fear responses. I will also present recent neuroimaging and psychophysiological data from PTSD patients suggesting that 1) the retention of extinction memory is impaired in PTSD, and 2) the function of the vmPFC and dACC (measured by fMRI) appears to be impaired in PTSD in the context of fear extinction. Implications of these findings to the pathophysiology of anxiety disorders such as PTSD and current extinction-based behavioral therapies for anxiety disorders will be discussed.
Active sensing in echolocating bats: What we know and what we would like to know
Lecture
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Hour: 12:30
Location:
Jacob Ziskind Building
Active sensing in echolocating bats: What we know and what we would like to know
Yossi Yovel
Postdoc, Ulanovsky Group, Dept of Neurobiology, WIS
All sensory systems are active to some extent. Echolocating bats, which rely on their own emitted energy to perceive the surroundings, probably employ the most tightly-controlled active sensing system. The sensory degrees of freedom that bats can control are commonly divided into three categories: Timing, Signal design, and Directionality. In this talk, I will address all three categories and will summarize what we already understand and what we would love to understand.
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