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Project

Cognitive processes in neural adaptation: effects of the behavioral paradigm.

This PhD project deals with two topics set within the broader context of visual and cognitive neuroscience. First of all, we investigate whether certain properties of the primate visual system might be found in rats. The second topic deals with how representations of visual input are not fixed but are influenced by recent sensory input or even cognitive processes. In a first set of studies in rats, we investigate whether and to what extent some general principles of the primate visual system (e.g. object representations) are also present in that of the rat. This includes comparing complex stimulus representations based on action potential activity measured at different levels of the visual system. In addition, we investigate how previous sensory input affects neural responses. A robust manifestation of the influence of recent input is neural adaptation or repetition suppression, which refers to a reduced neural activity when stimuli are repeated. Additionally neural responses could also be enhanced, for example when a stimulus is rare. These mechanisms have an important role in the predictive coding theory, which postulates that cortical responses signal violations of prior expectations. For the final part of the project, we moved to macaques for experiments that could not be performed in less cognitively developed animals. Here we investigate claims that perceptual expectations can modulate the strength of adaptation of action potential activity in visual cortex.

Date:1 Oct 2012 →  8 Dec 2017
Keywords:Rat and monkey
Disciplines:Neurosciences, Biological and physiological psychology, Cognitive science and intelligent systems, Developmental psychology and ageing
Project type:PhD project