Project Summary / Abstract This project is a collaboration between researchers at four universities to examine how the brain makes decisions. When a human or any animal moves through the world, it must make constant decisions about what to do next. These decisions are based on the state of the animal, its past history, and its future goals.
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Social interactions, a ubiquitous aspect of our everyday life, are critical to the health and survival of the species, but little is known about their underlying neural computations. The major limitation preventing our understanding of the neural underpinnings of social cognition is the lack of a suitable framework to allow us to study how it emerges in real time from interactions among brain networks.
Project Summary Despite the enormous complexity of the brain, it is becoming increasingly apparent that structures like the cerebral cortex are modular, relying on a set of canonical computations that occur across brain regions and modalities to mediate perception, cognition and behavior. One important example of a canonical computation is&
Project Summary/Abstract Improved understanding of the brain processes underlying normal and abnormal function is necessary for devising better ways to diagnose, alleviate, or cure neurological or psychiatric disorders. It is clear that even for simple behaviors, such processes depend on interactions among multiple brain regions. However, these interactions themselves are less well understood.
ABSTRACT Humans interact with their environment in countless ways and can switch seamlessly between activities. Even for seemingly simple tasks, a variety of sensory inputs are integrated to create a motor plan to complete a task. Take the example of picking up a glass. Visual, tactile, and proprioceptive inputs provide cues about the position and weight of the object as well as limb state. Additional sensory and contextual inputs can also influence the movement. For example, a person might pick up a glass differently if she is intending to take a drink, versus clear off a table.
Humans have a remarkable ability to flexibly interact with the environment. A compelling demonstration of this cognitive flexibility is our ability to perform complex, yet previously un-practiced tasks successfully on the first attempt.
Project Summary/Abstract Memory is critical for cognitive well-being, and sleep is critical for memory consolidation, yet the underlying mechanisms in the human brain are poorly understood. Research on memory and sleep so far has suffered from a substantial gap between non-invasive cognitive research in humans and detailed electrophysiological research in animals.
We plan to provide software support services for Neuropixels probes, a groundbreaking new tool for recording electrical signals from the brain. These probes—which were created by IMEC, a world-renowned nanoelectronics research center, in collaboration with four funding agencies (HHMI, Allen Institute, Gatsby Foundation, and Wellcome Trust)—will become publicly available in July 2018. Each device consists of a single hair-like shank containing nearly 1000 recording sites, each of which can measure voltage changes with sub-millisecond precision.
The goal of this proposal is to disseminate high resolution large volume serial section electron microscopy data to neuroscientists. Using our electron microscopy facility, we will provide user training on the use of these new technologies and provide access to our specialized facilities so that they may generate permanent ultrathin sections and create data sets amenable for neural circuit analysis or neural and glial cell type analysis.
The central nervous system (CNS) changes throughout life, and its interactions with the world produce activity- dependent plasticity that enables it to acquire and maintain useful behaviors. Recent scientific and technical advances support the development of systems that create novel interactions with the CNS that can induce and guide beneficial plasticity.
