Tuesday 29 July 2014
SYMPOSIUM
07:
Understanding
High-Level Vision, Attention And Decision Making By Means Of Frequency-Tagging EEG
Overview:
Periodic
visual stimulation leads to periodic brain responses measured by the
electroencephalogram (EEG), the so-called “steady-state visual evoked
potentials” (SSVEPs, Regan, 1966). This approach has many advantages over other
cognitive neuroscience methods, in particular its objectivity (i.e., the signal
is measured at a frequency known by the experimenter), its high signal-to-noise
ratio, and the possibility to record from different visual stimuli presented
concurrently (“frequency-tagging”). Yet, this approach remains underestimated
in cognitive neuroscience, having been so far essentially confined to the study
of low-level visual stimuli. The four speakers of this symposium (Mattingley,
Rossion, van Swinderen, and O’Connell) have all performed a series of independent
studies using the frequency-tagging EEG technique over recent years. Their
presentations will illustrate how this approach can capture various key aspects
of visual perception (including perceptual integration), selective attention
and perceptual decision making, both in healthy humans and clinical populations
as well in the simplest animal brains such as bees and flies.
Presenters include:
Bruno Rossion, University of Louvain, Belgium
Professor Jason Mattingley, University of Queensland, Australia
Bruno van Swinderen, Queensland Brain Institute, Australia
Redmond O'Connell, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
SYMPOSIUM 08: The Dynamic Brain
Overview:
Studying the dynamics of brain activity is fundamental to a deeper understanding of its core computational mechanisms. Modelling and simulating the dynamics of large-scale brain activity is a rapidly emerging neuroscience field that promises a more principled way of interpreting brain imaging data and inferring the relationship between cognition and brain function. More, such “in silico” experiments allow systematic exploration of physiological parameters in a manner that is not otherwise possible: This approach lies at the heart of the enormous European-based Brain project. Our symposium will present four contributions that cover the range of brain network dynamics by emerging and leading international researchers. In particular, we will present cutting edge work that the role of brain network structure plays in shaping cortical dynamics during perceptual and cognitive activities. Together, these talks will cover synchronization in microcircuits, thalamocortical processes that underlie the processing of visual stimuli, stochastic dynamics during decision making, and the origin of slow fluctuations related to mood and affect in deep midline cortical regions. These talks will be of interest to computational neuroscientists, neuroimaging researchers as well as cognitive neuroscientists interested in the modelling activities that are in the process of transforming the field.
Presenters include:
Claudio R. Mirasso, Institute for Cross-Disciplinary Physics and Complex Systems, Spain
Luis M. Martinez, Institute of Neuroscience, Alicante, Spain
Leonardo L. Gollo, Queensland Institute for Medical Research, Australia
Michael Breakspear, Queensland Institute for Medical Research, Australia
SYMPOSIUM
09:
New Approaches To The Neural Basis Of
Mathematical Cognition
Overview:
Numeracy
attainment has a substantial economic, cultural, social and personal impact.
Educational efforts to address this problem have met with limited success, in
part because the core neuro-biology of numeracy remains only partly
characterized, mainly on grey matter regions activated in very simple number
tasks using PET and fMRI. Here we present methodologies for examining the core
neuro-biology that haven’t previously been deployed. They reveal new aspects of
the functional and anatomical organization of mathematical cognition and their
genetic basis.
Presenters include:
Chris Clark, University College London, UK
Carlo Semenza, University of Padua, Italy
Teresa Iuculano, Stanford University, USA
Brian Butterworth, University College London, UK
SYMPOSIUM 10:
TMS And
TDCS As A Tool In Cognitive Neuroscience: How Does Transcranial Stimulation
Influence Behavior?
Overview:
Non-invasive
brain stimulation (NIBS) has become a popular method for inducing reversible
brain lesions in normal subjects. If such a "virtual lesion" impairs
task performance, it is concluded that the “lesioned” region makes a critical
contribution to the cognitive processes that are probed by the task. There is a
mismatch between the widespread use of NIBS in cognitive neuroscience and the
rudimentary knowledge regarding the mechanisms by which NIBS disrupts brain
function. The objective of this symposium is to focus on the neural processes
underlying a NIBS-induced “virtual lesion”. Vincent Walsh will set the frame by
highlighting methodological and theoretical limitations of the virtual lesion
approach. Michael Nitsche will discuss the use of low-intensity transcranial
electrical stimulation as a tool to manipulate neural excitability and
intrinsic neural oscillations and how this relates to stimulation-induced
changes in behavior. Carlo Miniussi will provide a “noisy account” on the
virtual lesion approach and discuss how NIBS influences brain functions by
altering regional noise levels. Hartwig Siebner will adopt a connectionists
view on the virtual lesion approach and show that changes in effective
connectivity in specific pathways of the stimulated network may account for the
absence or presence of NIBS-induced “virtual lesion effects.
Presenters include:
Michael A. Nitsche, University Medical Center Goettingen, Germany
Carlo Miniussi, University of Brescia & IRCCS Centro San
Giovanni di Dio, Fatebenefratelli, Italy
Hartwig R. Siebner, Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre, Denmark
SYMPOSIUM 11:
The
Menzies Foundation Symposium: A Window Into Normal Cognition: Insights From
Synaesthesia
Overview:
The
phenomenon of synaesthesia, in which a stimulus elicits an unusual additional
experience (e.g., a sound elicits a colour), has generated an enormous amount
of interest over the past decade. Contemporary cognitive neuroscience methods
and novel manipulations of classic measures of behaviour have given insights
into the mechanisms that underpin this fascinating phenomenon. In this
symposium, the speakers will present recent research on the integration of
information across the senses in both synaesthetes and non-synaesthetes, with a
focus on the role of conceptual information and the insights we can gain from
synaesthesia into cognitive representation of multisensory information. This
includes looking at the relationship of synaesthetic binding (e.g., ‘A’ and
‘red’) with the way we represent object features more generally (e.g., a banana
being yellow), and the implicit cross-modal mappings we all share in both
sensory (e.g., correspondences between pitch and brightness) and conceptual
(e.g., sound symbolism) domains. Overall, the goal of the symposium is to
promote active debate into the role conceptual information plays in
synaesthesia and the inferences we can draw from synaesthetic research to
fundamental mechanisms and concepts that underpin the human cognitive system.
Presenters include:
David Brang, University of Chicago, USA
Katie Bankieris, University of Rochester, USA
Derek Arnold, University of Queensland, Australia
Anina N. Rich, Macquarie University, Australia
SYMPOSIUM 12:
Working Memory 2014: 40 Years On Since
Baddeley & Hitch
Overview:
Since
it’s theoretical formalisation in 1974, working memory (WM) has been a
consistently intensive area of research, generating much debate at
psychological and neuroscientific levels. Recently this has centred on the
precise placement of WM in relation to other cognitive constructs; it appears
to share many operations with attention and long-term memory and is not
necessarily an independent short-term retention system. Here we outline the new
wave of WM research focussed on understanding the ‘place’ of WM. Using a variety
of research techniques including patient lesion studies, fMRI, TMS (including
concurrent TMS-fMRI) and MEG, we have evidence towards an updated theoretical
and neural conceptualisation of WM. First, we describe the attention-dependent
dynamic nature of information retention in sensory cortex (Zokaei). Next, the
necessity of hippocampus for binding WM items will be shown (Pertzov). A
mechanistic model of alpha-gamma oscillations for controlling information flow
in WM, and accompanying empirical evidence, will then be provided (Bonnefond).
Finally, these findings will be brought together in an up-to-date account of WM
with focus on effective combinations of cutting-edge neuroscience techniques,
and theoretical and computational models, that can make valuable contributions
for the formulation of sophisticated accounts of how the brain solves WM
(Feredoes).
Presenters include:
Nahid Zokaei, University of Oxford, UK
Eva Feredoes, University of Reading, UK
Mathilde Bonnefond, Radboud University, Netherlands
Yoni Pertzov, Hebrew University, Jerusalem
PANEL DISCUSSION
02:
How
Do We Improve Medical Translation? Developing Translational Approaches Towards
Exploring Cognitive And Behavioural Endophenotypes In Animal Models Of Disease
Overview:
Impairments
in cognition are common to many brain diseases and represent a major unmet
medical need. As a result of human genetic studies there is an increasing
recognition that many human disorders of cognition are caused by underlying
mutations. The identification of these mutations and the availability of animal
models carrying mutations in orthologous genes place mutant mice at the
forefront of translational approaches. For over 20 years mice carrying gene
mutations have been studied in learning paradigms such as the water maze and
fear conditioning and these rodent behaviours said to be similar to human
behaviour and mutant mice showing phenotypes in these behaviours have been
promoted as models of human disease. Moreover, drugs have been tested on mutant
mice in rodent behavioural tests and led to human clinical trials. While this
approach may seem logical, if the behaviours measured in mice are not
homologous to those in humans, then drug trials may potentially be misleading.
A way forward is to critically assess the behaviours measured in rodents that
model those symptoms observed in patients. Recent advancements in technologies
such as touchscreen cognitive tests that measure similar components of
cognition in mice and humans can be combined with genetics and provide a
powerful tool for translation, identification of new targets for drug
development and improve drug trial design (Nithianantharajah et al., 2013:
Nithianantharajah & Grant, 2013). In a complimentary way, this panel
discussion will bring together research experts (Dr. Jess Nithianantharajah,
A/Prof. Anthony Hannan & Dr. Caitlin McOmish) in cognitive and behavioural
analysis of animal models of cognitive diseases to discuss the current stance,
future directions for effective translation from animal models of disease to
the clinic and the potential pitfalls and solutions in existing translational
approaches that rely on rodent behavioural testing. It will also discuss
genetic, environmental and pharmacological factors in disease modelling and how
technologies including the touchscreen cognitive testing can pave for future
medical translation. Elucidating common disease symptoms/mechanisms that
underlie cognitive disorders and developing methods to improve how these can be
modelled in animals will be essential for increasing our understanding of
cognitive dysfunction in brain disorders and future development of novel
therapeutic approaches. Nithianantharajah et al., 2013. Synaptic scaffold
evolution generated components of vertebrate cognitive complexity. Nat
Neurosci. 16, 16-24. Nithianantharajah & Grant 2013. Cognitive components
in mice and humans: combining genetics and touchscreens for medical
translation. Neurobiol Learn & Mem. 105, 13-9.
Presenters include:
Jess Nithianantharajah, University of Edinburgh, UK
Anthony J Hannan, Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Australia
Caitlin E McOmish, Columbia University Medical Center, USA
