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SUMMARY:New ways of using neurotechnologies for modulating human brain act
 ivity and functions
DTSTART:20150211T120000
DTEND:20150211T130000
DTSTAMP:20260413T194017Z
UID:7eca5004de30fc746825b8e14cfec758dcc3b717f74d14639738bcf2
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof Gregor Thut\, Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology\, 
 University of Glasgow (UK).\nA central role for brain oscillations\nIt has
  been difficult to establish how brain activity orchestrates brain functio
 n. Understanding this is a prerequisite for then designing effective inter
 ventions\, for a controlled modulation of the neuronal mechanism underlyin
 g our experiences\, thoughts or actions. My research focuses on the role o
 f brain oscillations in this regard\, understood to reflect fingerprints o
 f neuronal network architecture. One central question is whether brain osc
 illations merely reflect correlates of the neuronal processes implementing
  brain functions (are inevitable side-products) or may also have explanato
 ry power as to how the brain operates in mechanistic terms\, and by extens
 ion may serve as targets for experimental and clinical interventions. My p
 rogramme tackles these questions using electro- (magneto-) encephalography
  and non-invasive transcranial brain stimulation techniques. To illustrate
  the recent success and future potential of this approach\, my talk will c
 over novel advances in decoding and driving of brain oscillations to chang
 e perception and cognition. The latter involves the use of rhythmic transc
 ranial magnetic stimulation (rhTMS) and transcranial alternating current s
 timulation (tACS). I will cover the way this has revealed how different fe
 atures of oscillations in the visual brain (amplitude\, phase\, frequency 
 and their topography) relate to different processes that extract relevant 
 information from the environment (gating of information)\; and how we can 
 bias these processes in desired direction by driving the underlying brain 
 oscillations through frequency-tuned interventions. Mechanistically\, this
  will illustrate how operations of the visual brain such as “filtering o
 f information”\, “temporal framing/sampling” and “multiplexing” 
 are reflected in oscillatory activity. Phenomenologically\, this determine
 s our visual experiences\, biasing for instance “where”\, “when” a
 nd “what” of a visual scene we perceive. I will discuss how short-term
  and long-term effects of frequency-tuned interventions into brain oscilla
 tions may be brought about by entrainment versus plasticity effects (STDP-
 like) in the neuronal circuits generating these oscillations\, with impact
  for experimental versus clinical interventions. This will lead me to my f
 inal points: how this translates to clinical applications\, and its relati
 on to biofeedback approaches.\nBio : Gregor Thut has an undergraduate and 
 PhD-degree from ETHZ\, and a background in Neuropsychology. His research i
 nterfaces human electrophysiology and non-invasive interventions into huma
 n brain activity\, with an emphasis on performance (cognitive) enhancement
 . His goal is to develop intervention techniques into powerful neuroscienc
 e tools and clinically effective protocols\, to manipulate and better unde
 rstand the brain-behaviour relationship. His approach is to target brain a
 ctivity of neuronal network communication (brain oscillations) by frequenc
 y-tuned\, non-invasive brain stimulation\, to which he has made both techn
 ical and topical contributions. He has received recent UK funding from the
  Medical Research Council (MRC)\, the Biotechnology and Biological Science
 s Research Council (BBSRC) and the Wellcome Trust from which he holds a pr
 estigious 5-year Investigator award. He has served/serves in various panel
 s and editorial boards and has published more than 100 articles (H-index: 
 44 Google Scholar/ 38 Scopus).
LOCATION:ELA 1 http://plan.epfl.ch/?room=ELA%201
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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