QLS Seminar Series - Erik Cook

Predicting visually-guided behavior from fluctuations and correlations in neural activity

Erik Cook, McGill University
Tuesday September 24, 12-1pm
McIntyre Medical Building, room 1034

Abstract: How does neural activity in the visual cortex translate into conscious visual perceptions? Decades of electrophysiological studies have shown that small fluctuations in the neural representation of a visual stimulus are correlated with performance in visually-guideded tasks. The causal link between these fluctuations and behavior, however, has been difficult to pin down. Using multiple visual stimuli, electrophysiological recordings and simple computational models, we demonstrate how fast neural fluctuations and their correlations can be linked to behavior using simple causal models. These models shed light on the way downstream brain areas convert sensory information into perceptual decisions.