Complex Motion Processing in Primate Visual Cortex. As we move through the world, a dynamic visual image is projected onto our retinas. The pattern of movement in the retinal image contains information about three-dimensional structure in the environment and the time of impending collisions. Our visual systems are expert at exploiting this information, enabling us to navigate through complex visual environments at a level far beyond the most sophisticated artificial systems. We plan to investiga ....Complex Motion Processing in Primate Visual Cortex. As we move through the world, a dynamic visual image is projected onto our retinas. The pattern of movement in the retinal image contains information about three-dimensional structure in the environment and the time of impending collisions. Our visual systems are expert at exploiting this information, enabling us to navigate through complex visual environments at a level far beyond the most sophisticated artificial systems. We plan to investigate complex motion processing in the primate brain by recording the responses of neurons in identified regions of the visual cortex of macaque monkeys to a range of behaviourally relevant motion stimuli.Read moreRead less
Learning and memory in the honeybee: Task-dependent brain development. We wish to explore whether the development of specific brain regions in young bees depends upon the nature of the learning task in which they are engaged. We will examine tasks that involve two sensory modalities: olfaction and vision, both of which are important to successful foraging. The relative ease with which bees can be trained, and their nervous systems accessed, make them a very attractive subject in which to study f ....Learning and memory in the honeybee: Task-dependent brain development. We wish to explore whether the development of specific brain regions in young bees depends upon the nature of the learning task in which they are engaged. We will examine tasks that involve two sensory modalities: olfaction and vision, both of which are important to successful foraging. The relative ease with which bees can be trained, and their nervous systems accessed, make them a very attractive subject in which to study fundamental principles of learning and memory that may span a variety of organisms.Read moreRead less
Higher cognitive functions emerging from a small brain. The honeybee is becoming one of the most attractive model systems in which to study processes of learning, memory and cognition, given its rich and flexible behaviour, its relatively simple nervous system, and a genome that is on the verge of being sequenced. We intend to examine how bees learn rules, associations, concepts and categories, and to uncover some of the underlying neuronal substrates. The results should illuminate fundamental p ....Higher cognitive functions emerging from a small brain. The honeybee is becoming one of the most attractive model systems in which to study processes of learning, memory and cognition, given its rich and flexible behaviour, its relatively simple nervous system, and a genome that is on the verge of being sequenced. We intend to examine how bees learn rules, associations, concepts and categories, and to uncover some of the underlying neuronal substrates. The results should illuminate fundamental principles of cognitive function across a variety of animal species, and suggest novel approaches to artificial intelligence.Read moreRead less