news
Beyond the Isolated Brain: Interacting Minds
A deep understanding of any social species requires understanding why and how brains interact. In this issue of Neuron, Wheatley et al. highlight recent advances making this pursuit increasingly tractable, as well as the challenges of studying interacting brains. |
The first ECoG/sEEG FieldTrip bootcamp
We’re hosting the first ECoG/sEEG FieldTrip bootcamp at the UC Davis Medical Center (Sacramento, California) on March 20-22. The workshop will consist of lectures and hands-on sessions covering the methods implemented in FieldTrip, and is co-organized by Ignacio Saez (UC Davis). Speakers include Robert Oostenveld (Donders Institute), Bob Knight (UC Berkeley), Fady Girgis (UC Davis), and myself. For the program, please see here. |
A novel cause for communication deficits in autism
This work supports our working hypothesis that human communication is not simply an exchange of information using already known words and gestures, but a deeply interpersonal and innovative process that involves the creation of a Shared Cognitive Space (our 2016 Trends in Cognitive Sciences paper). Building more bridges to the clinical domain, this study provides evidence indicating that the problematic communication in autism arises from an inability to produce and comprehend communicative behaviors in light of past interactions with specific partners. |
Frontiers for Young Minds
Translation of a recent research finding published in a journal aimed at educating and enthusing kids for science. Made for and in collaboration with actual young minds, either in the form of a classroom, offline, or live peer review (e.g. http://www.chabotspace.org/frontiers-for-young-minds). The article is about the role of the prefrontal cortex in adjusting communication to implicit knowledge about another person during social interaction. |
Understanding each other: textbook + game
An English translation of the textbook chapter entitled Understanding each other has been published (Dutch version). The chapter is the product of a collaboration between scientists, teachers and elementary school kids. It aspires to educate children on the principles of human communication as brought about by recent scientific endeavors. A 'fribble game' is included for children (and adults!) to discover in a fun way why human communication is much more than an exchange of words and gestures (online materials). |
Will computers ever truly understand what we’re saying?
See this great write for an answer. Or this Dutch article. |
Electrode placement tool
A new tool was released in FieldTrip which allows localization and assignment of electrode locations and their names in patient CT/MR scans. This tool was developed in collaboration with Cal Dewar (UC Berkeley) and Robert Oostenveld (Donders Institute) and aims to facilitate the analysis of 'direct brain recordings' (neural signal recordings done directly on the brain's cortex or inside the brain).  |
Hoe we elkaar begrijpen
Dit boek hoofdstuk is geschreven naar aanleiding van een initiatief van het Wetenschapsknooppunt Radboud Universiteit om actuele wetenschappelijke doorbraken de klas in te krijgen. De tekst zal, vergezeld van workshop materiaal voor in de klas, verschijnen in het 5de boek in de reeks ‘Wetenschappelijke doorbraken de klas in!’ (2016). Voor meer informatie, zie www.ru.nl/wetenschapsknooppunt/ |
Frontal lesion study published in Current Biology
The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) has been strongly implicated with social functioning. This study demonstrates that this region is not necessary for taking communicative decisions per se, but for tuning those decisions with knowledge about a social partner, as inferred from prior stereotypes and ongoing behaviors. |
dual-fMRI paper accepted in PNAS
Stolk A, Noordzij ML, Verhagen L, Volman I, Schoffelen JM, Oostenveld R,
Hagoort P, and Toni I. Cerebral coherence between communicators marks
the emergence of meaning. When we interact with another person, we consider what we mutually know. This new study suggests this knowledge is continuously and simultaneously adjusted in our minds as the interaction unfolds. |
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