Events Calendar

NL Seminar- Multisensory integration in a neural framework for concepts

Speaker: Kingson Man , USC/BCI

Talk Title: Multisensory integration in a neural framework for concepts

Series: Natural Language Seminar

Abstract: How are concepts represented in the brain? When we hear the ringing of a bell, or watch a bell swinging back and forth, is there a shared "BELL" pattern of neural activity in our brains? Philosophers have debated the nature of concepts for centuries, but recent technical advances have allowed neuroscientists to make contributions to this topic. The combination of functional neuroimaging and machine learning has allowed us to examine distributed patterns of activity in the human brain to decode what they represent about the world, and to what level of abstraction. I describe our recent findings that revealed a hierarchical organization of multisensory information integration, leading to representations that generalize across different sensory modalities. I will also discuss our work on the social function of concepts, which enables the communication of similar thoughts and associations between individuals.



Biography: I am a research associate at the Brain and Creativity Institute of the University of Southern California. I earned my Ph.D. at USC, mentored by Antonio Damasio. I am interested in the general problem of consciousness, and in particular how different sensations are bound together by the brain into a unified experience of the world.

Host: Aliya Deri and Kevin Knight

More Info: http://nlg.isi.edu/nl-seminar/

Webcast: http://webcasterms1.isi.edu/mediasite/Viewer/?peid=56056025433c402fa77a297e7b2e24381d

Location: Information Science Institute (ISI) - 6th Flr Conf Rm # 689, Marina Del Rey

WebCast Link: http://webcasterms1.isi.edu/mediasite/Viewer/?peid=56056025433c402fa77a297e7b2e24381d

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Peter Zamar

Event Link: http://nlg.isi.edu/nl-seminar/