CNBC Webcalendar - This Month

Neurobiology: Christianson

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Department of Neurobiology Seminar
Title: Interactions of growth factors and TRP channels in persistent visceral hypersensitivity
Presenter: Julie Christianson, Ph.D.
Location: 6014 Biomedical Science Tower 3

Grand Rounds: Dalmau

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:00:00 +0000

Department of Neurology Grand Rounds Series
Title: Autoimmunity To Synaptic Proteins and The New Immune-Mediated Disorders of Memory, Behavior, Cognition, and Psychosis
Presenter: Josep Dalmau, MD, PhD
Location: 1105BC Scaife Conference Center

CNBC Colloquium: Romanski

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:00:00 +0000

CNBC Colloquium
Title: Convergence of faces and vocalizations in the frontal lobe
Presenter: Lizabeth Romanski, Ph.D.
Location: BST3 6014

Psychology: Pollick

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Pitt Psychology Colloquium
Title: Fusing the Sight and Sound of Swing-Groove in the Brain of Drummers
Presenter: Frank Pollick, Ph.D.
Location: Martin Colloquium Center, 4127 Sennott Square
Abstract: Merging audio and visual signals into a unitary event is essential for interpreting the actions around us. We examined how experience influences this process by using both behavioural and brain imaging (fMRI) techniques. Our studies present audio and visual streams and compare the ability of drummers and control participants to detect mismatches in the synchrony or congruence of these information streams. All studies employed a novel means of transforming motion capture data of swing groove drumming into visual point-light displays and corresponding sounds generated from physical simulation. Behavioural results showed that drummers, are more narrowly tuned to detect timing differences between the audio and visual signals, and show robust performance across variations in tempo, occlusion and image rotation. Brain imaging results showed large activation differences between drummers and controls in the processing of audiovisual information. Synchrony detection engaged right temporal areas (MTG and STG) for drummers and a right frontal region (IFG) for controls. However, this same right IFG region was active in drummers when detecting incongruence, suggesting that only controls treat asynchrony detection as a cognitive task. In addition, for synchrony detection, drummers showed substantial task-induced deactivation during synchronous displays. Thus drumming expertise appears to provide drummers both with enhanced multisensory perceptual representations and management of processing resources.

Reception to follow in Room 4125 Sennott Square

Pain Research: Sandkuhler

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:00:00 +0000

Pittsburgh Center for Pain Research Seminar
Title: Synaptic mechanisms of pain amplifications
Presenter: Jurgen Sandkuhler, M.D., Ph.D.
Location: 1495 Biomedical Science Tower

Brain Bag: Ranmal Samarasinghe

krg28@pitt.edu — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:00:00 +0000

CNBC Brain Bag
Title:
Presenter: Ranmal Samarasinghe
Location: MI 115
Additional Information: Please RSVP to Krishna (krg28@pitt.edu) by Friday, November 6, and indicate if you require a vegetarian meal.
Abstract:

Grand Rounds: Tung

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:00:00 +0000

Department of Neurology Grand Rounds Series
Title: CPC "TBA"
Presenter: Crystal Tung, MD
Location: 1105BC Scaife Conference Center

ADRC: Lingler

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:00:00 +0000

ADRC Seminar
Title: Patient and family member perspectives on living with an MCI diagnosis
Presenter: Jennifer Hagerty Lingler, Ph.D.
Location: ADRC Conference Room, S439 Montefiore Hospital

Neuroscience: Rinaman

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:00:00 +0000

Department of Neuroscience Seminar
Title: Postnatal plasticity of central visceral circuits
Presenter: Linda Rinaman, Ph.D.
Location: A219B Langley Hall

BIRC Transition Open Meeting

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:30:00 +0000

BIRC Transition Open Meeting
Presenter: Marcel Just, Ph.D.
Location: Baker Hall 336B

This will be an open meeting where your input and your questions can be addressed. There will be a new MRI scanner located at Carnegie Mellon which will be operational in the spring of 2010.

Defense: Laurent

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:00:00 +0000

Center for Neuroscience Ph.D. Dissertation Defense
Title: Basal ganglia involvement in the reinforcement learning of physical and cognitive actions
Presenter: Patryk Laurent
Location: 2nd Floor Auditorium, LRDC

TNP/Psychiatry: Gonzalez-Burgos

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Translation Neuroscience and Department of Psyciatry Seminar
Title: Fast signaling by fast-spiking GABA neurons: Implications for cortial dysfunction in schizophrenia
Presenter: Guillermo Gonzalez-Burgos, Ph.D.
Location: 1695 Biomedical Science Tower

SNI/CNBC: Hatsopoulos

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:00:00 +0000

SNI/CNBC Seminar
Title: A Potential Role for Propagating Waves in Motor Cortex
Presenter: Nicholas Hatsopoulos, Ph.D.
Location: WPIC Auditorium-2nd floor

Brain Bag: Godlove

lhmoya@cmu.edu — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:00:00 +0000

CNBC Brain Bag
Title: A cross-modal reach redirection task in rhesus monkeys reveals faster processing for vibrotactile than visual stimuli
Presenter: Jason Godlove
Location: MI 3rd Floor Social Room
Additional Information: Please RSVP to Linda Moya (lhmoya@cmu.edu) by Friday, November 13, and indicate if you require a vegetarian meal.
Abstract: During natural behaviors, we must synthesize and react to information across sensory modalities. For example, if your arm brushes against an obstacle while reaching toward a visible object, you may redirect your reach. We designed a novel behavioral paradigm to test whether animals can incorporate cross-modal sensory information to adjust a reaching movement in progress. We found that monkeys reacted faster to a vibrotactile stimulus than to a visual stimulus that instructed them to redirect the reach.

On each trial, two grey squares appeared, indicating the potential reach targets. When one square briefly flashed yellow, the monkey reached toward it. In a subset of trials, at varying times during the movement, a second cue changed the reach goal to the alternate target. This redirection stimulus could be either visual or vibrotactile. In visually-cued trials, the alternate square flashed yellow. In tactilely-cued redirect trials, a small vibrating motor on the monkey’s left or right shoulder turned on briefly.

Monkeys could redirect their reaches in response to both visual and vibrotactile cues. Successful redirections were more likely to occur when the redirect cue was presented earlier in the reach. We calculated a “redirection signal reaction time” (RSRT), measured as the time between the redirection cue and the resulting change in reach direction. The RSRT was significantly shorter for vibrotactile stimuli (188 ms) than for visual stimuli (221 ms) (t-test, p<0.05). This means the “point of no return”, beyond which a monkey cannot correct its reach, depends on stimulus modality, and occurs later if the redirect cue is vibrotactile than if it is visual. These observations argue that vibrotactile information can influence an ongoing movement more rapidly than can visual information.

Seminar: Chacron

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:30:00 +0000

Seminar
Title: Bursting and motion perception
Presenter: Dr. Maurice J. Chacron
Location: CNBC conference Room, Mellon Institute 115

Grand Rounds: Starr

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:00:00 +0000

Department of Neurology Grand Rounds Series
Title: CPC "TBA"
Presenter: Matthew Starr, MD
Location: 1105BC Scaife Conference Center

Psychology: Amodio

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:00:00 +0000

Pitt Psychology Colloquium
Title: TBA
Presenter: David Amodio, Ph.D.
Location: Martin Colloquium Center, 4127 Sennott Square

TNP/Psychiatry: Grace

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Translation Neuroscience and Department of Psyciatry Seminar
Title: Stress, drug abuse, and schizophrenia: Common pathophysiological mechanisms underlying dopamine system dysreglation
Presenter: Anthony Grace, Ph.D.
Location: 1695 Biomedical Science Tower

Neurobiology: Conway

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Department of Neurobiology Seminar
Title: Neural mechanisms of color
Presenter: Bevil Conway, M.M.Sc., Ph.D.
Location: 1495 Biomedical Science Tower

TNP/Psychiatry: Anderson

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:00:00 +0000

Translation Neuroscience and Department of Psyciatry Seminar
Title: Corticall interneurons: Fate determination and derivation from mouse and human stem cells
Presenter: Stewart Anderson, MD
Location: 1695 Biomedical Science Tower