Project description
Exploring the ocean of the brain
Neural oscillations are a central issue in neuroscientific research,with diverse hypotheses about their contribution to perception and cognition. In this context, the EU-funded WAVESCOPE project aims to examine the cortical oscillations that take place in the brain during speech processing and assess their role in human cognition. Through the development of an open-source algorithmic system for the spatiotemporal characterisation of propagating wave events, the project will track travelling waves across frequencies and will evaluate this method based on existing data and tools. WAVESCOPE will implement this innovative approach into speech processing, to investigate the dynamics of wave propagation.
Objective
Since the beginning of the 20th century, oscillatory patterns have been identified in recordings of human brain activity. Neural oscillation research is a highly active area of investigation, with several competing hypotheses about the role oscillations might play in human cognition. Here we focus on the spatial dimension and look at the emergent topic of oscillations in the form of ‘traveling waves’. These have been detected in different cortical areas, but there is no clear computational role. In the proposed project, I will first develop the waveSCOPE toolbox for the spatiotemporal characterization of propagating events. This open source toolbox (WP1) uses a novel-to-the-research-field algorithm. The algorithm leverages the fact that we can record cortical activity with many sensors (e.g. using MEG or EEG) and arrive at multivariate estimation of phases across recording channels. This allows tracking traveling waves across many frequencies, without the selection of a prior frequency-of-interest. The procedure will be validated in resting state data and compared systematically to other state-of-the-art wave detection algorithms. I then will apply the novel methodology to speech processing data acquired via magnetoencephalography (WP2). During the processing of speech, one typically observes a complex coordinated hierarchy of rhythmic activity. We will investigate whether wave propagation direction is congruent to directions expected by functional anatomic organization and known auditory processing stages. The knowledge and skills gained from this interdisciplinary project, using a new recording modality as well as a new domain of study, will allow me to further develop a competitive scientific career as an independent researcher. In terms of scientific impact, the characterization of propagating activity will be helpful in the hunt for well-motivated abstractions in the amount of ever-increasing brain data and therefore of fundamental importance for neuroscience.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-AG-UN - HORIZON Unit GrantCoordinator
60528 Frankfurt Am Main
Germany