DOCSLIB.ORG

Neurophysiological Investigation of the Lateral Prefrontal Cortex During the Task of Binocular Flash Suppression

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Neurophysiological Investigation of the Lateral Prefrontal Cortex During the Task of Binocular Flash Suppression NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE LATERAL PREFRONTAL CORTEX DURING THE TASK OF BINOCULAR FLASH SUPPRESSION Dissertation zur Erlangung des Grades eines Doktors der Naturwissenschaften der Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultät und der Medizinischen Fakultät der Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen vorgelegt von Vishal Kapoor aus New Delhi, India. December - 2015 Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 12th July 2016 Dekan der Math.-Nat. Fakultät: Prof. Dr. W. Rosenstiel Dekan der Medizinischen Fakultät: Prof. Dr. I. B. Autenrieth 1. Berichterstatter: Prof. Dr. / PD Dr. / Dr. Nikos K. Logothetis 2. Berichterstatter: Prof. Dr. / PD Dr. / Dr. Andreas Bartels 3. Berichterstatter: Prof. Dr. / PD Dr. / Dr. Frank Bremmer Prüfungskommission: Prof. Dr. Nikos K. Logothetis Prof. Dr. Uwe Ilg Prof. Dr. Laura Busse Dr. Andreas Bartels Erklärung / Declaration: Ich erkläre, dass ich die zur Promotion eingereichte Arbeit mit dem Titel: „ Neurophysiological investigation of the lateral prefrontal cortex during the task of binocular flash suppression “ selbständig verfasst, nur die angegebenen Quellen und Hilfsmittel benutzt und wörtlich oder inhaltlich übernommene Stellen als solche gekennzeichnet habe. Ich versichere an Eides statt, dass diese Angaben wahr sind und dass ich nichts verschwiegen habe. Mir ist bekannt, dass die falsche Abgabe einer Versicherung an Eides statt mit Freiheitsstrafe bis zu drei Jahren oder mit Geldstrafe bestraft wird. I hereby declare that I have produced the work entitled “Neurophysiological investigation of the lateral prefrontal cortex during the task of binocular flash suppression”, submitted for the award of a doctorate, on my own (without external help), have used only the sources and aids indicated and have marked passages included from other works, whether verbatim or in content, as such. I swear upon oath that these statements are true and that I have not concealed anything. I am aware that making a false declaration under oath is punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to three years or by a fine. Tübingen, den ......................................... ............................................................. Datum / Date Unterschrift /Signature To badi mummy and nani ma, my grandmothers. “If we ever reach the point where we think we thoroughly understand who we are and where we came from, we will have failed.” Carl Sagan Acknowledgements ‘My predominant feeling is one of gratitude’, wrote a kind soul Oliver Sacks on learning about his terminal cancer shortly before he passed away this year. My doctoral endeavor has been neither so grandiose, nor towards an end so grim. Nevertheless, it’s the feeling that consumes my mind at this moment of my life. First and foremost I would like to thank my family. To my parents, you provided me with moral capacity, and taught me right from wrong. You gave me wings and the freedom of thought and feet, which kept me grounded to reality, a lesson, I found immensely valuable in my scientific journey. I am especially grateful to my supervisor, Theofanis Panagiotaropoulos. Thank you for your invaluable guidance and advice through many years of my PhD research. Our collaboration was a great learning experience, teaching me the many details of scientific inquiry. Many thanks for the innumerable thoughtful and critical scientific discussions, and I shall always admire your patience with my endless questions. I experienced through this journey many hurdles, but I am glad that they could be overcome with your support. I owe a deep sense of gratitude to Nikos Logothetis. Your infectious enthusiasm for science along with your relentless belief and support for pursuing scientific ambition made graduate research in this lab a truly wonderful experience. When I came here for an interview, I couldn’t meet you, but was told, ‘this is a place, where the only limitation is your own imagination’. As a boy travelling from thousands of kilometers away, it was a dream come true, when given an opportunity of pursuing a degree in such a laboratory. And in so many years of being here, it has been an unforgettable journey worthy of a book. And I believe that I have experienced what I heard the first time, I stepped into this building. Thank you for giving me this possibility and for making this a place for what it is, where flying creative imagination evolves into scientific reality. I would also like to sincerely thank my committee members, Uwe Ilg and Andreas Bartels for their encouragement, time and valuable critique. I am grateful to the scientific colleagues who also became friends and shared with me, not only their scientific critique but also the innumerable discussions about scientific life and beyond. I would especially like to thank Abhilash Dwarakanath, Ahalya Viswanathan, Ann- Catherine Zappe, Carsten Klein, Catherine Perrodin, Daniel Zaldivar, Elvira Fischer, Esther Florin, Frederico Azevedo, Hamed Bahmani, Kevin Whittingstall, Leonardo Azevedo, Mar Ubero, Masataka Watanabe, Michael Ortiz, Natalia Zaretskaya, Oxana Eschenko and Shervin Safavi. I would especially like to thank Michel Besserve for his guidance during the last period of my PhD work. The staff at the Department of physiology of cognitive processes was incredibly supportive and helpful, and my special thanks to Axel Oeltermann, Conchy Moya, Eduard Krampe and Joachim Werner. To my friends in Tuebingen and beyond, Ali, Amit, Anurag, Akshay, Ankita, Ashutosh, Avneesh, Gautam, Kirti, Manish, Mohit, Vikram, Varuna, Varun, Vishnu, the moments filled with laughter spent along your side kept me sane through difficult times. I would especially like to thank Roosa, for her love, support and advice on science and life. And for the macaques, I cannot express enough gratitude for their irreplaceable sacrifice. Without them, such research would not see the light of the day and I solemnly vow to continue as before, to treat them with utmost respect, and care. Finally, the scientific endeavor, although many a times a solitary journey is taken with maps meticulously cartographed by a generation of researchers through their scholarly work. It’s on their shoulders; we stand with hope to peek at the road further ahead. To all of them, thank you for your toil and hardship in the physical and the mental laboratory and passing to the future, among others that one thing which gives true meaning to this life; the gift of knowledge. To end, I sincerely apologize, in case I might have forgotten someone either due to the urgency of finalizing this thesis or the lapses of the very organ, I wish to understand. Thank you everybody, who participated with me in this journey. CONTENTS Abbreviations………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..1 Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………2 1. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………………………………..5 2. Neuronal discharges and gamma oscillations explicitly reflect visual consciousness in the lateral prefrontal cortex……………………………………………………………………………….14 2.1 Motivation………………………………………………………………………………………………………...14 2.2 Methods…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….15 2.3 Results……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….15 2.4 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………16 3. Subjective visual perception: from local processing to emergent phenomena of brain activity…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..17 3.1 Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..17 4. Decorrelated discharge fluctuations in prefrontal microcircuits during visual consciousness…………………………………………………………………………………………………………21 4.1 Motivation………………………………………………………………………………………………………...21 4.2 Methods…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….22 4.3 Results……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….22 4.4 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………23 5. Is the frontal lobe involved in conscious visual perception? ………………………………..25 5.1 Summary…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..25 6. Desynchronization and rebound of beta oscillations during conscious and unconscious local neuronal processing in the macaque lateral prefrontal cortex…………..…………………………………………………………………………………………………………27 6.1 Motivation………………………………………………………………………………………………………...27 6.2 Methods…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….28 6.3 Results……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….28 6.4 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………29 7. Sequential patterns of neuronal activity in the lateral prefrontal cortex during the task of binocular flash suppression……..…………………………………………………………………30 7.1 Motivation………………………………………………………………………………………………………...30 7.2 Methods…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….30 7.3 Results……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….31 7.4 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………32 8. Development of tube tetrodes and multi-tetrode drive for deep structure electrophysiological recordings in the macaque brain……...………………………………..…33 8.1 Motivation………………………………………………………………………………………………………...33 8.2 Methods…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….34 8.3 Results……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….34 8.4 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………………35 9. Discussion and Conclusions………………………………………….…...………………………………..…36 9.1 Prefrontal cortex and visual awareness – piking activity and gamma oscillations ……………………………………………………………………………….………………………………………...36 9.2 Correlated discharges and population coding of perceptual content…..…………….37 9.3 Prefrontal cortex – beyond visual perception – beta band oscillations and cognitive control……………………………………………………………………………………………….39 9.4 Sequential patterns of neuronal activity in
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Forschungsgruppen Ausland Research Groups Abroad
    STRUKTUREN 04 STRUCTURES Forschungsgruppen Ausland Research Groups abroad Seite 136 Page 136 Partnergruppen Partner Groups Seite 141 Page 141 Max-Planck-Forschungsgruppen im Ausland Max Planck Research Groups abroad Seite 143 Page 143 Unabhängige Tandemforschungsgruppen von Independent Tandem Research Groups of Max-Planck-Instituten Max Planck Institutes Partnergruppen Partner Groups Partnergruppen sind ein Instrument zur gemeinsamen Förderung von Nachwuchs wissenschaftlern mit Ländern, die an einer Stär- kung ihrer Forschung durch internationale Kooperationen interessiert sind. Sie können mit einem Institut im Ausland eingerichtet werden, wenn ein exzellenter Nachwuchswissenschaftler oder eine exzellente Nachwuchswissenschaftlerin (Postdoc) im An- schluss an einen Forschungsaufenthalt an einem Max-Planck-Institut wieder an ein leistungsfähiges und angemessen ausgestat- tetes Labor seines/ihres Herkunftslandes zurückkehrt und an einem Forschungsthema weiter forscht, welches auch im Interesse des vorher gastgebenden Max-Planck-Instituts steht. Stand: 31. Dezember 2017 Partner Groups can be established in cooperation with an institute abroad. Following a research visit to a Max Planck Institute, an outstanding junior scientist (postdoc) returns to a well-equipped high-capacity laboratory in his home country and continues his research on a research topic that is also of interest to the previous host Max Planck Institute. As of 31st December 2017 INSTITUT | INSTITUTE PARTNERGRUPPE | PARTNERGROUP ARGENTINIEN | ARGENTINA MPI für Entwicklungsbiologie Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral, Santa Fe Prof. Dr. Detlef Weigel Dr. Pablo A. Manavella MPI für molekulare Pflanzenphysiologie Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral, Santa Fe Prof. Dr. Mark Stitt Dr. Carlos María Figueroa MPI für Pflanzenzüchtungsforschung Fundación Instituto Leloir, Buenos Aires Prof. Dr. George Coupland Dr. Julieta Mateos MPI für molekulare Physiologie Universidad de Buenos Aires Prof Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • On May 8Th, 2008 Human Brain Mapping (HBM) Published a Paper by A
    Date: 16 June 2008 Dear Editors and Colleagues: On May 8th, 2008 Human Brain Mapping (HBM) published a paper by A. Shmuel and D. Leopold entitled “Neuronal correlates of spontaneous fluctuations in fMRI signals in monkey visual cortex: Implications for functional connectivity at rest” (DOI: 10.1002/hbm.20580). The authors are former postdoctoral fellows of mine and the data were collected in my laboratory, so it is with some unhappiness that I write to you to disavow the paper’s contents and conclusions, and to let you know that my colleagues and I are preparing a rebuttal for publication. My objections to the paper are both technical and ethical. The technical problem is that most of the measurements reported in the paper to be “at rest” were taken from the prestimulus interval of long observation periods with multiple trials during which visual stimuli were presented. The data came from another study of my laboratory (Shmuel, Augath, Oeltermann and Logothetis, 2006). In fact, a grey screen with a significant flicker at 30 and 60 Hz evoked electrical cortical activity, making it wrong to suppose that the comparison of neural with hemodynamic signals was within a rest period during which spontaneous activity alone prevailed (details in the rebuttal). This renders the conclusion in the paper, and thus the paper itself, invalid. These points were pointed out to the authors and to the editors as well, but the editors chose to accept it even in spite of the questionable ethical conduct of the authors, which the editors were also aware of, or should have been aware of (see below).
    [Show full text]
  • On the Search for the Neural Correlate of Consciousness
    On the Search for the Neural Correlate of Consciousness David J. Chalmers Philosophy Program Research School of Social Sciences Australian National University I will discuss one aspect of the role that neuroscience plays in the search for a theory of consciousness. Whether or not neuroscience can solve all the problems of consciousness singlehandedly, it undoubtedly has a major role to play. Recent years have seen striking progress in neurobiological research bearing on the problems of consciousness. The conceptual foundations of this sort of research, however, are only beginning to be laid. I will look at some of the things that are going on, from a philosopher’s perspective, and will try to say something helpful about these foundations. We have all been hearing a lot about the “neural correlate of consciousness”. This phrase is intended to refer to the neural system or systems primarily associated with conscious experience. The acronym of the day is “NCC”. We all have an NCC inside our head, we just have to find out what it is. In recent years we have seen quite a few proposals about the identity of the NCC. One of the most famous proposals is Crick and Koch’s suggestion concerning 40-hertz oscillations. That proposal has since faded away a little but there are all sorts of other suggestions out there. The picture is almost reminiscent of particle physics, where they have something like 236 particles and people talk about the “particle zoo”. In studying consciousness, one might talk about the “neural correlate zoo”. A brief list of suggestions that have been put forward includes: • 40-hertz oscillations in the cerebral cortex (Crick and Koch 1990).
    [Show full text]
  • Andreas Tolias CV
    Andreas Savas Tolias Professor and Brown Foundation Endowed Chair of Neuroscience Founder and Director of Center for Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Rice University Houston, Texas email: [email protected] http://toliaslab.org, ninai.org Education INSTITUTION AND LOCATION DEGREE YEAR(s) FIELD OF STUDY Cambridge University, B.A., M.A. 1993,1995 Natural Sciences Cambridge, UK Systems/ Massachusetts Institute of Technology Ph.D. 2000 Computational Neuroscience Systems/ Max-Planck Institute for Biological Postdoctoral 2000-2006 Computational Cybernetics, Tuebingen, Germany Training Neuroscience Positions Professor of Neuroscience, Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of 2018- Medicine present Brown Foundation Endowed Chair of Neuroscience 2017- Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas present Founder and Director, Center for Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence 2016- (CNAI), Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas present Associate Professor, Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine 2013- Department of Electrical and Computational Engineering, Rice University present Assistant Professor, Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine 2006-2013 Department of Computational and Applied Mathematics, Rice University, Houston TX. Curriculum Vitae Andreas Tolias Research Scientist, Max-Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, 2000-2006 Tuebingen, Germany. (Nikos Logothetis, Director). Ph.D. Thesis in the Laboratory of Peter Schiller, 1995-2000 Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA. Teaching Assistant, Department of Applied Mathematics, 1994 Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Research Fellow, MIT Media Lab in lab of Alex Pentland 1993-1994 Research Fellow in the labs of C.F. Stomeyer III & Richard Kronauer 1993-1994 School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA.
    [Show full text]
  • Compatibility Mode
    XXthth International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience September 11stst --55thth 2008 Bodrum Turkey www.iconxbodrum.org On-line abstract submission and registration Organised by: BRAIN RESARCH SOCIETY, TURKEY INVITATION Dear Neuroscientist, Xth International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON X) is approaching and we are pleased to highlight some aspects of its exciting programme that should not be missed. ICON X is intended to promote interdisciplinary dialogue in the scientific study of cognition. The conference will address current empirical and theoretical issues in the study of cognition, from the perspectives of neuroscience, psychology, clinical medicine, and computational science. ICON X will be held from September 1st to September 5th 2008 in Bodrum, Turkey. Beyond being a lively, popular holiday resort on the Aegean Sea, Bodrum has an incredibly rich past as a place where people have lived continuously for thousands of years. Its position in or near so many of the great civilizations and events of ancient history also makes Halicarnassus (Bodrum's ancient name) an interesting site to visit . So, the meeting promises to be both intellectually stimulating and culturally interesting! Please visit the ICON X web site at www.iconxbodrum.org . On-line abstract submission and registration pages are now active. Abstract submission deadline is May 15th and early registration deadline with reduced fee is June 1st. Submissions for both posters and talks will be accepted. Any person may present only two submissions, but may be co-author on more than two. Even if you do not want to submit an abstract now , please register yourself as a user of the WEB page, so that we can inform you about the updates.
    [Show full text]
  • Neuroanatomy.Org
    NEUROANATOMY www.neuroanatomy.org VOLUME 4 [2005] Supplement 1 4th National Congress of Neuroscience Mersin, Turkey, March 29–April 2, 2005 ABSTRACT BOOK Honorary Comittee Prof.Dr. Ugur Oral - Rector Prof.Dr. Suha Aydin - Dean Scientific Committee Prof.Dr. Turgay Dalkara Prof.Dr. Tamer Demiralp Prof.Dr. Murat Emre Prof.Dr. Lutfiye Eroglu Prof.Dr. Yucel Kanpolat Prof.Dr. Fatma Kutay Prof.Dr. Filiz Onat Prof.Dr. Cigdem Ozesmi Prof.Dr. Gonul Peker Prof.Dr. Sakire Pogun Prof.Dr. I. Hakki Ulus Prof.Dr. Pekcan Ungan Organizing Committee Prof.Dr. Huseyin Beydagi - Chairman Asst.Prof.Dr. Seyit Ankarali - Secretary Prof.Dr. Emin Erdal The conference is organized under the auspices of Assoc.Prof.Dr. Belgin Buyukakilli Turkish Council of Scientific and Technical Reseach, Assoc.Prof.Dr. Aynur Ozge TUBAS, Assoc.Prof.Dr. A. Hakan Ozturk BAD, Assoc.Prof.Dr. Kemal Yazici Asst.Prof.Dr. Tolgay Ergenoglu and Asst.Prof.Dr. Cetin Okuyaz Mersin University. e-ISSN 1303-1775 • p-ISSN 1303-1783 Honorary Editor Technical Editor Tuncalp Ozgen, MD M. Mustafa Aldur, MD-PhD Editors Managing Editors M. Dogan Aksit, DVM-PhD Mustafa Aktekin, MD-PhD Ruhgun Basar, DDS-PhD Alp Bayramoglu, MD-PhD M. Deniz Demiryurek, MD-PhD Deputy Editor C. Cem Denk, MD-PhD www.neuroanatomy.org H. Hamdi Celik, MD-PhD A. Hakan Ozturk, MD-PhD Associate Editors Eray Tuccar, MD-PhD Owned and Published by Mustafa K. Baskaya, MD Associate Technical Editor Safiye Cavdar, PhD Ilkan Tatar, MD Scott Lozanoff, PhD M. Mustafa Aldur, MD–PhD Scientific Advisory Board Department of Anatomy Erdogan Sendemir, MD Salih Murat Akkin, MD Hacettepe University Mustafa F.
    [Show full text]
  • Are There Neural Correlates of Consciousness? 5
    Alva Noë and Evan Thompson Are There Neural Correlates 1 of Consciousness? In the past decade, the notion of a neural correlate of consciousness (or NCC) has become a focal point for scientific research on consciousness (Metzinger, 2000a). A growing number of investigators believe that the first step toward a science of consciousness is to discover the neural correlates of consciousness. Indeed, Francis Crick has gone so far as to proclaim that ‘we … need to discover the neural correlates of consciousness.… For this task the primate visual system seems especially attractive.… No longer need one spend time attempting … to endure the tedium of philosophers perpetually disagreeing with each other. Con- sciousness is now largely a scientific problem’ (Crick, 1996, p. 486).2 Yet the question of what it means to be a neural correlate of consciousness is actually far from straightforward, for it involves fundamental empirical, methodological, and philosophical issues about the nature of consciousness and its relationship to the brain. Even if one assumes, as we do, that states of consciousness causally depend on states of the brain, one can nevertheless wonder in what sense there is, or could be, such a thing as a neural correlate of consciousness. Our focus in this paper is one particular way of thinking about the neural cor- relates of visual consciousness that has become widespread among philosophers of mind and cognitive neuroscientists alike. According to this way of thinking, which we call the matching-content doctrine, the first task of the neuroscience of Correspondence: Alva Noë, Department of Philosophy, University of California, Berkeley CA 94720-2390, USA.
    [Show full text]
  • Peter H. Schiller
    Peter H. Schiller BORN: Berlin, Germany May 5, 1931 EDUCATION: Duke University, B.A., Psychology (1955) Clark University, M.A., Psychology (1959); Ph.D., Psychology (1962) Postdoctoral training, Psychology Department, MIT (1962–1963) MILITARY SERVICE: U.S. Army, 1955–1957 ACADEMIC POSITIONS: Research Assistant, Austen Riggs Center, Stockbridge, MA (1953–1960) Research Assistant, Clark University, Worcester, MA (1961–1962) Lecturer, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (1962–1964) Assistant Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (1964–1968) Associate Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (1968–1971) Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (1971–present) AWARDS AND HONORS: Dorothy Poitras Chair for Medical Physiology, MIT (1986) National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A. (2007) American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2007) Honorary member of the Magyar Tudományos Akadémia, Hungarian Academy of Sciences (2008) Peter H. Schiller, in collaboration with numerous investigators, has carried out research using psychophysical methods, single-cell recordings, microstimulation, and pharmacological manipulations. The research has examined (1) the neural underpinnings of visual illusions and visual masking, (2) retrograde amnesia, (3) the neural control of eye movements, (4) the functions of the midget and parasol systems that originate in the retina, (5) the functions of the ON and OFF channels of the retina, and (6) the functions of extrastriate areas in visual processing.
    [Show full text]
  • Program Book
    Contents Overview 6 OCNS - The Organization ............................................ 7 Timetable ..................................................... 9 Ground Floor Map ............................................. 10 First Floor Map ............................................... 11 General Information ............................................... 12 Meeting Venue ............................................... 12 Getting to the Downtown Area ....................................... 13 Welcome, First Keynote, and Reception: ................................. 13 Information for Poster Presentations ................................... 14 Registration and Locations ........................................ 14 Local Information .............................................. 14 Gala Dinner ................................................. 16 CNS Party .................................................. 17 Restaurants ................................................. 18 Sights .................................................... 18 Program 21 Tutorials and Organizers ............................................. 22 Meeting Schedule ................................................ 24 Workshops and Organizers ........................................... 29 Abstracts 32 Tutorials ...................................................... 33 Invited Presentations ............................................... 45 Contributed Talks ................................................. 50 Workshops ...................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Studying Conscious and Unconscious Vision with Fmri: the Bold Promise
    STUDYING CONSCIOUS AND UNCONSCIOUS VISION WITH FMRI: THE BOLD PROMISE Thesis by Julien Dubois In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy California Institute of Technology Pasadena, California 2013 (Defended May 29, 2013) ii © 2013 Julien Dubois All Rights Reserved iii To my wife Christine, whose face I consciously perceive every morning when I open my eyes, and it makes me so happy. iv v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Every single day I wake up and I am grateful. Yes, even on those days while I was writing this thesis, an infamously grueling experience. I have always been free to pursue my dream, even if it has been in constant evolution. When I was in high school, my dream was to study and save the tigers with an organization like the World Wildlife Fund. Then, as my studies went on, my dream evolved into wanting to solve the puzzle of how our planet got to be what it is (I got a bachelor’s and master’s degree in earth and atmospheric sciences). My dream evolved further into wanting to understand how life started (I got a master’s degree in biochemistry, focused on the origins of life). But my dream was not done maturing yet. I gave it a little more time to do so, and went traveling around the world with my favorite person on this planet. During my travels, I came across Christof Koch’s 2004 book, The Quest for Consciousness, and my dream finally entered puberty. I needed to understand the brain! I needed to understand what made us do everything that we did, know everything that we knew, feel everything that we felt, discover everything that we discovered.
    [Show full text]
  • Kooperationsprogramme Cooperation Programs
    Kooperationsprogramme Cooperation Programs Seite 48 Page 48 Partnergruppen Partner Groups Seite 52 Page 52 Max Planck Center Max Planck Centers und Partnerinstitute and Partner Institutes Seite 55 Page 55 Max Planck Fellows Max Planck Fellows Seite 56 Page 56 Kooperationen mit der Cooperation with Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Seite 58 Page 58 Tandemprojekte Tandem Projects Seite 59 Page 59 Max-Planck-Netzwerke Max Planck Research Networks und Institutsübergreifende and Cross-Institutional Forschungsinitiativen Research Initiatives and KOOPERATIONSPROGRAMME 03 COOPERATION PROGRAMS INTERNATIONAL | INTERNATIONAL Partnergruppen Partner Groups Partnergruppen sind ein Instrument zur gemeinsamen Förderung von Nachwuchswissenschaftlern mit Ländern, die an einer Stär- kung ihrer Forschung durch internationale Kooperationen interessiert sind. Sie können mit einem Institut im Ausland eingerichtet werden, wenn ein exzellenter Nachwuchswissenschaftler oder eine exzellente Nachwuchswissenschaftlerin (Postdoc) im An- schluss an einen Forschungsaufenthalt an einem Max-Planck-Institut wieder an ein leistungsfähiges und angemessen ausgestat- tetes Labor seines/ihres Herkunftslandes zurückkehrt und an einem Forschungsthema weiter forscht, welches auch im Interesse des vorher gastgebenden Max-Planck-Instituts steht. Stand: 31. Dezember 2014 Partner Groups can be established in cooperation with an institute abroad. Following a research visit to a Max Planck Institute, an outstanding junior scientist (postdoc) returns to a well-equipped high-capacity laboratory in his home country and continues his research on a research topic that is also of interest to the previous host Max Planck Institute. As of 31st December 2014 INSTITUT | INSTITUTE PARTNERGRUPPE | PARTNERGROUP ARGENTINIEN | ARGENTINA MPI für biophysikalische Chemie Universidad de Buenos Aires Prof. Dr. Stefan Hell Dr. Fernando Stefani MPI für Entwicklungsbiologie CONICET Prof. Dr. Detlef Weigel Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral, Santa Fe Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • 284 Responses
    9/29/2015 OHBM 2015 Overall Evaluation ­ Google Forms SIGN IN 284 responses Summary Program Organization [Please rate the following:] 1 Poor 2 Fair 3 Good 4 Excellent 0 30 60 90 120 1 Poor 7 2.5% 2 Fair 29 10.5% 3 Good 139 50.4% 4 Excellent 101 36.6% Effectiveness of Speaker Communication [Please rate the following:] 1 Poor 2 Fair 3 Good 4 Excellent 0 40 80 120 160 1 Poor 5 1.8% 2 Fair 27 9.9% 3 Good 168 61.8% 4 Excellent 72 26.5% Quality of Visual Materials [Please rate the https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Mx0ZPtzIdkZBSTxKxW­JW8NUjnUl2AKW3jCKK8PtnO4/viewanalytics 1/64 9/29/2015 OHBM 2015 Overall Evaluation ­ Google Forms following:] 1 Poor 2 Fair 3 Good 4 Excellent 0 35 70 105 140 1 Poor 6 2.2% 2 Fair 24 8.7% 3 Good 148 53.6% 4 Excellent 98 35.5% Quality of Audience Discussion/Interaction [Please rate the following:] 1 Poor 2 Fair 3 Good 4 Excellent 0 35 70 105 . 1 Poor 12 4.4% 2 Fair 78 28.5% 3 Good 141 51.5% 4 Excellent 43 15.7% Is the length of the meeting: 89.2% https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Mx0ZPtzIdkZBSTxKxW­JW8NUjnUl2AKW3jCKK8PtnO4/viewanalytics 2/64 9/29/2015 OHBM 2015 Overall Evaluation ­ Google Forms Too Much 17 6.1% Too Little 13 4.7% Just Right 249 89.2% Program Book [Please rate the following:] 1 Poor 2 Fair 3 Good 4 Excellent 0 25 50 75 100 1 Poor 13 5.5% 2 Fair 43 18.2% 3 Good 121 51.3% 4 Excellent 59 25% Abstract Book [Please rate the following:] 1 Poor 2 Fair 3 Good 4 Excellent 0 25 50 75 100 1 Poor 14 6.1% 2 Fair 48 21% 3 Good 112 48.9% 4 Excellent 55 24% Annual Meeting Website [Please rate the following:] https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Mx0ZPtzIdkZBSTxKxW­JW8NUjnUl2AKW3jCKK8PtnO4/viewanalytics
    [Show full text]