News
14.08.2010
New publication: Iyilikci, O., Becker, C., Güntürkün, O. and Amado, S., Visual processing asymmetries in change detection, Perception, 2010, 39: 761-769.
12.08.2010
10.08.2010
Contact
Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Fakultät für Psychologie
AE Biopsychologie
GAFO 05/618
D-44780 Bochum
Phone: +49 - 234 - 32 - 28213
Fax: +49 - 234 - 32 - 14377
Email: biopsychologie@rub.de
Homepage: http://www.bio.psy.rub.de
News & Views
Asymmetry of Change Blindness
Do you see the difference between the two pictures? No? Then you are in good company. If the two pictures would simply alternate on a monitor, you would instantly see the difference. However, when a brief pause or a blank (like the grey partition in our example) is interposed between the two pictures, a person can sometimes gaze for minutes at the constantly switching two figures (and their interposed partitions) without detecting even very large changes in the scene. This phenomenon is called Change Blindness and it is to some extent still a mystery. Very likely, change blindness critically depends on attentional mechanisms. Visuo-spatial attention is lateralized towards the right hemisphere (left visual field). Wouldn’t we then expect change blindness to be more pronounced in the right visual field? In two successive experiments, psychologists from Izmir and Bochum tested this assumption and could prove it. Indeed, subjects could detect changes significantly faster in the left visual field, irrespective of their eye movements. Thus, even in cases when they started with a saccade to the right side of the picture, they were more likely to detect the difference on the left side of the picture.
News & Views
How BDNF synchronizes our brain to adjust behaviour
Behavioural adaptation depends on the recognition of response errors and processing of this error-information. Error processing is a specific cognitive function crucial for behavioural adaptation. Even though synchronization processes are important in information processing, its role and neurobiological foundation in behavioural adaptation are not understood. The brain-derived-neurotrophic-factor (BDNF) strongly modulates the establishment of neural connectivity that determines neural network dynamics and synchronization properties. Therefore altered synchronization processes may constitute a mechanism via which BDNF affects processes of error-induced behavioural adaptation. We investigate how variants of the BDNF gene regulate EEG-synchronization processes underlying error processing. Subjects (N=65) were genotyped for the functional BDNF Val66Met polymorphism (rs6265). We show that Val/Val genotype is associated with stronger error-specific phase-locking, compared to Met allele carriers. Post-error behavioural adaptation seems to be strongly dependent on these phase-locking processes and efficacy of EEG-phase-locking-behavioural coupling was genotype dependent. After correct responses, neurophysiological processes were not modulated by the polymorphism, underlining that BDNF becomes especially necessary in situations requiring behavioural adaptation. The results suggest that alterations in neural synchronization processes modulated by the genetic variants of BDNF Val66Met may be the mechanism by which cognitive functions are affected.
News & Views
Molecular Imaging during Homing
Pigeons use olfactory cues to navigate over unfamiliar areas when flying home. The left and the right hemispheres seem to play different roles in this process. In particular, the right olfactory bulb and left piriform cortex (the ‘cortical’-like area of olfactory representation) have been shown to be crucial for navigation. In a new study Biopsychologists from Bochum and Biologists from Pisa conducted a molecular imaging study in pigeons that had to home (or not) under different conditions. Imaging was done by the use of the immediate early gene ZENK that is activated when neurons are highly active. One group of pigeons was released from an unfamiliar site and had to fly home. On their way to the realease area they could smell and could use their olfactory sense when flying homeward. The second group was transported to the unfamiliar site (and could also smell everything), but was driven back without flying. The third group was released in front of the loft and had no trouble to find their way. In all groups, the nostrils of some pigeons were either occluded unilaterally or not. Released pigeons revealed the highest ZENK cell density in the olfactory bulb and the piriform cortex, indicating that very likely not smelling as such but the use of odours for homing from an unfamiliar site massively activates these structures. Only occlusion of the right olfactory bulb resulted in a decreased ZENK cell expression in the piriform cortex, whereas occlusion of the left nostril had no effect. This is the first study to reveal neuronal activation patterns in the olfactory system during homing. The data show that lateralized processing of olfactory cues is indeed involved in navigation over unfamiliar areas.
25-jähriges Dienstjubiläum
Sabine Kesch
Es ist kaum zu glauben, aber Sabine Kesch hat gestern ihr 25jähriges Dienstjubiläum gefeiert. Seit so langer Zeit sorgt Sabine in der Biopsychologie, dass es den Tauben optimal geht. Sie fing zu einer Zeit an, in der dieser Lehrstuhl „Tierpsychologie“ hieß und der Chef Juan Delius. Später wurde Hans Markowitsch Professor des Lehrstuhls und benannte ihn in „Biopsychologie“ um. Noch später kam Onur Güntürkün. In all dieser Zeit hat Sabine die Tierpflege großartig organisiert und durchgeführt.
VIELEN DANK, SABINE!!!
Doctoral Thesis
Josine Verhaal
Josine Verhaal successfully fulfilled her defence on the 15th of July 2010 in the International Graduate School of Neuroscience (IGSN) and was awarded with a PhD. Josine gave a very nice overview of her work in which she showed how neurons in the entopallium code in a lateralized way for learned visual cues. She could show further how the interactions in an asymmetrically wired visual system are organized. One of her reviewers, Prof. Vern Bingman, came all the way from Ohio to this event. The picture shows her during the party after her defence along with Onur and Vern Bingman.
CONGRATULATIONS JOSINE!!!
Award
Das menschliche Gehirn - ein Mal- und Bastelkurs
In January 2008 the seminar "Das menschliche Gehirn - ein Mal- und Bastelkurs" (The human brain - a painting- and craftsmanship course) of the Biopsychology department was awarded on the conference "Kompetenzorientiert lehren und lernen an der RUB" for exemplary teaching.
As a result this film was made to show the concept and the realization of the seminar to a broad community.
If you enjoyed it please distribute the web location to people who might be interested in it.