061009 Donchin

The Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Freiburg

Announcement for the next

BCCN Seminar

Opher Donchin, Ph.D.

Department of Biomedical Engineering
Ben Gurion University of the Negev
Be'er Sheva, Israel

What is the right way to study the motor system?

My goal will be to make two fundamental points about the study of the motor system. First, both physiologically and behaviorally, the motor system is constantly changing and adapting. To study the motor system, we must study motor learning. Second, a productive approach requires a sophisticated understanding of how actual movements are performed. Expertise in the use we make of our bodies is essential to properly design and interpret laboratory experiments. I will illustrate these points using examples from my own work in the physiology of motor cortex and cerebellum and the psychophysics of motor learning and adaptation. I will also draw from the logic of systems designed to describe and improve our ability to use our own bodies.

Host: Dr. Simone Cardoso de Oliveira