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Experimental, Theoretical |
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 A major research goal of the Department of
Cognitive Sciences is to
characterize the architecture and computational properties of human
cognitive
systems. Research on cognitive neuroscience is also conducted in the
Department
of Psychology and Social Behavior. Because models of cognitive systems
must
ultimately make contact with models of neural systems, many cognitive
scientists
have turned to neuroscience, both as an additional source of
information
in formulating and refining cognitive theories, and also to investigate
the nature of the mind/brain relation itself. The biological foundation
of perceptual, motor, and higher cognitive capacities is an area of
interest
to Cognitive Sciences and Psychology and Social Behavior faculty and
affiliated
faculty from the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, the College
of
Medicine, and the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory.Center for Cognitive Neuroscience The Center for Cognitive Neuroscience is a multidisciplinary center aimed at bringing together faculty and students interested in understanding the relation between cognitive abilities and the neural systems that support them. Center participants include 11 faculty and their laboratory members. Core founding members of the Center are drawn largely from the Department of Cognitive Sciences. Active areas of research in participating labs include visual and auditory perception, motor control, memory, speech and language, attention, among others. This research is carried out using a variety of research methods such as fMRI, EEG, MEG, TMS, as well as patient-based neuropsychological approaches. Experimental Current faculty research programs use a wide range of methods include neuroimaging (fMRI and PET), electrophysiology (EEG and MEG), and clinical populations (neuropsychology). Three EEG systems are set up in Cognitive Sciences and a research-dedicated 4T MRI system is in use on campus; a 3T magnet is coming online in Summer 2006. Access to clinical populations is facilitated by research affiliations with area hospitals and clinics and through the Alzheimer's Disease Diagnostic and Research Center at UCI. Related research units include The Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, The Irvine Hearing and Speech Sciences Research Unit, and The Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia. Current faculty research programs investigate: binocular rivalry and visual consciousness; cortical dynamics in visual feature integration; sensorimotor integration; frontal lobe development and executive function; attention; memory; learning; language. Theoretical Computational and mathematical modeling of neural processes complements experimental research in the department. Current faculty research programs include modeling: the conversion of 2-dimensional images stimulating the retina into a 3-dimensional percept; how vision tunes itself to detect the characteristic structures in its environment; supraretinal sensor classes, for instance, neural arrays for sensing motion, stereo disparity, and texture; "cognitive microprocesses" in the brain; visual processes of light adaptation, flicker sensitivity, contrast detection, and stereopsis; binaural interaction; dynamics in large-scale cortical networks. |
Cognitive Sciences
Psychology & Social Behavior
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