Examining the function of cortical layers in the human visual system.
Dr Kiley Seymour from WSU recently received an ARC grant to examine the function of cortical layers in the human visual system.
Dr Seymour describes the brain as being “the fundamental organ allowing us to perceive and interact with our world”. But, while animal research has provided insight into the specific neural circuitry underlying these functions in animals, conventional human neuroimaging has been limited in its ability to non-invasively measure neural circuits in the human brain at a sufficient spatial scale.
Her current research overcomes this limitation by using ultra-high Magnetic Resonance Imaging, which allows her to measure human brain activity at a resolution previously reserved for invasive electrode studies in animals. The results of this ARC-funded project will be of immediate widespread relevance to human neuroscience and psychiatry and have potential to impact the design of new artificially intelligent systems and neuromorphic technologies that mimic the human brain. This collaboration with the Max Planck Institute in Germany is also providing Australian scientists and students with access to world class facilities not available in Australia as well as training in the most advanced methods for studying human brain function.
Based on the results of her initial basic research, Dr Seymour and and her team will aim to further explore the brain mechanisms involved in psychosis. Specifically, the research will test disturbances in specific neural circuitry hypothesised to underlie aberrant perceptual experiences, such as hallucinations in schizophrenia.
Read more about Kiley’s work here.