[CTN] CTN seminar: Michael Barnett-Cowan, 3:30 Feb 16, PAS 2464

[Bryan Tripp]

Hi everyone,

Please join us for our next CTN seminar on Tuesday (Feb 16) at 3:30 in PAS
2464. The title, abstract, and bio follow. The speaker is Michael
Barnett-Cowan (Dept. of Kinesiology, University of Waterloo).

Let me know if you would like to meet individually with Prof.
Barnett-Cowan.

Regards,
Bryan

Title: Gravity's fundamental role for perception and action

Abstract: Orientation is fundamental to perception and action. Knowing
where you are in relation to the world and its contents is critical for
adaptive behaviour. Orientation requires a reference, which the force of
gravity is ideally suited for because it is constant on earth. The senses
provide different types of information about the direction of gravity
however. Thus a critical step that the brain must achieve to accurately
represent the world and its contents is the integration of orientation cues
from multiple sensory organs that individually do not provide an accurate
representation of the physical world. Under normal circumstances when the
head is upright with respect to the direction of gravity’s force and with
respect to the orientation of a polarized visual environment, perceived
self-orientation within an earth-centric field of reference is reinforced
by such sensory cues. Perceptual stability is compromised, however, when
orientation information from the senses is discordant. In this talk I will
present a number of behavioural studies that demonstrate how fundamental
gravity is to perception and action at the individual and group level. I
will then briefly introduce a new research project designed to address
these individual and group differences using genomics and will conclude by
opening a discussion on how developing a working computational model of how
the brain integrates multisensory information about orientation could be
used to better predict, monitor and treat disorientation as well as sensory
processing deficits that come with ageing and disease.

Bio: Michael is an Assistant Professor of Neuroscience in the Department of
Kinesiology at the University of Waterloo where he is the Director of the
Multisensory Brain & Cognition laboratory. Michael received his PhD in
Experimental Psychology in 2009 at York University with Laurence Harris at
the Centre for Vision Research. He then took up a postdoctoral fellowship
at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany
with Heinrich Bülthoff where he led the Cybernetics Approach to Perception
and Action (CAPA) research group and was project leader for the Simulation
of Upset Recovery in Aviation (SUPRA) F7 EU Research Grant. In 2012 he
returned to Canada to work with Jody Culham at Western University's Brain
and Mind Institute where he held appointments as an adjunct research
professor and a Banting fellow. Michael's research program uses
psychophysical, modelling, as well as neural imaging and stimulation
techniques to assess how the normal, damaged, diseased, and older human
brain integrates multisensory information that is ultimately used to guide
perception, cognition and action. More information about Michael's research
can be found here:
https://uwaterloo.ca/multisensory-brain-and-cognition-lab/
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