Our research interests focus on the processing of sensory information in the central nervous system (CNS) and on the cognitive factors that influence this processing. As a model system for our research, we use the highly developed ability of higher primates to process visual motion information.
The research in our department aims to understand the neural foundations of visual perception. Vision is an active process that is much more than a passive reflection of our environment. Instead, visual information is significantly altered on its way from the eyes to and through the cortex by a variety of processes that enhance some aspects and suppress others. This allows us to suppress unwanted information and focus the brain's processing capacity on important information.
Current publications of the Cognitive Neuroscience Unit
- Kristin Kaduk, Melanie Wilke, Igor Kagan (2024)
Dorsal pulvinar inactivation leads to spatial selection bias without perceptual deficit
Scientific Reports 14(1), 12852 - DOI - - Neda Shahidi, Melissa Franch, Arun Parajuli, Paul Schrater, Anthony Wright, Xaq Pitkow, Valentin Dragoi (2024)
Population coding of strategic variables during foraging in freely-moving macaques
Nature Neuroscience 27, 772-781 - DOI - - Bahareh Taghizadeh, Ole Fortmann, Alexander Gail (2024)
Position- and scale-invariant object-centered spatial localization in monkey frontoparietal cortex dynamically adapts to cognitive demand
Nature Communications 15:3357 - DOI - - Janina Hüer, Pankhuri Saxena, Stefan Treue (2024)
Pathway-selective optogenetics reveals the functional anatomy of top–down attentional modulation in the macaque visual cortex
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 121 (3) e2304511121 - DOI -
The Cognitive Neuroscience Unit contributes substantially to the teaching in Göttingen. The courses are aimed at students in Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Diploma programs, as well as doctoral candidates, and are offered within the Faculty of Biology and Psychology and the Göttingen Graduate School for Neurosciences, Biophysics, and Molecular Biosciences (GGNB). The lectures and courses are primarily designed for Biology, Psychology, and Neurosciences students but are also open to those from other disciplines. They include practical courses, methodology courses, a summer school, as well as the supervision of theses (Bachelor’s, Master’s, Diploma, and Doctoral theses) in Biology, Psychology, Physics, and Medicine.
