The Laboratory of Cognitive Neurodynamics, under the direction of Avniel Ghuman, PhD, studies how our brain turns what falls upon our eyes into the rich meaningful experience that we perceive in the world around us. Specifically, the goal of these studies is to examine the spatiotemporal dynamics of how neural activity reflects the stages of information processing and how information flows through brain networks responsible for visual perception. The lab is particularly interested in the dynamic neural representation of faces, bodies, objects, words, and social and affective visual images. Furthermore, the lab studies the neural basis of real-world cognition and visual perception. The lab recently received major research funding (R01) to support this work.
In collaboration with pediatric neurosurgeon Taylor Abel, MD, and José-Alain Sahel, MD, chair of the University of Pittsburgh Department of Ophthalmology, the Laboratory of Cognitive Neurodynamics is also embarking on a project to use a combination of functional neurosurgery, artificial intelligence and computational neuroscience approaches to restore sight to blind individuals.
For more detailed information on the Laboratory of Cognitive Neurodynamics, please visit lcnd.pitt.edu.