9 AM Fridays -- 519 Psychology
In this course we emphasize the critical evaluation of topical issues and data in working memory research. Toward this end, we also emphasize the methods of neuroimaging, neuropsychology, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), electroencephalography (EEG), and experimental psychology.
Format: Each week we discuss (at least) one article from the recent literature. These discussions are organized as informal presentations that will give us an opportunity to discuss and assess in detail the theory, methods, results, and interpretation associated with that particular paper. On occasion, these discussions are supplemented with, or supplanted by, an informal presentation of the design and/or results from an experiment being conducted in the Postle laboratory (see section on "3 credits", below). Following the discussion of a particular paper or project, we end the meeting with an attempt to integrate what we've learned from this specific information into the perspective of contemporary cognitive neuroscience inquiry.
Levels of participation: The class may be taken for 1, 2, or 3 credits. The requirements for 1-credit registrants are simply to come to class having read the assigned paper, and prepared to participate in the discussion. The additional requirements for 2-credit registrants are to lead one of the weekly discussions, and to write a 3-5 page paper that 1) summarizes the paper; 2) summarizes the question that it was intended to address; and 3) proposes either a) a better way to test this question, or b) a hypothesis that captures an important "next question" that can now be addressed and an experimental design that would effect this hypothesis test. The additional requirements for 3-credit registrants are to participate in a research project in the Postle laboratory that entails at least 10 hr./wk. of research time during two consecutive semesters, either Fall 2009/Spring 2010 or Spring 2010/Fall 2010. The Fall-semester version of the course is Psychology 697, the Spring semester version is Psychology 618. The in-class presentations of 3-crediters typically focus on their own experiments.
Grading: 1-credit: in-class participation
2-credit: in-class participation and the paper.
3-credit: in-class participation, paper, and research
Instructor: Brad Postle, 515 Psychology, 262-4330, postle@wisc.edu
Office hours: by appointment.
With the exception of time-sensitive emergencies, email is the most effective and preferred way for you to contact me.
Background readings
Aguirre & D'Esposito (1999). Experimental design for brain fMRI. In: Functional MRI (Moonen and Bandettini, Eds.). Springer Verlag, Berlin. (pp. 369-380).
Walsh & Pascual-Leone (2003). Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation: A Neurochronometrics of Mind. MIT Press (Cambridge, MA).
Postle, B.R. (2006). Working memory as an emergent property of the mind and brain. Neuroscience, 139, 23-38.
August 28
Hamidi, Slagter, Tononi, and Postle (in press). Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation affects behavior by biasing endogenous cortical oscillations. Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience.
September 4
Lewis-Peacock and Postle
(2008). Temporary activation of long-term memory supports working memory. The
Journal of Neuroscience, 28,
8765-8771.
Kay and Gallant (2009). I can see what you see. Nature Neuroscience, 12, 245-246.
September 11
McMenamin, Shackman, et al. (in
revision). Validation of ICA-based myogenic artifact correction for scalp and
source-localized EEG.
[ Get a copy of Alex's lab meeting presentation ]
*note talk of interest @ 3pm: Eve Marder; see Center for Neuroscience Web page for details.
September 18
Jensen et al. (2002). Oscillations in the alpha band (9-12 Hz) increase with memory load during retention in a short-term memory task. Cerebral Cortex, 12, 877-882.
Scheeringa et al. (2009). Trial-by-trial coupling between EEG and BOLD identifies networks related to alpha and theta EEG power increases during working memory maintenance. NeuroImage. 44, 1224-1238.
September 25
No class, BP traveling
October 2
No class, BP traveling
October 9
Stokes et al. (2009). Top-down activation of shape-specific populations codes in visual cortex during mental imagery. The Journal of Neuroscience, 29, 1565-1572.
October 16
Cancelled class, SfN 2009
October 23
Busch et al. (2009). The phase of ongoing EEG oscillations predicts visual perception. The Journal of Neuroscience, 29, 7869-7876.
Wyart and Tallon-Baudry (2009). How ongoing fluctuations in human visual cortex predict perceptual awareness: baseline shift versus signal detection. The Journal of Neuroscience, 29, 8715-8725.
October 30
Jacobs and Kahana (2009). Neural representations of individual stimuli in humans revealed by gamma-band electroencephalographic activity. The Journal of Neuroscience, 29, 10203-10214.
November 6
Rihs et al. (2009). A bias for posterior α-band power suppression versus enhancement during shifting versus maintenance of spatial attention. NeuroImage, 44, 190-199.
November 13
Soon et al. (2008). Unconscious determinants of free decisions in the human brain. Nature Neuroscience, 11, 543-545.
Bode and Haynes (2009). Decoding sequential stages of task preparation in the human brain. NeuroImage, 45, 606-613.
November 20
Guest speaker: Dr. Xin Huang will talk about his work in "Exploring the neural code for visual motion"
Huang, Albright, and Stoner (2008). Stimulus-dependency and mechanisms of surround modulation in cortical area MT. Journal of Neuroscience, 28:13889-906.
Non-guest speaker: Adam Riggall will give an overview of his experiment
Zaksas and Pasternak (2006). Directional signals in the prefrontal cortex and area MT during a working memory for visual motion task. Journal of Neuroscience, 26: 11726-11742.
(Background) Pasternak and Greenlee (2005). Working memory in primate sensory systems. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 6: 97-107.
November 27
No class, Thanksgiving
December 4
Herrington and Assad (2009). Neural activity in the middle temporal area and lateral intraparietal area during endogenously cued shifts of attention. Journal of Neuroscience, 29: 14160-14176.
December 11
Kaiser et al (2009). Temporal dynamics of stimulus-specific gamma-band activity components during auditory short-term memory. NeuroImage, 44, 257-264.
Postponed ...
Bosman et al. (2009). A microsaccadic rhythm modulates gamma-band synchronization and behavior. The Journal of Neuroscience, 29, 19471-9480.
van Dijk et al. (2008). Prestimulus oscillatory activity in the alpha band predicts visual discrimination ability. The Journal of Neuroscience, 28, 1816-1823.
Mathewson et al. (2009). To see or not to see: prestimulus alpha phase predicts visual awareness. The Journal of Neuroscience, 29, 2725-2732.
Seghier and Price (2009). Dissociating functional brain networks by decoding the between-subject variability. NeuroImage, 45, 349-359.
Green and McDonald (2008). Electrical neuroimaging reveals timing of attentional control activity in human brain. PLoS Biology, 6, e81.
Where to take complaints about a Teaching Assistant or Course Instructor:
Occasionally, a student may have a
complaint about a TA or course instructor. If that happens, you should feel
free to discuss the matter directly with the TA or instructor. If the complaint
is about the TA and you do not feel comfortable discussing it with him or her,
you should discuss it with the course instructor. If you do not want to
approach the instructor, make an appointment to speak to the Department Chair,
Professor Patricia Devine, by emailing: chair@psych.wisc.edu.
If your complaint has to do with
sexual harassment, you may also take your complaint to Vicky Lenzlinger,
Undergraduate Program Coordinator, phone 262-0512 or email her at
vlenzlinger@psych.wisc.edu. Her office is located on the second floor of
the Psychology building, room 222.
If you believe the TA or course
instructor has discriminated against you because of your religion, race,
gender, sexual orientation, or ethnic background, you also may take your
complaint to the Office of Equity and Diversity, room 179-A Bascom Hall, or go
to: http://www.oed.wisc.edu/