Neurophysiology of Cognition Lecture on April 13

You are cordially invited to the following lecture.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010
9:30 a.m.
Lilly Auditorium, University Library

Christopher C. Lapish, Ph.D.
Brain Research Center
University of British Columbia

“The neurophysiology of cognition and cognitive deficits, what can we learn from targeting the dopamine system?”

Abstract:
Cognitive deficits are observed in numerous mental illnesses. In this talk, I explore the neurophysiology of cognition and how it is compromised in an animal model of drug abuse. I address this question by employing cutting-edge analysis techniques to multielectrode recordings in freely moving rodents. Moreover, I examine how the dopamine releasing psychostimulant, d-Amphetamine, modulates prefrontal cortex networks from a behavioral and electrophysiological perspective. I characterize how the transient formation of cell assemblies subserves cognition and how they are impaired by d-Amphetamine in the service of creating accessible metrics which characterize the addicted brain.