This article is the first of a series exploring the diversity of interests and variety of experimental approaches represented by neuroscientists at the Huck Institutes.
Investigating subjects ranging from neural response and habituation to alcohol, to mechanisms of motor control, to effects of neural injury, these researchers are devising unique methodologies employing a wide variety of technologies and techniques — applying statistical network analysis to data from functional MRI scans, using electromyography in tandem with neuronal tracers and fluorescence microscopy, and combining MRI and brain lesion analysis with virtual reality experiments — and they are making discoveries with the potential to change the way we experience our world: new understanding of how alcohol cues influence the brain, which could make college students think differently about social drinking; newfound parallels between our own neural processes and those of other organisms, which could help to unlock neural code to drive brain-computer interfaces; and new insights into the effects of specific neural injuries on sensorimotor processes, which could lead to developing more-effective post-stroke rehabilitation. > > > > Read More