Description:

The Northwestern University Psychology Colloquium Series Presents:

Caterina Gratton

Washington University in St. Louis

"Control Systems & Hubs: A Network View of Goal Driven Behavior"

Abstract:Humans can easily and flexibly accomplish a wide variety of tasks, with different perceptual and cognitive demands, depending on their goals. This ability appears to depend on both specialized processing that occurs in individual brain regions and coordinated interactions between brain regions that are organized into large-scale networks. In my research I am interested in investigating the relationship between these two levels of functional organization. I will present an overview of my research, highlighting three projects centered on the role of control systems and brain hubs in goal-directed cognition. The first section will focus on task control systems of the brain, providing evidence for the presence of two dissociable control systems, with distinct functional roles. In the second section I use a lesion approach to examine how different systems interact, asking whether specialized regions ("hubs") are critical for mediating cross-network interactions. Finally, I ask whether hubs are important for task control in healthy humans. Together, these projects provide important neurobiological constraints on how specialized regions interact to carry out goals at many different time-scales.

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

4:00 pm, Swift Hall 107

Reception to follow