Zapping and mapping: inferring
causality in human cognitive neuroscience
TMS-fMRI: A joint CCD and PARC workshop
Thursday 25th August 2016, Macquarie University
Overview
The combination of brain stimulation and brain imaging provides a unique
opportunity to draw causal links between neural activity and behaviour. Transcranial
magnetic stimulation (TMS) can be applied to a cortical target while participants
perform a cognitive task in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner.
The targeted brain area is temporarily affected by the TMS, and fMRI is used to
measure the effects of this modulation across the brain. When analysed with
multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA), we can observe the causal effect of disrupting
the targeted brain area on information coding throughout the brain.
This half-day workshop, hosted by the CCD and the Perception in Action Research
Centre (PARC), will explore the possibilities and challenges of this new approach,
particularly as applied to the study of working memory and attention. Dr. Eva
Feredoes, an expert in concurrent TMS-fMRI from the University of Reading (UK),
will introduce the technique from a theoretical and practical perspective and explain
the contributions it has made to our understanding of working memory. CCD and
PARC PhD student Jade Jackson will then present the results of her concurrent
TMS-fMRI-MVPA study exploring the causal role of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in
selective attention. We will have the opportunity for discussion and to brainstorm
potential applications of this exciting approach for the Sydney cognitive science
community.
Speakers
Dr. Eva Feredoes (University of Reading, UK)
Dr. Feredoes is a lecturer at the University of Reading. She is one of only a handful of
researchers worldwide using TMS during fMRI. Using this technique she investigates
working memory and attention to understand the cognitive mechanisms that e.g.,
protect information held in working memory from distraction.
Jade Jackson (CCD/PARC, Macquarie University)
Jade Jackson recently submitted her PhD thesis titled, ‘The role of the frontoparietal
cortices in feature-selective attention’, at Macquarie University, supervised by Dr.
Alexandra Woolgar, A/Prof Anina Rich, and Prof. Mark Williams. The culmination of
her research program was a concurrent TMS-fMRI experiment, supported by a CCD
Student Exchange grant, investigating the role of the prefrontal cortex in featureselective attention.
Programme
The workshop will run from 9.30am-12.30pm on Thursday 25th August, with
morning tea and lunch provided.
Abstracts
Dr. Eva Feredoes: Concurrent TMS-fMRI as a tool to investigate
mechanisms of human cognition
The application of TMS during fMRI is technically challenging, but in the right hands,
permits strong, causal, inferences to be made on mechanisms underlying cognitive
processes of interest. This talk will provide an introduction to the technique from
both a practical and theoretical perspective, and will also cover some influential
studies to showcase its strengths as a cognitive research tool, particularly as applied
to the study of attention and working memory.
Jade Jackson: Using concurrent TMS-fMRI to explore the causal role of
the right dlPFC in feature-selective attention
The frontoparietal multiple-demand (MD) regions of the brain are suggested to play a
fundamental role in selective attention. A prominent region of this network, the
dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, is associated with both the selection of task-relevant
information and the inhibition of task-irrelevant information. In this talk I will
discuss the methodology and results of a concurrent TMS-fMRI-MVPA experiment
designed to provide causal evidence for one or both of these mechanisms. This work
was supported by a CCD Student Exchange award.
Programme schedule
09:30-1o:00: Morning tea
10:00-12:00: Talks and discussion
12:00-12:30: Lunch
Organisers
Dr. Alexandra Woolgar
Jade Jackson
Perception in Action Research Centre, Department of Cognitive Science & ARC
Centre for Excellence in Cognition & its Disorders, Macquarie University
Registration
Registration is free but required for catering purposes, please register at
http://www.ccd.edu.au/events/conferences/2016/zappingandmapping/