Wednesday October 23^rd, 2024, from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m., followed by a cocktail. Come and meet her in person!

Please note that the conferences are now half an hour earlier!

• Université de Montréal, Pavilion Marie-Victorin, Room D-427 : Please register via the Doodle link.
• The lecture will also be available via Zoom and will be recorded. No registration required. Meeting ID: 849 7696 6108/ Passcode: 119304    
• The lecture will not be streaming live on Facebook.

On the evolution of time and rhythm in action, perception, and cognition

Abstract: In a continuously changing environment, we rely on prior knowledge (when and what) to evaluate actual against expected sensations (predictions) and adapt to mismatches between these sensations. We are likely not the only species that makes use of such predictions to shape how we act in and perceive the world. Likewise pathological changes in the system(s) supporting predictions and their updating can provide causal evidence on how aberrant predictions alter actions, perceptions, and cognition. I will present animal and human studies, focusing on the temporal dimension of predictions, to showcase the critical contribution of cortico-cerebello-thalamo-cortical circuitry in maintaining and adapting predictions, taking an evolutionary perspective.

Bio: Sonja Kotz is a translational cognitive neuroscientist, investigating temporal, rhythmic, and formal predictions in audition, music, and speech across the lifespan, pathologies (PD, stroke, tinnitus, psychosis, dyslexia), and animal models. In her research she utilizes a wide range of behavioral and neuroimaging methods (M/EEG, s/f/rsMRI, TMS). She heads the Neuropsychology section at Maastricht University (NL) and holds honorary professorships at the University of Leipzig (DE), and University of Lisbon (PT). She is a senior/associate editor for Imaging Neuroscience, Cortex, Neurobiology of Language, and PlosOne. Find out more about her Basic and Applied NeuroDynamics lab @ www.band-lab.com