Neural mechanisms of memory & prediction, finding structure in experience

We understand how to behave successfully by making a coherent representation or ?map? of our situation from our experiences. I aim to understand how the brain does this using mathematical models that explain how patterns of electrical activity in populations of neurons (the basic processing units in the brain) enable us to remember what has happened, to predict what will happen next and to plan what to do next. This project requires computational modelling and experimental work in mice and humans to measure the activity of populations of neurons and the behaviour of the person or mouse while they are performing specific tasks, so that we can understand the relationship between neural activity and behaviour. Success will provide a scientific understanding of how the brain generates complex cognitive functions, and a starting point for understanding how they go wrong in conditions such as posttraumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia and Alzheimers disease.