[BIC-announce] FW: Seminar in Cognitive Neuroscience, Tues. 13 Oct @ 2:30

[Jennifer Chew, Ms.]

PLEASE DISCARD IF THIS IS A DUPLICATE. THANK YOU.  JENNIFER 
 

Jennifer Chew

McConnell Brain Imaging Centre

MNI - WB317

3801 University Street

Montreal, Qc  H3A 2B4

Telephone:  514-398-8554

Fax:  514-398-2975

 

 

 

Marina Pavlova, Ph.D.


Professor


Department of Pediatric Neurology and Child Development


Developmental Cognitive and Social Neuroscience Unit <http://www.mp.uni-tuebingen.de/mp/index.php?id=98>  

University of Tübingen 

Germany

 

Social cognition and body motion: Brain imaging, development, and gender effects

 

*N.B. special date & time

 


*Tuesday, October 13th, 2009


W201 <http://neuromedia.mcgill.ca/mnibooking/facdirections/wb201dir.htm>  (Montreal Neurological Institute)


3801 University Street


*2:30 p.m. 


<http://www.psych.mcgill.ca/faculty/petrides.html> Host: Michael Petrides <http://www.psych.mcgill.ca/faculty/petrides.html> 

 

Abstract

Visual processing of body movements is of immense value for adaptive daily life behaviors and nonverbal communication. The human visual system is exclusively tuned to information about social properties (intentions, dispositions, and emotions) conveyed by human body motion. Most recent imaging and lesion findings point to the existence of distributed brain networks that engaged in revealing of social attributes through body dynamics. The temporal cortex, and, in particular, the STS, social brain region, is often reported to substantially contribute to body motion processing. The findings, however, are restricted to localization of cortical regions involved in biological motion processing, and have been substantially extended by our MEG findings providing for high temporal resolution. I will present psychophysical and MEG data obtained in healthy adults and neurological patients with early periventricular brain lesions. Taken together, the findings suggest that processing of body motion engages a specific subcortical-cortical neural circuitry. By using clinical models of abnormal development, namely, patients with early periventricular lesions and autistic spectrum disorders (Pavlova et al, Brain 2003; Annals of Neurology, 2006; Cerebral Cortex, 2005; Neuropsychologia, 2006; Neuroimage, 2007; Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 2008, 2009), I will argue that the structural and functional brain connectivity is of immense importance for proper functioning of the networks underpinning visual social cognition. I will also focus on current research perspectives in the field such as gender effects in social cognition.