Feindel Brain and Mind Seminar Series: The search for human brain specializations

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Stream via vimeo here.

Nicole Eichert

Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Oxford, UK

Abstract: Our cognitive abilities are often thought of as uniquely human, but we can see the roots of these behaviours in our closest relatives in the animal kingdom. Therefore, a comparative approach that spans different species can be useful in understanding how the human brain evolved and how brain anatomy supports these functions. Thanks to recent advances in comparative neuroimaging, we can now study a larger number of species with greater anatomical detail, characterizing features such as connectivity, microstructure, and morphology. By creating multimodal maps of brain architecture that allow for a "common space" approach, we can distinguish between different forms of anatomical specialization and generate new testable hypotheses. In this presentation, I will discuss a series of studies where we applied this analysis framework to investigate the neurobiology of the primate brain.

Bio: For my BSc degree, I studied Molecular Medicine in Tübingen, Germany, and also spent a year at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. Then, I became interested in Neuroscience and studied for a MSc in Neural and Behavioural Sciences in Tübingen. During my MSc thesis, I joined the Max Planck Institute in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, for a Psycholinguistics project. Afterwards, I joined the Wellcome Trust 1+3 PhD programme in Neuroscience at the University of Oxford. Following my PhD, I worked for an Oxford-based company as Biomarker Scientist. In 2022, I started a Sir Henry Postdoctoral Fellowship in Neuroscience at the University of Oxford, working on a collaborative project with McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

The Feindel Brain and Mind Seminar Series will advance the vision of Dr. William Feindel (1918–2014), Former Director of the Neuro (1972–1984), to constantly bridge the clinical and research realms. The talks will highlight the latest advances and discoveries in neuropsychology, cognitive neuroscience, and neuroimaging.

Speakers will include scientists from across The Neuro, as well as colleagues and collaborators locally and from around the world. The series is intended to provide a virtual forum for scientists and trainees to continue to foster interdisciplinary exchanges on the mechanisms, diagnosis and treatment of brain and cognitive disorders.