Killam Seminar Series: The Development of Category Domains in Temporal Cortex: What You See is What You Get

Speaker: Margaret S. Livingstone, PhD

Takeda Professor of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA

Registration: available now on Eventbrite

Livestreaming via Vimeo: Vimeo

Abstract: There are distinct regions of the brain, reproducible from one person to the next, specialized for processing the most universal forms of human expertise. What is the relationship between behavioral expertise and dedicated brain structures? Do reproducible brain structures mean only certain abilities are innate, or easily learned, or does intensive early experience influence the emergence of expertise and/or dedicated brain circuits? We found that intensive early, but not late, experience influences the formation of category-selective modules in macaque temporal lobe, both for natural stimuli and for stimuli never naturally encountered by monkeys. This suggests that, as in early sensory areas, experience can drive functional segregation and that this segregation may determine how that information is processed. The pattern of novel domain formation in symbol-trained monkeys indicates the existence of a proto-architecture that governs where experience can exert its effects on brain organization. Lastly, I will present data on the development of domains in normal and face-deprived infant monkeys.

The Killam Seminar Series at The Neuro

Supported by the generosity of the Killam Trusts, The Neuro’s Killam Seminar series hosts outstanding guest speakers whose research is of interest to the scientific community at The Neuro and McGill University.

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