Human Intracranial Neurophysiology: Understanding the network neuroscience of predictions

01/06/2020 to 30/06/2023

Human behavior is highly adaptive and can rapidly be adjusted according to current rules, intrinsic predictions or expectations. To date, it remains unknown which neuronal mechanisms implement flexible human behavior. Over the last few decades, several lines of research indicated that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) provides the structural basis for goal-directed behavior, but its functional architecture is not well understood. Much of our knowledge about the neural basis of cognition stems from invasive primate recordings, but it is unclear how their behavior relates to human behavior. In addition, non-invasive recordings in humans lack a sufficient spatiotemporal resolution to understand flexible human behavior. Here, I propose to overcome these limitations by obtaining neurophysiological data with exceptional spatiotemporal resolution using direct brain recordings from patients who are implanted with intracranial electrodes for diagnostic (seizure onset localization in epilepsy) or therapeutic (deep brain stimulation (DBS) implantation for Parkinson’s disease) clinical purposes. By combining behavioral testing, non-invasive magnetoencepalography (MEG) and intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG), I will investigate how predictions are implemented in the human brain to optimize sensory processing and goal-directed behavior. This project will establish an interdisciplinary intracranial neurophysiology program to unravel the network mechanisms of human cognitive processing.