Chris Honey, Ph.D.
October 26(Thu) - October 26(Thu), 2023
10am
Online ZOOM (ID: 728-142-6028)
Neuro@noon Seminar
Date: 10 a.m. Thu, Oct 26th
Speaker: Chris Honey, Ph.D. (Johns Hopkins University)
Title: Timescales of Mental and Neural Context
Abstract: How do we integrate information over time to understand our surroundings? Temporal integration is pervasive because our world unfolds over time. For instance, when we hear a fragment of sound, we interpret it as part of a mockingbird's melody; upon reading a word, we understand it within the context of a sentence or an evolving narrative. In this talk I will introduce the notion of ‘mental context’ and its relationship to working memory. I will then review empirical findings and computational models detailing how areas of the cerebral cortex integrate new input with prior context, and the importance of intermittently “forgetting” context. The talk conclude by examining how temporal integration might modify what we learn from the world around us.