Research interests

• Working memory

Higher-order cognition such as reasoning and problem solving usually comprises multiple steps to arrive at an optimal solution or a correct conclusion. In the course of these steps, a multiplicity of temporary results needs to be kept in mind, related to each other, integrated or discarded. In consequence, cognition strongly relies on the ability to retain some information active for further use, and to do so in a flexible way allowing information to be added or removed arbitrarily. This capability is termed “working memory”. Most cognitive conceptions of working memory include two components: short-term storage and executive processes that operate on the stored contents. Much knowledge has accumulated about structural aspects of WM, e.g. whether storage concerns features or objects, whether different aspects of visual stimuli are represented in different brain regions and where to find the source of the severe capacity constraints of WM. In contrast, much less is known about the nature and the neural substrate of working memory related executive processes. I investigate WM executive processes using non-invasive neuroimaging techniques such as electroencephalography (EEG), magnetoencephalography (MEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

• Integration of MEG/EEG and fMRI data

The integration of EEG and MEG with fMRI is highly attractive because it promises a temporo-spatial resolution that cannot be obtained with any of these techniques in isolation. In particular, a combination of EEG/MEG and fMRI can provide information about the temporal sequence of activity in various brain areas as well as their interaction patterns underlying, e.g. working memory. I use an integration approach where the task-related spatial information from fMRI - that is the coordinates of activation clusters - is used to constrain the EEG/MEG source analysis (fMRI-constrained source analysis).

Cooperations

• Benjamin Rahm, Institute of Medical Psychology, Frankfurt, Germany
• James Rowe, MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit , Cambridge, UK
• Michael Wibral, Brain Imaging Center, Frankfurt, Germany

geändert am 11. Januar 2010  E-Mail: Webmasterbledowski@em.uni-frankfurt.de